The Overwatch League's 2022 season championship matches will be held from Oct. 31 through Nov. 5. The esports league's inaugural season kicked off in January 2018. At that time, Activision CEO Bobby Kotick said, "It is a ways before you are going to see certain revenue streams, but we are already seeing a lot of traction and enthusiasm from fans." His vision was correct: By 2021, smurf, the highest-earning professional Overwatch player, had earned $348,295.27.

The Overwatch League comprises 20 city-based teams of the world's best players. All matches stream on Overwatch League's official YouTube channel, YouTube Gaming, and on the Overwatch League website or via the mobile app. "All of the commercial opportunities that exist in professional sports are opportunities that are available to us also," Bobby Kotick told CNBC's Fast Money. "Plus, you have virtual items. You have over-the-top advertising opportunities that would not exist in traditional sports."

Activision Blizzard states, "Showcasing top-tier competition, thrilling storylines, an enhanced prize pool, robust viewership rewards, and cutting-edge production values, the Overwatch League is the world's premier esports league." 

These are the teams that participated in the 2022 Activision Blizzard Overwatch League: Atlanta Reign, Boston Uprising, Chengdu Hunters, Dallas Fuel, Florida Mayhem, Guangzhou Charge, Hangzhou Spark, Houston Outlaws, London Spitfire, Los Angeles Gladiators, Los Angeles Valiant, New York Excelsior, Paris Eternal, Philadelphia Fusion, San Francisco Shock, Seoul Dynasty, Shanghai Dragons, Toronto Defiant, Vancouver Titans, and Washington Justice. They were divided into two groups, East and West, for the tournament.

To qualify, teams need to earn enough total League Points. Overwatch League teams can do that "through their performance in qualifier matches and tournaments," states Activision Blizzard. "Teams get one League Point for each qualifier match win and for appearing in a tournament. The second-place team at each regional tournament will receive two total League Points, while the tournament champions will receive three total League Points. And at the Midseason Madness Global Tournament, the third-place team will get two total League Points, the second-place team gets three total League Points, and the champions get four total League Points." 

There were more than 40 newcomers to the league in 2022. Hyun-Woo "Zest" Kim is a damage dealer for the Philadelphia Fusion. Kim said, "My life is still the same, but my mindset has changed. I feel obligated to put more effort into my work because I can play on a bigger stage like the [Overwatch] League." Kim's damage partner, Jee-Hee "MN3" Yoon, added, "I didn't work hard in my studies, and I don't think I can put my efforts into studying like I do for gaming."

Why the Overwatch League Is a Fan Favorite

Fans are the focus at Activision Blizzard. Bobby Kotick stated that the company he's been the CEO of since its merger in 2008 has "the best of both worlds, and we have an enormous fan base that we are satisfying." When asked if the video game giant would accept cryptocurrencies like bitcoin as payment, the CEO insisted that the company's priority is ensuring that 94 million monthly active users around the globe can use the payment platforms available to them. "We are very supportive of whatever it is, the mechanism that our customers chose to pay," said Kotick. 

"There are professional teams with players making hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars a year," Bobby Kotick said on Leadership Live With David Rubenstein. "And so I would, I might advocate for a kid who has a proficiency in gaming, that there could be a great career for them as an esport athlete."

Activision CEO Bobby Kotick Endorses Esports

Esports is essentially competitive video gaming done by teams. "It's a very social experience; you're playing against people or could play against people worldwide, and people are developing social relationships and social connections. So it's in the service of joy, but there also is a competitive dynamic, and esports has become a very big way to accomplish success in video gaming," said Kotick. 

Activision Blizzard Esports operates all of the company's professional gaming properties, including the Call of Duty League, Hearthstone Masters and Grandmasters, World of Warcraft Mythic Dungeon International, and Arena World Championship.

The CEO stated, "If you think about professional sports today, whether it's basketball or football or soccer, there are maybe 3,000 people in the world capable of playing professional baseball and maybe 5,000 people capable of playing professional football. There are hundreds and hundreds of thousands of people capable of playing professional video games. And so when you think about the requirements and the qualifications to get that same thrill, the same sense of accomplishment, meaning, purpose, but also have a career, it's a real growth opportunity for people. And we're seeing an explosion of interest in the spectator component of it."

Where does Bobby Kotick see esports heading in the future? "My suspicion is that as the esport leagues become even more prevalent and popular, that you will start to see both peer-to-peer wagering and broad-scale wagering on the outcomes of these kinds of events," he told Rubenstein.