How to Build a World Bronze Medalist with 8.71 ETH: How Can DAOs Revolutionize Esports?
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How to Build a World Bronze Medalist with 8.71 ETH: How Can DAOs Revolutionize Esports?
For esports players, talent is probably the most important factor.
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsIn the early hours of today, many Chinese players stayed up late to watch the APEX Legends World Championship.
Dreamfire, a team from China, secured seventh place and received applause no less than that given to the champions. This is a grassroots team with no sponsors or club backing. The team's top player was working as a painter just two years ago—painting during the day, then washing off the fatigue at night to play games and stream. Today, they continue competing thanks to prize money from Weibo and income from live streaming.
Besides Dreamfire, another team stands out—BLVKHVND, the third-place finisher.
The Quietly Rising Esports DAO
BLVKHVND (Blackhand) is a DAO—an esports club DAO, and quite a poor one—founded in 2021 by a group of esports players. Over the past three years, BLVKHVND hasn't had an easy journey, going through numerous ups and downs. There have been successes and failures, exploration and pivots. Beyond competitions, they've also launched several products. Aside from a few highlights, what I’ve mostly seen is a relatively inactive community quietly moving forward in obscurity. I won’t go into all the details—they’re complicated. Though I was an early participant, I can only call myself a casual DAO member who didn’t invest much time and can’t fully piece everything together right now.
Last year, BLVKHVND’s Pokémon team won a world championship. I was surprised at the time, but attributed it largely to luck—after all, Pokémon Unite isn’t yet a mainstream title in the esports scene. But when, in the early hours today, BLVKHVND claimed third place in the far more prominent APEX Legends tournament, it’s impossible to chalk it up to luck anymore. This is an overlooked gem, and I’d like to write a brief note about it.
Professional esports has long been dominated by capital, but even the underfunded have their own ways to compete.
"For esports athletes, talent is probably the most important thing."
Henry
Thus, BLVKHVND’s strategy has been to scout talented individuals from grassroots communities and break through in underserved areas—this led to their victory in Pokémon Unite. Despite Pokémon being a massive game IP, it remains a minor title in the esports arena. Finding promising talent, training them seriously, and achieving results becomes comparatively easier.
Last year’s Pokémon championship team
This season’s third-place finish followed a similar approach. APEX Legends can be understood as a sci-fi anime version of PUBG, ranking seventh globally in esports popularity. It has solid grassroots support, and in regions with mature esports scenes, professional teams backed by strong capital dominate. So BLVKHVND took a detour, identifying potential in Asia—specifically, an Indonesian squad from a region where APEX has lower penetration.
8.71 ETH
From late January until now, BLVKHVND spent a total of 8.71 ETH to build this world bronze-medal-winning team.
The starting point: a 0.15 ETH (200 USD) entry fee (original text in English, translated via AI)
Official contract signed with the Indonesian players for this season: 2.2 ETH per month, for two months. The coach? The same guy who previously requested 0.15 ETH—he’s a professional esports coach within the community.
After qualifying for the London playoff, the DAO passed a proposal to allocate an additional 2.56 ETH for training expenses in London, and last month paid a retroactive fee of 1.6 ETH to the coach.
With just 8.71 ETH, the entire season was funded. This team stood on the podium as world bronze medalists. They nearly became world champions—entering the final day’s decisive match with a 10-point lead—but the young players, experiencing their closest shot at glory, faltered under pressure.
This performance has thrust BLVKHVND into the spotlight as a club. They earned tens of hours of live coverage, reaching 2.5 million viewers, and were featured across major esports media outlets. Beyond visibility, the third-place prize was $210,000. According to their pre-agreed 85:15 split, $31,500 will return to the DAO treasury. While not a huge sum, it means they’ve not only recouped costs but turned a profit.
BLVKHVND’s season isn’t over yet. The African squad they discovered is now competing in the PUBG Mobile Africa Championship, and has a strong chance of qualifying for the world championship.
The story has just begun.
C u soon ❤
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