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MLG cofounder forms Electronic Sports Group for esports deals

  • Posted byby Dean Takahashi
  • Updated
  • 5 min

Esports pioneer Mike Sepso and former NBA executive Bobby Sharma announced they have started esports advisory firm Electronic Sports Group (ESG).

It’s a sign that there are big investment and ad deals on the horizon for esports, which is expected to become a $1.7 billion business by 2021, according to market researcher Newzoo. The new consulting firm will deliver strategic business advice to senior management at clients across the advertising, finance, sports, and media industries to ensure success in entering or accelerating growth in esports.

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Written by

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.