It’s official, Vancouver’s professional Overwatch League team will be called the Vancouver Titans.
The team unveiled the name and branding during Saturday’s Canucks game at Rogers Arena.
The Titans are owned and operated by the Aquilini Group, which also owns the Canucks.
The two teams will share the same blue and green colour scheme, while the Titans’ logo resembles a stylized roaring Sasquatch.
“We are thrilled to officially launch the Titans today and to bring a premier global eSports team to Vancouver,” said Aquilini Group managing director Francesco Aquilini, in a media release.
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“In choosing our identity we wanted to introduce a team that would resonate with fans in the Pacific Northwest. With a local feel and an experienced, skilled team, we are ready and can’t wait to have the Titans compete at the highest level in eSports.”
The Aquilini Group has said it intends to hold home games a Rogers Arena for fans to watch.
The Overwatch League (OWL), a professional “eSports” video-gaming league backed by gaming company Activision Blizzard, announced it would expand into Canada in September, with squads in Toronto and Vancouver.
The league completed its inaugural season back in August, a campaign that saw fans spend more than 160-million hours watching players battle it out.
According to OverActive Media, the company behind Toronto’s new OWL team, Canadians are among the biggest fan base, accounting for the third-largest audience, behind the U.S. and South Korea.
Esports have become serious business in recent years. Professional players rack up dozens of hours of practice every week, have a dedicated team manager and coach.
Fans have signalled a willingness to pay, and have packed Canadian stadiums to watch.
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It can be lucrative for the elite players as well.
Pros’ annual contracts start at $50,000 and go up from there, according to Spiro Khouri of Vancouver’s eSports Gaming Stadium, and prize money can be even richer. Epic Games recently announced it would pump $100 million into prize money for Fortnite tournaments in 2018-2019.
The Vancouver Titans are expected to begin competitive play in February 2019.
-With files from John Hua and Christopher Whan
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