Golden Guardians, an esports affiliate of NBA franchise Golden State Warriors, announced their rebranding and expansion into new esports titles earlier this week. The organization previously only sponsored professional League of Legends teams. Wednesday’s announcement revealed three new teams competing in Apex Legends, Teamfight Tactics, and World of Warcraft.
The American esports organization announced their rebranding on Twitter, unveiling their new logo with a video. The updated logo brings a new design and color scheme, distancing itself from the previous blue and gold. Golden Guardians also revealed their signings of professional Apex Legends, Teamfight Tactics, and World of Warcraft teams. This expansion comes alongside the announcement of a new Apex Legends tournament circuit that will offer over $3 million in prize money. The organization also plans to enter the Rocket League esports scene, competing through the Rocket League Championship Series.
“Expanding our esports portfolio is an integral part of growing the Warriors brand from just a basketball team to a sports and entertainment company,” says GSW Sports Ventures Vice President Kirk Lacob. “We are always looking for innovative ways to strengthen the footprint of our organization, and growing the Golden Guardians brand is a major aspect of that growth.” The Golden State Warriors will now have esports affiliates in five games, four of which will compete under the Golden Guardians name. The franchise also sponsors NBA 2K team Warriors Gaming Squad.
Golden Guardians was founded in 2017, debuting with a League of Legends roster in the 2018 LCS season. The team found minimal success in their inaugural season, though returned with improved results in 2019. A number of highly accomplished League of Legends talents have played under the Golden Guardians banner, including Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell, Henrik “Froggen” Hansen, and Kim “Olleh” Joo-sung.
The organization also revealed the rosters for each of their new teams. Timothy “iiTzTimmy” An, Deston “Bronzey” Nguyen, and Devon “Pfitter” Self will represent Golden Guardians in Apex Legends. Their Teamfight Tactics division is comprised of Jeffrey “DeliciousMilkGG” Pan, Rebecca “Becca” Cho, and Andrew “TidesofTime” Biessener. TidesofTime will also rep the GGS jersey in various other autobattler titles, including Hearthstone Battlegrounds and Auto Chess. Carlos “Absterge” Correa, Jason “Pikaboo” Smith, Conner “Wizk” Torrence, and Vincent “Jellybeans” Tran make up the World of Warcraft team.
These teams will compete under the Golden Guardians banner in 2020, while the organization’s League of Legends squad will return for the upcoming LCS Spring Split.
