eSports News by Content Engine AI

In what is becoming a regular routine for the Overwatch League, there are no shortage of stories of crazed, passionate fans waiting in line for hours, sometimes even days, to get to the front of the line. One of the newer stories from many games centres on the Baltimore Brigade fans and their ever-growing lines. This year, the action has left the Arena in Maryland and is set to relocate to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

As bad as it was when these Panthers were the team for Baltimore, it is only going to get worse when the Blizzard League comes to New York. We spoke to the owner of Baltimore’s team, Michael Angelos, about how he has been preparing for the inevitable.

You’ve been at this for a couple of years now and that seems to be the picture across the boards at the Overwatch League. What have you learned from the experience so far, and what are the challenges for you now that you have to do some strategic planning with the new location?

Our head coach Shyan Deng and I have lived and breathed Baltimore for the last two seasons. We hosted Baltimore’s team, the Brigade, at Oriole Park at Camden Yards and we took our players to practice at the Under Armour Arena a few times. Having been a regular participant in these activities as well, as well as attending many of the Charm City events, I understand that we are in the minority when it comes to Battle.net supporters in the city. Over the past two years, we’ve invited BlizzCon Tournament in the city, the Blizzard Challenge League Finals, and the Cloud9 and OWL FC Auditions held at the Ravens training facility. We want people to be excited about their home teams. We would also like to host tournaments, Challenge and Showcase Games, and give more opportunities for local events.

As you move to New York, what has changed for you?

Our owners are all very busy. There is a long travel schedule between the two events, and all of our owners are busy working full-time. It has been a constant challenge since we started coming to New York and, unfortunately, things haven’t gotten easier in recent weeks. But our players are excited to move to the Big Apple.

How do you plan to fill the need for fans to communicate with your team, the coaches, and each other?

We will do everything in our power to ensure that our fans are able to communicate with our coaches, as well as each other. Every point in the season, especially during the tournaments and Showcase Games, is a big point of focus. We have our coaches and team communications to help handle communication situations. Our cities’ mayors, community leaders, as well as fans are working hand-in-hand with us to improve experiences for the public and players.

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