Steve Aoki's Investing in an eSports Team

Photo by Robin Laananen

EDM superstar and cryogenic vitrification enthusiast Steve Aoki announced his first ever foray into eSports investment this weekend, during a live performance at video game convention TwitchCon in San Diego. The lucky recipients of his financing are Las Vegas' Rogue team, which specializes in the games Overwatch and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Aoki also shared the announcement on Twitter, describing himself as a "proud owner of one of the best esports teams out there"; he will also be involved with managerial and brand development work for the team, reports ESPN.

"As many of my fans know, I've been a gamer all my life and have been getting more and more involved in esports," he is quoted as saying in ESPN. "I can finally take my love for gaming to the next level as an owner of Rogue, the professional esports team. As an avid player of Overwatch, their dominance caught my eye and after getting to know them, I realized that we shared the same goals and interests in team building and competition."

Aoki has livestreamed himself playing video games on the video platform Twitch multiple times in the past, including clips with Israeli producer Borgore and eSports competitors TeamLiquid. In an interview with Billboard published today, he also described his imprint Dim Mak's copyright-free sublabel New Noise as a "contribution to the Twitch world," because the platform automatically mutes streams containing material protected by copyright.

Last week, a Spanish promoter was sentenced to four years in prison for his involvement with a 2012 Steve Aoki show that resulted in four deaths.

Made a big announcement at — Steve Aoki (@steveaoki)October 2, 2016

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