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General8 years agoGosu "GosuGamers" Gamers

Philadelphia 76ers acquire Team Dignitas, Apex Gaming

The storied NBA franchise known as the Sixers has become the first major North American sports organisation to enter the world of eSports.

Today the Philadelphia 76ers became the latest organisation from the world of sport to dip a toe into the electronic equivalent, with the acquisition of Team Dignitas and Apex Gaming, a newer outfit that acquired Team Imagine’s NACS spot earlier in the year. While the overall story of a sports team entering the world of eSports is now fairly familiar, the Sixers are the first major North American group to do so, and this could represent something of a watershed moment for the American scene.

Dignitas are a well-established team set up by UK eSports veteran Michael ‘ODEE’ O’Dell, as was founded in 2003. Today they have players listed on their site for Overwatch, CS:GO, Smite and Heroes of the Storm, but down the years have also supported such diverse games as Hearthstone, FIFA and Call of Duty. Theirs is undoubtedly the larger name of the pair the Sixers have bought, with Apex expected to provide the League of Legends representation that many teams are so keen on.

 

"We like to be agents of change...Our owners, Josh [Harris] and David [Blitzer], have big eyes, big vision and big appetite. There's no denying the fact that esports presents corporate America with a way to reach millennials in a way stick and ball sports just isn't."

76ers CEO Scott O'Neil

 

We’ve already seen a number of European football clubs enter the world of eSports, including some of the biggest in their respective nations, but the Sixers are not really a top level outfit at this point in time, at least within the sphere of their own sport. Once boasting talent like Allen Iverson or the legendary Julius ‘Dr J’ Irving, the team has fallen by the wayside somewhat, and will be hoping to achieve more on the keyboards and mice than they’ve managed on the court for sure.

Image credit: wikimedia

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