After over a year of intense negotiations we are excited to announce the founding of the World Esports Association - WESA. In an effort to further professionalize esports, ESL has been working closely with some of the most renowned, industry-leading esports teams to create an open and inclusive organisation to oversee standardized tournament regulations, player representation as well as revenue sharing for teams.
WESA will offer the chance to bring all esports stakeholders - players, teams, organizers and broadcasters - to the discussion table in order to bring much needed structure, predictable schedules and transparency to the scene. Eight of the world’s biggest multi-gaming brands have contributed to the founding of WESA, with the Association aiming to add more members and negotiations continue with various organizations.
The founding teams are as follows:
- Fnatic
- Natus Vincere
- EnVyUs
- Virtus.pro
- G2 Esports
- FaZe
- Mousesports
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
One of the milestones of WESA is the creation of an operative Player Council, elected by the players, which will represent, strengthen and advocate on behalf of pro gamers on a number of important topics, such as league policies, rulesets, player transfers and more. The aim is to empower players when it comes to influencing decision-making in tournaments operated under WESA regulations. As such, the ESL Pro League for CS:GO will become the first professional esports competition to adopt said WESA regulations.
Wiktor "TaZ" Wojtas of Team Virtus.Pro is already excited by the prospect of player representation.
"WESA offers many opportunities to the Member Teams and their Players, but we're most excited about the esports's first official player representative finally becoming a reality. For the first time in the history of esports, players will come together to organize themselves, and that will enable all of us to get a real say in decisions that directly influence us. With a Player Council sitting at the table with the rest of the decision makers, we're going to continue improve the tournament and league organization."
Christopher “GeT_RiGhT” Alesund of Ninjas in Pyjamas is echoing that sentiment.
“It’s an incredibly exciting time to be a part of the esports industry, and its rapid growth in just a few years has made it very clear: there’s growing and more pressing need to structurize it, both on the tournament organizer’s side as well as on the players’ side. WESA will offer us a platform to do just that - organize our work and careers, build a network of safety, and offer a solution to business and legal disputes.”
WESA teams will not only participate in WESA sanctioned tournaments, leagues and offline events based on the standards developed by the Association, but also in other leagues whose schedules have been balanced prior to today’s announcement.
Overseeing the work of the Player Council and the WESA representatives will be the first Interim League Commissioner of WESA, Pietro Fringuelli, who brings a wealth of experience and expertise from his time as an advisor to some of the biggest traditional sports organizations across Europe.
Pietro Fringuelli has the following to say about his appointment as Interim League Commissioner:
“I’m incredibly honored and excited to join the World Esports Association today, and am looking forward to bringing my years of experience from traditional sports into the world of electronic sports. The formation of WESA, and the growth of the Association in the coming years, will be the critical performance indicators for the entire esports industry - and a real game changer for its every stakeholder.”
You can follow WESA’s official Twitter and Facebook accounts and be sure to check out WESA’s website to keep up with their actions and get the latest news and updates regarding the Association.
