The New England Patriots and Milwaukee Bucks are investing in eSports

Mobile eSports forerunner Skillz today revealed the results of its recently concluded Series B funding, noting that the Kraft Group, owner of the New England Patriots and Milwaukee Bucks, contributed a sizeable chunk of the $15 million raised.

“With more people playing video games than all physical sports, eSports are achieving mainstream adoption, and Skillz is leading the way,” said Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry. “It’s easy to imagine the day when eSports competitions share the same court as the Milwaukee Bucks.”

The company’s latest round of funding has left Skillz with over $28 million in raised capital, which will be put toward event and team expansion. With the Bucks and Patriots behind it, Skillz has set its sights on Boston and San Francisco, home to its two offices.

David Bonderman’s Wildcat Capital Management is also supporting Skillz’ latest endeavor. “We see eSports as the future of sports,” said Wildcat Chief Investment Officer Lan Potter. “Mobile is rapidly becoming the most popular gaming platform in history, and Skillz is at the forefront of competitive mobile gaming.”

Skillz is a multiplayer tournament platform that hosts open-entry events for thousands of mobile titles. The company has held more than 40 million tournaments in over 180 countries since it was founded in 2012, and has worked with over 1,100 studios. Skillz is free to join, but offers both free and paid tournaments. To enter the latter, a minimum ante of $0.60 is required, which can be used to earn real or virtual money. At the time of writing, Skillz players have won nearly $17 million.

In essence, Skillz seeks to leverage the massive install base of the mobile platform in order to bring eSports to the everyman. Though many gamers shrug at the notion of hardcore mobile games, it’s clear the platform will be a keystone, or at least a money machine, going forward. The interest and support of groups like Kraft will attest to that. And growth for any eSport means growth for the industry, which can only be a boon for larger tournaments like the Dota 2 International.