Over time, Nadeshot built his reputation and secured an investment from Dan Gilbert that allowed him to purchase one of the franchised slots in the LCS League – an organization which combines video game competition with content production and brand culture.
Nick Mercs recently found himself embroiled in an enormous dispute between himself and the organization over this approach to business.
Team Roster
100 Thieves has revealed their primary roster for VCT 2023. Only jungler Can “Closer” Celik remains on the team; everyone else on its roster was replaced. Top laner Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho moved on to EG while bot laner FBI joined Golden Guardians; Choi “huhi” Jae-hyun also joined them, while mid laner Felix “Abbedagge” Braun remains free agent.
Major esports teams are renowned for providing their athletes with state-of-the-art facilities to facilitate training as a unit. Some of the biggest teams, like Cash App Compound in Los Angeles, boast massive headquarters that feature state-of-the-art spaces designed specifically to support training as a unit. It hosts tournaments to showcase some of the greatest talents like VCT qualifiers, international league splits for each region and even Masters LAN events hosted within its walls.
Streamers
Streamers are an integral part of the 100 Thieves team and enjoy an immense following. They compete in numerous video games like League of Legends, Apex Legends and Valorant; additionally they host many live events and make bets on their matches.
Although now one of the world’s premier esports teams, in 2022 the organization had to lay off some employees – including senior level executives in sales, marketing and content creation.
Doublelift’s move to the Golden Guardians filled a top laner vacancy for the 2023 season. Support player Abbedagge remains free, as is Abbedagge himself; neither player have announced their next team affiliation yet. American gaming star Timothy “iiTzTimmy” An has joined as a content creator for its Higround hardware brand as well as streaming for this team; with an expansive social media following including collaborations with celebrities such as Post Malone and CouRageJD among his fandom.
Sponsors
100 Thieves is an American organization founded by former OpTic Gaming Call of Duty player and co-owner Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag that has expanded well beyond gaming. Their team boasts an immense following on YouTube and Twitch as well as partnerships with high-profile celebrities, NBA teams, and various companies.
The group also boasts an impressive video gaming presence, particularly Call of Duty and League of Legends with several esports teams supported by sponsors including Cash App, Drake, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Scooter Braun.
Valkyrae and Fuslie recently welcomed Lexus to their ranks, hosting an episode of the 100 Thieves Content House featuring its one-of-a-kind Lexus Gamers’ IS car as part of this partnership agreement. Lexus will serve as entitlement sponsor and present partner for 100 Thieves VALORANT esports team while AT&T will sponsor organization-wide with dedicated training room in 15,000 square-foot Cash App Compound for them to train.
Community
100 Thieves is the only esports team offering merchandise sales, and they don’t hesitate to push boundaries with their offerings. Their latest necklace, which uses cryptographic asset called a Coin that fans can claim as merchandise, was the first-of-its-kind and used second-layer blockchain tech for easy usability.
Nadeshot came equipped with a logo, brand culture and an army of fans when he launched 100 Thieves Organization in November 2017. Dan Gilbert (founder of Quicken Loans and Rock Ventures as well as owner of Cleveland Cavaliers) invested enough funds for 100 Thieves to purchase a franchise slot in North America League of Legends Championship Series.
John Robinson is no stranger to gaming business matters; having spent several years at EA M&A. However, as President and COO of an esports organization he had some formal business training experience but often showed its inadequacies by overcomplicating some processes – for instance aggregating streamers’ followings into total figures for investors and partners; one employee described this practice during an all-hands meeting as selling them snake oil!
