The esports world is complex. At face value, you‘ll see articles featuring players earning millions, tales of glory written in the history books of world class organizations, and countless spectators tuning in to watch players worldwide become champions. Beneath the surface, though, lies an open secret — esports can be an unsustainable house of cards susceptible to collapsing. We know because we’ve lived it firsthand.

As BLVKHVND, we leveraged Web3 to bring equity to players who were overlooked, deserved a shot at making history and seeing their names etched amongst the video game gods. For four years, we deployed radical strategies that yielded regional, national and world championships. We also developed emerging talent that would go on to represent some of the biggest names in esports, i.e., Luminosity, Sentinels, Navi, etc. However, we encountered countless obstacles and strained relationships with players along the way.

From inconsistent funding (not only as an org, but for tournament organizers looking to create events), extended post-competition payout windows, lopsided org-player contracts, and lack of scalable player opportunities, running an indie company compounded in difficulty. There had to be change — a new and better way to play. So we set out to build a better gaming culture and create the optimal environment for competition.