Philadelphia’s esports footprint continues to grow.
Back in February, Comcast Spectacor announced a partnership with Korean telecomms giant SK Telecom to launch a joint esports organization.
Tuesday, the corporations officially launched the company, T1 Entertainment & Sports, which will operate in Philadelphia, Seoul and Los Angeles, and announced its CEO and COO.
T, will build on Seoul-based SK Telecom’s existing esports operations — its T1 League of Legends team has three World Championships under its belt. And the new company will also comprise competitive Fortnite, PUBG, Super Smash Bros, Hearthstone and Apex Legends teams.
“The launch of T1 marks an exciting moment for Comcast Spectacor and our partners at SK Telecom,” said Dave Scott, chairman and CEO of Comcast Spectacor. “T1 immediately becomes one of the premier esports organizations in the world, and we are looking forward to strengthening its presence in this dynamic space as we move forward.”
Joe Marsh. (Courtesy photo)
Comcast also announced Tuesday that Joe Marsh, who was most recently chief business officer for Comcast’s Spectacor Gaming Division and the Philadelphia Fusion Overwatch League team, will be CEO of T1, and will oversee global operations in each city.
John Kim, founder of Akshon Media and former CEO of Meta Gaming in Seoul, has been named chief operating officer of the venture and is based in Seoul full-time.
“I’m honored to lead T1 as we enter into a promising chapter of growth,” said Marsh, a grad of Millersville and Villanova universities, in a statement. “SK Telecom T1 has a rich history of success and we will build on those successes and celebrate new victories as we expand into new markets.”
The release stated that the Philadelphia Fusion team remains a separate entity from the T1 organization, but still resides under the Comcast Spectacor brand.
The T1 news is the latest in a long string of announcements in Philly’s esports industry. Last week, Nerd Street Gamers announced a $12 million Series A round of fundraising, and in late September, Comcast broke ground of the esports arena coming to the Philadelphia Sports Complex in 2021.
The Wells Fargo Center also held the international Overwatch Finals last month, bringing thousands of esports fans to the South Philly.
At the groundbreaking of the Fusion Arena, Scott called the event a “Super Bowl moment.”
“We like this space — it’s young, digital, diverse and global,” he said. “It’s a space we really want to be in.”
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