Esports media agency Rfrsh Entertainment is relatively new to the competitive gaming space. But despite being founded in late 2016, the agency has already established itself through its work with Counter-Strike teams Astralis, Heroic, Godsent, and Norse (not to be confused with North).

Rfrsh provides support for these pro teams, from arranging sessions with sports psychologists, physiotherapists and nutritionists to marketing, sponsorship sales, and video content.

While the agency’s work has been debated for its potential conflicts of interest, it is evident that Rfrsh’s unique approach to the esports industry has been a large factor in its success.

To find out more about how Rfrsh came to be, the scope of its work with Counter-Strike teams, and the agency’s future tournament plans, I interviewed CEO and co-founder Nikolaj Nyholm.

The origins of Rfrsh

Rfrsh Entertainment is backed by venture capital firm Sunstone Capital, which Nyholm told me he joined in 2010. His very first investment after coming on board with Sunstone was not in a company, but rather an individual by the name of Markus “Notch” Persson—the creator of Minecraft.

“I had never been within the gaming industry,” Nyholm told me. “I was extremely interested in looking at the investments there, seeing the opportunities. But my partnership didn’t really see the fun in the game. [To them] it was ugly, there was no onboarding, it was a very weird and awkward game, it had been written in Java, it was being distributed on the web. Everything seemed wrong about it.”

Nyholm went on to become an advisor to the company that would become Mojang, which was later famously purchased by Microsoft for $2.5 billion. During that time Nyholm witnessed the effects of Minecraft on what was then an emerging audience; an audience who didn’t play the game themselves, but watched videos of others playing it.

“At that point I really realized that this was about entertainment. I think that’s when I finally was convinced esports was an interesting field to invest in,” Nyholm said.

Nyholm has described his investment in Astralis as further heightening his interest in the space. The relationship between Astralis and Rfrsh can be confusing, due in part to the overlap of both organizations’ founders. Astralis was co-founded by Jakob Lund Kristensen (who also is the founder of esports team Copenhagen Wolves) and Frederik Byskov in January 2016. The two had approached Nyholm in 2015 to seek funding for the team. They received this funding via investments from Sunstone.

Nyholm and Kristensen went on to co-found Rfrsh in the late summer of 2016. The agency then partnered with Astralis, Heroic, Godsent, and a team that eventually became Norse (not to be confused with North).

“That’s really the genesis of it,” Nyholm said. “Of course, there’s been a lot of confusion specifically with regards to Astralis because I was originally an investor and then suddenly I was also involved in Astralis in one capacity or another.”





Rfrsh’s relationship with the teams

Nyholm confirmed that Rfrsh does not currently have an ownership stake in any of the CS:GO teams it works with, with Astralis being an exception. Obviously, Kristensen also has ownership in the two organizations.

“I have a very indirect relationship with [Astralis],” Nyholm explained. “I still have the Sunstone venture fund. It works like any venture fund … I’m no longer a general partner at Sunstone, but I do have a very tiny ownership in that fund. So I have an indirect interest there.”

For Heroic, Godsent, and Norse, there is no ownership stake. However, Nyholm does not rule out the possibility of acquiring ownership stakes at a later date.

“What we’ve also stated pretty clearly is that we certainly see that as an option…in a development phase it might make sense for us to take ownership. But that really has to do more with our ability to invest larger amounts of money into teams and team development that the teams would not be able to do on their own. And in that case, we want to see some sort of financial return for that directive,” he said.

Nyholm describes Rfrsh’s relationship with the teams more as “a client that we provide services to.”

Rfrsh prioritizes the sports performance of the players, treating them as professional athletes. From providing services such as that of the famed sports psychologist to physiotherapy, physical training, nutrition, and sleep pattern analysis, the agency approaches player performance seriously.

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