Overwatch League franchises London Spitfire and Houston Outlaws have partnered to host the Overwatch Gilded Gala.
The event will be split into two show matches, with one in London, England in October 20th and a second in Houston, Texas in January 2019.
Jack Etienne, CEO & Owner of London Spitfire discussed the event in a statement: “We’re really excited to have put something special together for the fans, and it’s been great teaming up with the Outlaws to do it. The amount of support we’ve gotten from our hometown fans continues to be phenomenal and I couldn’t be more thrilled to have the team in London. The Overwatch Gilded Gala is going to be an event to remember for both the cities of London and Houston.”
The event will see three or four players from each side competing in unique game modes such as 1v1s, mystery heroes, and playing with fans. It will also include giveaways and “local social media personalities in attendance”.
Matt “Flame” Rodriguez, General Manager of Houston Outlaws added: “The Houston Outlaws are super excited to be able to visit the beautiful city of London. As a team with a major focus on fan connection we are beyond pleased to be able to join our friends at the Spitfire to bring positive fan engagements to a passionate esports community and we are really excited to welcome the London team to our home for BBQ and Tacos at a later date”
This partnership is incredibly similar to another forged earlier this week between Los Angeles Valiant and San Francisco Shock. The two franchises teamed up to launch the Overwatch California cup, an event that was also split into two locations.
Spitfire and Outlaws are among the inaugural 12 franchises in the Overwatch League. Ahead of the second season, Activision Blizzard added the following locations to the league: Atlanta, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Paris, Toronto, Vancouver, and Washington D.C.
Esports Insider says: We expect more of these partnerships in the interim between the first and second seasons of the Overwatch League. It allows the teams to leverage the local fanbases of each side, and keeps fans engaged while there is no action from the league itself. Oh, and they’ll likely make a killing off of selling merchandise too.