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United Talent Agency announced Wednesday that it has acquired esports talent agency Press X Agency and its sister company, gaming management agency Everyday Influencers. The new group will be overseen by Press X and Everyday Influencers co-founder Damon Lau, according to a statement. He will report to UTA Games head Ophir Lupu and UTA Ventures head Sam Wick. "As we identify and adopt early trends within the digital ecosystem, we recognized that the acquisition of Press X and Everyday Influencers would be a forward-looking opportunity for us," UTA CEO Jeremy Zimmer said in a press release. "The gaming sector is projected to reach over $135 billion this year, and esports and streaming are critical components of any strategy for growth. For UTA, these categories are complementary to our existing gaming practice and our business overall." UTA has represented several game developers since it first entered the video gaming industry. Over the past year, Press X have represented many high-level clients in professional esports, with a large focus on League of Legends by its agents Ferris Ganzman and Marcel Feldkamp. Press X represents 100 Thieves support Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black, Fnatic top laner Paul "sOAZ" Boyer, Echo Fox support Adrian "Adrian" Ma and others. Feldkamp, also known as "Dexter," is a former professional League of Legends player, and Ganzman coached collegiate esports teams and independently represented players before joining Press X. Everyday Influencers launched as a management agency for some of the largest gaming stars, including a few former pro esports players. Its clients include Michael "Imaqtpie" Santana and Imane "pokimane" An, among others. UTA is among several large-scale talent agencies to begin working in the esports industry in the past few years. Sports and entertainment agency WME-IMG acquired Global Esports Management in January 2015 and subsequently began representing a number of esports teams and talent, and it also launched ELeague with Turner Sports in May 2016. In October, Creative Artists Agency Icon acquired Barrett Sports Group, which consulted for Riot Games last fall during its North American League Championship Series franchise application process.
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