Rick Fox Talks To CNBC about Echo Fox and the Rise of Esports
By Zac Cameron ·
The ever popular team owner shared his thoughts on League of Legends and Esports with CNBC's Fast Money.
After Echo Fox fought hard for 3rd place in the North American League of Legends Championship Series, and a spot at the upcoming Rift Rivals tournament, owner Rick Fox took some time to speak with CNBC’s Fast Money on the topic of Echo Fox, Esports, and the role he’s played in making the scene a little more mainstream.
“I think I would look back to my time in New York in 2015 at the North American League of Legends Championship in Madison Square Garden,” Rick Fox on when he knew that Echo Fox would be a good investment. “I think it was in that moment, not only did I experience personally for myself everything that I’d experienced in the past in Playoff environments throughout my NBA days, but I also ran into some of my mentors, Adam Silver being one of them, who was there also exploring the industry, understanding it as it’s gone forward as you’ve seen yesterday with the 2K League, so congratulations to Adam Silver and the NBA for launching their Esports League. But those were moments for me where I personally got a look into the world of Esports and the potential of it going forward could be.”
Rick Fox would go on to talk about his feelings on the generational stigma that is attached to Esports, stating “(on his son looking towards Esports rather than traditional sports) No different for a young man or woman wanting to be a professional athlete in, say, Tennis or Basketball or some other field of sport” explaining the existence of Esports scholarships and the opening market for broadcasters, sports psychologists, analysts, and trainers.
When asked what would feel more exciting, cutting down the nets after winning an NBA Title or watch Echo Fox hoist the Championship Trophy, Rick’s reply was inspiring for fans of Esports, stating that while he’s done one in his career in the past, he prefers to look to the future where he would feel just as happy celebrating his team’s success in League of Legends.
While Echo Fox did not play for the NA LCS Title this weekend, they did get to experience glory on the main stage, securing 3rd place with their clean 3-0 sweep of Clutch Gaming to gain a spot on the North American Rift Rivals team. You can catch the match recaps from that series here, and for more on Echo Fox check out their website, here.