The Golden Guardians were founded in 2017 as the esports affiliate of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors, acquiring a franchise in the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS)—but the team now has even grander ambitions ahead.
Alongside yesterday’s announcement of a rebranding, the organization announced that it has signed players to compete and stream in Apex Legends, Teamfight Tactics, and World of Warcraft. Furthermore, the Golden Guardians are eyeing the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) as a next destination.
“The Golden Guardians will aim to continue their expansion over the next several months with a focus on Rocket League and the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS), amongst other titles,” reads the press release.
Currently, there’s only one unsigned squad amongst the 10 teams slated to compete in the North American RLCS in Season 9: Afterthought, comprised of Chris “Dappur” Mendoza, Matthew “Satthew” Ackermann, and Nathan “Shock” Frommelt. However, it’s also possible that another organization would be willing to sell its roster, especially given the kind of money that the Warriors have to play with. There’s also the unsigned Discombobulators in Europe, but given its target market and NBA association, it seems likely that the Guardians will look to NA options.
In any case, a public declaration of interest in entering the RLCS is a good sign for the league, which posted record peak viewership numbers for last weekend’s Season 8 World Championship and will begin Season 9 in a matter of weeks.
Community veteran Blake “CloudFuel” Tull commented on Reddit that the Golden Guardians have been eyeing Rocket League for some time now, and Pittsburgh Knights player Slater “retals” Thomas told the SubParButInHD Podcast in November that the Guardians expressed interest in them after they won DreamHack Montreal. However, they had already signed with the Knights at that time, although it wasn’t yet public. It’ll be interesting to see who they target next for a potential signing or acquisition.