Wylde announces partnership with Virgin Media, opens esports academy in Ireland

Irish esports organisation Wylde have announced a partnership with Virgin Media and a new academy in a bid to boost esports in the region.

Wylde have launched an esports academy powered by Virgin Media in the Republic of Work, Cork, Ireland.

The academy will host a number of national and international events in the coming months including FIFA training sessions and a Rainbow Six Siege bootcamp, and will support development of player performance and coaching.

To coincide with this announcement, Virgin Media will launch a nationwide campaign where two of Ireland’s top FIFA players will be showcased: Tyrone ‘TyroneRyann’ Ryan and Ciarán ‘MrWelly’ Walsh from Team Wylde.

In 2021, these Wylde FIFA players reached the inaugural FAI eLeague of Ireland championship final, with Tyrone Ryan going on to represent Ireland at the FIFA eNations Series last year.

Launching on October 10th 2022 and running until mid-November, the campaign will consist of audio-visual (AV), social, out-of-home (OOH), digital and national radio advertising, the campaign will also feature a voiceover from Scottish actor Brian Cox (not the English physicist and former musician that shares the same name).

Earlier this year, Usain Bolt entered esports as a co-owner of Irish organisation Wylde, who were relatively new at the time. They also compete in Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League and Valorant. In June, Wylde won the Rainbow Six Siege Gamers Without Borders Europe tournament and did well in Gamers8, reaching the semi-final.

Research commissioned by Virgin Media shows that 53% of Irish adults game regularly, rising to 75% of adults aged 18 to 34 years. Strategy and sports titles are the most popular esports amongst Irish gamers, with 22% watching live esports tournaments online.

Paul Higgins, VP of commercial at Virgin Media, said: “We are thrilled to announce this new partnership with Wylde, Ireland’s leading esports organisation. Without superfast and reliable broadband, gamers cannot perform at their best. The Wylde esports academy powered by Virgin Media’s superfast 1Gb speeds is the first of its kind in Ireland and is an exciting opportunity to help nurture and support gaming talent in Ireland.”

Wylde co-owner Usain Bolt added: “I am so excited to be part of the fastest growing sport in the world, esports, through Wylde. The Wylde x Virgin Media partnership is a great fit, as our players and gamers all over Ireland will benefit from superfast, reliable broadband, providing a competitive edge and supporting their development as players.”

Wylde CEO Steve Daly commented: “To be world champions, our players need world class infrastructure in Ireland.  With Virgin Media as our broadband partners, Wylde players, casters, content creators, gamers and our supporters will have a real competitive edge. We are delighted to be working with Virgin Media to enable Ireland’s gaming community and esports athletes to fulfil their potential.”

Sky is another telecomms company that recently signed a deal in esports, with Guild.

Another Irish org, Nativz, were recently promoted to Division 1 of the League of Legends NLC.

Dom Sacco

Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.

As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.