UK-based talent company Unsigned Group has today announced it has hired co-founder of Excel Esports, Joel Holmes-Darby, as its head of esports.
The company – founded by Gavin Myall and is co-owned by Coldplay musician Guy Berryman – combines aspects of a traditional talent management agency, such as PR, partnerships, collaborations and commercial bookings, and a brand incubator where it helps talent build owned businesses.
It works with talent across popular culture and manages some of the biggest names in entertainment, including legendary CSGO esports player Nicolai ‘DEV1CE’ Reedtz, who won the Faceit CSGO London Major with Astralis back in 2018.
In a press release, Unsigned said it continues to expand its offering in helping esports athletes build their brands, content and experiences for the progressive digital and virtual worlds.
Unsigned’s founder and CEO Gavin Myall said: “Joel is a fantastic addition to the Unsigned team, his passion for the esports industry, insight and knowledge from all aspects is unrivalled and this gives us a unique position in the representation of esports athletes.”
Joel Holmes-Darby commented: “I have been interested in developing a talent management business for some time, seeing how players should be represented in an industry where traditionally agents and managers have not been as involved in the players’ business trajectory as perhaps they should be. Therefore, the opportunity to join Unsigned and continue to expand their esports management offering was too good to turn down.
“Managing DEV1CE as one of my first clients at Unsigned is something I’m really looking forward to – especially having the opportunity to work with him on continuing to develop his approach to mental health and personal fitness, which is something I have huge admiration for.”
Nicolai “DEV1CE” Reedtz – who plays for Astralis – said: “Joel is great, knows every aspect of esports and has experienced it from the small beginnings to the big successes. I’m really looking forward to the future of him being a part of the team at Unsigned.”
“I have been interested in developing a talent management business for some time, seeing how players should be represented in an industry where traditionally agents and managers have not been as involved in the players’ business trajectory as perhaps they should be.”
Joel Holmes-Darby, Unsigned
The Holmes-Darby brothers founded Excel Esports in 2014 before Joel Holmes-Darby left Excel in 2020. After a stint with UK org Method, Joel left to become a full-time dad and finish his degree in cybersecurity.
Joel’s brother Kieran Holmes-Darby departed Excel to join Formula E earlier this year.
Launched in 2011 and based in London, Unsigned Group is a talent management company that manages some of the world’s leading talent and creators driving popular culture such as supermodels Helena Christensen and Eva Herzigova, esports player Nicolai “DEV1CE” Reedtz and content creators such as ImAllexx, Bambino Becky and Mia Mon.
It says it ‘works at the intersection of fashion, gaming, music and web3, leveraging relationships to allow talent to build brands, content and experiences for the progressive digital and virtual worlds’.
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.
