EsportsFrom the insider

OUR STUDY INVOLVES BEST ESPORTS CLUBS

FROM THE TOP 25

Odgers Berndtson is one of the largest international consulting companies with a focus on top executive search, assessment and development. Odgers Berndtson is the only executive search company with a dedicated Global Gaming Practice. The practice specialises on recruiting executive teams for the gaming and esports industries

Recently, esports have become one of the fastest-growing global industries. Many clubs have made their way up from a 5-player team to a company with dozens employees

The purpose of this study is to take a look at esports clubs from within,

analyse their organisational structures, review remuneration packages and, finally, make the

industry more transparent

Global esports expertise

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Geographical coverage

Team ratings

We analysed clubs in the TOP 25 from the following regions:

NorthAmerica

Russia and CISWestern

Europe

Oceania

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comprise a business structure incorporating all internal key functions – Sales, Operations, HR, Finance – which report to CEO (Example 1). These structures are similar to corporate type.

Esports clubs organisational structures

19% 81%

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have only 2 key executives: CEO and COO, who share responsibilities. Most commonly, one one of them handles Sales, Marketing and Gaming, while the other manages the entire back-office.

• In half of the cases, the club performs Sales and Marketing functions in-house (Example 2).

• Otherwise, clubs prefer to outsource these functions (Example 3).

Esports clubs organisational structures(Example 1)

Operations, Finance, IT, Legal, HRContent, Media, Communications, PR,

Brand

Team manager Game 1

Sales, Sponsorships, Partnerships

Team manager Game 2

Team manager Game 3

СЕО

Chief Commercial Officer Chief Marketing OfficerChief Gaming Officer Chief Operations Officer

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Chief Executive Officer

Chief Operations Officer

Operations, Finance, IT, Legal, HR

Head of ContentHead of Partnerships &

Sponsorships

Team manager Game 1

Team manager Game 2

Team manager Game 3

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Esports clubs organisational structures(Example 2)

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Agencies

Operations, Finance, IT, Legal, HR

Operations

Team manager Game 1

Team manager Game 2

Team manager Game 3

Head of ContentHead of Content

СЕО

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Esports clubs organisational structures(Example 3)

COO

Team manager Game 1

Team manager Game 2

Team manager Game 3

Sports management

СЕО

Team manager Game 4

СЕО

Sales & BD/

Marketing and other

Team manager Game 1

Team manager Game 2

Team manager Game 3

Operations, Legal, Finance,IT, HR

Chief Gaming Officer

In 57% of clubs, there is a dedicated executive (Sports Director / Chief Gaming Officer) who manages teams and holds responsibility for the sport results. In the remaining 43% of clubs, this function is assigned to one of the club’s key executives (CEO/COO). The key factor is whether the CEO/COO have personal professional gaming experience.

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Compensation packages

Annual income*: • СЕО

from $70,000 to $170,000 gross

• СOОfrom $50,000 to $160,000 gross

• CCO (Sales, Partnerships, Sponsorships)/CMO (Content, Marketing, PR)from $50,000 to $150,000 gross

• HRD/CFO/CIO/Legal Directorfrom $40,000 to $120,000 gross

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80% middle range *The salary bracket values are displayed on a bell curve, where the 80% middle range is a segment in the middle section cutting off the 10% segment on the left and the 10% segment on the right. The final sample represents the range of values provided by the majority of the respondents.

Compensation packages insights

• In the recent 18-24 months, the compensation package has become similar to other industries. The compensation includes fixed salary, bonus KPI-based and LTI. Approximately 40% of top clubs provide long-term incentives to their C-suite teams

• Top executives’ core KPIs include such operational indicators as P&L, number of social network followers and active supporters, views of the team’s matches and content, partner engagement and retention

• KPIs for a Chief Gaming Officer and CEO also include sport results.This is what distinguishes esports from traditional sport clubs, where the whole executive team’s bonus depends on the sport results

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Market trends

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• Esports club is no longer just a team of players who compete for themselves or for their investors. Now they are a full-fledged business with a media and commercial component.Esports have become a part of the Entertainment market

• The number of staff ranges from 18 to 75 people. Only 21% of our respondents employ over 50 people.Unlike traditional sports teams, esports clubs remain quite lean

• Esports companies are becoming increasingly mature and open toward external markets. They hirepeople having no professional gaming experience, invite business consultantsto tackle recruitment tasks, draft strategy and move the club forward

• At least 75% of the leading clubs have a mid or long-term objective to make sure that the club’s P&L is positive

• Changes in the conventional rules for signing contracts with players:ü Introduction of KPIs tied to sport resultsü Longer contract term

• A shift in prize bonus allocation towards increasing the club’s income share

Contacts

LEONID KOEN Senior Consultant(Sports Industry)

leonid.koen@odgersberndtson.ru

ANDREY SALITOVProject Manager(Sports Industry)

andrey.salitov@odgersberndtson.ru

Should you require any additional information about our firm, please do not hesitate to contact us:Tel.: +7 495 935 76 54Email: info@odgersberndtson.ruAddress: 17/1 Nastavnicheskiy Per.,Moscow 105120, Russia