Guild Esports PLC (LSE:GILD, OTCQB:GULDF) has finalised its professional Counter-Strike roster for the Esports World Cup, signing five professional players as well as coaching staff to support the team.
Competing under the ‘Guild Eagles’ banner, the team comprises Kosovan players Genc ‘gxx-’ Kolgeci, Flatron ‘juanflatroo’ Halimi, Sener ‘SENER1’ Mahuti, Dionis ‘sinnopsyy’ Budeci, and Swiss player Rigon ‘rigoN’ Gashi.
Guild has additionally hired a coaching team comprising Jonatan 'Devilwalk’ Lundberg, Kevin 'Krystal' Amend, and Keiran 'KayJay' Playfair.
James Banks, who previously managed the team, has joined the company as a consultant.
Previous competing as Bad News Eagles, The Guild Eagles has a growing audience in the players' home regions and across the world, with a combined social media reach of over 500,000 across Twitter, Instagram and Twitch.
Since joining Guild, the team won eight out of its last 10 matches and recently beat G2 Esports, the fifth-ranked team globally.
The Esports World Cup will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in the summer of 2024, a perfect location to show off Guild’s talent given the company’s strategy to establish a foothold in the MENA region.
Guild Eagles is the company’s second Counter-Strike roster, following the signing of an all-female Counter-Strike team in March 2023.
Jasmine Skee, chief executive of Guild Esports, commented: "Counter-Strike is a legendary esport that continues to grow in popularity. For a number of years, Guild has explored how best to enter the esport, and we were delighted to launch our all-female team earlier this year.
"The Esports World Cup provides the perfect opportunity to expand our Counter-Strike presence, and we're thrilled to have the Eagles on board.
“They have immediately hit the ground running at Guild, putting in some incredible performances in the short time since they joined - we can't wait to see what they can do at the World Cup next year."