The Overwatch League grand finals will be held in Philadelphia, Los Angeles Valiant partners with Kit Kat, and OGN will take the reins for the Clash Royale league.
Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days!
The Overwatch 
League (OWL) season is at its midway point, with the Stage Two finals having taken place last weekend. But the end goal is the Grand Finals, and Blizzard Entertainment has announced that its largest event will be held in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center on September 29.
The two top teams will be vying for $1.7M USD, with the winning team awarded $1.1M and the runner-up $600K. The Wells Fargo center is owned by Comcast Spectacor, which also runs one of the finalists from last year’s season, the Philadelphia Fusion .
Nestlé brand Kit Kat (licensed by Hershey’s in the U.S., which negotiated this deal) has entered into its first esports partnership as the official candy sponsor of Overwatch League team, The Los Angeles Valiant .
The LA Valiant will collaborate with Kit Kat to produce original digital and social content throughout the 2019 competitive season.
The non-endemic sponsorship also includes naming rights to Rivalry Weekend, part of the Overwatch League’s Homestand series, on August 24-25. Hosted by The Los Angeles Valiant, Kit Kat Rivalry Weekend will include branded activations both inside and outside of the arena at LA Live.
An estimated 100-150 employees of League of Legends publisher Riot Games staged a walkout on Monday to protest the company’s arbitration policies. This appears to have been the first walkout at a major games studio.
Sentiments around the walkout carried a common thread that Riot had a habit of sweeping sexual harassment under the rug, forcing victims to “talk it out” with their attackers, and the fact that forced arbitration is illegal in several states outside of California, where Riot is located.
Riot issued a statement assuring employees that they would not experience retaliation.
The Clash Royale League (CRL) is about to return for its second season, with a prize pool of at least $1M USD—and this time around, Supercell has brought on a partner to handle the majority of the league’s production.
South Korean esports production company OGN will produce the Clash Royale League for the West and Asia regions (but not China), as well as the eventual World Finals at the end of the season. The newly-consolidated CRL West region represents the first part of that deal, with broadcasts set to begin from the OGN Super Arena in Manhattan Beach, California, in late May.
Major Sponsorships and Partnerships
Lagardère Sports has been named the exclusive commercial agent for T1 Entertainment & Sports, an esports joint venture between Comcast Spectacor and SK Telecom. The marketing agency will be responsible for all of T1’s commercial rights, including managing all brand partnerships and sponsorship engagements.
Esports apparel company We Are Nations announced a partnership with Walmart, which sees the brand selling merchandise through the Walmart Marketplace online store. The partnership announcement coincides with the launch of the Walmart Marketplace’s Esports Fan Shop, which features more than 1,000 items including jerseys, hats, and pennants. Other featured sellers include ESL Shop and Fanatics, and the Esports Fan Shop also sells the recently-announced, exclusive licensed Red Bull-branded headband based on popular Fortnite streamer, Tyler “Ninja” Blevins.
