Brazilian World Champions Ronaldo and Andre Akkari have acquired a 50% stake in CNB eSports Club, one of the largest eSports organisations in South America.
Ronaldo the Elder and Andre Akkari have invested in one of South America’s largest eSports teams, CNB eSports Club.
According to an article that appeared in esportsbettingreport, the two world champions have teamed up with Igor “Federal” Trafane, the executive director of the Brazilian Series of Poker (BSOP), to acquire a 50% stake in the eSports outfit.
Cleber “Fuzi” Fonseca and Carlos “Fury” Junior founded the eSports club over a decade ago when their sole focus was Counter-Strike. The pair has transformed the organisation into a powerhouse that counts the eSports news site MyCNB amongst its prized assets.
Fury told esportsbettingreport that both him and his partner, Fuzi, maintain a 50% stake in the organisation and will allow Ronaldo and Akkari to focus on football and poker while they continue to manage CNB eSports Club team affairs. He also said that he hoped the involvement of two world champions would elevate the organisation to a new height.
The Tale of Two World Champions
PokerStars signed Andre Akkari to represent the brand as a member of Team PokerStars in 2007, making him one of the Red Spade’s most loyal of servants.
At the time of his signing, he was a well-known online player and commentator for ESPN Brazil. But in 2011, Akkari hit the big time when he defeated 2,857 entrants to win the gold bracelet and $675,117 first prize in a $1,500 No-Limit Hold’em event at the 42nd Annual World Series of Poker (WSOP).
He has won over $1.5m in live tournament earnings, and last year became one of the only poker pros to snap up a sponsorship deal with a mainstream brand after the sporting icon Puma crossed his palms with silver.
Ronaldo is one of the legends of world football. He scored 247 goals in 343 games for the likes of PSV Eindhoven, Inter Milan, and Real Madrid. He also scored 62 goals in 98 internationals for Brazil where he won two World Cups and two Copa Americas. He has also won the FIFA World Player of the Year on three occasions.
Ronaldo joined PokerStars in 2013 as an ambassador for the site. I am unsure if he still represents them, but was appearing in commercials involving his Portuguese namesake last year. The Brazilian hot shot recently joined Real Madrid as a global ambassador.
