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Published 14:53 IST, October 22nd 2020

David Beckham's Guild Esports signs Swedish Valorant roster to compete in First Strike

David Beckham-owned Guild Esports has unveiled its first-ever Valorant roster on Wednesday. Their competitive debut will come in the First Strike qualifiers.

Reported by: Sujay Chakraborty
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David Beckham
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David Beckham-owned Guild Esports has officially entered the rapidly-rising Valorant competitive scene. The European organisation announced its intention to participate in the upcoming Valorant First Sky tournament and also unveiled its inaugural roster for the competition.

Guild Esports Valorant squad announced

Guild Esports' Valorant roster comprises of all Swedish players who participated in various Valorant tournaments under their previous moniker, Bonk. The team consists of William “draken” Sundin, Filip “Goffe” Gauffin, Yacine “Yacine” Laghmari, Leo “Leo” Janneson and Malkolm “bonkar” Rench. Draken, Goffe and Yacine are former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players (CS:GO). Bonkar was Sweden's first Valorant player. He previously played Paladins and has won two Paladins World Championships.

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Guild Esports' Valorant roster already appears promising, especially after the roster secured a top-two finish in the recent Ignition Series and Mandatory.gg Cup tournaments. The team will make its official debut as members of Guild Esports in November, participating in the qualifiers for the inaugural edition of Valorant First Sky. 

The open European qualifiers for Valorant First Sky is scheduled for November 9 to 16. Only the top eight teams will qualify for the main event which will take place from December 3 to 6. Valorant First Strike: Europe - the main event - will be played in a series of best-of-three games. 

Also Read | Valorant First Strike North American Event To Feature $100,000 Prize Pool

All about Beckham's Guild

Earlier this month, David Beckham's Guild became the first esports organisation in the UK to successfully complete its public market flotation on the London Stock Exchange. Guild completed its listing with a market capitalisation of £41.2 million. Launched at an opening price of 8.00 pence per share, as of now, the Guild Esports share price has dropped to 6.90 pence per share. 

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Carleton Curtis, the executive chairman of Guild Esports, said the investment will be used to aid expansion in other territories and they plan to field rosters for most of the premier gaming titles. With Beckham as the face of the organisation, Guild might look to add more rosters as they plan to penetrate the esports market in North America. "It will provide us with the cache, credibility and capital to fulfil our ambition to become one of the world's top 10 e-sports franchises within three years," Curtis said in a press release.

The new Valorant roster fits in line with their all European rosters. Guild Esports currently boasts an active Rocket League roster that features European talents like Joseph 'noly' Kidd, Thomas 'ThO.' Binkhorst, Kyle 'Scrub Killa' Robertson and Kieran 'meqza' Durell. In addition, Guild also has pro FIFA player Niklas “NRaseck” Raseck in their ranks. 

Also Read | David Beckham's Guild Esports Raises $26m Ahead Of Friday's London IPO Debut

(Image Credits: Guild Esports, David Beckham Instagram)

Updated 14:53 IST, October 22nd 2020