Game Legal advises Guinevere Capital on strategic partnership with Cloud9's London Spitfire
MEDIA RELEASE
Friday 5 June 2020
Game Legal advises Guinevere Capital on strategic partnership with Cloud9's London Spitfire Overwatch League team
Australian-based sports, entertainment, and esports law firm, Game Legal, has advised long-standing client, Guinevere Capital, on its recently announced strategic partnership with leading US-based esports organisation, Cloud9.
Guinevere Capital will assist Cloud9 with the operations of their Overwatch League team, London Spitfire. Cloud9 will maintain ownership of the franchise, via their fully owned subsidiary, Kings Row LLC, an entity registered in Delaware, USA.
Guinevere Capital is a leading sports and esports investment and advisory firm based in Australia, but with growing interests in the UK and European esports market with Excel Esports. Guinevere Capital brings together the traditional sports and esports worlds both from a performance and commercialisation standpoint and aims to develop local esports ecosystems. This focus and expansion is now further cemented through the strategic partnership.
The London Spitfire made history in 2018 by becoming the inaugural winners of the first Overwatch League Grand Finals, held in Brooklyn, New York's, Barclays Centre in front of a two-day attendance of 22,434 spectators. Game publisher, Blizzard, estimated that over a million people were watching the Grand Finals at any time, between broadcast and streaming formats, with a total viewership of over 10.8 million.
The Overwatch League is an international esports league comprising 20 city-based teams, featuring the best Overwatch players on the planet fighting for USD $5 million in prizes. Players are full-time professional gamers on guaranteed player salaries. The 280-match regular season begins in February and concludes with postseason playoffs in the US fall.
Dan Fiden, President of Cloud9, spoke on the decision to partner with Guinevere Capital in a release: “When we connected with the team at Guinevere, their backgrounds in traditional sports, media, and esports in Europe, this convinced us that they’d be the right partner to build the business with. Local support will ensure the team grows from a commercial and community standpoint."
David Harris, Managing Director of Guinevere Capital, added: “For Guinevere, the opportunity to work with London Spitfire will allow us to work across two major British brands, cementing ourselves within the region. My ambition is to help develop the UK and European esports ecosystem and to help organisations such as London Spitfire and British Hurricane, two immensely talented teams, stand out from the crowd, have their voice heard amongst the community and to gain the attention of brand partners.
"Working again with Mat Jessep at Game Legal as our legal adviser and counsel on this deal not only helped us navigate the unique aspects of this transaction as he applied his skills and expertise in the esports space, but working with Mat also allowed us to easily and effectively manage the timezone differences and cross-border aspects of a deal in the USA and the UK. Having Mat available after hours and on weekends, and while he was travelling, also helped ensure we had the best support available when we needed it."
Mat Jessep, Principal, Game Legal, said: "It's been a pleasure to assist and advise Guinevere Capital on its international expansion into the UK and Europe over the past several years. This new deal and the strategic partnership with Cloud9, one of the biggest and most professionally run esports organisations in the world of competitive gaming, sets Guinevere Capital and London Spitfire up for continued success. I'm very happy that Game Legal helped with this unique transaction, assisting over many months and various time zones to get the partnership structured appropriately and assist with publisher approvals. I look forward to continuing to assist my client as they keep growing in the world of esports."
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For further information or interviews please contact:
Mat Jessep
Game Legal | Game Consulting
Phone: +61 409 766 155
Email: mat@wegotgame.com.au
About Game Legal | Game Consulting:
Game Legal offers comprehensive legal advice and counsel to organisations and investors in Sports, Esports and Pop Culture - Gaming, Media, Tech, Internet, Brands & IP, Entertainment, TV, Music, Film, Art, & Fashion - as well as to Businesses and for new Start-Ups.
Beyond the legal advice, and no matter what field you play in, Game Consulting helps clients to get into and stay in the game with research, insights, strategy, planning, as well as development and execution of governance programs.
About Mat Jessep:
Mat Jessep is a commercial and corporate lawyer and business consultant with specialist skills and experience in Sports, Esports, Media, and Entertainment, acting for clients in Australia, North America, the UK, and Europe.
As a dedicated Sports lawyer, Mat has acted for National Sporting Organisations, State Sporting Organisations, sponsors, broadcasters, and leagues and event operators. Mat is a pioneer and leading lawyer and consultant in the fast-growing esports sector, acting for clients with interests in leagues and teams in Europe, North America, Australia, and Asia. In the media and entertainment industries, Mat has advised film producers, artists, authors, creatives, podcasters, streamers, and tech start-ups.
Mat is admitted in the Supreme Court of NSW and is on the roll of the High Court of Australia. He is also an active member of the US-based Sports Lawyers Association (SLA) and teaches as a Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne Law School, a Lecturer at Victoria University’s College of Sport & Exercise Science, and as a casual academic at the University of Technology Sydney.
To find out more, go to www.wegotgame.com.au