Beyond how-to books full of generic advice, there are few books out there that seek to uncover the phenomenon of esports. In Young Guns: Obsession, Overwatch and the Future of Esports, author Austin Moorhead gives readers a front-row ticket to the never-ending drama that drives competitors in the Overwatch League (OWL). Young Guns will be available from Hachette Book Group starting on March 31.
The story itself is quite a ride. But perhaps even more intriguing is the story of how a relatively unknown writer became a trusted insider in the OWL, an organization worth millions of dollars.
A Focus On Games Becomes A Focus On Overwatch
Originally, Moorhead sought to write an article on Magic: The Gathering. He'd planned to attend the Grand Prix Las Vegas 2015 Modern Masters event, which, through today, remains the largest Magic: The Gathering tournament in the game's history.
His friend, noted Vanity Fair writer Sam Kashner, encouraged Moorhead to write an article about the tournament and try to sell it after the fact. So, without a contract secured, he sought out a story anyway, channeling the spirit of Hunter S. Thompson.
“I told everyone that I was covering the event for Playboy. And everyone thought that was amazing,” Moorhead told TheGamer. “The thing that amazed me was how saying that you're a writer would get people to sit down and tell you everything about themselves, about their lives, about the game of Magic, about why they like it or how they got into it.”
Ultimately, the Magic article didn’t sell. But that piece caught the eye of a literary agent, William LoTurco.
Moorhead worked with LoTurco to develop his pitch, which was originally about esports in general. Upon an editor’s suggestion, he later shifted to a book solely about Overwatch.
“By the time I was rewriting the proposal, the rumors were out that Robert Kraft had agreed to be involved,” Moorhead said. “I was like, ‘Okay, this is really interesting. The guy who owns the best NFL team in the past 20 years is going to buy one of these franchises.’”
Moorhead grew up with traditional sports such as baseball and football. He attended the University of Georgia, where college football is practically a religion, and is the commissioner of a fantasy football league. But Moorhead is also an avid gamer, he was a longtime fan of Blizzard Entertainment, the developer and publisher behind Overwatch.
“I was in high school when Diablo 2 came out and I would spend weekends with my friends. I would take the family computer — to the chagrin of my two younger brothers — and take it for the weekend. From Friday night until Sunday night, it was a nonstop Diablo 2 LAN party,” he said.
An All-Access Pass To Everything Overwatch
Fandom is great, but that alone isn’t enough to sell a book. Importantly, he proved he had the one other thing an author needs so they can document such a story: access.
His agent had once worked alongside Brett Lautenbach, the president of the San Francisco Shock who played an important role in the OWL's development. The agent connected Lautenbach and Moorhead, solidifying Moorhead's opportunity to write a book about Overwatch and esports.
As a result, the book offers a raw look at the league, including a deep analysis of the Shock's turbulent first year.
“I didn't come in with an agenda or a narrative that I was trying to drive. I basically just came in and observed and took a lot of notes, and then I tried to represent in the book exactly how it was in the room,” Moorhead said.
It was perhaps serendipitous that the team with which he had the closest ties would be the Shock. Even in the Overwatch League’s first year, the Shock was a team to watch. The excitement of wins, the discouragement of defeat, and the anxiety of the unknown — Moorhead documents it all in vivid detail.
In his book, he analyzes the challenges of the league's first year: Young and sometimes immature players, alliances, tensions and daily stresses. But importantly, he also documents what players and the teams who support them stand to lose if their OWL gambles don’t pay off.
“By then, I knew that the teams had sold for $20 million. But the thing I didn't know was, what does that mean? Where does $20 million go? Who gets it?” he said. “But then the teams, after paying that, they still have to cover all the costs. They’re still paying for all the housing, they’re still paying for all the players. So I was like, ‘Oh, wow! It's not just $20 million dollars. There’s $20 million, plus all the costs you're going to incur every year.’”
All told, that’s a lot of pressure. Take Sinatraa, for example. The 17-year-old wasn’t even old enough to play for OWL when Moorhead began writing his book. However, it was an open secret that the Shock had shelled out top dollar to get him on their roster.
Unfortunately, upon the young player’s birthday and his official introduction to the team, Sinatraa would fail to deliver.
“In season one, not everyone knew what they were doing. There were, maybe, some odd decisions about roster construction,” Moorhead said.
Had the book stopped there, it’s hard to believe there would have been a sense of resolution. Perhaps a spoiler to some, many already know the Shock bounced back to win the OWL Grand Finals in 2019.
“In terms of the ascendance in season two, it was honestly a little bit surreal. It would be one thing if they just went into season two and did really well and then won. But they were so dominant.”
Lessons From The Overwatch League
There are a few key takeaways readers won’t find in the book.
“The original model of Overwatch League was going to be just like traditional sports and be home/away. I think there are a lot of reasons why the tournament structure works better for esports,” he said. Notably, in esports, fan-favorite players aren’t necessarily the ones on the local team.
There’s also the longevity of Overwatch itself.
“New games come out all the time and gamers like to go try the new games,” he said. “[Esports are] riskier than the sports that have been around for 100 years. But, of anyone who could keep refreshing, I would bet on Blizzard,” he said.
With a close eye on the league and its star players, there’s not much of a question as to at least one of the teams he expects to see at the OWL Grand Finals.
“I definitely think we’re going to see the Shock there,” he said. “I would probably say it's most likely to be Shock, then either the Titans, NYXL, or, I guess I would put the Fusion in there.”
“You know what I'm gonna say? NYXL is going to get over their playoff curse. And we'll have a San Francisco Shock versus New York Grand Final.”
For more insight into the book, check out TheGamer’s full review of Young Guns: Obsession, Overwatch and the Future of Gaming by Austin Moorhead. The book will be released on March 31 and is currently available for pre-purchase on Amazon.