OverActive Media, the Toronto-based ownership group that owns the Toronto Defiant of the Overwatch League, is expanding its global esports brand in a large way.
Announced Wednesday, OverActive Media has agreed in principle to acquire multi-esports organization Splyce, giving OverActive Media ownership of more than seven international esports teams, including the Defiant.
Among the clubs OverActive Media will oversee because of this acquisition will be Splyce’s League of Legends team, which on Tuesday was announced to be one of 10 teams to earn a franchise spot in the the newly announced League of Legends European Championship (LEC).
From 2016 to the newly formed #LEC — We’re All-In! @lolesports pic.twitter.com/wYWxDfR0J2
— Splyce (@Splyce) November 20, 2018
By being franchise owners of both an OWL and LEC team, OverActive Media joins fellow esports brands Cloud9, Optic Gaming and Misfits as the only esports outfits in the world with permanent slots in the OWL and one of the major League of Legends leagues.
OverActive Media had previously been partnered with Splyce to help get the Defiant off the ground and run team operations. Now Splyce will become a wholly owned subsidiary of OverActive Media with its primary mandate still being team operation, but for all of the various clubs now under OverActive Media’s umbrella.
“We said from the beginning that we were going to build a world-leading, professional esports company and we’ve always been committed to that,” Chris Overholt, president and CEO of OverActive Media, told Sportsnet over the phone. “We were already invested in Splyce as part of our initial strategy and space. So, were going to be relying on Marty and his team to help us execute our team operation for Defiant. But we just had such a great relationship with Marty from the beginning and we’ve come to understand the strength of that organization.
“So as we got into it and started to talk about the potential it just made sense to all of us that this is something that we could do and we think it’s something that could really change the conversation of OverActive Media. Team Liquid and Cloud9, these are organizations today that are seen as world leaders and their organizations don’t look a whole lot different than ours does today. So we really think this launches us into the upper-echelons of the industry and we intend to take full advantage of that.”
Other teams of which OverActive Media will now take ownership are top-tier teams in the Call of Duty and Halo franchises, squads in Rocket League, Smite and Paladins, and 2018 Starcraft II Global Finals runner-up Dae-yeob “Stats” Kim.
“Today is a game-changer for our two organizations, as together, we grow into one of the most dynamic and influential esports organizations in the world,” said Overholtin a statement. “We believe that this step gives our business scope and scale that allows us to grow our enterprise on a global level.”
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