10 Years with Team Liquid: Q&A with Juan 'Hungrybox' Debiedma

Juan 'Hungrybox' Debiedma has stayed with Team Liquid for over 10 years due to several reasons:

• Long-term collaboration: The decade-plus collaboration shows how gaming creators have benefited from esports organizations’ long-term approach to talent management.
• Flexibility and support: When Debiedma transitioned from competitor to content creator, Team Liquid was quick to renegotiate his contract to better reflect his value.
• Creative license: Team Liquid has given him more creative license and trusted his input in picking up players.
• Ownership stake: In 2021, he became a part-owner of Team Liquid after purchasing a minority stake in the company.
• Strong relationships: Team Liquid maintains strong working relationships with talent managers both within and outside the organization, providing more support and driving success for their talent.

Team Liquid supports its creators in both competition and content creation through several means:

• Infrastructure: The organization has the infrastructure to allow its members to dip into both competition and creation instead of picking one lane.
• Flexible contracts: They are willing to renegotiate contracts to better reflect the current value and roles of their creators.
• Talent management: Team Liquid provides dedicated talent managers within the organization and maintains strong working relationships with external talent managers.
• Creative freedom: Creators like Debiedma are given more creative license and decision-making power, allowing them to have a more active role in the management of the organization.
• Career development: The organization offers career development opportunities beyond content creation, helping to increase a digital creator’s effective shelf life.

Team ownership and decision-making power play a significant role in Juan 'Hungrybox' Debiedma's commitment to Team Liquid:

• Ownership stake: In 2021, Debiedma became a part-owner of Team Liquid after purchasing a minority stake in the company.
• Creative license: He has been given more creative license on how he wants things to happen within the organization.
• Influence in decision-making: Team Liquid has trusted his input in picking up players, allowing him to have a more active role in the management of the organization.
• Career growth: This involvement has provided him with career development opportunities beyond just being a content creator, aligning with his aspirations to have a more significant role in an esports organization.

Esports organizations like Team Liquid benefit from having a roster of creators in several ways:

• Engaged audience: Having a roster of creators allows esports organizations to plug their brand partners into an engaged audience without paying the overhead costs that come with operating competitive gaming teams.
• Brand identity: Team Liquid fosters a public brand identity and legacy, aligning creators with their values and prestige.
• Generational fandom: The organization’s efforts to build generational fandom help increase the digital creator’s effective shelf life, extending their relevancy beyond their own.
• Flexibility: The infrastructure allows members to participate in both competition and content creation, providing flexibility and diverse opportunities for creators.

Esports organizations face several challenges when working with external talent managers:

• Communication: Ensuring better communication if a deal falls out of the sky can be tricky to navigate.
• Friction: Some friction is inevitable as both dedicated talent management and esports organization talent management are not mutually exclusive practices.
• Coordination: Maintaining strong working relationships with all counterparts requires coordination and effort.
• Support: Balancing the support provided by both internal and external talent managers to drive the success of the talent can be complex.