Wizards, Warriors, and Magic: A Strategic Partnership
September 27 2016
“Team Liquid, one of the most successful global esports team franchises has announced the sale of the controlling interest in their team to a diversified and accomplished ownership group led by two renowned professional sports team owners, media and technology entrepreneurs Peter Guber and Ted Leonsis. Steve Arhancet and Victor Goossens will continue in their respective roles as Co-CEOs of Team Liquid and will also serve as Directors for Team Liquid. Guber and Ted Leonsis will serve as Co-Executive Chairmen of their new esports ownership group aXiomatic and will be joined by a group of leading strategic partners in building their broad based esports enterprise. Bruce Stein, an accomplished executive from technology, content and consumer product companies will serve as CEO of aXiomatic.”
— aXiomatic eSports
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, we have announced a groundbreaking strategic partnership with an investment group led by Peter Guber and Ted Leonsis. For myself and Steve, this has been a really long time in the making and we are excited finally to be able to share it with you. When we started looking for investment early last year, we had many different options from multiple minority investments to a majority investment. Throughout this long process I have really gotten to know Bruce and Peter as intelligent and trusting partners and they have put together a phenomenal investment group to invest alongside them—including Ted Leonsis whose background is a perfect mix of sports, technology, and innovation.
I would like to take this opportunity to speak briefly about what this means for Liquid. An important message I wanted to communicate today is that Steve and I are both on long term agreements as Co-CEO’s of the company. In a way, our involvement in leading Liquid is even more assured now than when we were sole owners. There is no place I would rather be than working to bring Liquid to greater heights together with our amazing staff and players. I’ve now put almost half of my life into Team Liquid, and I’m ready to begin a new chapter in the ongoing story of our presence in esports. Today I want to leave you with a message of reassurance that everything will be the same but better. I intend to write a long-form blog post in the coming weeks that will provide more insight into our decision and newly formed partnership. It will describe my hopes and aspirations, but it will also touch upon worries and concerns that we have had to think deeply about.
I want to give a shout out to Bruce who has been spearheading many of the conversations this past year. He’s one of the smartest, most grounded, and ethical individuals I’ve ever met and I am proud that I will be able to have him as a mentor. Most importantly thank you so much to all the fans and staff that helped to make this happen. We could not have done it without you.
I would like to take this opportunity to speak briefly about what this means for Liquid. An important message I wanted to communicate today is that Steve and I are both on long term agreements as Co-CEO’s of the company. In a way, our involvement in leading Liquid is even more assured now than when we were sole owners. There is no place I would rather be than working to bring Liquid to greater heights together with our amazing staff and players. I’ve now put almost half of my life into Team Liquid, and I’m ready to begin a new chapter in the ongoing story of our presence in esports. Today I want to leave you with a message of reassurance that everything will be the same but better. I intend to write a long-form blog post in the coming weeks that will provide more insight into our decision and newly formed partnership. It will describe my hopes and aspirations, but it will also touch upon worries and concerns that we have had to think deeply about.
I want to give a shout out to Bruce who has been spearheading many of the conversations this past year. He’s one of the smartest, most grounded, and ethical individuals I’ve ever met and I am proud that I will be able to have him as a mentor. Most importantly thank you so much to all the fans and staff that helped to make this happen. We could not have done it without you.
- Victor "Nazgul" Goossens
I will always be a fan at heart—a gamer who fell in love with League of Legends. I decided to build a team because I've been passionate about gaming and competition since I first started playing WarCraft and StarCraft. It's the core inspiration for why I set out to build an esports team in the first place. I followed my heart and walked away from my career in Washington D.C. even though all I knew was that I loved gaming. It's been an unbelievable journey so far, and I am so proud to make a difference in this growing industry.
The recognition that esports has received over the past few years has been awe-inspiring, and the hobby that our fans and I share can now be counted among the biggest competitions in the world. This partnership will give our current and future players opportunities that I could only dream of when we started. Peter, Ted, and Bruce share the same ambitions that Victor and I have been working toward, and I am excited to learn as much as I can from them.
Team Liquid is already one of the organizations shaping the future of esports, but there are still so many opportunities that we want to explore. The goals I share with Victor have changed—they are now a lot bigger, and a lot bolder. There are very exciting times ahead, and we're all going to take this to the next level together.
The recognition that esports has received over the past few years has been awe-inspiring, and the hobby that our fans and I share can now be counted among the biggest competitions in the world. This partnership will give our current and future players opportunities that I could only dream of when we started. Peter, Ted, and Bruce share the same ambitions that Victor and I have been working toward, and I am excited to learn as much as I can from them.
Team Liquid is already one of the organizations shaping the future of esports, but there are still so many opportunities that we want to explore. The goals I share with Victor have changed—they are now a lot bigger, and a lot bolder. There are very exciting times ahead, and we're all going to take this to the next level together.
- Steve "LiQuiD112" Arhancet