The NA LCS — the Los Angeles-based professional league for League of Legends esports in North America — is moving to a permanent partnership structure and has unveiled the participating teams, including newcomers that are backed by the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
As a league that’s becoming modeled after professional sports leagues, it’s no surprise that the teams themselves, while competing in the multiplayer online battle arena game, also have strong ties to traditional sports.
Riot Games over the last few months met with applicants who outlined team strategy and business plans that would be put in place to gain acceptance as one of the 10 charter franchises. Here they are:
100 Thieves
This team makes its debut into League of Legends by combining the esports experience and fan base of Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag with the sports expertise of the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, who has been interested in esports and had his VC fund Courtside Ventures make investments in the space, gains entry to esports by investing in this team.
Cloud9
The team entered the NA LCS in 2013 and has investments from a number of sports figures including San Francisco Giants outfielder Hunter Pence, NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Montana, Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bogut, Golden State Warriors co-owner Chamath Palihapitiya and Los Angeles Dodgers co-owner Todd Boehl.
Clutch Gaming
Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is a spokesman for this esports venture of the NBA franchise that has been building a League of Legends presence for a year. The team name evokes the Rockets’ “Clutch City” run to the 1994 NBA championship. With Morey involved, analytics come into play, as the team will use data tracking in order to find top players and scout as they do in the NBA. “We plan to bring same winning approach as @HoustonRockets,” Morey tweeted.
Counter Logic Gaming
CLG is one of the longest running teams in North America, and recently has gone through some changes after having a controlling stake acquired by the Madison Square Garden Company. MSG has plans on monetization in esports and showed how serious it was in the esports space by naming former VP of Esports for Twitch, Nick Allen, as VP of MSG Esports. “And with our expertise in media rights, particularly in the sports space that we’ve had over decades at this company, we plan to aggressively pursue those opportunities with CLG and the esports category,” MSG CEO David O’Connor said on an earnings call earlier this month before his resignation.
Echo Fox
Led by former NBA player Rick Fox, the team joined the NA LCS in 2016 with a mentality that pro gamers would compete like professional athletes while focusing on the fitness, training and wellbeing of players. And as if Fox’s leadership along with former San Jose Sharks co-owner Stratton Sclavos weren’t enough, now the New York Yankees have an investment partnership in place to help manage the organization especially on the business side.
FlyQuest
The team is led by Milwaukee Bucks owner Wesley Edens and his son, Ryan, who serves as the general manager in esports. “Our main focus this year will be to truly give back to our fans and push fan engagement to the next level,” Ryan Edens said in a statement.
Golden Guardians
This team from GSW esports LLC is backed by the Golden State Warriors’ investment arm where Warriors co-owner Joe Lacob serves as CEO on the executive board and his son, Warriors assistant general manager Kirk Lacob, is vice president. Will two NBA championships in the past three seasons translate to the esports arena? “We are approaching our membership in this elite esports community with respect and admiration — it’s our hope to bring our championship sports roots to our new playing field and contribute to growing the league on a global level,” Kirk Lacob said in a statement. On the business side, the Warriors’ team store is already offering Golden Guardians gear.
OpTic Gaming
Texas Rangers co-owner Neil Leibman has created holding company Infinite Esports & Entertainment to include OpTic Gaming, which is co-owned by Hector Rodriguez.
Team Liquid – TL
One of the original brands in esports has plenty of ties to traditional sports. Esports and gaming company aXiomatic holds majority ownership of Team Liquid, with the co-chairmen being Warriors and Dodgers co-owner Peter Guber, Washington Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis and Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinik. Kirk Lacob was a part of aXiomatic’s original investing co-ownership group as well, making the competition among those in the Warriors organization something to watch.
TSM
The six-time North American Champions are to defend their back-to-back-to-back titles. “Our current place and success would never have been possible without the continued support of all our fans – support that came regardless of whether we were in our biggest slump or dominating the entire League,” read the Team SoloMid NA LCS announcement. “We also cannot ignore the efforts of all the players and organizations in the ecosystem, all of whom have dedicated their lives, sweat, and tears into making League of Legends eSports into what it is today.”