GCIGuild Esports enters competitive Street Fighter with a new team and tournament
[image: Capcom]
investee company () announced the launch of a new professional team to compete in Street Fighter 6, marking the company's entry into competitive Street Fighter.
The esports company's new team comprises of Reneil "JoKeR JoKeZ" Landell from the UK, Rabiae "Takamura" Houmaid from Belgium, and Alfonso "VegaPatch" Martínez Pozo from Spain. Guild said the roster was selected by its expert team of coaches and scouts as the "most promising non-professional Street Fighter players in the UK". One more player is expected to be added in the coming months.
Guild will collaborate with Sky Broadband as part of their broader partnership, to launch its own Street Fighter tournament called "Sweat Room". The tournament will feature one-on-one Street Fighter matches in a heated room, challenging gamers to perform at their best under pressure (or in this case temperature). Sky Broadband will take an active role in hosting the event and associated social media campaign.
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Another major announcement from Guild Esports as the company continues to add professional teams to its roster. Today's announcement of a new Street Fighter team follows Guild's recent addition of a new men's Counter-Strike team as well as its foray into sim racing.
Markets welcomed the news, driving shares 16% higher on Friday.
Street Fighter is a highly popular fighting game series with a strong and growing esports following. The CR Cup Street Fighter tournament in June had more than 313,000 concurrent viewers, making it the most popular game streaming on Twitch at the time. Guild aims to top that with its innovative Sweat Room concept, which appears to emulate a cage match. The gamers among us are excited for the upcoming tournament.
The new team will add a new revenue stream and audience growth opportunities for Guild as it enters the fighting games genre. Guild's logo and branding will feature prominently in the tournament and associated online campaign, which is being promoted by influencers including Iain Chambers, Veracity, Damascus, Tyrant and F-Word, who have a combined following of approximately 180,000. This will expose the Guild brand to a new audience, with potential future revenue-generating opportunities. Fighting games can be enjoyed by viewers without a detailed understanding of the game mechanics, which is an additional advantage.
In its interim results released in May, Guild reported a revenue increase of 241% to £3.7m compared to £1.1m in H1 2022, driven by significant growth in sponsorship income. Gross profit also rose 256% to £2.5m from £0.7m a year ago. The company's loss before tax halved to £2.3m from £4.96 in H1 2022, reflecting increased sponsorship revenue and reduced operating expenses. Net cash stood at £1.1m on 31 March 2023.
Momentum is positive into H2 2023 with a strong contracted orderbook and diversification of revenue streams, such as with the launch of the new Street Fighter and Counter-Strike teams and Guild's recent expansion into sim racing. We expect H2 2023 revenues to show further year-on-year growth.
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