Mike Vela grew up playing sports and even competed in rugby while attending Purdue University. But he had another talent growing up that Vela says he didn’t often promote.
“I always hid the fact that I was really good at video games and computers,” he said.
It’s that talent from which Vela has made a career, having worked as a technology consultant before becoming an entrepreneur. Today, he’s the founder and CEO of World Champion Fantasy (WCF), a Chesterfield-based startup seeking to improve the experience of watching competitive video gaming. While WCF is still developing its technology, it has received investment from professional athletes and inked a partnership with Verizon Communications Inc.
So far, WCF has funded its operations through $5.2 million it has raised, with its investors including a pair of National Football League players. Its backers include Kurt Benkert, a free agent quarterback that most recently was a member of the San Francisco 49ers and who also competes in esports, and Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. In addition to being an investor, Smith-Schuster is an adviser and spokesman for WCF.
Founded in 2020, WCF is creating an app designed to allow users to watch esports competitions, view live game statistics and compete in fantasy esports competitions and leagues. The app, called PlayerX, aims to let users view highlights, conduct in-game chats and video conferencing.
By adding a fantasy sports component to esports, WCF says its app gives its esports fans the ability to both watch competition and “be part of the action.” Vela said the app also provides a single platform to watch and participate in esports, offering a safer experience for children.
“Right now, for the younger audiences to engage in esports, they have to go to YouTube or Twitch. When you have children playing on YouTube and Twitch, that adds a different layer of parental guidance to what you’re doing,” he said. “We want to support esports and just have esports games on our platform.”
WCF this year plans to debut its technology, expecting to launch beta versions of its streaming portal in April and its fantasy esports product in June. The initial video games WCF plans to incorporate into its platform are Valorant, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends and Call of Duty.
Vela said WCF plans to generate revenue through subscription fees and micro-transactions, which would allow users to customize their experience through means such as personalizing their avatars. He said he expects revenue from micro-transactions to outpace subscriptions.
As it develops its technology, WCF has teamed up with communications giant Verizon, with the two companies announcing in October it had entered into a multiyear contract that involves WCF using Verizon’s “tools, services and tech stack” for its PlayerX app.
“He’s going to bring massive attention and massive eyes to our platform and what we’re building and how we’re building it,” Vela said.
WCF, with its headquarters at 714 Spirit 40 Park Drive, has nine employees and four contract-to-hire members on its staff.
