Dallas' 'Overwatch' esports team has a name: Dallas Fuel

Overwatch is already a blockbuster video game, but its developer, Blizzard Entertainment, wants it to be an esports phenomenon. They've been laying the groundwork for their Overwatch League for some time now -- think National Football League, but for a video game -- and today they officially unveiled one of the teams involved: The Dallas Fuel.

As we've reported previously, this team is made up of players from world renowned esports group Team Envy. The team is in the process of moving its operation to Dallas following a large investment from the Hersh Interactive Group.

Dallasites might recognize the Hersh name, which informs why our city's Overwatch team is named the Fuel. Ken Hersh is an oil magnate, and the team name and logo (a blue flame) are "paying tribute to the region's strong heritage in the energy sector." They also "symbolize the galvanizing spark that the franchise is looking to ignite among esports fans in Dallas," says a statement on the Overwatch League website.

The world of esports is a bigger than you might think, and it's growing. In an interview with The Dallas Morning News, Hersh says that the biggest surprise of investing in the team has been, "The sheer size that's not known by the common person. You might not follow hockey, but you know that the Dallas Stars are the Dallas Stars. And you kind of know where they play, and you might even know a little bit about it, even though you might not follow hockey at all.

"The fact that almost 270,000 people in Dallas play the Overwatch game. And that there is an Overwatch league that attracts millions of people. ... But you don't drive down the highway and see it. The sheer scale that something can exist out of the public eye and exist in the technological eye, is an amazing phenomenon."