OverActive Media, the group behind the new Toronto esports team coming to the Overwatch League, unveiled its name and colours today.
The Toronto Defiant is one of eight new teams added to the lineup this year and one of two in Canada. Vancouver will also have a team but has yet to announce its name.
After making the jump from the Canadian Olympic team to esports, CEO of OverActive Media Chris Overholt says his team has put a lot of time and effort into this venture and is excited to see people’s reactions.
“We’ve been working really hard over the last couple of months,” said Overholt. “We know this kind of thing doesn’t happen overnight and we are really appreciative of our fans.”
The announcement was made to a sold-out crowd at the Berkeley Church in downtown Toronto. According to Overholt, the interest was unexpected, and tickets for the event sold out in 14 minutes.
“We’re very happy with the level of support from our fans,” said Overholt.
Get breaking National news
The palette of colours that ownership had to chose from was provided by Blizzard Entertainment, the company that develops the game and owns the league. The team at OverActive Media decided to go with red, black, white and pewter, not only because of its imposing nature in competition but also because they believe that it captures the spirit of Toronto.
Plus its similar to the Canadian Olympic team palette which Overholt says he’s familiar with through his former job at with the Olympic team.
“Its got a bit of an edge,” aid Overholt. “As we went along in this, we spent a lot of time discussing that Toronto is a world-class city as well as its grittiness.”
WATCH: Intense & lucrative eSports gaming world
According to Overholt, the Defiant name is not necessarily to stand in defiance of something but to “embody the endemic feeling of standing tall.”
“There’s a little bit of wear and tear on the logo,” said Overholt. “We added that because we believe it represents the resilience and grittiness of our city and we believe we will be strong representatives of not only the league but also the area we cover.”
Toronto has been placed in the Atlantic Division of the league and will compete for the championship when the 2019 season starts on Feb. 14.
Comments