ESL, the world’s largest esports company, has appointed Thomas Schmidt to its Board of Directors. As a Non-Executive Board Member of Turtle Entertainment GmbH, Schmidt will provide expert advice on creating and delivering best-in-class coverage and sponsorship solutions for ESL’s esports leagues and tournaments.

Thomas has a 16-year track record in raising the standard of distribution and marketing for the UEFA Champions League. He has also been a long-standing media partner for ESL’s parent company MTG, which recently increased its ownership in Turtle Entertainment GmbH and the ESL brand to 82.48%.

“ESL develops esports across the world, which means we create more opportunities for participation and progress for players than any other sport. At the same time we connect brands to an increasingly growing audience. As a veteran and key expert, Thomas can boost ESL in further connecting existing and new esports audiences with great content offerings across esports leagues, tournaments, platforms and channels. We are very happy to have Thomas on our exciting journey.” says Ralf Reichert, Founder and Co-CEO of ESL.

The esports industry is expected to continue to grow significantly over the next years, reaching USD 1.663 billion revenue by 2021. This represents a 85% increase compared to today according to the Newzoo September 2018 market report update. ESL will continue and solidify its global leadership in the industry as the go-to brand of choice for esports.

ESL is the leading global esports brand, operating leagues and tournaments from amateur grassroots level to ESL National Championships, and up to international mega esports competitions such as ESL One or Intel® Extreme Masters series.