By now it should be no surprise that Blizzard Entertainment is serious about growing its presence in the eSports scene and its looking to drive that point home with the opening of a dedicated arena space in Los Angeles — the second after its first arena in Taipei.
Called Blizzard Arena Los Angeles, the venue will play host to upcoming eSports events for Overwatch, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and World of Warcraft once it opens in October.
“We’re at a tipping point for esports and we look forward to helping usher in a new era of competition-based entertainment,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment, in a release. “As we open the doors of Blizzard Arena Los Angeles and welcome fans from around the world, we’re honored to bring the best in Blizzard esports to the same stage that some of the biggest names in entertainment have called home.”
Blizzard Arena Los Angeles will host it’s first event, the Overwatch Contenders Season One Playoffs, on Oct. 7; followed by the Hearthstone Championship Tour’s Summer Championship — the third round of competition before the league’s grand finals in early 2018 — on Oct. 13. The rest of the month will feature the Heroes of the Storm Global Championship Finals and World of Warcraft Arena Championship as players compete to qualify for those games’ championships at BlizzCon in early November.
As indicated earlier, Blizzard will still hold tournaments BlizzCon, the company’s annual convention in Anaheim, Calif.
The new arena will be located in Burbank, Calif. at Burbank Studios. Blizzard said it will also open a retail store at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles with rotating stock based on the competitions taking place at the time.
Tickets for Overwatch Contenders Playoffs are on sale here, while Hearthstone matches during the following week can be bought here.
Published: Sep 7, 2017 02:36 pm