If you’re a fan of esports, then you’ll definitely be familiar with the name ESL One. The German esports organisation behind the tourney, ESL Gaming, has had a change of owner recently. Formerly being owned by Modern Times Group, it is now owned by Savvy Gaming Group instead.
German news site Handelsblatt reports that the deal sees the German esports organiser changing hands to the tune of US$1 billion (~RM4.2 billion). It’s worth noting that Savvy Gaming Group is backed by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund. If you’re also into football, you’ll recognise the name from the Newcastle United FC back in October last year.
As GamesBeat notes, ESL Gaming is itself the result of a merger between ESL and Dreamhack back in 2020. Both are massive names in the esports community, but both were owned by Modern Times Group. The merger made ESL Gaming basically the largest single tourney organiser, and now it has a new owner.
Things will probably get shaken up at least a little bit on the business end of things. That being said, it remains to be seen what this will mean for the esports athletes and spectator side of the equation.
(Source: Handelsblatt via GamesBeat)
