Mentioned in this article Teams: Denial eSports

This article has been updated to include Stephen Crystal’s response.

Stephen Crystal—previously noted for having invested in the PENTA and Denial esports organizations—is expanding beyond just team ownership. He has been recently named the Co-Owner of Beyond Entertainment, an esports organization that does both “gaming coverage and tournament operations.”

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Why limit yourself to just one conflict of interest when you can have four or five?[/perfectpullquote]

“Stephen is an excellent addition and valuable asset to the Beyond company,” said Beyond founder Joseph Bentley. “With Steve joining Beyond in a Co-Ownership capacity we know his extensive experience will play an essential role in taking Beyond to the next level, and accomplishing the company’s long term goals.”

The announcement acknowledges Crystal’s role in multiple esports organizations, adding that “Stephen’s expertise will assist greatly in growing the Beyond organization, and has agreed to contribute gambling lifestyle brand ‘Gamblah.com.'”

“Gamblah will focus on traditional casino gambling past present & future along with i-gaming, mobile skill-based gaming, social gaming and eSports. It will appeal to every generation of gamer. It will link social media – website, mobile, twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Reddit, Tumblr and more. It will contain original content, perspectives on gaming past, future & present. It will be multi generational linking the great generation to baby boomers to x gens to y gens to millennials. It will feature live streaming, interactivity and will serve as forum for comment & debate. It will highlight emerging trends in gaming, spotlight game genres and technology.”

Gamblah, as far as I can tell, is a placeholder for a social media website aiming at gamers and gamblers. It’s also worth nothing that the site is incredibly amateurish and includes meaningless hyperbole.

Put together, the moves of Crystal is starting to appear worrisome, especially for the esports organizations tying their names to his. Gamblah appears the creation of somebody very out-of-tune with esports business reality—or worse, a scam artist. Furthermore, he’s branding himself as the Co-Owner of multiple esports organizations, without any confirmation of a controlling share. At the very least, it begs the question of why limit yourself to just one conflict of interest when you can have four or five?

By branching out into esports media and tournament running, teams under Crystal’s ownership could face harsh questions regarding tournament placement and coverage. Crystal’s ownership pattern is starting to mirror that of Russian esports group ESforce Holding—albeit on a much smaller scale. Still, his investment strategy is becoming very questionable, not in the least because of how unstrategic it appears.

We have updated the article to include Stephen Crystal’s unabridged response

“I appreciate the right of TEO to publish articles they deem appropriate subject to journalistic standards of researching facts, seeking comment from the subject and basic fairness. In TEO’s recent “article” reporting on my investment in Beyond Entertainment these standards were not followed. An opinion was passed off as fact and nobody even bothered to seek comment from me.

First, my investments in Denial eSports, Penta Sports, UMG Gaming and Beyond Entertainment are minority investments. I do not control these fine companies but mentor and advise them given my 25 plus years of a career characterized by honesty and accomplishment.

Second, it is not a conflict to support eSports broadly as I do as an investor and mentor. In fact hundreds of participants in the eSports industry reach out to me routinely for such counsel and advice and fully support my interest in the betterment of eSports.

My project Gamblah.com is the culmination of my 25 plus years in the gaming industry and is currently under planning and implementation. To call it anything other than another example of my track record of real accomplishment is less than the truth. Many people have reached out to me since the articles posting saying not only do they disagree with the opinions but that the facts are missing and the point of the story misses the fact that participants in the esports industry desire my participation and hope I can contribute in much the same way I have over a long and storied career. Expressing opinion without basis, without research and without comment from me has no place in TEO. Along with my many supporters this I agree. It detracts in an unnecessary way from all the good work I am doing supporting and mentoring the next generation of awesome people!!”