Completing 40 years in the market in 2023, the KLEFER Group continues to expand its business and announces the entry into society at Imperial eSports, which operates competitively in the eSports field with a focus on performance. Imperial has been gaining more and more prominence in Brazil and the international scene, being the best positioned Brazilian organization in the world ranking of HLTV (#17), in the Counter Strike modality, and one of the most engaged among fans on social networks.
“We at KLEFER are very proud to join the Imperial family. We are going to put our 40 years of experience in the development of sports and entertainment projects at the service of the most beloved Org in Brazil,” says Eduardo Leite, managing partner of KLEFER.
“We want to break barriers, expand Imperial's connection with the strategy of the main brands in the advertising market and, with a lot of innovation, strengthen the importance of the entire global eSport ecosystem. This movement only reinforces KLEFER's nature of being an avant-garde, pluralistic company with excellence in its deliveries and results for partners and sponsors,” highlights Leite.
According to Felippe Martins, founder and CEO of Imperial, the segment is a reality and has conquered enthusiasts of all ages. “The numbers and research are there to prove it: eSports is no longer a niche market, but one of the fastest growing segments in the sports market. And so the opportunities are endless. We are in a moment of strategic structuring to continue growing assertively and the arrival of KLEFER comes to further consolidate our business and our expansion,” said the executive.
In addition to the competitive scene, the “Org” draws the attention of major players and has sponsorships and projects in its portfolio with brands such as Sportsbet.io, Audi, CIMED, Gandom, Claro, among others.
Studies from 2022 such as Newzoo, a platform for analyzing data on the games sector, show that around 640 million people are expected to watch official competitions by 2025. In addition, the Brazilian market for games and eSports has moved, in the year alone past, R$ 7 billion (US$ 1.45bn).
A recent estimate by PwC in its Global Entertainment and Media Survey pointed out that the value should double over the next five years, reaching R$ 13 billion (US$ 2.65bn) in 2026. Competitions in this market today deliver prizes totaling more than US$ 1 billion, generating more money than industries such as cinema.
Totaling more than 700,000 followers on social networks, Imperial was founded in 2018 by Felippe “felippe1” Martins, a former Counter-Strike and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) player and a well-known character in the segment. In its early years, Imperial focused its efforts on growing in the CS:GO scene, and even had well-known players in the middle in its lineups, such as Caio “zqk” Fonseca, Gustavo “SHOOWTiME” Gonçalves, Eduardo “dumau” Wolkmer and Lucas “LUCAS1” Teles, guaranteeing numerous achievements in Brazilian tournaments.
The organization acquired even more notoriety after being part of the “The Last Dance” project, with the presence of Fernando “fer” and Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, references in the modality.
Imperial's CS:GO lineup currently features Henrique "HEN1" Teles, João "Felps" Vasconcellos, Ricardo "Boltz" Prass, Jhonatan "JOTA" Willian, Vinícius "VINI" Figueiredo as captain and Rafael "zakk" Fernandes acts as the team coach.
Source: GMB
