The San Francisco Shock Overwatch team was not selected for partnership, leading to the company’s exit from the scene.
When Activision ended the Overwatch League, the hero shooter struggled to find its place in esports. The OWCS promised to be the next iteration of Overwatch’s esports scene but it’s already making unpopular decisions with fans.
Some fans also feel the game doesn’t lend itself to a competitive viewership. In comparison to games such as League of Legends or Counter-Strike 2, players feel Overwatch is too fast and chaotic. Regardless of subjective enjoyment, the viewership for Overwatch esports simply hasn’t recovered from the Overwatch League days.
Not helping matters is the controversial decision regarding the Overwatch esports team, San Francisco Shock.
The San Francisco Shock was not considered for partnership by the OWCS, sparking outrage among fans.
On X, San Francisco Shock’s founder Andy Miller tweeted that the popular North American team was not selected as a partnered team moving forward.
He claimed that the team was never told why but the decision left them “crushed.” Miller explained that San Francisco has been the “winningest team” in Overwatch history, is the “most popular NA team,” and has heavily supported the game’s college scene.
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From Miller’s tweet, the news could spell the end of San Francisco Shock’s Overwatch days, and other reports corroborate these claims. On X, the support and devastation came pouring in, with many expressing surprise and anger at the OWCS’ decision. This included replies from Overwatch commentators and parents of SF Shock players.
Tweeted Overwatch streamer Flats: “How? One of the only two former OWL organizations to jump into the first year of OWCS (out of the 20 total) not getting chosen is insane. Actually straight up disrespectful.”
The Overwatch Champions Series isn’t quite dead but it’s not very popular compared to other big esports titles. Esports Charts reported that the Overwatch Champions Series finals, which took place at the DreamHack Winter event in Stockholm, had almost 160,000 peak viewers. This put it much further below the viewership of the Overwatch League.
The OWCS has a smaller production team and less money behind it compared to the Overwatch League. It also has less popular teams due to it being an open circuit. While it gives opportunities to talented players from every region, it doesn’t create as much hype as having popular teams with well-known players. This makes it all the more peculiar that the Overwatch Champions Series turned down having San Francisco Shock.
Blizzard has not revealed the reasons for why this decision was made or what the partnership with its teams entails. Fans are disappointed just the same, calling out Blizzard for “killing” Overwatch esports after the news.
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