Two Los Angeles esports teams — the Guerrillas of the Call of Duty League and the Gladiators of the Overwatch League — will be sold, transferred to control of another organization or shut down at the end of the season, multiple outlets reported Thursday.
The franchises are part of The Guard, the esports arm of Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which also counts the Rams, Denver Nuggets and Colorado Rockies among its sports holdings.
On Wednesday, several employees of The Guard posted to social media that they had been laid off. Some employees said the layoffs hit the social media, talent, content and creative staffs, while others said the entire headquarters staff was cut.
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment has not commented, but Guerrillas head coach Mark “MarkyB” Bryceland said he was “devastated” by the apparent gutting of The Guard.
“I cannot put into words how devastated I am,” he posted to Twitter on Thursday. “I moved to LAG because of the organisation, the people behind the scenes. That’s all gone now. All I know for a fact is that the squad is going to put everything into the rest of this season. Not for the suits, for everyone else.”
Sports Business Journal reported that The Guard will continue to run both franchises until a buyer is found or a partner comes in to take “operational control.” If neither happens, the teams could fold following the 2023 seasons.
The publication also said this could be just the beginning of other owners of traditional sports franchises pulling out of esports. Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert and New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft are among those who operate esports teams.
The future of The Guard’s teams that compete in Valorant and Apex Legends was unclear Thursday.
Sports mogul Stan Kroenke and his son, Josh, bet big on esports. They bought the Call of Duty franchise for $20 million and the Overwatch League slot for $25 million. And in 2021, they opened the YouTube Theater adjacent to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, designing it as a venue to host major esports tournaments, concerts and other shows.
“We think that few traditional sports can match gaming’s reach,” Josh Kroenke told the Los Angeles Times in 2019. “Its fans are some of the most passionate around.”
–Field Level Media