Esports historian, talk-show host and established analyst Duncan “Thorin” Shields has been announced as an ambassador for esports fantasy and betting operator ESP. 
In their words ESP plans to use this partnership to ‘reinforce their presence in the esports industry as the go-to destination for esports fantasy and betting’. Thorin is of course a well known figure in esports, making this something of a coup for ESP.
Thorin said of this new partnership: “I am very excited to work with ESP moving forward. There are many shady betting sites trying to enter the esports space. However, ESP is nothing like that. They make sure everything is done by the book, ethically, and they care about the safety of the users. ESP’s product is very well cut, and I am looking forward to using it myself.”
ESP has established some significant partnerships prior to this arrangement. After the company’s launch in 2015, ESP partnered up with Na’Vi, Vexed Gaming, and StatsHelix. In 2016, ESP partnered with CS:GO team Flipsid3 Tactics. These partnerships saw numerous focused promotions aimed at fans of the organisations. To its credit, ESP has managed to survive where other fantasy esports operators have fallen; we’ve seen real money operators Vulcun and AlphaDraft shut down their real money options in the past eighteen months. DraftKings continue to offer fantasy esports but only in League of Legends option for now.
To accompany this partnership, ESP stated in its press release that it will be loading the site up with ‘more promotions than ever before’.
Scott Burton, the CEO of ESP, commented: “We have been talking to Thorin for a while now, and I am ecstatic to have him officially representing ESP. Not only do I find Thorin to be a great person to work with, but I am also a huge fan of his content. I can’t wait to see what Thorin and his influence in the esports scene can do for ESP.”
Carlo Scappaticci, Chief Marketing Officer at ESP added: “To celebrate our collaboration with Thorin, ESP are offering a huge number of giveaways and fantasy pools to all customers, new and old. Thorin will provide his trademark Thoughts and Reflections on Youtube for esports events that are happening around these epic promotions.”
Thorin will attend a wealth of events throughout the year under the ESP brand, the first of which will be the CS:GO PGL Minor during June 15 to 18.
You can catch ESP CEO Scott Burton speaking at the Betting on Esports Conference in London in September (13-15) on the potential for, and pitfalls in, DFS in esports.
Esports Insider says: The signing of Thorin as an ambassador should help give ESP a serious boost in terms of exposure. It should also help to legitimise regulated esports gambling, particularly amongst CS:GO and League fans. ESP reportedly has a number of plans to expand its offering in the near future too, so we’re excited to see what they announce.
Disclaimer: As a part of SBC we are helping to run the Betting on Esports Conference