According to HBJ, Zieben is in the process of raising around $50m to fund an esports-focused holding company, meaning the company will be separate from Zieben Group.
The report originally came from the Houston Business Journal, who state that Zieben has not only purchased the Houston Outlaws for a reported $40 million but also intend on taking a Houston spot in the Call of Duty Global League following their eUnited acquisition.
eUnited, of course, won the two biggest tournaments of the Black Ops 4 season, with back-to-back wins at CWL Finals and CWL World Championships. So far, Alec “Arcitys” Sanderson has tweeted that he is a free agent since his contract ended, whilst the remaining four players – twin brother Preston “Prestinni” Sanderson, James “Clayster” Eubanks, Tyler “Abezy” Pharris and Chris “Simp” Lehr – have not revealed their plans going forward, though Clayster has shared some cryptic tweets.
Open signing period starts tomorrow and I’m sitting here in the dark ahah ah ha. Fantastic stuff lads
— Clayster (@Clayster) September 2, 2019
A Twitter account belonging to a Lee Zieben, assumed to be the Zieben in question due to him being followed by multiple Houston Outlaws players, has also been found, though it has little interaction on it.
Or, at least, normal interaction. As popular Call of Duty community account @INTELCallofDuty tweeted out, he has reached out to The Rock, Jeff Bezos and (not in the screenshot) Elon Musk to ask if they’re interested in investing with him.
Now, my Discord did some stalking and we found his Twitter* where he was tweeting about buying a Call of Duty League team in July..
— CDL Intel (@intelCDL) August 27, 2019
Interesting.
(*he’s followed by Outlaws players so yes I believe that’s his twitter) pic.twitter.com/yZBgCTWrBy
eUnited are one of the biggest names in Call of Duty right now but have not yet ruled out being part of the CDL in 2020, unlike other teams such as 100 Thieves. OpTic Gaming will be going forward under the Immortals Gaming Club banner, whilst FaZe Clan also have not revealed any plans going forward. Envy, of course, own the Dallas franchise in both the OWL and CDL.
GINX Esports TV will provide any updates as and when they happen.