Dan Gilbert makes multimillion investment in 100 Thieves
Cleveland Cavaliers owner helping former Call of Duty pro player's apparel line to field a team in 2018 League of Legends LCS
Plenty of pro sports owners have invested in esports in recent years, but few have done so in as roundabout a fashion as Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. Former Call of Duty pro player Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag today announced on his YouTube channel that Gilbert has made a multimillion dollar investment in his apparel line, 100 Thieves, with a goal to build the business into an operation "hyper-focused" on esports, content creation, and apparel.
While Haag's experience and expertise has been in first-person shooters, 100 Thieves' first esports team will compete in a MOBA. The brand has secured a spot in the 2018 League of Legends LCS season, and named former H2K head Neil "pr0lly" Hammad as the team's head coach. The player roster will be finalized and announced at a later date.
This is not Gilbert's first involvement with esports. His Cavaliers are one of 17 NBA teams that have agreed to participate in the NBA 2K esports league when its inaugural season kicks off next year. Additionally, esports are just one field of interest for his early-stage VC fund Courtside Ventures, though it's unclear if the 100 Thieves investment was made through Courtside.