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Industry veteran Andy Payne has joined the board of eSports firm European Gaming League (EGL).
Payne takes on the role on top of his duties as MD and chairman of publisher Mastertronic and chair of trade body UKIE.
I am honoured and flattered to be asked to join EGL,” Payne said of his appointment.
eSports is an exciting and emerging sector which promises rapid growth and plenty of fabulous opportunities. The EGL team is super talented, highly experienced and passionate.
"This is my first foray into eSports and I am really enjoying it. I have been helping behind the scenes for six months, and am learning very fast."
EGL founder Glen Elliott added: "We are delighted to have Andy on the team.
"He brings with him a games publisher and developer perspective and his vast knowledge and experience will be a huge asset to our business."
Following the news, Payne told MCV about the barriers that eSports still faces in the UK, highlighting a wider disregard of the sector as its primary challenge.
"There is a communications job needed," he said. "Both to the industry and then to the wider population in general.
"eSports seems to be pretty misunderstood right now; it’s something that means one thing to one person and something completely different to another. That is to be expected, and it will take time to level this out. Some think it is all about prize money pots, some are worried about the reliability of teams, and some worry about the age appropriateness of players in a purely online environment.
"We are very much at the beginning of the eSports revolution, so expect rapid growth, plenty of media heat and perhaps some market consolidation happening very soon."
