competitive-gaming
(5)
Evil Geniuses
Evil Geniuses is one of the oldest and most storied esports organizations in North America. Founded in 1999 as a Quake clan, EG built a legacy across Dota 2, StarCraft, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, and Valorant, most famously winning Dota 2's The International 2015 for a then-record payout and Valorant Champions 2023. Now headquartered in Seattle and owned by Chicago investment firm PEAK6, the company runs competitive teams, a content-creator roster, youth and community programs, and a direct-to-consumer merchandise line.
Chris DeAppolonio
Chris DeAppolonio is the CEO of Evil Geniuses, North America's oldest esports organization. A sports-business lifer who wrote his 2008 NYU master's thesis on the coming rise of professional gaming, he spent a decade in traditional sports marketing before crossing into esports as a team president and innovation chief. He now runs EG on a data-first, 'Moneyball' philosophy, pairing proprietary analytics and AI with player development to scout undervalued talent and chase championships.
Avia (AviaGames)
Avia (formerly AviaGames) is a San Mateo-based mobile gaming company behind Pocket7Games, a skill-based tournament platform where players compete in puzzle, card, bingo, and arcade titles for cash prizes. Founded in 2017 by Vickie Chen and Ping Wang, the company uses algorithmic skill matchmaking and a single-wallet system across a portfolio that includes Solitaire Clash, Bingo Clash, and Bubble Buzz.
Ninja
Tyler 'Ninja' Blevins is the world's most recognized gaming streamer, having transformed competitive gaming into mainstream entertainment. Starting as a Halo pro in 2009, he became the face of Fortnite's cultural takeover - playing live with Drake to a record 628,000 concurrent viewers in 2018 - and parlayed that moment into a media empire spanning Twitch, YouTube, brand deals with Red Bull and Adidas, a Chief Innovation Officer role at GameSquare Holdings, and a co-founded cashew milk brand. With 19+ million Twitch followers and 23+ million YouTube subscribers, he continues to define what a professional streamer can become.
Vickie Chen
Vickie Yanjuan Chen is the founder and CEO of Avia (AviaGames), the Silicon Valley company behind Pocket7Games - a real-money skill-based mobile gaming platform with 60M+ downloads, 450M+ monthly tournaments, and over $60M in venture funding. A 20-year gaming industry veteran who previously ran global publishing for Nasdaq-listed Changyou.com, Chen built Avia from a Mountain View garage with co-founder Ping Wang into a 400-person company that has paid out over $700M in cash prizes to players. Recognized by Forbes China as a 2022 Global Chinese Elite Top 100 Industry Leader, she is a vocal advocate for inclusive gaming and female leadership in tech.