Pokimane co-founds RTS, ESL launches NFT platform | ESI Digest #66

Each week, ESI Digest breaks down the weekly happenings in the esports industry, making sense of things so you don’t have to. As well as being housed on YouTube, ESI Digest is available on all major podcast platforms and is also available in written form below.

On this week’s ESI Digest, in partnership with Mbuzz Esports and BK ROG, we cover; Pokimane co-founding RTS, ESL’s partnership with Immutable X, Team Vitality’s Duy Nguyen appointment, BLAST Premier’s latest partners, plus FaZe Clan entering NASDAQ.

Pokimane announced as RTS Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer

Talent management and brand consulting company RTS has officially launched with one of its co-founders being revealed as streamer Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys.

As well as being the consultancy’s co-founder, Anys will serve as the RTS’s Chief Creative Officer. According to the release, RTS’s goal is to ‘fix what is broken’ when it comes to talent management and brand partnerships in the gaming and esports industry. 

ESL Gaming and Immutable X announce NFT partnership

Image credit: ESL, Immutable X

Esports tournament organiser ESL Gaming has secured a partnership with Australian NFT business platform Immutable X.

As a result of the deal, the tournament organiser will introduce an NFT platform that enables fans and supporters to buy, sell and exchange ESL Pro Tour NFT assets.

Duy Nguyen appointed Head of Business Development for Team Vitality

Image credit: Team Vitality

French esports organisation Team Vitality has appointed Duy Nguyen, formerly of AS Monaco, as its new Head of Business Development.

Nguyen will be tasked with building relationships with the organisation’s partners, alongside growing Team Vitality’s revenue.

BLAST Premier announces eight partners for Fall Final Copenhagen

Image credit: BLAST Premier

Esports tournament organiser BLAST has announced eight new partnerships for its upcoming BLAST Premier Fall Final Copenhagen CS:GO tournament. 

The announced partnerships include deals with electronics retail company Elgiganten, Danish division of South Korean car brand Kia, Danish logistics company A.P. Moller – Maersk, Danish growth-promoting organisation Greater Copenhagen, global accounting network firm KPMG, chewing gum brand Stimorol, as well as OMEN and Xbox.

FaZe Clan goes public, to be listed on NASDAQ

Image credit: FaZe Clan

North American esports organisation FaZe Clan has announced details of a merger with B.Riley Principal 150 Merger Corp (BRPM). 

If the merger is successful, the company will become a publicly listed company on NASDAQ in the following months. The transaction implies the valuation of the company is in excess of $1B (~£726.2m), thus making FaZe the first ‘esports unicorn’ — or a company worth more than a billion dollars.

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ESI Digest, in partnership with Mbuzz Esports and BK ROG, is part of the ESI Podcast Network, a collection of podcasts encompassing the esports industry. For deep dives into the major areas of esports with subject matter experts, check out ESI Focus. For conversations with key personnel and major stakeholders in esports, ESI Insight is the series for you.