Freaks 4U Gaming

Freaks 4U Gaming is a Germany-based esports and gaming marketing agency that was established as a separate business unit from the Freaks 4U GmbH foundation in 2011. It offers a wide range of services including brand and marketing consultancy, event management and logistics, and creative services. The company’s key markets are Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia, and as of June 2021, it had organized and hosted 1,500 tournaments across 200 events. In August 2021, it replaced DreamHack as the operator of Riot Games’ League of Legends Northern European Regional League for 2022, a multi-divisional league that consists of the UK, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Norway, and Iceland.

Freaks 4U announced the acquisition of the Italy- and Switzerland-based esports and gaming event organizer, ProGaming Italia, in June 2021. The company acquired all outstanding shares of ProGaming Italia from its parent, Game.Fin, which also acquired a minority stake in Freaks 4U Gaming. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. 

Founded in 2003, ProGaming Italia offers live and digital event planning, strategic consultancy, broadcast production, and content creation services. It has a history of organizing international tournaments partnering with several international game developers and tournament organizers such as Riot Games and ESL. Freaks 4U revealed that ProGaming Italia will operate as a joint venture with its existing CEO, Daniel Schmidhofer, continuing to lead the company.

Freaks 4U Gaming signed a multi-year partnership with the tournament platform ESL Gaming (ESL) in October 2021. Through the deal, Freaks 4U Gaming became the official license holder and operator of national ESL competitions and DreamHack festivals in Germany and France. As a result, the German and French broadcasts of ESL Pro Tour, as well as national ESL and DreamHack products, will include content produced by Freaks 4U Gaming. It is also expected to work with ESL to commercialize and develop these products. This follows its appointment as the successor DreamHack as the operator of Riot Games’ League of Legends Northern European Regional League (NLC) 2022 in August 2021.

Freaks 4U Gaming announced that it has received USD 17.6 million from Co-Investor Partners, an equity investor focusing on medium-sized companies in the DACH region, in August 2021. This was Co-Investor Partners’ first investment in the gaming and esports industry and gives them a minority shareholding in Freaks 4U. This investment also marked Freaks 4U’s first external investment.  The company intends to use the fresh funds to support its global expansion plans, new projects, and efforts to consolidate its PanEuropean footprint.