Shares of Activision Blizzard (ATVI) were trading higher near midday, adding to yesterday’s gains after the video game maker saw solid viewer turnout for the inaugural season of the Overwatch League, an esports league centered around Blizzard’s popular multiplayer shooter “Overwatch.”

LEAGUE POSTS SOLID VIEWERSHIP: Overwatch League launched on Wednesday of this week, with 12 franchises representing cities across Asia, Europe, and North America competing in the first season. Activision Blizzard and Amazon’s (AMZN) Twitch had already agreed to an exclusive streaming rights agreement for Overwatch League, a deal reportedly worth at least $90M over a two year period, according to Sports Business Daily. After the first night of competition between the Dallas Fuel and the Seoul Dynasty, Forbes reported that the Twitch broadcast drew somewhere between 270,000-300,000 viewers for most of the night. Twitch PR director Chase told Forbes that the first night of broadcasting was “most comparable” to the playoff rounds of more established esports games, including “League of Legends” or “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.”

COMPANY SPONSORS: Several of the 12 Overwatch League franchises have either corporate owners or sponsors. The Philadelphia Fusion is owned by Comcast Spectacor (CMCSA), the San Francisco Shock is owned by NRG esports, and the Shanghai Dragons are owned by NetEase (NTES). Additionally, Netgear (NTGR) said earlier this week that it is sponsoring the Seoul Dynasty.

STREET RESEARCH: Earlier this week, KeyBanc analyst Evan Wingren said he believes 2018 is a crucial year for esports, noting in particular that Activision Blizzard and rival Take-Two (TTWO) are best positioned to take share in the esports market as of now. Wingren said that the Overwatch League, as well as the League of Legends North American League Championship Series, will define the initial success or failure of esports despite the relatively young competitive environment within “Overwatch.” In addition, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter noted that he expects demand for “Overwatch,” which already had over 35M registered players as of November 2, to benefit from the Overwatch League.