Former Fnatic director: “Participation in the ESL affiliate system and income from stickers sometimes brought more benefits to clubs than participation in the LEC”

Former CEO of the Fnatic organization Wouter Sleijffers said that the profit from the sale of stickers at CS2 majors and payments from the ESL affiliate program were comparable to what a slot in the European LoL league brought to clubs. He shared this information in an interview with the EsportNow.gg portal.

I have never communicated directly with Valve about franchising. Perhaps ESL was in charge of such negotiations, but not me. I was actively involved in the WESA (World Esports Association) board of directors, which was a natural progression of gentlemen's agreements between teams trying to avoid scheduling conflicts. WESA morphed into an open Counter-Strike franchise structure, but Valve eventually stopped working with partner teams and banned direct invites to the EPL as it felt it was preventing up-and-coming rosters and players from making it to the top level. It was also difficult to get all teams to agree. European clubs were more cooperative, while American clubs took a tougher stance in terms of ownership structure. Finding the right balance between team size, viewer contributions and revenue sharing is no easy task. Nevertheless, ESL and its partner teams have achieved considerable success. Participation in the ESL affiliate system and income from stickers sometimes brought more benefits to clubs than participation in the LEC. Much of this success is due to the fact that Valve did not fund the project, forcing everyone to focus on commercial feasibility. Compare this to Riot's LEC, where the publisher's main goal is to use esports as a marketing tool to drive in-game purchases.

Wouter Sleijffers led Fnatic from 2015 to 2019. During this time, the club won two CS:GO majors and several major championships, and the LoL roster reached the finals of the 2018 World Championship.