From one arena to another, Kenny Vaccaro has announced his plans to reinvent himself. The eight year NFL vet revealed on Wednesday December 1 that he will enter the esports landscape with his new organization, G1. G1, also known as Gamers First, is a new org that is heading feet first into the brand-new Halo Championship series. The team competed recently in the HCS North American Open Series, just missing out on a top four finish.
Vaccaro partnered with Hunter Swensson and Cody Hendrix to co-found G1 earlier this year. The group aims to build this organization on three pillars – content, culture and competition. The name of the organization comes from Vaccaro himself. Despite excelling in football for his entire career, Vaccaro always has identified as a “gamer first”. According to the new co-owner himself, Vaccaro turned down several offers from NFL teams in order to pursue this new path.
G1 enters the esports arena on a bit of an awkward note. The name itself brings a bit of a whiplash from long-time esports audiences, as G1 is incredibly similar to the popular org G2. G2, also known as Gamers Too, has been an absolute giant in the esports space. Funny enough, the two teams faced off against one another in the most recent HCS Open tournament. G1 walked away with a 2-0 victory over the fan-favorite G2 roster.
Vaccaro spent eight years in the NFL, notably playing for the New Orleans Saints and the Tennesee Titans. Vaccaro isn’t the first former pro-athlete to take a crack at the esports scene. Rick Fox famously created Echo Fox and fielded a team in the NA LCS for several years. Juju Smith-Schuster of the Pittsburgh Steelers also founded a company, Team Divurge, focused around gaming and entertainment. As the competitive Halo scene continues to ramp up, G1 and Vaccaro are hoping to make a mark on the industry.
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