Advertisement

Team Nigma, Galaxy Racer announce merger, form Nigma Galaxy

(Photo: Team Nigma/Galaxy Racer)
(Photo: Team Nigma/Galaxy Racer)

Renown Dota 2 player-owned organisation Team Nigma and United Arab Emirates-based gaming brand Galaxy Racer announced a merger on Monday (20 September) that will see Team Nigma head Galaxy Racer's esports team division as Nigma Galaxy.

Nigma Galaxy will headline a division comprised of 60 players from over 20 countries playing in a variety of titles that include Dota 2, League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, VALORANT, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), Free Fire, and Fortnite: Battle Royale, among others.

Team Nigma will also continue competing in the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) and its European regional league under the new Nigma Galaxy brand alongside Galaxy Racer's existing Dota 2 roster, which competes in Southeast Asia.

With their merger, Team Nigma and Galaxy Racer said they will be looking "to build an authentic voice for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region" and "use existing resources from Galaxy Racer to expand further within Europe, South and North America, Southeast Asia, and China".

Both Team Nigma and Galaxy Racer were launched in 2019 in MENA.

Team Nigma, based out of Dubai, was founded by former Team Liquid members Mohamed Morad and Christoph Timm as well as four of the five players that won the championship of The International 2017 (TI7) under the organisation's banner: Kuro "Kuroky" Takhasomi, Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi, Ivan "MinD_ControL" Ivanov, and Maroun "GH" Merhej.

Team Nigma quickly became one of the biggest organisation in MENA, notably becoming the first-ever esports team to be sponsored by an airline after they partnered with Etihad Airways back in April.

Even if Nigma were not able to qualify for TI10, they remained one of the most popular teams in the DPC in terms of viewership according to a report by esports charts.

“We are excited to announce our merger with Team Nigma to transform our competitive esports division into Nigma Galaxy. Team Nigma’s leadership team carries vast experience as professional players, which we believe will be a great asset to building and supporting all the teams under the Nigma Galaxy banner," Galaxy Racer founder and CEO Paul Roy said in a press release.

“Celebrating and nurturing the untapped gaming community around the world is what Galaxy Racer was founded on. With this merger, we believe we will be able to truly unlock this potential and shape the future of esports on a global scale.”

“We are thrilled to announce our merger with Galaxy Racer. Galaxy Racer has a brilliant understanding of the entertainment business and together we share a mutual passion for supporting and nurturing talent within the MENA region," added Team Nigma co-founder Mohamed Morad.

"There is also a lot of natural synergy between our brands with Nigma meaning 'star' in Arabic. Before this merger, Nigma was a single star. By becoming Nigma Galaxy, we will have a Galaxy full of stars.”Team Nigma co-founder Mohamed Morad

Nigma Galaxy will operate as a standalone entity and continue to retain the current Team Nigma colours, with their "own budget, brand, direction and identity".

Similarly, Galaxy Racer will retain their own brand identity and will focus on developing their content creator structure and "additional branches to the business", the press release said.

For more esports news updates, visit https://yhoo.it/YahooEsportsSEA and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page and Twitter.