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Philadelphia Fusion will open the first US arena built for esports
The Overwatch League's Philadelphia Fusion will build a $50 million esports arena to host its matches and is expected to be playing in the new building by early 2021. The 3,500 seat arena will be notable as it's the first dedicated, purpose-built stadium for esports in the Western Hemisphere. (By comparison, the esports arena in Arlington, TX was a repurposed section of the city's convention center.) Comcast, which owns the Philadelphia Fusion, plans to break ground on the 47-acre site this summer. The Fusion Arena will be located in the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, which is already home to the city's NFL, NBA, NHL, and NCAA teams.
Battle medic Baptiste officially joins 'Overwatch'
Overwatch has a new entrant: support medic Baptiste. After a couple of months of battle-testing on the game's public server, the newbie is now live with the latest patch. Not only does the Haitian add a dose of diversity to the online shooter, but he also brings his own unique loadout and skill set, including a three-round burst gun that doubles as a long-distance healing device for protecting allies. Baptiste also packs some rugged kicks that let him leap over obstacles and the ability to generate an immortality field to protect nearby teammates.
Overwatch League teams will play in their home cities next season
The Overwatch League is going on the road next season, as all teams will be playing in their home cities, according to commissioner Nate Nanzer. Last year's inaugural season took place entirely at the Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles, save for the finals, which were held in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. In 2019, a few "homestand" events will take place with teams competing in Dallas, Atlanta and LA (at a different venue).
Overwatch League's premium pass wasn't ready for its debut
If you tuned into opening night of Overwatch League's second season, you likely noticed some changes to the production from last year. For instance, each player's status bar at the top of the screen handily shows when a hero is hacked, stunned or firing off their ultimate ability. The biggest update for 2019, though, is the Command Center spectator option on Twitch, which lets you switch between the main broadcast stream, pros' perspectives and an overhead map whenever you like. However, the Command Center, which costs $15 for the season as part of an All-Access Pass, faced plenty of teething issues on opening night.
