ESL commits to Asia-Pacific Japan expansion

Singapore -- August 1, 2018 -- ESL, the world’s largest independent esports company, today announced the restructuring of their operations in the Asia-Pacific Japan (APJ) region. As part of the process, ESL is appointing Nick Vanzetti and JB Hewitt, current Managing Directors of ESL Australia, as Managing Directors for the region. Sebastian Radu, current Interim Chief Executive Officer, will be stepping down from this role.

“Esports in the APJ region is seeing enormous growth, and by aligning our regional offices under this new structure we are positioning ESL to take full advantage of the opportunities that the market offers” said Nick Vanzetti, Senior Vice President of Asia-Pacific Japan at ESL. “I’ll be looking to maintain the momentum that Sebastian Radu has created during his appointment, and I´m looking forward to continuing to develop ESL’s capabilities within APJ.”

Additionally, Nick Vanzetti will also take on the role of a Senior Vice President for the region, overseeing ESL’s brand operations in Asia and relocating to the Singapore office in January 2019. Vanzetti and Hewitt have committed the last nine years to building Australia’s leading esports company VIM Media & Events, followed by aligning as part of ESL and becoming Managing Directors of ESL Australia. Their responsibilities included overseeing business operations for the region and fostering the growth of the local esports community.

The existing Australian office and studios will be operated under the new structure, with JB Hewitt continuing to manage Australian operations and oversee the execution of the region’s world-class events and broadcast productions.

This restructuring aligns with ESL’s ongoing commitment to bring esports to every corner of the world, and to expand its footprint in South East Asia. As part of this strategy regional leadership will take on a broader share of voice in reporting to global management, creating more visibility and effectively bringing local activities into the global spotlight.

ESL has been bringing esports events to the region since the first installment of the ESL One Genting, a $250,000 Dota 2 tournament held in 2014. Most recent events, including ESL One Genting 2018 and IEM Sydney 2018, have seen strong collaboration between regional staff and the global headquarters, with future projects to continue to draw upon the shared resources across both Singapore and Australia offices.

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About ESL

ESL, a part of the international digital entertainment group MTG, is the world's largest independent esports company, leading the industry across the most popular video games with numerous online and offline competitions. It operates high profile, branded international and national leagues and tournaments such as the Intel® Extreme Masters, ESL One, ESL National Championships and other top tier stadium-size events, as well as grassroots amateur cups, leagues and matchmaking systems. ESL covers a broad field of services in gaming technology, event management, advertising and television production, fully catering to the needs of the esports ecosystem. With offices in North America, Germany, Russia, France, Poland, Spain, China, and partners in many other countries, it has a truly global footprint (www.eslgaming.com).