NRG returns to League of Legends, acquires GAM Esports roster

Back in 2016, one of the most iconic North American teams in the competitive announced their farewell to the League of Legends scene, after NRG Esports decided to sell their NA Challenger Series‎ spot due to a “change of focus on key titles outside [of Riot’s MOBA], according to their president, Brett Lautenbach.

Now, after years where the org has found international success in competitions like the Overwatch League and the Rocket League Championship Series, the team is now prepared to restart their adventure on LoL Esports, but this time, as part of the Vietnam Championship Series (VCS).

(Picture: NRG)

Through an announcement posted on their Twitter account, NRG Esports has confirmed their comeback to League of Legends, after making an agreement with CMG.ASIA, an entertainment company in Vietnam which established a strategic relationship with the org back in 2019 with the sole intention of bringing NRG’s playbook to Asia.

With this new alliance, CMG.ASIA has also revealed the full acquisition of GAM Esports by NRG, current champions of the VCS and one of the strongest and biggest teams in Vietnam, having qualified for many international tournaments in recent years like MSI and Worlds since the days of the GPL.

NRG’s co-founder and CEO, Andy Miller commented on this strategic partnership and entry into the Vietnam market: “With so much passion around esports in Southeast Asia, we thought Vietnam was the perfect place to launch NRG’s global expansion.”

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The arrival of NRG to the Asian competitive environment will be completed with the creation of NRG ASIA, a new Esports management & media company focused on representing Southeast Asia’s up-and-coming Esports power players.

(Picture: NRG)

“With the expansion of NRG into Southeast Asia, we are excited to begin this new journey headquartered here in Vietnam. Starting off with the 5-time League of Legends VCS Champions, GAM, our goal is to elevate GAM from being Vietnam champions, to leading World Championship contenders, by providing them additional resources and knowledge by top esport leaders.” said TK Nguyen, NRG Asia’s CEO. 

At the moment it’s unknown if the Vietnamese champions will suffer a rebrand after this massive announcement, however one thing is very clear, and that is that NRG is back to business with more thirst for victory and championships than ever.