New top-ranked player joins Guild's Fortnite team

RNS Number : 2490J

Guild Esports PLC

21 December 2020

 

Press release

21 D ecember 2020

Guild Esports PLC

("Guild Esports" or "the Company")

New top-ranked pro player joins Fortnite team roster

Guild Esports, a UK-based owner and developer of esports teams (LSE: GILD), is pleased to announce the signing of top-ranked professional Fortnite player, Henrik Mclean ('Hen'), who will join the Company's existing Fortnite team.

Hen joins Nikolaj Andreas Frøslev ('Flikk') who was snapped up as the first player for the Company's Fortnite team on 19 November 2020. The duo have a combined social media following of approximately 335,000 across several channels including YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and Twitch.

Hen, who is British Lithuanian, will be the youngest player at Guild at 15. He achieved notable success by finishing in the top three this year in Fortnite's EU Encore and DreamHack events. He also finished ninth in the FNCS (Fortnite Champion Series) Trio Finals. Hen, who ranks as the No.3 best player in the UK, is widely regarded as an industry "one-to-watch" and has won over $100,000 in tournament prize pools to date.

Hen has a combined social media following of 97,000 across his social channels, comprising 5,000 followers on Instagram, 9,000 YouTube subscribers, 33,000 followers on Twitch, and 50,000 on Twitter.

Hen has signed a one-year contract, with Guild having an option to renew for an additional year. Alongside Flikk, he will be competing under the Guild banner in Fortnite tournaments either jointly or separately depending on fixtures and match opportunities.

The new player will join Guild's existing rosters competing in Valorant, a 5v5 multiplayer tactical shooter; Rocket League, a motor-racing and soccer hybrid game; and FIFA, the eponymous football franchise.

Since its release by Epic Games in 2017, Fortnite has become a global cultural phenomenon with 350 million players worldwide as of May 2020. The title has achieved record-breaking viewing figures on the video streaming service Twitch. In December, a record 15.3 million concurrent players took part in the Galactus in-game event and were watched by 3.4 million fans on Twitch and YouTube Gaming. 

The total prize pool for Fortnite competitions stood at $64.42m in 2019 (Source: Statista), the biggest cumulative esports prize pool for any game that year.

Carleton Curtis, Executive Chairman, said: "We are delighted to welcome Hen to the Guild family. Hen and Flikk will soon be joined by another leading player who will make our Fortnite team one to follow and watch by millions of fans worldwide. We look forward to seeing their remarkable talents develop even further under the Guild team brand and academy system." 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:  

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:  

Guild Esports
Carleton Curtis Executive Chairman Kal Hourd Chief Executive Neil Thapar Investor Relations	via Tancredi [phone] [phone]
Mirabaud
Corporate Broker Peter Krens	[phone]
Zeus Capital
Corporate Broker John Goold Benjamin Robertson	[phone]
Tancredi Intelligent Communication Media Relations
Salamander Davoudi [e-mail] Emma Valgimigli [e-mail] Helen Humphrey [e-mail]	[phone] [phone] [phone]

About Guild Esports:

Guild Esports PLC is a global fan-focussed team organisation and lifestyle brand that fields professional players in gaming competitions under the Guild banner. Our in-house training academy aims to attract and nurture the best esports talent, and our goal is to provide the ultimate entertainment experience alongside a distinctive lifestyle brand authentic to the esports community worldwide. Guild is led by an experienced management team of esports veterans and co-owned by David Beckham. The company is headquartered in the UK and its shares are listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

 

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