With the global esports business pushing into the billions of revenue in the coming years, a fan base in the hundreds of millions and live events packing out global stadiums, the mammoth rise of the world’s fastest growing sport in competitive online gaming shows no sign of slowing down any time soon.
With more than 600 esports sponsorships secured since the start of 2016 combined with the investment that global sporting teams and leagues are pumping into this space by buying esports teams and leagues or setting up high performance esports training centers, there is no doubt that this is big business as both sponsors and sports stakeholders see the potential to reach new audiences and establish new revenue opportunities.
However, what if fans could also buy their stake in an esports team and be co-owners with other likeminded esports fans? Enter Melbourne-based esports club ORDER, which on Tuesday opened up expressions of interests for a crowdfunding equity campaign enabling fans the opportunity to buy a stake in the club and in the process making it the world’s first fan-owned esports club.
The business has highlighted that it is a club that exists first and foremost for the gaming community and for this reason it’s giving exclusive first access to gamers over the general public to purchase a stake in the club. A fan-first approach to ownership is key to this campaign.
“The community can now own a stake in one of the top performing brands in APAC and be involved in the fastest growing sport in the world,” ORDER owner Gerard Murphy said in a statement. “We established ORDER in 2017 and our teams have topped local and international ladders since.”
The contributions from fans will be used to build ORDER’s state of the art headquarters — House of ORDER — which will be the first of it’s kind seen in Australia. House of ORDER is set to be located in Melbourne’s CBD and will feature three levels that will include a world class space for tournaments and events, themed gaming lounges, a bar, merchandise and ORDER offices. It will aim to pioneer a new age of gaming venues by positioning gaming culture alongside music, art and fashion.
“House of ORDER will put Australia on the map for esports and bring us up to speed with the likes of the US and South Korea, who already have these types of facilities and therefore have some of the most competitive teams in the world,” Jake “Spawn” Tiberi, ORDER’s General Manager and League of Legends commentator, said in a statement.
For more about these development’s, Tiberi discussed the future of esports and what fans can expect to see in return for their investment.
How did Melbourne-based esports club ORDER come about? Can you go into a bit more detail about the origins here in Melbourne?
Gerard and I are both Melbourne boys and we love the competitive sporting culture that comes with being a Melbournian. When I left Riot Games I was introduced to Gerard, and his first question to me was ‘why isn’t there a Melbourne-based esports club?’ Last season 8/8 teams were based in Sydney for the OPL and no esport team really called Melbourne home. We realised we could tap into an engaged audience that didn’t have any local teams to follow.
Also, we’d identified Simon ‘Swiffer’ Papamarkos (ORDER’s League of Legends captain) as a great character. He’s from Melbourne and was excited about the possibility of having a Melbourne based team. Plus, we could be with our families as we worked on building the team, and got to keep living in an incredible city, what isn’t to love?
What are the fan engagement benefits to fans here?
For me, the fan engagement benefits are twofold. Firstly, fans get to be a part of a growing movement, they’re able to show their support for something they’re passionate about and be more involved than they could be previously. Secondly, being able to own part of an exciting brand in the world’s fastest growing sport is a huge benefit. Esports fans know the sport is absolutely booming and is only going to get bigger, and ORDER’S equity crowdfunding represents a chance to get a piece of the action by owning shares in an exciting new brand that represents professionalism and stability.
What did winning WESG 2017 APAC Finals mean for ORDER in terms of what it was able to set out to achieve in 2018?
Winning at WESG 2017 and then qualifying for IEM confirmed the fact that we’re ready to compete at the highest level, which a lot of people probably thought would take longer than it did. We knew the Counter-Strike team was going to be amazing and we were confident Alistair had a real shot at finishing first, but these two victories put us ahead of schedule and will hopefully cement our position on the global map.
How much say will fans have in running the club? What can prospective fan owners look forward to by investing?
At this stage, we’re just gauging expressions of interest. However when we present an offer, we will become a public unlisted company that fans own shares in. There will still be a board of directors steering the club, but fans will have an important role in providing us with feedback and ensuring we are on the right path.
After what was a ground-breaking year in 2017, what are your big and bold predictions for the esports industry in 2018?
I think the esports industry in Australia and Oceania is only just getting started and I can’t wait to see to see the continued growth in 2018. Tournament organisers like IEM, Gfinity and Riot continue to ensure the ecosystem is growing, and I think the size and sophistication of the esports industry at the end of 2018 will be unrecognisable compared to the end of 2017.