Sometimes, the future of Esports can be predicted by looking at the success of sports. Even sports that are currently popular worldwide were once not as refined as they are now. They were usually region-based and the management of rules or players was also unrefined; however, there were many cases where they grew and became the region's best sport, eventually turning into a world favorite, spawning organizations and countless pro players in the process.

The development of Esports is fairly similar- its start may have been rather small and unrefined, but it has grown to the point where there are prominent organizations based on it and communities of been created around popular teams and leagues. Even the market size has grown to resemble that of traditional sports. Meanwhile, there is an Esports organization that aim to go higher than even the traditional sports market. KSV, which has been showing rather astonishing progress in the Korean Esports scene, is one such organization.

People usually prioritize their own country when creating or acquiring an Esports organization or team. However, it was different for KSV; they created an Esports organization in South Korea, where they didn’t have any connection. Starting with the Seoul Dynasty, an Overwatch League team, they created and acquired teams for League of Legends and Heroes of the Storm, becoming an anomaly to many people engaged in Esports. Esports organizations were once region-based, but that changed and they eventually began to aim to be more global.

During this process, the person who worked the most was Arnold Hur, the Chief Growth Officer for KSV. He’s responsible for helping the company grow, and has worked for the Goldman Sachs and Boston Consulting Group; he also used to be a manager of the NA branch office for Memebox, a beauty social commerce, during which Memebox showed a 20~30% monthly growth rate. Now he focuses his abilities only on the growth of Esports and the organizations. That is why it is necessary to focus on KSV even though their organization has just started.

Arnold Hur doesn’t simply manage a team but has been leading the growth of KSV and Esports in a variety of areas. By managing an organization, he has been building an ecosystem where the organization can sustain as they study various mechanics and create content themselves rather than only making profits through marketing. He has a different approach from other major companies which considered Esports as merely a means of marketing.

“I think Esports can grow incredibly soon just like Facebook, which was the pioneer of social media. And right now is the time Esports where can gain explosive growth. We, KSV, plan to take our place as the leader in the Esports market by taking challenges in various areas through Esports, which others hadn’t thought of doing before.” - from the interview by Inven KR on February 2018

The vision Arnold Hur has is different from any other Esports organization or team- he doesn’t just focus on the team’s plays; he focuses on the future of Esports, not just on the present.

Several Esports-related individuals will be coming to the first IGEC - ESPORTS DEEP DIVE, which is to be held on the upcoming May 1st in UC, Irvine. A few attendees are Jack Etienne, CEO of Cloud9; Noah Whinston, CEO of Immortals; Allan Phang from the AirAsia Allstars Club, and more; all coming to share their stories and answer questions about Esports organizations.

What does Arnold Hur, the Chief Growth Officer from KSV, have to tell us? You will be able to hear the stories of the vision he holds for the future of Esports at the IGEC.