Matt Bromberg Resigns As CEO of Major League Gaming, Sundance DiGiovanni Steps In

K.L.

– May 11, 2010Posted in: Competitive Gaming, Gaming

Major League Gaming had a bit of a shake up yesterday which came as a surprise to many of the gamers that follow the growing league. Previous CEO, Matthew Bromberg quit yesterday after a difference of opinion on the companies future growth plans. Bromberg is partly responsible for the companies frantic growth rate over the last 4 1/2 years, but he is now being replaced by Sundance DiGiovanni.

Sundace, one of the company’s founders, will now serve as interim CEO. Both Bromberg and Sundance said that the company’s leaders had a difference in opinion in relation to how fast the company should continue to grow.

“We have had an extraordinary run of growth and success over the last four years,” said Bromberg. “There was a feeling among the founders that it was time to scale back our ambitions and grow more slowly. That isn’t in my nature, and was not my plan. We all agreed it was best to find a new CEO to execute this strategy.”

Sundance, previously Major League Gaming’s Chief Brand Officer, stated that his goal is to focus on profitable growth on a consistent basis and to grow the company at a slower pace. He also added that Bromberg left the company in goodwill despite the disagreement.

“We had a recent board meeting with divergent opinions about the focus for the company,” DiGiovanni said. “We are not changing the plan. It’s just a change in the velocity at which we are attempting to travel.”

This is definitely an interesting development coming off the heels of the first MLG event. I don’t know if this is something that should raise a red flag, but it is definitely a noteworthy change. I personally think Sundance is awesome and I’m wondering how this will affect his involvement with the players in the league.

What do you think is this good or bad news?

Via VentureBeat

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Contact K.L. at kendall@reflectzyn.com

About K.L.

Major League Gaming Pro 2007 -2010. Captain of AmazYn. Editor-in-Chief of ReflectzYn. YouTube Partner. All around techy dude.

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mlgpro

anyone that thinks that the CEO of MLG quitting is some how not a bad sign…you are sorely mistaken.
- Debo
  
  who said he quit?
  
  he was fired.
- The Insider
  
  You are absolutely correct. I happen to know some about the inner working of this company. They are spending alot more money than they have. They have been seeking another round of investors. Obviously Matt was having trouble raising more investor capital, and the owners were not in a position to do so themselves. The problem is they are cutting back their expenses and looking to keep the earning more consistant to attract future investors down the road and Matt did not think this was the right strategy,
Zyos

-drug use and MLG. addy. if any kid at an event ever goes to a hospital and they find addy in his system and he doesn't have a prescription, MLG is screwed. That kids parent will get a lawyer and they'll tear MLG's ass up in 5 seconds.

-Halo reach is not very fun. it's just not. after playing the beta and previously thinking I hated halo 3. It now seems somewhat fun sadly. Halo 2 was and always will be the pinnacle of MLG.

-For all the new kids. There's nothing wrong with not knowing about the history of MLG and I'm not going to berate you for it. but i've been Banned since 06 and do know the MLG's history.
-The league is not growing like you think it is. Sure there are 3 million members now but that's
because they old members accounts are still on the website. they don't magically get removed grow up peter pan. MLG used to have a show on USA, was sponsered by boost mobile, and could at least use ESPN's logo. The first events pregame show was laughable. looked like the A/V club set it up for the latest rendition of Beauty and the Beast. laughable. Sure DP and OP sponser now, woopity doo! none of us know the details of their sponserships and they are in all likelyhood not more extensive than previous sponserships.
-Pro player contracts. 3 years ago there were contracts for FB CARBON and STR8. As everyone whose been around knows, that hasn't continued. Their contracts are up with no sign of any continuation. Pro's like enable talk about quitting because of money when he just placed 4th at an event. THAT"S BC THERE'S NO FUCKING PRIZE MONEY. FIRST PLACE IS 20000. HALF GETS A GIFT TAX. 2500 PER PLAYER WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW! THATS ALL OF 3 CENTS AN HOUR FOR THE BEST TEAM. BY THE TIME YOU GET PAST 3RD PLACE THEY ARE LITERALLY NOT MAKING ENOUGH TO GET TO THE NEXT EVENT. FOR ALL OF YOU THAT SAY THEY HAVE SPONSERSHIPS YOU ARE WRONG. YOU JUST THINK THEY DO. PROS WOULDN'T QUIT ALL THE TIME IF IT WAS REALISTIC AT ALL TO MAKE MONEY FOR A LONG PERIOD OF TIME.

-So…the final and most important point is a question. Is MLG growing like they want everyone is perceive that they are and the executives are just pocketing the money since the prize money hasn't grown at all and it's IMPOSSIBLE without connections to go pro. Or option 2: Is MLG now growing like everyone blabs that it is constantly. It's simple either the management is forgetting about the community by kicking back nothing and really hurting themselves in the end by not changing the prize money and putting more money in various outlets for the community to get. Or is MLG really a sinking ship that was barely every a was for 3 seasons 2006, 2007, and 2008, b/c with teams like BTH winning the league will go no where. NOT TO MENTION THERE'S ONLY 5 EVENTS SPREAD OVER 10 MONTHS NOW WHAT A COMPLETE JOKE!
- http://intensedebate.com/people/arctyc arctyc
  
  Not saying that you are incorrect in any way, but I do think from a speculation standpoint you are on the extreme side.
  
  As a Pro player, I find it difficult to correlate prize money with direct growth in the league. Based on the source of the article (VentureBeats) and information it seems that MLG is inconsistently profitable. If you think about how many games have been added, it seems like the amount of total prize money has gone up in the league. I am not sure if "stagnant" prize winnings for Halo should correlate to lack of growth. There are 5 (?) games now on the circuit and FFA is back. Seems like the prize money has either gone up on a whole or at the very minimum stayed the same.
  
  Addy is a completely different subject matter in itself.
- http://MLGpro.com Vyrus
  
  why would they "screw" mlg up? its not MLGs fault. its the users fault. MLG DOES NOT sell addy. so once again its the users fault for taking such a big portion and it and taking it.
ElamiteWarrior

I think Sundance will do the right thing for MLG taking it at a slower pace.
- http://intensedebate.com/people/arctyc arctyc
  
  Agreed. Sundance is the man.
Zyos

-sundance may be a really cool guy and all that but do u believe the CEO would leave a company if he thought that the companies future was bright?…if you buy that I've got some beach front property in Kansas to sell you.
Zyos

and yes I still follow the league. I quit b/c it's not worth it in any way. I made more money in my first 4 months playing poker than first in DC and all the other tournies I competed in
- Tsquared
  
  Zyos… You were terrible at halo… and now you've been wasting your life playing play money poker tournaments not realizing that it's monopoly money that has no value its sad really sad…
  - Mike
    
    Hey T2, last I checked you came in 8th place last event??? Final Boss of halo 3 my ass lol.=)
    - Tsquared
      
      I have made more already than your mom and dad have in their lifetime… kid
      - Mike
        
        I doubt it. My dad makes 3000$ a year and and my mom makes about 1000$ a year. Plus i got a scholarship to a D1 school for baseball, so after those four years i will be making more than you at a starting job lol. Keep playing video games 24/7 fag.
      - http://intensedebate.com/people/arctyc arctyc
        
        Stop posting under the same IP and changing names. It's kiddie stuff.
      - Chenstrap
        
        lol at the wannabe getin flamed by an admin
BiGMaN

@Zyos
OMG you're the effin man. I couldn't agree more with what you said, I remember back in the day when they used to have the show on during saturday mornings. MLG was way cooler and more fun to follow back when the season had a different event each week. Now there are MONTHS separating the events, and all it does is kill their potential revenue because i guarantee they could get another tv contract if they made their schedule network friendly. And truer words could not have been spoken when you said that random teams winning important events will kill thier progress, because it shows that there really isnt a dominant team anymore, and thsts a very bad thing for a league like MLG who is trying to grow. The prize money point is also interesting, thanks for pointing that out. YOU ROCK
supmayne

It's not the real Zyos. Zyos thought h2 was 'nooby' and wished that H:CE had stuck around at MLG longer. He would have never said "H2 was the pinnacle of MLG."
Walshy

Thanks Captain Obvious! Clutch Post!
plagu3 iz here

t2 is right, zyos your washed up and mad because you cant play at the MLG events! sundance wants to slow the company down so it doesn't grow so fast it fails for example companies like Starbucks and Lov Sac those companies failed or are on the down fall because of super growth. MLG is not going anywhere so Zyos quit your bitchin because your a washed up has been, and your only real talent in the world of gaming is being a bit old BITCH.
Chenstrap

whether or not thats zyos or nottruthfully doesnt matter. tbh, he brings up a lot of good points. i personally think mlg needs to ban drug use (adderall) and come up with tests to be conducted on one of the 3 days of the tournament. this boths levels the playing field, and it helpsprotect mlg as a company.

the other thing is prize money. mlg shouldeither A up the prize money however possible or b, double the number of pro events. imo, scrap the combine system, and instead of havin a combine, have another event. im down for 1 events a year

aand, the thing is (whoever says zyos would never say nething good about h2) if you look back, MLGs peak was during halo 2. i mean, im an 08 kid and i realize this come on now . so whether he thought the game was nooby is beside the point. what he said in his comment was factual

and @ zyos, did u get banned or did you quit?
Kristi

Wow! Pretty sad when you can tell that they changed their name. Even I, a person with NOTHING to do with mlg, can seperate pros from jerks.
DsTyL3

i think your all noobs and need to stop arguing about the MLG company and start practicing more. Who cares about the pace of the company, it isn't going to last forever…

Tsquared, no one cares about how much money you've made. your just a tool with a few skills to play videos games. if you dont think your a tool, watch every interview you've ever done and any video with you've in. especially that garbage game tips thing you did for G4 or whatever channel that was. Grow up and stop flaunting, no one cares.

Walshy, your still the fucking man!!!! Your still the greatest halo player and pro of all time!

just my $.02
- Ace
  
  agreed!
i hate kids

hopefully enter an age restriction flagging anyone under the age of 20 as "potential annoying fuckass"
- Chenstrap
  
  because cutting out more than half of mlgs customers will help business
Chuck Norris

it doesn't matter what you all say, MLG will grow when i tell it to grow
LAK3RS

MLG needs a drastic change in the near future. From a marketing/publicist standpoint, the league's era will begin to dwindle little by little; if CHANGE is not implemented directly. The way the players are marketed and portrayed is extremely poor. Of course, I also disagree with the foundation that MLG is based on. MLG has grown in a dramtic fashion over the past few years, but will soon come to a standpoint if things do not change more so. I believe in highly of Sundance, and believe his teachings will continue to grow within himself, and his love for the league. I just hope that the league gets back in shape, and doesn't resort to any extreme drastic actions. Good luck to Matt with what ever he chooses to pursue. As with Sundance, it's you're move, and we are all here waiting and watching. Like mention above, I have high hops for what you can achieve. Look at what you've already done!

To the above players,

I wish I had gotten the chance to be where some of you are. You know, making money playing a video game. But c'mon, let's face it, there just isn't a significant amount of money to be spread out. There are the few such as Mr. Tsquared who have worked extremely hard to get where he is today, and he should not be overlooked, nor put down like he is for it. This is also coming from a not so great Str8 Rippin fan as well.

With me majoring in business, marketing, public relations, and the works, I've learned quite a bit with how business function, and the different ends to them. I started my venture with MLG back in 2005, and have now come to a personal halt with MLG and Halo to pursue my own personal likings. With it now being 2010, and me being around to witness quite a bit, the league now needs some form of stability amongst it's executives, sponsors, players, and of course fans! Maybe MLG will give me a shout and hire me as a marketing executive in the next one and a half years when I recieve my BA in Marketing! The idea's I've got rolling around……
Snip3down

I'm a pretty good sniper at this halo game, so hopefully sundance lets me keep taking faces at a competitive level.
LAK3RS

As much as I dislike Snip3down for the direct reason because he accomplished what every player out there dreams of, it is players like him who give hope to others that dream of being on top. The question now comes down to if Snip3down, and darn near the rest of the top 16 teams/players will be able to keep up with T2, Ogre 2, and Walshy in Halo: Reach…….The DMR/Pistol is no BR………..
MLG's Future

Alright there is zero chance that people like EW and Snipedown would post on a forum about MLG and i really don't know if thats Zyos on the forum however i do know ItwasLuck very well and know about Zyos quitting, and for damn good reason. However i decided to post on here because i have been a part of the MLG community since '06 and have personally witnessed this new CEO giving alcohol, etc to underage girls in hotel room parties during MLG events. I, as well as a few select members have perm. IP bans from MLG for posting time and time again about the downward spiral because of Addy and more importantly cocaine. I personally knew the '09 "sponsor" of addy to the MLG pro's and it would shock most people to know how few of the top 32 teams didn't have the drug in their system.

Sorry to blabber but overall the MLG community is now controlled by someone who is very lucky he hasn't been sued yet, and continues to put himself in the line of fire with all the drugs and alcohol during the events. BTW i can't believe they still allow dallas to be a venue with all that has happened there… 3 years ago a kid overdosed in the bathroom (hospital trip), last year Karma gets banned from the hotel for NOT smoking pot, the entire Championship Sunday was a bunch of players rubbing their gums (quick sign of cocaine use)… the league is in trouble, and its a shame because i remember when it was once pure.
AReallyGoodNoob

Thanks MLG for making me Pro
That's Not Zyos

You guys are assclowns if you think that's the real Zyos. If you've actually been around MLG, you'll know that Zyos isn't fucking retarded enough to say things like "MLG really a sinking ship that was barely every a was for 3 seasons 2006, 2007, and 2008." His posts were not filled with the same retardation that this "Zyos" displays in his failed attempt at using the English language.
Eric Wrona

Hope for a better future.
best guitarist ever

@ MLG's Future
yeah and i also heard that Pistola stabbed some one too,,, yeah yeah and and that StrongSide molested a girl right before a game, and and that Legit and T2 beat up three kids asking for autographs!!yeah I'm cereal uh huh they did,and and and that that they found a dead hooker in Walshy's hotel room yeah………………….come on man!
RuKIDDING

@Guitarist
There is a significant part of that that I know for a fact hes not lying about. As for the unverified parts, I really wouldn't be surprised, and none of the drug use is by any means new in competitive gaming.
Theo Thrunch

Bromberg spent money on acquisitions like it was 1999 and constantly needed more cash. Company will do fine without him. Should turn profitable this year and be well on the road to a sale to a major media company.

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Matt Bromberg Resigns As CEO of Major League Gaming, Sundance DiGiovanni Steps In

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