The owners of Danish esports team North have announced that the organisation will be wound down. The announcement comes just weeks after North signed new talent to its Counter-Strike roster and was continuing to compete and make content as per usual up until today.
According to a statement, North’s investors (FC Copenhagen owners Parken Sport & Media and Nordisk Film) have decided to cease operations, citing the coronavirus pandemic’s impact on the esports industry as the reason.
“We have searched the market to get one or more co-investors on board the project, but have unfortunately not found the right match,” says Lars Bo Jeppesen, chairman of North and director of Parken Sport & Entertainment. “It will require significant continued investment to create a sustainable business in the future and therefore we believe that the sole responsibility for our overall business is to focus all our focus on our core business in FC Copenhagen.”
North, which fielded teams in Apex Legends, FIFA, and most notably CS:GO, was first started in 2017 when it acquired Dignitas’ Counter-Strike roster.
Today is a sad day. North Esports is no more.
Ty for all ❤
</North>https://t.co/KNeSvhvO0p
— North (@TheNorthIsHere) February 5, 2021
Now, the majority of players will have to find new organisations to play for, with the exception of its FIFA pros Marcus ‘Marcuzo’ Jørgensen, Mads ‘MadsR’ Rasmussen, and Mikkel ‘LordHjorth’ Bach who will now be playing as FC Copenhagen to continue competing in the eSuperliga.
The decision appears to be a relatively sudden one, as only a few weeks ago North added a new player in Denis ‘grux’ Gutaj to its CS:GO roster.