Talent management company Prodigy Agency has announced its expansion into League of Legends, bringing on Sami “Rico” Harbi to head the division.
Before entering the MOBA title, Prodigy Agency boasted a list of talent partnerships spanning CS:GO, Rocket League, and Trackmania, and the company claims they negotiated “close to $10 million [£8.02m] in employment and marketing contracts” across 2019.
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Prodigy Agency has operated accross Europe, North America, Asia, Latin America, and the CIS region. Earlier this year, it was also named among the talent agencies that worked alongside the Esports Integrity Commission to introduce talent agent operation regulations.
Its move into League of Legends has seen the hiring of Sami “Rico” Harbi, an experienced manager and coach, to head its LoL-related operations. Harbi’s previously worked for esports organisations such as Fnatic, Dignitas, and CLG Academy, before becoming a General Manager and building French LFL team MCES.
Harbi described why a move to Prodigy attracted him in a release: “Prodigy did a wonderful job representing some of the greatest talents in the CS:GO scene in 2019, while also scouting and bringing in some up-and-coming players.
“Inspired by their dedication and values, I’m happy to join the family as Prodigy’s growth extends to League of Legends, an ecosystem in which much has yet to be done for the players’ best interests. With my years of experience in competitive League of Legends and Prodigy’s resources to support players already at hand, 2020 will be yet another great year for the Prodigy Agency.”
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Nick “Crane” Turberville also joins as his assistant. Turberville is a former Team Manager for BIG and co-founded LoLProsGG, an online database that tracks League of Legends pros, in 2018.
Harbi and Turberville will work together to offer Prodigy Agency’s services to League of Legends players. That includes career management, strategic guidance, contract negotiations, legal services, image and brand creation, marketing, content, and global partnership development. The agency’s first partner is Szépvölgyi “mumus100” Márió, who currently competes in the UKLC for MnM Gaming.
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Jérôme Coupez, CEO of Prodigy Agency, shared his thoughts on the expansion and new hires: “I couldn’t be more excited to expand Prodigy Agency into League of Legends, one of the biggest competitive games in the world. We revolutionized the esports representation model in CS:GO and now we plan to do the same in LoL.
“The team of more than 20 extremely qualified people that represent and work for the current stars and up-and-coming talents in our roster is constantly growing, so it was a no-brainer for us to expand and offer our services to LoL players with the help of experts like Sami “Rico” Harbi and Nick “Crane” Turberville.”
Esports Insider says: Prodigy Agency has plenty of experience in Counter-Strike, but the League of Legends ecosystem is an entirely different animal with its own set of challenges. Harbi and Turberville will have plenty to do to adapt the company’s services to the new market and we wish them the best of luck in their new roles.
