Esports Players League (ESPL), an esports tournament startup based in Singapore, announced recently that it has landed an undisclosed amount of investment from 500 Startups, the renowned early stage venture fund and seed accelerator founded by entrepreneur Dave McClure, as part of its fundraising efforts for its seed funding round. The fresh injection of capital is meant to provide crucial support and aid to ESPL in carrying out its goal of launching its brand of platforms and tournaments during its first year of running in ten countries across the regions of Southeast Asia and Latin America. Currently, ESPL’s inaugural season is scheduled to commence in April 2020 and run until November 2020. News and details about the locations and tournaments will be announced at a later date.
The Singapore-based esports tournament startup provides a global platform that enables amateur esports leagues from around the world to participate in a world-class mobile ecosystem. The company empowers young and rising esports talents in developing countries to engage in international competitions at the highest level through its national franchise model. ESPL’s focus on nurturing the growth of grassroots talent in fast developing markets has enabled the esports startup to establish a strong foothold and gain publicity in a largely underserved and neglected, but no less important, space of the esports industry.
ESPL’s first phase of its global launch has produced significant partnership agreements in the large markets of Latin America and Southeast Asia. Of particular note is its newly forged partnership with esports television network eGG Network, which represents the startup’s first media partnership of its kind. The media partnership is expected to yield fruitful results as eGG Network is the foremost esports television network in the regions of Australia and Southeast Asia with a viewership number of around 100 million. The esports startup is also considering partnership deals with other entities and will announce other important international partnerships at a later date.
500 Startups, on the other hand, is a globally renowned venture capital firm and seed accelerator that has invested in well over 1,200 startups and companies to date, including online learning platform Udemy, book review aggregator website iDreamBooks, data visualization platform Visual.ly and Middle East online restaurant reservation service Eat App.
Micheal Broda, chief executive officer of ESPL, said that the esports company is extremely pleased to have the backing and support of 500 Startups as it prepares to roll out its branded platforms and tournaments in the Latin American and Southeast Asian markets. What’s more, they view the venture capital firm’s support as a resounding endorsement of their recent accomplishments and grand vision for the esports ecosystem’s future. In order to successfully fulfill their vision of delivering quality esports content to a global gaming audience, ESPL will need the backing of resilient global partners. Hence, the startup looks forward to collaborating with 500 Startups and future partners whose core values and mission resonate with their own.
According to Khailee Ng, managing partner of 500 Startups, the venture fund has thoroughly scrutinized numerous esports business models and have concluded that the Singapore-based startup ESPL is the most convincing. Seeing as ESPL’s core team of founders has years of experience in the esports industry, 500 Startups is delighted to work together with the startup in evolving the global esports landscape.
