Last December, Essendon Football Club decided to dissolve its esports team, Bombers, and therefore free up spot in the Oceanic Pro League (OPL). In its place is Pentanet.GG, a division of Western Australian internet service provider Pentanet. Pete Curulli, General Manager of Pentanet.GG, spoke with Esports Insider about the future of the new team.
As of now, Pentanet.GG has a record of 3-5 in the OPL 2020 Split 1, the 6th season of OPL’s League of Legends league. Curulli says running the team has been a “steep learning curve,” but he assures that proper research went into OPL teams and how they operate before the formation of Pentanet.GG. Four years ago Curulli founded a games and esports media company called Game On AUS. He was discovered through this work by Managing Director of Pentanet, Stephen Cornish, who offered him the position of General Manager for Pentanet.GG. Their goal is to create a “Western Australian product that can lift the standards by bringing good corporate practices to passionate esports fans.”
Short terms goals for the esports team are listed by Curulli as “seeing our colors represented well in our inaugural year by a good group of players and management, and getting to the end of 2020 ironing out all the kinks of owning an OPL slot for the first time.” He notes the long path ahead of the team and expresses their patience in reaching greater success. Curulli also praises current team members as hard-working and looks to build chemistry among them. He isn’t stressing about what some would say is a mediocre start, and seems to understand the process it takes to grow as a new team. Curulli remarks that their biggest competitor right now is themselves.
Week 5 of the OPL 2020 Split 1 will begin February 28th. Coming off of a loss against Chief Esports Club, Pentanet.GG hopes to regain momentum in coming matches. Read the full Esports Insider interview here.