AS Monaco Esports has partnered with Gambit Esports to launch the AS Monaco Gambit team, whose professional players will play on the Fortnite and Dota 2 stages at the highest level.
Gambit Esports is owned by Mobile TeleSystems (MTS), a Russian digital, media and telecommunication service.
A total of eight players (three on Fortnite and five on Dota 2), accompanied by a four-person staff, will wear the AS Monaco diagonal jersey, including Mark “letw1k3” Danilov and Ilya “Toose” Chernishov, two of the most successful Russian players on the Fortnite title. AS Monaco becomes the first football club to enter this major esports discipline which is popular among hundreds of millions of gamers around the world.
In addition to participation in the competitions, whose debuts for the AS Monaco Gambit team are scheduled for 11th February on Fortnite (FNCS Chapter 2 season 5) and 14th February on Dota 2 (ESL One CIS Online season 1: upper division), the agreement provides for several joint operations, with the organisation of fan experiences when the health situation permits. A line of co-branded products will soon be available online as well in MTS shops in Russia.
“We are delighted to launch this partnership with Gambit Esports,” said Oleg Petrov, Vice-President and CEO of AS Monaco. “The creation of our joint team, AS Monaco Gambit, allows us to take a new step in this sector by joining forces with a reference on the international Esports scene.”
The Russian businessman added: “Esports is a very fast-growing market and an important pillar of our digital development. This orientation responds to a twofold objective: to enable us to diversify our activities by addressing a different, young and highly connected audience, while supporting the club’s internationalisation strategy by developing our presence in key territories.”
The creation of the AS Monaco Gambit team also marks the first Russian Esports club to establish a relationship with a foreign team.
“The partnership with AS Monaco will allow us to offer a unique experience to football and sports fans,” said Irina Semyonova, Head of the MTS Esports Department. “This is a great opportunity to develop our activities.”
In 2016, AS Monaco was one of the first French football clubs to embark on the Esports adventure. Since then, Monegasque players have represented the princely colours on several games and have notably shone on PES. Since last July, the club has won its second consecutive eFootball.Pro title, a European competition bringing together FC Barcelona, Juventus and Bayern Munich.
MTS and Gambit Esports
Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) made its entry into Esports in 2018 with the acquisition of Gambit Esports – one of most established esports organisations in Europe. Gambit is currently represented in six gaming disciplines – Fortnite, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Dota 2, Apex Legends and Valorant. Gambit’s teams have repeatedly won the World and European championships, as well as silver and bronze medals in major international competitions.
(Monaco Life with ASM press release)