Chief Commercial Officer Neil Duffy has announced that he is leaving collegiate esports firm CSL Esports (formally known as the Collegiate StarLeague) and WorldGaming.
According to Duffy, the reasoning for his departure is to “pursue some other opportunities in esports”. The news follows on Wim Stocks, CSL Esports’ former CEO, joining gaming-arena developer Belong as its Senior Vice President of Partnerships & Commercial in December last year.
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Speaking to Esports Insider, Duffy highlighted the company’s growth since joining WorldGaming in 2014 as its VP of Business Development and leading the acquisition of the Collegiate StarLeague (CSL) a year later.
He commented: “When I joined, scholastic esports was nascent and I had the privilege of acquiring CSL in 2015 and growing it over the past five years. To see the amount of opportunities we helped create for students, teams and schools is pretty incredible! We’ve awarded over $1m (~£735,005) in scholarships and hosted over 100 events across North America.”
During Duffy’s tenure with CSL Esports and WorldGaming, he has witnessed two acquisitions, with the first being from Cineplex Entertainment in 2015. The second acquisition was by Playfly Sports in 2020, a newly formed collegiate sports and esports multimedia rights company.
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When asked about his decision to leave CSL Esports, Duffy explained that “between our former CEO, Wim Stocks (who left in December) and I, we knew it was time to close the chapter and move on to new experiences.”
He also added: “The team that new CEO Rob Johnson is assembling will be strong and they will continue to help CSL Esports cement itself as the best place for esports on college or high school campuses.”
As CCO, Duffy was pivotal in securing partnership deals with Riot Games, EA Sports, TikTok, 2K Sports, NBA, NFL, Bud Light, Dreamhack and General Mills, among others.
Duffy has yet to announce where his next venture will be.
Esports Insider says: Things are certainly changing over at CSL Esports given Wim Stocks and now Neil Duffy’s departure from the company. However, these departures also provide new opportunities for CSL Esports and Duffy. We already know where Stocks has gone and so it’ll be interesting to see where Duffy lands in the near future.