AntSol Travel

If you work or stay at the hotels surrounding the Anaheim Convention Center right now, you might see a good amount of gamer nerds, including me (my friends & I take that term in stride back in school), coming for the @OverwatchLeague (OWL) #OWLGrand Finals, the playoff & championship for the team-hero-based shooter game, Overwatch, on Nov. 3 & 4. The game was developed & published by Irvine, CA-based developer, Blizzard Entertainment, located 16 from Anaheim. They also hold their fan convention, BlizzCon at the convention center, however, it still will not be brought back this year, tentatively in 2023. 

As an avid video gamer, gives me great joy how far eSports and the Overwatch Leauge have gone to be a success with many gamers and working on breaking through the stigma of eSports not being real sports with the mainstream media and sports fans, like my roommate & coworkers, this is what this video is helping to do. There might not be as much physical strength as many sports, but it exercises the player’s minds and reflexes and provides the same intense moments, excitement, and learning curve for players & fans, that it can be like any sport. (The audience for this video is people who are not into eSports to learn more about it and the experience at the Grand Finals. This will be in general.)

Overwatch was released in 2016, it was after its release, Blizzard got the game to work as an esports title, as it meant to play in competitive settings, such as the OWL, with the first season in 2017. Matches play in teams of six: two Tanks: slow but powerful with heavy weapons, shields, & some self-healing; two Damage: fast & nimble with quick weapon reflexes, and two Support: primarily healers & can deal a good amount of damage. Each hero is unique and they have their own skills, weapons, abilities, and backstory. Overwatch 2 is now 5 v 5 with one tank, which was changed from the original Overwatch game in October for the general public, and the league players were able to train & compete earlier in the year. 

Each set of games to get a win-loss between two teams is called a series, which are best of five maps, each map has several setting and game mode combinations, with modes controlling the point, escorting the payload, combination of both, and getting control of a robot to push your sled to the goal.  

The OWL is Blizzard’s way of having stable teams & structured schedules in a  competitive league like most major league sports. Before then, gaming competitions were sparsely scheduled tournaments without a stable league or teams, with cash prizes would be their income. If they were in a stable league, whole teams would be promoted or demoted, depreciating asset values for team owners, along with players’ opportunities as a whole team. OWL teams are owned by their local owners, with teams from the United States, Canada, Korea, China, Paris, and England. For example, the Los Angeles Gladiators are owned by Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, who also own many other teams, such as the now Los Angeles Ram NFL team, even the Los Angeles Guerrillas of the Call of Duty League, and many more, to help cement investment and interest from mainstream sports owners & fans. This was done to drum up a local area fan base, as well as fans who want to cheer for the team. I lived at home in the San Francisco Bay Area back when the Shock started in 2017 and got my support since then. 

The league is set up with a minor league-like development system as you & your team would win competitive games more, eventually, individually get called up to the Contenders League, and then have a chance to sign a contract with one of the OWL teams if you are good enough. When you get to the league level, you would get a stable salary & health benefits, live in a team house, and train for the league matches like it is your full-time job because it is now!

The OWL has a pre-set season schedule, with mini-tournaments in between for additional cash prizes, at the end of the season are the playoffs and Grand Finals for the league championship, I am here for the playoffs! 

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The twenty teams played in a mix of online and a few in-person events during the season, and then widdle down the teams after each playoff series. The initial two days of the playoff run were closed to the public but were streamable on YouTube. Then the next two days, it was open to the public at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena, hosting up to 7,500 people and is on the older end as it was built in 1967. It is owned by the city of Anaheim and managed by Visit Anaheim. Admission for each day of the Overwatch League Grand Championship was $25 per person for the lower level, and the upper level was reserved for Leauge staff and teams. The lower level was pretty full estimated at about 3,500 at most. 

Outside of the arena, they have food trucks which you can get in & out access with a wristband. After security and scanning the ticket, you can go to the lobby to get team merchandise, and take pictures and videos with life-size statues of in-game characters: Tracer, Junkrat, and Widowmaker, all are Damage characters. The Overwatch League Grand Finals Championship trophy was out as well with its own security personnel. 

It was fifteen minutes before the first match started, so I headed over to the arena. Since it was general admission you can pick your seat, however, it becomes an issue if you need to get food from the food trucks or the concession stands, or go to the restrooms. So I had fans sitting around me to look after my seat as my sling pack with my water, battery charger, and trail mix was on the seat. 

The first match was with my hometown team: the San Francisco Shock vs. Seoul Dynasty. The Shock was dominant and swept the first three-game of a sweep against the Dynasty. I happened to sit behind some of the Shock staff who didn’t get the reserved seating. I didn’t talk to them but I wished I did, except when I asked them to look after my stuff when I went to the restroom. They were pumped throughout the whole match and topped it off with the win for the Shock, and they would play the winner of the next game as the last match of the night. 

The next match was the London Spitfire vs. Hangzhou, China Spark. There was a Spark supporter group sitting a few rows below me and was cheered at all of the Sparks moments. Most fans are not from China but are USA fans who picked a team to support and went with it, the same could be said for most teams.  Another Spark fan clump also did a “Let’s go Spark” chant, which did not last long. The Spitfire fans were spread out but were enthusiastic. All the fans with teams in the competition were always excited for their main team and showed good support for the other teams, which I did during then. The Spark won their match and will go against the Shock. 

The teams in this round were in the loser bracket from the prior playoff rounds. Which would be the Shock vs Spark as the last match of the night after the winner’s bracket, the Dallas Fuel vs Houston Outlaws. 

In between each game of the match, the in-game host, @goldenboyftw. He would have fans play games such as dance or soldier training competitions for prizes, and crowd events as there was even a Flappy Bird  & Pong game powered by fans’ cheers, in 2022! 

The playoff sponsor was Butterfingers, owned by Ferrero SpA, formerly Nesle. There were many memes and jokes throughout the playoff’s Twitter feed using #

The next match-up was the battle of Texas: the Houston Outlaws vs the Dallas Fuel of the winner’s bracket. The Fuel was number one in the standings with the Outlaws in the fourth seed. The matchup was intense as they are some of the top teams in the league and in-state rivalry in general. The Outlaws took the first map, then the Fuel took the other three maps, getting the series win. However, due to the tournament format, the Outlaws are not done yet. They will go against the winner of the next Shock vs. Spark series, tomorrow. The Fuel will go against the winner of the Outlaws vs. winner series, for a potential rematch with the Outlaws.    

Before the start of the last map of the Outlaws vs. Fuel series, I went to get food at the food trucks. I got a huge stuffed pita sandwich from the German Yum Truck. Since it was towards the end of the night, they piled it sandwich with beef & lamb, I loved it,  & posted it on my Instagram story, and they shared it on their story as well. 

While eating I heard cheers from the arena, or that could scream from the Incredacoster at California Adventure since it is across the street. I checked the YouTube video and the Fuel won against the Outlaws. A few minutes later, I saw and took pictures of both Texas teams heading back to their hotel. After finishing eating, I went back into the arena. 

It was still intermission when I went back in so I did a couple of things. There are QR codes throughout the arena to get virtual items such as character art and in-game items. There was a merchandise booth, but I wasn’t in any of the items as the Shock did not have any of the designs that I liked. 

I wanted to get a different angle for the Shock vs Spark match, so I got a sparsely populated section so the time lapse was not as obscured by other fans as much. The seat was behind the Shock side so that is why you see their logo on the video boards for the whole series. It was 8:10 pm when the series started, each map takes a while depending on the pacing and if the map has to go into extra timing, which the first three maps were, making the series intense and long, along with four minutes of intermission for each map. 

After the third map, it was a 2-1 Shock, and they need to win one more map to win. However, it was 9:30 pm, I got to work at 8 am the next morning, so I decided to head back to the apartment, and watched then listen in the car to the last map on YouTube. The last map was pushed the robot mode, both teams were on each other the whole game and barely moved the robot in either direction. Thankfully, the Shock got control of the robot in time to get some distance more than the Spark did, and won the series. By that point, I just got back to my apartment, a few miles away. The Shock, Fuel, & Outlaws, have one more day of competition to claim the title of Overwatch League Grand Finals Champions. 

It was a fun but long day, thankfully, sitting the whole time since I have been so tired from work. It was my first in-person eSports competition and it was amazing. The cheers and enthusiasm from fans, the chatter about their teams, and the in-person theatrics were amazing I wished there were more eSports teams and leagues in Orange County since the only competitions are the video game cafes dotted throughout the county. However, I want a real league here, that wants to call the OC home and be part of the managerial team. However, that is just wishful thinking. 

The next day, I worked my morning shift at the hotel front desk. Some of the guests who were attending the event were staying at the hotel, I asked them about things at the event from their perspective. The arriving guests for today’s matches, asked me if I was going to the final matches today, however, going to all four series yesterday was tiring, along with working at 6:30 am, the next day, I decided to watch at home.

I finished my work day at 4:30 pm, and darted back to the apartment, just in time for the 5 pm start time for San Fransico Shock’s first series vs. the Houston Outlaws. The Shock swept the Outlaws as they did with the Soul Dynasty. However, the Shock has its final obstacle, the Dallas Fuel in the final Grand Final round to claim victory.

 The round started at 7 pm, but I listened to it on my phone with one wireless earbud while cooking dinner with my roommate. They still did not understand the excitement of eSports in comparison to mainstream sports like the NHL or the MLB but were proud of me for my excitement and for sharing my knowledge through my AntSol Travel posts and videos. 

The Grand Final round was the best of seven map series, making it long and more intense to watch. It was back and forth between the top seed Dallas Fuel vs the total underdog that here is win it all, the San Francisco Shock. The Shock franchise won two other finals, however, it was with different players according to the commentators back in 2019 & 2020, that means that the coach and staff do an amazing job with their team, granted it is consistent all of these years. 

After six maps, it was tied 3-3, going to game seven! Like the Shock vs Spark series, it was a robot push in the Colseaso map. The crowd was ecstatic for each kill, however, it does not hype up the players as they have headsets on to hear the game audio and teammate chats. I can hear “Let’s Go Shock” from the crowd as the Fuel get the robot to push its barricade more, and continues to be a back-and-forth battle. At the end of the time bank, the Fuel got the most distance on their barricade and won their first Grand Finals Championship. Congratulations Fuel, and great job Shock!

It was amazing to watch the Overwatch Leauge in person and streaming online, it gives me great joy how far eSports and the Overwatch Leauge have gone to be a success with many gamers and working on breaking through the stigma of eSports not being real sports with the mainstream media and sports fans, like my roommate. This is what this video is helping to do, there might not be as much physical strength as many sports, but it exercises the player’s minds and reflexes, and provides the same intensity, excitement, and learning curve for players & fans, that it can be like any sport.