European esports organisation Astralis has announced its expansion into North America by acquiring Disrupt Gaming and launching Astralis US.
Astralis will take over Disrupt Gaming’s assets, key staff, and facilities around its Rainbow Six team. The team will compete under the Astralis brand in Ubisoft’s North American Rainbow Six League.
Image credit: Astralis
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All of the organisation’s activities in NA will be run by Astralis US in Las Vegas. The announcement reveals that Mark Flood, Disrupt Gaming’s Founder and CEO, has been named Astralis US’s Director of US Operations.
Jakob Lund Kristensen, Founder and Chief Revenue Officer at Astralis, said: “Expanding our team activities and organisation into North America and entering Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six NA League is big news for us. We intend to bring something new and exciting to all the fans of Rainbow Six while also giving the vast number of existing Astralis fans all over the world a new team in a game and a league that provides entertainment and competition on a very high level.
“By acquiring Disrupt Gaming’s assets and activities around Rainbow Six and establishing Astralis US Inc., we seek to significantly expand our presence in the US and North American markets.”
According to the release, through expanding into the NA market, Astralis intends to positively contribute to its gaming and commercial activities. In line with the announcement, Rainbow Six Siege fans will also be able to view educational content around the game and player-centric content, provided by Astralis, on all digital platforms.
Flood added: “Taking our efficiency and combining it with a global elite brand like Astralis is going to be incredible for Astralis’s fans, commercial partners, and shareholders. At the same time, adding a brand name and organisation like Astralis into the North American League is a fantastic addition that will help Ubisoft push the league to new heights.
“However, Astralis is a performance brand, and we are very much looking forward to taking full advantage of the experience in the organisation and implementing the Astralis Performance model.”
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Earlier this week, Astralis announced the sale of its Spanish academy team, Astralis Stormbringers, to sports and entertainment company Kosmos.
Esports Insider says: This is a big step for Astralis as the organisation plans to further integrate into the NA esports market. By acquiring Disrupt Gaming, Astralis will need a much shorter adaptation period and will be able to conform to the NA ecosystem quicker. It will also be interesting to see how the new Astralis R6 team will perform in Ubisoft’s NA Rainbow Six League.