Ares Esport on first glance is what looks like a new launch in which gamers will be encouraged to sign-up and compete in CS:GO, League of Legends, Dota 2 and Hearthstone to be chosen as a professional gamer.
Now, that sounds all fine and dandy – but what does it mean? Who’s behind this venture and will players that compete and win really become professional gamers?
The list of sponsors and ambassadors is amongst the most illustrious in esports. It includes a huge array of professional footballers as well as other celebrities. It’s safe to say that between them, there’s likely to be no issues with funding.
https://twitter.com/TeamAresEsport/status/867035787627548672
The above tweet teases but a few, with Demba Ba, N’Golo Kanté, Moussa Sissoko and Yannick Ferreira Carrasco, all notable names included. The website reveals all of the names:
- Florentin Pogba, Saint Etienne;
- Sofiane Feghouli, West Ham United;
- Moussa Sissoko, Tottenham Hotspur;
- Mathias Pogba, Sparta Rotterdam;
- Yannick Ferreira Carrasco, Athletico Madrid;
- Wendie Renard, Lyon;
- N’Golo Kanté, Chelsea;
- Riyad Mahrez, Leicester City;
- Mario Lemina, Juventus.
It also lists Larry and Laurent Bourgeois who are both actor, models, dancers and singers. It leaves a gap, as does the tweet, suggesting a “boss” is coming. No further details have been revealed. Whilst there was a press conference a couple of days ago, intricate details remain scarce.
https://twitter.com/TeamAresEsport/status/867033350548197376
Working from the above tweet, it seems as if Ares is looking for a team in each of the big three titles plus a Hearthstone player. It suggests that each team will be supported by two of the sponsors. The maths doesn’t quite add up as there’s way more than eight sponsors listed and they’re supposedly only putting forward four teams.
Registration is set to get underway on June 1st and one would assume further details will be released thereafter. It seems as if it’s being done in collaboration with the “World Gaming Federation”, a social platform for gamers. The WGF has been promoting it through social media and they hosted the press conference.
There’s a video of the press conference in which ARES is described as esports activists, although the translation is fairly bad. It’s the pinned post on the Facebook page here. It does reveal that it will be hosted and registration will be required through the WGF website.
The press conference goes on to reveal there will be regional qualification before a “big final league” which will take place in Paris. The Grand Final is set to be at the end of November. It also says “more information will be available on the website” – but there’s not much there.
Esports Insider says: Interesting. Make of it what you will. It seems a little odd, and one can rest assured that most of these sponsors probably have no idea about the very essence of esports. The World Gaming Federation is quite the name for a social platform as well.