Fnatic and GamingZone have entered a strategic partnership that will see a new Fnatic CS:GO Academy team born. GamingZone are the producers behind GAMERZ, the esports reality show in which two sets of players compete against each other, with the winners earning professional, salaried Counter-Strike contracts.
The first iteration of the reality show was based purely around Nordic talent, with the scouting and trials taking place at DreamHack before an initial set of twelve players joined the show. Each week from then on, the blue team would face the red team and the losing team would potentially have a player leave the show. They would then be replaced with a new player, until the show ultimately culminated in a final week best of three showdown in which the blue team emerged victorious.
This time, however, the show is “Europe” focused, thus targeting a broader range of players and Fnatic will be fairly confident of finding a solid academy team as a result. The show is set to air in 2018.
Interestingly, Fnatic’s key players and coaches will be part of the show, sharing their know-how and experiences with the teams and fans.
“Fnatic has a rich history in finding, educating and growing esports talents and we’re proud to have some of the biggest esports Pros competing under the Fnatic banner. Partnering with GAMERZ gives us again an opportunity to share our knowledge and experience with the newer generations. And of course the opportunity to welcome new talent into our CS:GO Academy team.” says Patrik Sattermon, Chief Gaming Officer at Fnatic. “Through GAMERZ we will get a cool scanning of all the talented players out there. We really look forward to this.”
“This co-op is a classic win-win where Fnatic will bring their expertise and awareness to GAMERZ and GAMERZ can help Fnatic find future esport stars. And in the process give the fans some cool entertaining programming” commented Karl Mikael Cakste, CEO of Gamingzone Entertainment.
Esports Insider says: Cool initiative, this one. We haven’t seen or heard too much of the players that won the previous series but the opportunity to be signed to Fnatic is huge. We look forward to seeing the next series air.