Icon Esports has acquired the Chiefs Esports Club, effective immediately, with the new enterprise set to compete under the Chiefs’ current organisational branding and structure.

The major acquisition will see the Chiefs take over operations for Icon’s Rocket League team, which will be travelling to Valencia to compete in the Dreamhack Pro Circuit Tour in early July.

The Icon-helmed organisation will also continue competing as the Chiefs Esports Club in the Oceanic Pro League, and the Oceanic Challenger Series. Participation in CS:GO tournaments, as well as Fortnite and PUBG events, will also continue.

According to representatives within Icon Esports, the acquisition of the Chiefs is a natural extension of their ambitions to create a leading esports organisation in Oceania. The new venture will also look to continue to support the development of local regional players.

“We are excited to commence the next chapter of our involvement in the esports market here within Oceania and more importantly with the Chiefs”
– Nick Bobir

“Over the last few months, we have made strides to develop new business lines which give back to the fans, grassroots and help promote the local landscape to new audiences. As a business, it’s important to diversify and strategise for the future and we can’t wait to share the activation announcements in July,” Icon chief executive Nick Bobir said.

Icon has already taken steps to support the development of Australian and New Zealand representatives with their new ‘Ecosystem Development Program’. The first stage of this project from the combined Icon-Chiefs venture will be announced in July. It has already been confirmed the project will “include a number of esports” across Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne.

The acquisition of the Chiefs Esports Club is a major move for Icon, which was founded earlier this year by a cohort of private investors. Icon’s first foray into the competitive side of the esports industry was with the former Tainted Minds Rocket League roster.

They now take on a leading role in one of the biggest esports organisations in Oceania. The Chiefs have been operating in multiple gaming titles since its foundation in 2014, including League of Legends, Counter-Strike, and Rocket League.

The Chiefs have won the Oceanic Pro League four times, and have represented the region three consecutive times at Sydney’s premier CS:GO event IEM Sydney. The org’s Counter-Strike team has been regarded as one of the region’s best since their formation and were crowned back-to-back ESL AU&NZ champions in Season 6 and 7.

Recently, the Chiefs former Rocket League team managed a historic top-four finish at the Rocket League Championship Series Season 6 finals in Las Vegas.

With the return of the Oceanic Challenger Series on May 2, the annual shuffle of teams entering and departing the league has once again taken place.

One of the new joining for 2019 is UTS Esports, based out University of Technology Sydney. They are one of three universities represented in the OCS, with the University of Queensland and Queensland University of Technology also a part of the 12-team league.

UTS’ move into the OCS signals their first step into the world of esports, hoping to create a path that will professionalise involvement in esports for current and future students.

UTS Esports president Stephen Hanna explained that “it is great to see the university supporting a professional esports initiative which provides students with an avenue for professionalisation in a traditionally difficult industry to penetrate from a career perspective.”

“The move shows that UTS is truly committed to staying relevant and supporting its students by providing career support through the provision of well-articulated sports programs.”

UTS will be participating in the OCS 2019 season. This move marks a major milestone for esports at UTS.

We’re excited to get started…#UTSWIN https://t.co/N33TlqBvJw

— UTS Esports (@UTSEsports) April 11, 2019

Moves like these are critical to the expansion of esports in Australia, building up greater support networks to the level of traditional sports. It’s also a recognition by universities across Australia that esports is an ever-growing industry, and UTS is looking to set themselves as one of the trailblazers.

“The OCS is a great opportunity for UTS to move forward in esports. It is a booming industry around the world and this is our way to get on board and assist the growth of esports at UTS,” said UTS Sports’ club coordinator Samuel Colless.

“[We want to] provide an opportunity for UTS to take the next step towards playing professionally and doing so for their university.”

UTS held public trials recently for their OCS team, but the roster is yet to be announced.

The Oceanic Challenger Series will return on Thursday May 2 at 5pm AEST, where UTS and the other 11 OCS squads will make their debut for 2019. All of the games are scheduled to be broadcast on Twitch.tv/RiotGamesOCE.

Follow UTS Esports on Twitter.