Envy Gaming raises $40m, Team Vitality appoints Co-CEO | ESI Digest #33

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 we cover, Envy Gaming’s $40m investment round, Team Vitality appointing Guillaume de Monplanet as CO-CEO, Washington Justice’s new training facility, NODWIN Gaming’s £16m KRAFTON investment, and Nerd Street Gamers expanding its Riot Games partnership.

This edition of the ESI Digest is in partnership with payments solution firm AstroPay.

Gray Television leads $40m funding round for Envy Gaming

Dallas-based esports organisation Envy Gaming has announced a $40m (~£28.7m) investment round, with American media company Gray Television leading the funding. 

As the lead investor in Envy’s Series C round, Gray Television will invest $28.5m (~£20.5m) and name two directors to the organisation’s board of directors.

Team Vitality appoints Guillaume de Monplanet as Co-CEO

Image credit: Team Vitality

French esports organisation Team Vitality has appointed Guillaume de Monplanet, formerly of adidas, as its Managing Director and Co-CEO.

Monplanet joins the organisation after more than 20 years of experience in the sports and lifestyle sector. This includes tenures at Reebok as its Country Brand Director, France and an eight-year stint at adidas as the firm’s Managing Director for France.

Washington Justice unveils 4,200 square-foot team facility

Image credit: Washington Justice

Overwatch League franchise Washington Justice has unveiled its new 4,200 square-foot team facility.

The facility will be used by Justice’s players for training and official competitions during the 2021 OWL campaign. Moreover, the area will also be utilised to host fan events and includes a ‘full retail shop experience’.

NODWIN Gaming receives £16m KRAFTON investment

South Korean video game holding company KRAFTON has invested 164 Cr (~£16.18m) into Indian esports solutions company NODWIN Gaming.

According to the press release, the minority investment by KRAFTON is expected to help accelerate NODWIN’s development in South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Nerd Street Gamers expands Riot Games partnership

Nerd Street Gamers x Riot Games Expansion
Image credit: Nerd Street Gamers

Esports infrastructure company Nerd Street Gamers (NSG) has expanded its partnership with video game publisher Riot Games.

The new agreement will see NSG operate and produce all three stages of the North American VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT). The previous deal between both entities, which was stuck in January 2021, only included the first stage.

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ESI Digest, in partnership with AstroPay, is part of the ESI 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.