Immortals reportedly weighing up OWL exit with Los Angeles Valiant sale

Los Angeles Valiant may be the next Overwatch League franchise to change hands, with owners Immortals Gaming Club ⁠— one of the original OWL investors ⁠— reportedly weighing up sale options for the North American franchise.

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The Valiant was one of the Overwatch League’s original founding franchises. Immortals were one of 12 investors to pay the then-$20 million buy-in fee to join Activision-Blizzard’s developing international Overwatch competition.

Immortals elected Los Angeles as their local market, alongside Stan Kroenke’s franchise, Los Angeles Gladiators. They have had a mixed history in the Overwatch League, first placing second in 2018, before running 13th and 8th in 2019 and 2020.

The report, first published by Bloomberg on Nov. 12, suggests Immortals is looking to drop city-specific teams moving forward, particularly Activision’s two flagship leagues, the OWL and CDL.

Immortals, led by Noah Whinston, pulled out of the Call of Duty League earlier this month in a similar move. They sold the OpTic Gaming brand to original org founder Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez, and handed their CDL slot to 100 Thieves.

Immortals Gaming has publicly sounded plans to move into online gaming focus moving into the future. One of its key products is Gamers Club, a subscription service designed to “connect video-game players,” which will be a focus moving forward.

“We’ve enjoyed strong growth in our non-team asset portfolio and are excited to leverage a strong balance sheet and focus our energy, time, capital, and resources on these aspects of the business,” Immortals CEO Ari Segal said last week.

The organization has no intention to abandon esports entirely, either. Immortals also owns a team slot in North America’s League of Legends Championship Series and operates CSGO roster, MIBR, in Flashpoint and the BLAST Premier league.

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The company also announced a $26m financing round last week. New org investors include Meg Whitman, who is an Immortals board member and former eBay CEO.

Valiant haven’t made an Overwatch League signing since Jan. 15, when they signed damage pro Kai “KSP” Collins. The team recently released Apply, GiG, and OWL fan-favorite McGravy on Oct. 16.

Immortals was founded five years ago, and first started in League of Legends. The esports organization’s high-profile investors include Phil Anschutz’s AEG, Lions Gate Entertainment, Santa Monica-based March Capital Partners, and more.