2023-05-12 17:47:11
In e-sport, passing the milestone of the decade already makes you a veteran of the sector. Launched in 2013, Team Vitality is as much a pillar as a global headliner of French e-sport, being the only French club to have an international dimension. Team Vitality is thus the only blue-white-red representative to align itself with the Paris Major of “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” (“CS: GO”), the major competition of this shooting game being the main global e-sport franchise alongside the League of Legends license and “Dota 2” or “Valorant” games.
“It’s a great international competition that takes place at home. The goal is to win, “says Nicolas Maurer, co-founder and CEO of Team Vitality, aka the bees, who is still chasing a first Major title on “CS: GO” since the club launched a professional team on this game. in 2018.
The bees are part of the inner circle of favorites, a few months following their victory in season 16 of the ESL Pro League, another very competitive “CS: GO” tournament. In its starting five, the club will be able to rely on the French Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut (twice elected best world player of “CS: GO” in 2019 and 2020), one of the stars of the discipline.
Present on fewer games
Still, Team Vitality is not confined to this game alone. The French team is present in the European League of Legends Championship (LEC) – thanks to the purchase of a “slot” (guaranteed place) for 8 millions of dollars a few years ago, this championship operating on the closed league model in paid franchise like the NBA -, as well as on “Valorant”, the FIFA license, “Rocket League” and “Call of Duty : Mobile “.
In recent years, Team Vitality has chosen to reduce its presence on the number of games and notably withdrew its team from the Rainbow Six Siege e-sports competition from French Ubisoft in 2022. “We prefer to focus all our efforts on fewer games , notes Nicolas Maurer. But it is possible that we will eventually launch into new markets. Especially in the United States. »
“Costs have continued to rise in esports”
Employing 110 employees around the world, including 40 professional players, Team Vitality now generates nearly 20 million euros in revenue per year – the majority of which comes from sponsorship -, compared to 600,000 euros in 2015. A volume of business still insufficient to be financially balanced, since the operating expenses of the French club amount to more than 20 million per year.
“The costs have continued to rise in e-sport, in particular player salaries, and we are still in the investment phase, explains Nicolas Maurer. But we are aiming for profitability in 2025.” Since its creation, Team Vitality has raised three funds (50 million euros in all) led by the investment fund specializing in e-sports Rewired.GG, owned by to Indian billionaire Tej Kohli, who is the majority shareholder of the club.
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