Marco Mereu, the Co-founder of gaming and lifestyle brand XSET, has launched his own esports organisation called M80.
As of right now, M80 has assembled a VALORANT roster, dubbed the Bomb Squad, signing several professional players with plans to enter the Challengers league next year.
Mereu departed XSET in August 2022, though he officially confirmed the news two months later in November. Even though he didn’t reveal the exact reasons that led to his departure, Mereu reflected positively on his time at the organisation in a later statement.
The players that M80 has brought on so far include former NRG player Daniel ‘eeiu’ Vucenovic, ec Version1 player Alexander ‘Zander’ Dituri, and former Ghost Gaming players Mohamed ‘johnqt’ Amine Ouarid, Gianfranco ‘koalanoob’ Potestio, and Marc-Andre ‘NiSMO’ Tayar. The team will be coached by Ghost Gaming’s previous Analyst Gunter.
Moreover, the organisation’s slogan ‘All roads lead to ascension’ is a reference to the new tournament organised by Riot Games. The Challengers Ascension circuit will act as a regional qualifier for each of the three international leagues: EMEA, Americas and Pacific. The teams who progress through the Ascension qualifiers will then battle it out at in International League by way of a two-year promotion.
The entrepreneur has years of experience in the gaming and esports industry. For example, starting in 2019, Mereu served as SVP of Content Distribution for Super League Gaming, an esports community and content platform. He was also the Founder and CEO of Framerate, a cross-platform esports network, before it was acquired by Super League Gaming.
