The Midwest Got Something To Say
"Everyone's fighting at the same table for the same scraps..." Sherman said about the esports space. As of today, many top-tier esports orgs like Faze Clan and Cloud 9 call California their home. And in cases like 100 Thieves, made massive content creation compounds in the Los Angeles area. "We need to eat at a totally different restaurant." he continued. Sherman highlighted that Michigan, Illinois and Ohio are hotbeds of talent and opportunity that few have taken advantage of. Being so disconnected from the nexuses of the industry in LA, Texas and NYC made moving Immortals to Metro Detroit is a big risk but not without calculation. A number of very competitive college esports programs such as Northwood University, Akron, Maryville University and more have won esports championships representing the midwest. And with only a few major esports orgs outside of the coasts, Sherman and Immortals are a massive opportunity.
New Look Immortals?
In terms of their plans for Metro Detroit and how Immortals plan to endear themselves to it, a few big things are coming in the future. Sherman announced that a rebrand was coming to their LCS team (and perhaps all teams) that would take queues from the Great Lakes region. The move would be the closest thing League of Legends has to the Overwatch League's city-based branding. While he didn't share any additional details, it's a clear call to get the Rust Belt to support Immortals first and foremost.
When asked about roster moves in the LCS, Sherman replied with a simple "Yes". And said that because of transfer news embargos that he couldn't share more. But It seems like Immortals will have a different look in more ways than one come 2022.
Also, the Immortals CEO confirmed that their women's Valorant team will indeed operate and reside in southeast Michigan. When asked about why a women's Valorant side would be their next venture, Sherman replied that "if we can help raise up [women's Valorant]…and help these communities that haven't had the same opportunities in other games, now we've done something really impactful."
You can check out the video above or the full, extended conversation on our podcast Checkpoint Daily.
[embed]https://omny.fm/shows/checkpoint-xp-daily/immortals-ceo-jordan-sherman-marvel-monday[/embed]
Featured Image: Ric Hogerheide/Checkpoint XP
