TSM, C9, five other NA organizations form owner-operated league
Posted by esogoldforsale on September 9th, 2016
Seven North American cs go new case teams have banded together to form the Professional eSports Association, a 10-week CS:GO league that has a stated goal of becoming the "NBA of eSports."
Team Liquid, Cloud9, Counter Logic Gaming, Immortals, NRG eSports, Team SoloMid and compLexity Gaming will make up the league, which will have a 0,000 prize pool for its first season, and a total million prize pool across its first year. A spokesperson for the league told theScore esports that the prize money will come from sponsors and broadcast partners, though no specifics were disclosed.
"Publisher leagues and third-party tournament organizers aren't sharing profits with the players and teams," Liquid co-CEO Steve Arhancet stated in the press release. "This is hindering the potential for eSports to rival other professional sports leagues, where players and teams are all aligned to put o n the best show year after year."
According to the press release, players, owners and casters will receive 50 percent of profits, as well as a "suite of financial benefits." This is said to include retirement and investment planning as well as health insurance, though little details are given in the press release.
"This marks the end of the 'Wild West' days of eSports," C9 CEO Jack Etienne stated in the press release. "The community and players want stability and dependability. Leagues come and go, teams join them and depart, but with the PEA, the teams are making a long-term commitment to be here, playing for the fans, for the indefinite future."
Teams will also be given an "authoritative voice" in the way the league is run, with representatives participating in a rules committee and a grievance committee.
"Teams and players need to control their own destiny, need to evolve to the structure which has been successful for all major traditional sports leagues," NRG chairman Andy Miller told theScore esports in an emailed statement. "The level of ownership, professionalism and financial backing of the PEA orgs is strong and has matured to the point that we all felt comfortable that we could accomplish something significant and long-lasting."
In addition to co-owning NRG, Miller is also a co-owner of the Scaramento Kings, an NBA franchise, and says that his experience in that context has helped give perspective to the organization as well as keeps the PEA "focused on big picture objectives."
"PEA is the first owner-operated league in the history of eSports," Miller said. "It's the first time players will share in profits and have a meaningful role in helping to shape operational decisions of a league. The bigger picture is that this is an inflection point in the history of eSports which represents a higher level of professionalization."
According to TSM owner Andy "Reginald" Dinh, the teams will not exclusively play in the PEA, and that they are working on a multi-year agreement with the Esports Championship Series. Additionally, Miller told theScore esports that the PEA has been in the works for about six months.
The formation of the PEA is similar to the formation of the World Esports Association earlier this year. WESA is a partnership between ESL and eight European CS:GO Skins teams, though unlike the PEA, WESA does not run any leagues itself.
The first season of the PEA will kick off in January 2017.
