London [UK], Nov 15 : Rewired.GG, the 50 million euros esports venture fund, has invested 14 million euros more into Team Vitality, taking its total investment so far to 34 million euros.
The funds will be used to support the continued growth of Team Vitality as the team pursues expansion across India, where it will be acquiring new players and launching a network of esports academies.
The team founded in 2013 with 10,000 euros aims to be one of the world’s first billion-dollar esports team. The investment is reported to be the largest investment into a European esports team to date.
“Team Vitality has built amazing teams that regularly win tournaments all over the world, and a strong brand that is backed by our amazing and dedicated fans and our premium sponsors,” said Team Vitality CEO Nicolas Maurer.
“Receiving further backing by Rewired.GG after the initial investment of 20 million euros in November 2018 is a testament to the strength not only of the team but also a comment on the growth of the sector as a whole,” he said.
There are 400 million smartphone users and Indian online gaming industry is expected to add 190 million new gamers by 2021.
A new multi-million euro Team Vitality headquarters in Paris called V.Hive also became open to the public on Thursday. It will offer engaging esports discoveries and experiences to anyone who walks in.
Team Vitality is one of the only ten European esports teams in the League of Legends European Championship franchise, and has recently won the 2019 World Championship for Rocket League, won the seventh season of the prestigious ECS tournament for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and took third place in the 2019 FIFA World Championship.
Rewired.GG forecasts that esports will rival traditional sports such as soccer and basketball and will be a major investment category for institutional investors, funds and investment managers. By 2020 it is estimated that the monthly global esports audience size will be nearly 600 million, equivalent to the current global audience of the English Premier League.
“We believe that esports is one of the world’s fastest-growing industries today, especially in India, and the success of teams like Team Vitality shows that there is a real opportunity for growth in this market. We are well on the way to building one of the world’s first billion-dollar esports teams,” said Principal at Rewired.GG Amit Jain.
In 2017 it was estimated that esports generated 655 million dollars in annual revenue including 38 per cent from sponsorships and 14 per cent from media rights. By 2022, media rights are forecast to reach 40 per cent of total esports revenue and total global esports monetisation estimated to reach 3 billion dollars.
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