OPL to build digital ecosystem leveraging sports business expertise
Sean Callanan, founder and CEO of Sports Geek, is pleased to announce success in securing a position in the Oceanic Pro League (OPL) that includes eight top-tier League of Legends professional esports teams. League of Legends is developed by Riot Games with millions of players around the globe.
The OPL provides a direct path to the global contest, the League of Legends World Championship, which was recently hosted in Korea with a global audience of over 200 million.
AFL has declared strong interest in esports and will be partnering with Riot Games to run the League of Origin event on November 17 at Margaret Court Arena with the OPL’s best players facing off.
Esports has attracted investment across the sports entertainment world including Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Texas Rangers, Adelaide Crows, Essendon Bombers, Drake, Andrew Bogut, and Michael Jordan amongst those who have invested in League of Legends teams.
Sports Geek CEO Sean Callanan said the growth in participation and fan consumption made the OPL an attractive prospect. “I’ve been following the OPL and esports scene with interest for several years. With clients Adelaide Crows investing in Legacy and from interviewing key players in the esports scene on Sports Geek podcast, my knowledge in the space has grown exponentially. Esports fans are just as engaged and fanatical as sports fans and I look forward to helping them connect with the OPL through our team.”
“Our pitch closed with our goal to help Riot grow the next generation of League of Legends players and fans. We will be appointing a GM and coach soon and I look forward to working with our team and OPL fans to develop our team name and branding.”
“I’m excited with the team and partners I have assembled to offer our players and coaches access to high performance coaches. As a team we’ll be focussed on driving success via digital as we have done at Sports Geek in leagues like AFL, NRL, NFL & NBA.”
From Chris Schubert, Head of Esports at Riot Games Oceania “We are extremely excited to see Sean and his team get involved in the growth and development of League of Legends Esports in Oceania through the OPL. The wealth of knowledge Sean brings from working with such a variety of strong sporting organisations combined with his experience in the digital space is something that we see as hugely valuable to the development of the OPL and Esports in the region!”
Callanan said “It’s great to have a strategic sports technology partner like MPower MSL (MSL) on board.”
Founded in 2007, MSL provides software solutions to the sports industry which allows their customers to develop loyal fan communities. They know that sports fan demand a premium, personalised experience when engaging with their teams and their industry first collaboration technology platform increases customers engagement which drives fan loyalty.
Craig Kinross, Managing Director and CEO of MSL, said “Esports is an exciting space. It is not too dissimilar to our existing customers in the sports industry. Core to any sporting teams success is the Fan. Our expertise and experience with using technology to develop a loyal fan community and deliver a personalised experience is something that will differentiate this new team.”
Got a question? @seancallanan is ready and waiting on Twitter.
