Philadelphia-based Nerd Street Gamers will produce the 2020 homestand matches for Philadelphia Fusion.
During the 2020 Overwatch League season, the franchise – with the help of Nerd Street Gamers – will host three homestand events at The Met Philadelphia and Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
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Julie Truong, Director of Business Operations at Philadelphia Fusion, expressed excitement to bring more Overwatch to the home crowd: “We witnessed Philadelphia’s passion for esports when we hosted a sold out crowd for the Overwatch League Grand Finals at Wells Fargo Center last September. After spending the past two years in Burbank, California, the team is excited to finally play on home turf in front of our incredible fans. We can’t wait to provide an unforgettable experience that gives fans a taste of what’s to come once Fusion Arena opens its doors in 2021.”
Nerd Street Gamers will handle all aspects of production at the event, including the in-venue experience, creative, infrastructure, security, and staffing. This comes after the company provided 140 computers for DreamHack Atlanta last year and managed the logistics of the Harrisburg University Esports Invitational.
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John Fazio, Founder and CEO of Nerd Street Gamers, explained what he hopes to achieve through the collaboration: “Nerd Street Gamers is committed to supporting all levels of esports, from amateur tournaments to the highest tier of professional events like the Philadelphia Fusion homestands. By powering professional esports at a local level, our goal is to inspire and motivate fans to take advantage of the incredible opportunities that esports can provide.”
Philadelphia Fusion’s homestand weekends will take place at The Met on February 15-16th and May 23-24th while the weekend at Broadwalk Hall will run through June 6-7th. The franchise plans to open its $50 million (£37.8 million) gaming facility, titled the Fusion Arena, in 2021.
Esports Insider says: Nerd Street Gamers is proving to be useful at all level of esports, working heavily in the grassroots and amateur scenes but still helping some of the biggest teams in the industry. Philadelphia Fusion seems to have picked a good partner in putting on its three shows this year before moving to its own arena in 2021.