How BLAST Became a Global Leader in Esports Entertainment | Robbie Douek, CEO

How do you build a world class esports media company that produces premium tournaments, global live events, and broadcast experiences watched by millions? In this episode, Edoardo Grandi speaks with Robbie Douek, CEO of BLAST, one of the most influential organizations in modern esports and competitive entertainment. BLAST has become a global leader in tournament production, live event IP, and high end broadcast technology, delivering formats across Counter Strike, Rainbow Six, Fortnite, and multiple publisher partnered ecosystems. Under Robbie’s leadership, BLAST has scaled from a single tournament series into a multi vertical media powerhouse operating in over 150 countries with distribution in 32 languages. Robbie explains how BLAST was built, what problem he saw in the esports events landscape, and why he believes the future of competitive gaming sits at the intersection of media, technology, and live entertainment. We discuss how BLAST structures its business model, how revenue enters the company, and what makes an esports media organization investable in today’s market. We also explore the growth outlook for esports in 2026, including consolidation, new technologies, and the global investment trends shaping the next decade of competitive entertainment. If you work in gaming, esports, or digital media, this conversation will help you understand how a modern events and production company scales internationally and where the next wave of opportunity will emerge. What we cover How BLAST was founded and the insight behind its global expansion How the business model works across events, media rights, sponsorships, and IP What makes an esports media company investable in 2026 How BLAST produces world class tournaments and live entertainment formats The biggest tailwinds shaping the gaming and esports industry How consolidation, AR and XR, and global investment trends will impact events and media companies The long term opportunities in global esports production and distribution The social and community role of esports events for players, fans, and cities 🎙️ Guest: Robbie Douek, CEO, BLAST 📩 Contact Edoardo: [email protected] 🌐 Learn business models in sports and entertainment: sport-businessman.com