A new London-based organisation, LDN UTD, has been formed with the aim to provide a path to professional gaming.
It plans to find gamers in London and offer them opportunities to compete under the LDN UTD brand, acting as a method of becoming a professional player in the future.
Starting with Fortnite, players are encouraged to upload clips of them gaming on LDN UTD’s website – from there, the community can vote for their favourite videos and decide who will represent the organisation at upcoming events.
LDN UTD will also host community events, the first of which taking place on January 4th at the Loading Bar: Server in London. Attendees will compete for four spots in the Estars presents Fortnite tournament over January 11-12th.
Oliver Weingarten, CEO of LDN UTD discussed the venture: “We are delighted to launch LDN UTD and give gamers the chance to go from their basement to the podium. There are more than 2 million gamers in London. We believe there is plenty of undiscovered talent. We want to give them an opportunity to realize their dream as professional gamers.
“Moreover LDN UTD is for the fans, and we want them to influence the team, the brand and the games we compete in. It is fantastic to hold our first “community event” at Loading Bar: Server and we look forward to live streaming so that those unable to attend, can get a feel for LDN UTD, and get involved in future.”
The organisation has forged a strategic partnership with motion graphic design agency Observatory to help with the visual aspects of LDN UTD’s branding and events efforts. This includes the production of a promotion launch video.
Adam Whyte, CGO of LDN UTD also commented: “I’ve been a gamer since the original FPS… Duck Hunt. Due to my age (and most likely lack of skill), I never had the chance to play professionally. It’s our dream to enable LDN’s young gamers and provide them with the tools to realise their ambitions to become professional gamers and represent their city on a world stage.”
Members of the public will also have the capability of investing in LDN UTD through Seedrs, a crowdfunding platform, starting later in January.
Esports Insider says: More grassroots initiatives such as this should be a positive thing for UK esports, and the industry as a whole. If gamers are able to identify a better-defined path to becoming a professional player, then there’s likely more chance for talent to climb through the ranks in the future.