The Third Richest Man In Russia Could Invest Over US$100 Million Into eSports

It’s been a pretty good month for Virtus.pro. The team got flown to Melbourne for a bit of extra cash at the Crown Invitational and they’re one of the outside favourites to take the upcoming Dreamhack major for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

But the latest development is even bigger. It might, in fact, be one of the largest investments in a team to date with Alisher Usmanov’s investment corporation, USM Holdings, injecting what could total over US$100 million into the organisation.

Image courtesy of ESL Australia

In a Russian release on the Virtus.pro website, the oligarch’s company intends to boost the popularity of eSports in Russia through the founding of “new tournaments and various new gaming disciplines”.

The release adds that Virtus.pro will now look to create media channels to cover the sport and to construct eSports arenas, according to a translation posted online by HLTV.org.

Usmanov’s wealth is currently valued at US$13.5 billion, according to Forbes, making him the 71st richest man in the world.

It’s important to note that the release on VP’s site says the total investment could exceed over US$100 million, meaning that it may be a staggered investment or that a certain level of funds are gated off for one reason or another. No other details have been announced or planned, but if you want to read a rough translation of it all then this is the link you need.


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