Brand-new Team Pacquiao teams up with Veloce Esports

Brand-new Team Pacquiao teams up with Veloce Esports

8 December 2021

Yesterday, we posted about the recent creation of a brand-new esports organisation by living boxing legend Manny Pacquiao on one of our sister websites, and the team has already announced a major collaboration. Team Pacquiao GG, as the name of the Filipino's champ's team goes, has teamed up with the Veloce Group, an esports and racing company based in Surrey, in South East England. Like that, PacMan's new team immediately brings heaps of experience in the world of esports in different disciplines and categories on board.

About the Veloce Group and esports in the UK

In fe words, the Veloce Group can be described as a leading platform for racing, racing simulation, esports, lifestyle, and media content worldwide. The organisation runs several professional esports teams, including Veloce Esports, Mercedes Esports, and McLaren Shadow, McLaren's virtual racing programme that we briefly covered last month. They also run various esports teams for other brands and companies, including international esports projects for the likes of the Formula 1, video game maker Electronic Arts, and William Morris Endeavor.

As part of their interest and involvement in the racing world, Veloce also formed a joint venture with Quadrant, the esports brand of McLaren Formula 1 driver Lando Norris. As part of the deal, Veloce is providing Quadrant with renowned content creators and a roster of experienced gamers for games like FIFA, Call of Duty: Warzone, and  Gran Turismo, just to name a few. Despite their abundant experience, the partnership with Team Pacquiao is Veloce's first venture outside of the United Kingdom. “This is a key strategic move for Veloce as we look to build out our joint-venture and shared ownership gaming entities off the back of our success with Quadrant with Lando Norris”, commented Rupert Svendsen-Cook, the CEO of the Veloce Group.

The Asian market for esports

Pacquiao is a very recent addition to a rapidly growing list of celebrities and (former) professional athletes getting involved in the world of esports which includes the likes of David Beckham, Steph Curry, and Jesse Lingard. It looks to be more than a trend for PacMan though, as the Southeast Asian region reportedly boasts more than 42 million esports fans with almost 7 million of those fans coming from the Philippines, where PacMan has reached semi-divine status amongst sports fans. After Indonesia and Vietnam, the Philippines actually represent the largest market for esports in Southeast Asia.

In terms of money, the regional esports market is estimated to be worth about $30 million with a more than considerable potential for further development. The mobile esports universe, in particular, is experiencing rapid growth in Southeast Asia, which also explains why several other high-profile esports organisations have set up camps in the region over the past years, including LA-based organisations FaZe Clan, Immortals, and NRG. “Team Pacquiao represents our first joint-venture entity in Asia and we’re honoured to be creating something that raises the bar within the region alongside an incredible team of creator talent as well as the man himself, Manny Pacquiao”, said Svendsen-Cook about the hopes and expectations of Veloce's expansion into Asia.

Image credit: Team Pacquiao GG

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