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Two of gaming's biggest tournament organizers, ESL and FACEIT, are merging. This comes after the acquisition of the two by Savvy Gaming Group, which is backed by the Saudi Arabian government's Public Investment Fund. Collectively known as the ESL FACEIT Group, the deal came in a whopping $1.5 billion according to the Sports Business Journal.
ESL 🤝 FACEIT
Esports is about starting your own path, challenging your game, and becoming a world champion one day. This is at the core of what FACEIT and ESL have built independently; until now. We are teaming up.
Read about our shared vision here: https://t.co/ZAPdLr9AhZ pic.twitter.com/O9H34vh1fD
— ESL (@ESL) January 24, 2022
ESL is a prominent name in competitive esports. They are known for organizing large-scale torunaments for a plethora of games like Counter Strike: Global Offensive, DoTA 2, and StarCraft. These aside, events such as ESL One and the Intel Extreme Masters are also by ESL.
We are very excited to share with all of you that today we are merging with @ESL to form the ESL FACEIT Group. pic.twitter.com/BLck4WGfDA
— FACEIT (@FACEIT) January 24, 2022
FACEIT, on the other hand, is a privately owned competitive gaming platform. FACEIT made its mark on the esports community for its CS:GO and Rainbow Six: Siege tournaments.
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According to the official blog post, both ESL and FACEIT's brands will be unaffected. “Each in its own style. You can still grind on FACEIT and FPL, rank up on ESEA Leagues, watch great matches play out at IEM Katowice, and be part of the gaming community at DreamHack festivals.”
The CEOs of both ESL and FACEIT also shared their thoughts.
ESL CEO Craig Levine said: “Our mission remains unchanged: to create a world where everybody can be somebody. Our merger with FACEIT, along with the backing of SGG, will give us more know-how, capabilities, and resources than ever before to deliver on this vision. Whether you are competing or watching, doing so socially or at a professional level, every stage of the pathway will be improved through this merger. For gamers, publishers, and partners, this is a hugely exciting proposition, to be able to take everyone on the journey from your first step into competition to playing on the biggest esports stages globally.”
FACEIT CEO Niccolo Maisto said: “In the past years, ESL and FACEIT had a significant positive impact for the growth of the esports industry, bringing a variety of propositions for players, teams, publishers, and developers. By uniting these complementary capabilities, and with the backing of SGG, we are taking a long-term approach to develop a more robust platform to better support the future of the whole competitive gaming ecosystem and generate more value for all its stakeholders in a sustainable way.”
