After the first phase of the Overwatch League came to an end last weekend with solid viewership numbers, we look again at the numbers of current social media followers and ask ourselves if the franchises and players were able to use the initial hype to grow their channels.

First things first: Yes, they were able to – to a considerable extent!

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Here are some facts:

• Every team can register a positive growth.
• The lowest growth rate is +16,06%.
• The highest growth rate is +1900%.
• In total, the social media accounts of the franchises have ~590,000 new followers.

Youtube: Dallas Fuel still dominates the video ranking

Facebook: Seoul Dynasty still has the most likes

Twitter: San Francisco Shock still tweets to the most fans

Instagram: Dallas Fuel is still the king of images

And what about the players?

Like the teams, almost all players showed strong growth in terms of new followers on twitter. Boston Uprising player Young-Jin Noh (Gamsu), however, stands out in particular: He has gained 27,600 new followers since the start of the Overwatch League which corresponds to a growth rate of +2000%.

Most famous professional Overwatch players on Twitter after stage 1 of the Overwatch League

So what?

All in all, the development in terms of social media potential looks very promising and the new sponsors, including Toyota, T-Mobile and Sour Patch Kids should be pleased.

However, this positive development could turn out to be a double-edged sword for some as the buy-ins for the two slots to be added next season will rise from $20 million to up to $60 million, according to ESPN.

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