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Blizzard wants to take esports to the next level with the Overwatch League, a new esports organization that will be patterned after existing professional sports leagues like the NFL and NBA. The Overwatch League will begin play in 2017, but first, Blizzard will invite the world’s best players to a combine to test their skills:

The inaugural season of the Overwatch League will begin in 2017. At the start of the season, Blizzard will host a combine, where eligible players who have previously distinguished themselves in competition will be invited to try out for teams. Players at the combine will be evaluated across a range of tests, giving teams the opportunity to sign those who best round out their rosters. Anyone picked up by a team during the signing period will be guaranteed a contract that includes a baseline minimum salary and benefits package.

In addition to holding tryouts, each team in the Overwatch League will be based in a city or region to further tap into support from local fans. Who knows? Maybe in 108 years some wild-eyed old man from Chicago will be tearing up over his city’s first Overwatch League Championship in a generation.

Blizzard will reveal more about the Overwatch League in the coming months, but for now, interested fans are encouraged to visit OverwatchLeague.com to learn more.

If you’re like most Overwatch players, I’m guessing you’ve been waiting patiently for Sombra’s debut for a few months now. But after all of Blizzard’s teasing, the developer finally pulled the curtain back on the character during this weekend’s BlizzCon.

An elite hacker with combat skills to match, we got our first look at Sombra in “Infiltration,” a brand new animated short from Blizzrd. But did you know the developer also uploaded a brand new “Origin Story” video and gameplay trailer for everyone’s new favorite character? Both videos can be found after the break.

Sombra herself will be available to download for PC players using the Overwatch Public Test Region next week, and she’ll be accessible by all players sometime in the near future. (more…)

Blizzard has been dropping hints about Sombra, Overwatch‘s newest Hero, for months. Today, the character made her debut at BlizzCon in a brand new animated short.

One of the world’s most notorious hackers, Sombra uses information to manipulate those in power.

Long before she took up the alias “Sombra,” XXXXXX was among the thousands of children who were left orphaned in the aftermath of the Omnic Crisis. With much of her country’s infrastructure destroyed, she survived by utilizing her natural gifts with hacking and computers.

[…]

She later reemerged as Sombra, upgraded and determined to find out the truth behind the conspiracy she had uncovered. Sombra launched an even more audacious string of hacks, and her exploits earned her no shortage of admirers, including Talon. She joined the organization’s ranks and is believed to have contributed to its massive cyberattacks against corporations with strong ties to their governments. These efforts incited a popular revolution in Mexico against LumériCo and breached the security of Volskaya Industries, the manufacturing arm of Russia’s anti-omnic defense.

Like the title of her animated short, Sombra is someone who’s skilled at “Infiltration” and manipulating technology for her own gains. The Offense character can get close to her enemies with “Thermoptic Camo” to go invisible for short periods of time and she can escape with her “Translocator,” a beacon Sombra can instantly return to as long as it’s active. Once she’s in, her “Hack” ability can stop opponents from using their abilities, while her “EMP” disables barriers and shields in the blast radius.

Sombra will be available to download for PC players using the Overwatch Public Test Region next week, and she’ll be accessible by all sometime in the near future. In the meantime, you can learn more about Sombra on PlayOverwatch.com.