Source : http://mashable.com
Steve Aoki is the latest celebrity to invest in esports, as the popular DJ — who’s also a longtime gamer and occasional Twitch streamer — bought a majority stake in upstart team Rogue.
Aoki fans already know the 38-year-old EDM artist as a gaming enthusiast going back years, but team Rogue, which plays Overwatch and CS:GO, is new to the scene, only having been formed in May.
They’re off to a fast start: a few months later, Rogue won the $100,000 grand prize in the first ever Overwatch Atlantic tournament, and placed 3rd in the Overwatch Open tournament over the weekend.
Aoki announced the majority investment at TwitchCon this week, and said he plans on being hands-on with the team:
“As many of my fans know, I’ve been a gamer all my life and have been getting more and more involved in esports. I can finally take my love for gaming to the next level as an owner of Rogue, the professional esports team. As an avid player of Overwatch, their dominance caught my eye and after getting to know them, I realized that we shared the same goals and interests in team building and competition.”
Aoki joins the likes of Magic Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Alex Rodriguez and other athletes and celebrities to become esports team owners.
But Aoki may have a leg up, as he’s had more experience in the gaming world, and even took part in the Street Fighter V exhibition at the PAX East convention in April.
The amount Aoki invested in team Rogue was not disclosed.