Season one Overwatch League teams had until Sept. 9 to negotiate with players for season two contracts. Now, an exclusive signing period has opened for the league’s eight expansion teams.
Expansion teams have exclusive rights over Overwatch League free agents starting today and continuing until Oct. 7. Any player from season one without a new contract has been piled into the free agency pool. Teams can also sign players who haven’t participated in season one—which means that players scouted from Overwatch Contenders and Overwatch World Cup are up for grabs for expansion teams.
Related: All the Overwatch League roster moves made so far
No roster announcements for expansion teams have been revealed at the time of writing.
Once Oct. 8 hits, the player signing period will open to all Overwatch League teams. Founding teams, however, are able to make trades with other Overwatch League teams throughout the entire signing window. Each Overwatch League squad must have at least eight players signed by Dec. 1. Teams will be able to sign more players, up to 12, until “a final deadline during the 2019 season” that has yet to be announced, according to Overwatch League officials.
The Overwatch League welcomed eight new teams to the season two lineup last week. Areas that are now represented in the Overwatch League include Chinese cities Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Guangzhou, Canadian cities Toronto and Vancouver, United States cities Atlanta and Washington, D.C., and France’s capital, Paris. The global league now has 13 North American teams, five Asian teams, and two European teams. Franchise owners reportedly spent $30 to $60 million on the slots, according to ESPN.
None of the new teams have revealed their branding or associated colors yet. Details are expected in the months leading into the 2019 start of the Overwatch League. An exact date has not been released.
