Warriors' Peter Guber, Capitals' Ted Leonsis Land Esports Franchise Team Liquid

Golden State Warriors co-owner Peter Guber and Washington Wizards and Capitals owner Ted Leonsis reportedly reached an agreement Tuesday to purchase Netherlands-based esports franchise Team Liquid.

Darren Rovell of ESPN first reported the news. 

It's the second time in as many days the world of professional sports has intersected with the budding esports industry. On Monday, Darren Heitner of Forbes noted the Philadelphia 76ers became the first team to make a direct investment by purchasing Team Apex and Team Dignitas.

Team Liquid has become one of esports' most successful organizations since its founding in 2000. Manager Victor "Nazgul" Goossens released a statement on the team's official website about the sale of the controlling interest to the group of investors led by Guber and Leonsis:

"

As I'm sure you've heard by now, we have announced a groundbreaking strategic partnership with an investment group led by Peter Guber and Ted Leonsis. For myself and Steve, this has been a really long time in the making and we are excited finally to be able to share it with you. When we started looking for investment early last year, we had many different options from multiple minority investments to a majority investment. Throughout this long process I have really gotten to know Bruce [Stein] and Peter as intelligent and trusting partners and they have put together a phenomenal investment group to invest alongside them—including Ted Leonsis whose background is a perfect mix of sports, technology, and innovation.

"

Business Wire pointed out the large contingent of co-investors also features Basketball Hall of Famer and Los Angeles Dodgers owner Magic Johnson, Chicago Cubs president of baseball operations Crane Kenney and former NFL linebacker Dhani Jones.

Team Liquid competes in a wide range of esports competitions, including Halo, League of Legends, Super Smash Bros. and Street Fighter.

The growth of the industry as a whole took center stage in July when ESPN2 broadcast the Street Fighter V World Championship. TBS has also moved to the forefront of telecasting the virtual events with its coverage of ELEAGUE. 

Al Smizzle of the DFS Edge commented on the sudden surge in investment:

Newzoo provided further details about the reason for the increased interest by reporting in January that esports generated $325 million in worldwide revenue last year. The outlet projected that number to reach $463 million in 2016 and $1.1 billion by 2019.