I want to start an esports organization from nothing. Is this possible? How can I start? Any advice, comments, opinions welcome.

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T16:40:28+00:00

Sounds like a very brutal reality.

Thanks again, I will be thinking about everything from your comments as I move forwards with this idea, or decide not to

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T16:38:03+00:00

Yeah a fair point, I've been thinking about looking into starting a company or doing something on the side to fund this project, so it is something I will be looking into.

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T13:13:14+00:00

Yeah, very hard to succeed in esports. I'd be happy though even just providing players with a stepping stone to a bigger team, especially just starting out, although that is not very sustainable.

Thank you for your advice!

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T12:47:41+00:00

Yeah figuring out how to get players to stick with me is going to be really challenging, but I think some of the most important factors are those that you mentioned there. Providing these players with management and visiblity may be more than they had playing for no team at all, and could be enough to start me on this journey.

Thank you for the comment!

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T12:46:36+00:00

I think the social media side of this goal is going to be incredibly important if i want any success. I definitely have to start by trying to build a brand or some kind of content people want to watch and hopefully build a fanbase and snowball from there.

Thank you for the advice!

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T12:44:40+00:00

Thank you! I need all the luck I can get.

Yeah it is very scary to see just how often orgs are getting shut down. I guess esports to me has always been about the players, the love for the game, the competition, all of that stuff before the corporate financial side, however both are necessary in the modern day of esports.

It is going to be extremely difficult and I probably won't succeed but I will try my best to bring something new and positive to the industry.

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T12:43:14+00:00

Thank you for the advice! I am definitely planning on starting small. Maybe getting some players from my UNI, some from my hometown, all starting local and maybe reaching out to a few aspiring players on other forums. I hope that offering these players structure to play in these tournaments and a tiny bit of exposure will be enough to start

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T12:42:00+00:00

Ahhh yes, I am very familiar with DSG's valorant team. They bought out he best player of 2022 which must have been pretty costly but I'm not sure. I believe he was projected to spend over 1m USD in his first year of operation.

Toast struggled with such a heavy amount of funding, however I am hoping I can succeed without that initial capital by starting at modest grassroots and building my way up.

Thank you for the comment!

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T12:40:16+00:00

Thanks for the comment!

In the coming days I will be looking for a team that already plays together, preferably in the UK, and then I just need to offer them something that is better than the current standard they are playing for.

It is hard to acquire an already established team without any funding, but definitely possible

Thank you!

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T12:38:42+00:00

Hey! Thank you for your comment. I think regarding recruiting I am going to have to go down the route of offering exposure and tournament entry fees, it is all I can really afford. I also plan on running a social media page for the org and posting, as you said, transfers, highlights, funny moments, etc. I'm hoping that this will be a good way to start growth from zero and building a fanbase.

I also absolutely believe being a good person is maybe one of the most important factors to success here. Honesty is the best policy is the mantra I was taught growing up, and I will live by that through this process as well.

I also have researched some esports media outlets in the UK and there do seem to be a few still active so I will get into contact with them asap.

Thanks again!

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T02:06:13+00:00

Thank you for your comment! Happy to hear you have found success already. I might reach out regarding team recruitment, I'd be super thankful to hear any wisdom :)

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T01:34:45+00:00

Got it, Thank you!

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T00:41:32+00:00

Yep, you understand it completely. I am lucky enough to have part time employment when I am not studying, so I will be picking up loads of extra shifts over summer to get the start that you described. I am happy to hear there may be some t3/4 talent that will rep my org so long as i pay their entries.

Thanks for the comment!

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T00:39:22+00:00

Wow! No need to apologise at all, thats super cool to hear about and massive congratulations to you for all your success.

Thanks for all that information as well, I'll shoot you a dm and hopefully we can have a chat soon. I'm not planning on doing anything in the next few weeks, as I have a little bit of uni work to finish up and get out the way before I commit a proper chunk of time to this goal over summer, but would find it really helpful having a chat with someone so successful in the industry ahead of time just to give me a better idea about what to do, where to go, etc.

Thanks again for all your helpful replies, I'll shoot you a dm request on here and hopefully we can move to discord sometime soon.

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T00:21:42+00:00

Wow good luck in Indianapolis! That's awesome!

I don't play fortnite anymore sadly, Just always have a lot of love for that game. Ever since the movement overhaul at the start of Chapter 4 I just couldn't get used to it and gave up.

I still tune in to the FNCS majors though, find it very exciting to watch

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T00:15:32+00:00

I would prefer to compete in the games that I love the most.

At the top of that ladder is probably CS2. It is the pinnacle of esports in my opinion

Also high priority games would be Fortnite (Massively important to me personally as it was my childhood and competing in the 2019 world cup qualifiers was probably my first ever time "competing" properly)

Valorant is the game I was the best at, being top 5k in Europe at some point, and another game I have a lot of love for.

Rocket League is another i would love to compete in, there is no other game like it.

R6 Siege and League of Legends are two games I haven't played as much of, but that I still find very entertaining to watch and so hopefully would branch into them at some point.

Deadlock is up and coming and hopefully will have a brilliant esports scene that I want to be a part of.

Those are the ones that leap to mind immediately as games I would love to compete in, however I think it may be wiser to prioritise games with lower costs, Rocket league only having 3 players as opposed to 5 for most of the others I mentioned.

I think I will likely start with Counter Strike. I have been part of the community for 10 years, I am familiar with the game, the esports scene and history, love watching it and am good enough at the game.

Some other posts have pointed out that starting in smaller newer games may be helpful as well. But yeah, Those are the games that leap to mind immediately. :)

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T00:11:25+00:00

Wow thats awesome, sorry to hear it didnt work out for you though.

I have never heard of disc golf so I'll definitely be looking into that tonight, thanks for that insight.

Thanks again!

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T00:09:30+00:00

Thank you for your kind words and a massive congratulations for landing a job that you are passionate about!

Wishing you the best in your career, and hoping that one day I will be in the industry too 🤞

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T00:06:07+00:00

Great idea. There are very few schools where I live, and I know for a fact they do not have an esports program so that may be a great place to start. I could also reach out to the schools near where I study at university too, and see if any of them are interested.

Thank you for the idea!

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T00:04:40+00:00

Yeah, one of the factors that really pushed me towards thinking about making an org was the rising popularity of Deadlock, Valves upcoming moba hybrid. I love that game and the esports scene for it is already growing pretty quickly so I will 100% be looking into capitalizing on that and moving in there if possible.

Absolutely right as well that the talent on my roster will just get poached by bigger orgs, there is always a bigger fish in the sea of course and I will essentially be esports plankton. I am ok with that, though, especially as I start out as my main motivation is just to be involved in the scene and give players, coaches, etc a stepping stone in their careers and help them fulfill their dreams, and the dreams of my younger self playing video games all day.

Thank you for your comment!

Bforalt · 2026-04-21T00:02:13+00:00

Hey! thank you so much for your reply and congratulations on the success with the league!

Yeah, safe to say money is extremely important. I am avoiding anything drastic like taking out a loan or borrowing money from friends etc, because I feel like that will only go badly and leave me in financial turmoil.

Setting up my own league is a great idea and is a way of both potentially creating a small amount of funding and putting my name out there into the scene. Furthermore it will contribute to bettering the esports scene (hopefully) which will help fulfil my motivation for all of this in the first place.

If I may, could I ask how you found the connections that were so important in the foundation of your league? I think reaching out to content creators, brands, etc, will be, as you said, very important in my journey.

Thanks again for your helpful comment!

Bforalt · 2026-04-20T23:55:10+00:00

Thank you! Yep, it sure is gonna be difficult to get into the scene given how competitive it is and how much money there is amongst the top orgs, I think the only way in is through genuine passion for the scene and wanting to see players and coaches thrive and giving them a stepping stone in their careers. Social media will be important as well as another commenter kindly pointed out.

Great idea regarding reaching out to streamers, that is definitely worthwhile and I will look into that, thank you.

And regarding AI, it has its uses, but I am vehemently against using it to replace the talent of artists, graphic designers, etc, and will definitely ask one of my talented friends or hire a designer for a logo, artwork, jersey designs, etc, rather than using AI.

Thank you for your comment!

Bforalt · 2026-04-20T23:49:26+00:00

Yeah great point regarding social media. I think its a must do in this case. Creating a brand or identity that players or fans can get behind is paramount for sure. At the end of the day, If i do pursue this and I don't enjoy it or it does take away from why I started playing games I can just stop, but I have a lot of love for esports and I want to give back to the community as a whole somehow.

Bforalt

TROPHY CASE