Amsterdam-based international management agency SEG Esports has announced a series of new hires — doubling its current roster of dedicated esports agents and expanding into new markets.
The agency also announced its intention to expand its representation into CS:GO esports, adding to its roster of League of Legends, VALORANT, Overwatch and Call of Duty athletes it supports.
Image credit: Shutterstock / SEG
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Among the new recruits are Bernando Alves, Founder of LOBBYZIN, a CS:GO scrim platform, Jose Vargas, Co-Founder of LATAM-focused Basher Esports Agency, and Ethan ‘Premiere’ Shin, Founder of APAC esports org Far East Society.
According to the release, the “selected agents followed customised courses and a weekly training programme developed specifically for them” via the SEG Academy, in alignment to SEG’s core value of lifelong learning.
The recent appointment of Nico Romeijn as SEG’s Head of Education, Training & Development aims to bolster the agency’s internal career-long training programme. Romeijn previously served 14 years as the Head of Education at the Dutch Football Association (KNVB) and 5 years as Director of Coaching and Chief Sport Development Officer at the U.S. Soccer Federation,, Rowan Stroo, Division Director of SEG Esports told Esports Insider.
The core directive of the SEG Academy is to ensure the current and incoming agents are competent professionals that create value for SEG’s clients first, said Stroo, adding to the professionalisation and structure of the wider esports ecosystem.
SEG Esports’ long-term plan is to guide competitive gamers throughout their careers and fulfill their dreams together, just as the greater Sports Entertainment Group (SEG) does for its roster of traditional athletes and artists. Stroo said, “[SEG] knows, from decades of talent management experience, that the best way to do this is by building a support network, a team of skilled professionals, that take all the noise away and let the talent focus on his or her performance.
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“Entering CS:GO, the oldest and still massively popular esport worldwide, has been a long time coming and with this addition, we will be active in the top 5 esport titles in the world,” Stroo said. “We are happy that the expansion allows us to improve our services in Latin America and Asia and we are looking forward to working together with our new team of agents.”
Earlier this year, SEG Esports announced a partnership with Vancouver-based esports performance firm Adamas Esports to bring the firm’s performance expertise not only to SEG’s represented athletes but also to educate their agents.
The partnership also granted Adamas access to SEG’s Esports Training Centre located north of Amsterdam at H20 Esports Campus, which was completed this July.
Esports Insider says: An expansion into CS:GO is an expansion into one of the oldest legacies in modern esports. The addition of seemingly seasoned LATAM and APAC-based agents suggests that the agency’s expansion outside of Europe is a sign of trust from the agency’s stakeholders of the possibilities of the global esports industry.