Echo Fox

Lore & Background

Echo Fox was created in December 2015 when Rick Fox and his business partners Amit Raizada and Khalid Jones acquired the NA LCS spot of Gravity Gaming. According to Raizada, he and Jones each contributed $1 million to start the team, while Fox did not invest his own money. A falling out later occurred, with Raizada claiming Fox attempted to extort $5 million from him. In 2019, Kroenke Sports and Entertainment agreed to purchase the LCS slot for $30.25 million, but the deal fell through primarily due to a racist remark by partner Amit Raizada and Riot's ultimatum. Evil Geniuses then purchased the slot from Echo Fox with Riot's approval. In September 2019, a lawsuit was sent to Fox by several business partners alleging he worked against the company's interests; Fox subsequently filed a lawsuit against Raizada and Stratton Sclavos for fraud, conspiracy, and breach of contract. By November 2019, an investor confirmed the organization was disbanded.

Reader's Guide

Echo Fox's significance lies in its dual role as both a transformative force and a cautionary tale in esports. The organization helped normalize esports competitors alongside traditional athletes by investing in team infrastructure, housing, nutrition, and psychological support. In the fighting game community, Echo Fox signed large rosters of top players across multiple titles, providing salaries and travel support, which raised economic expectations and prompted other organizations to increase investments. However, its rapid fall—triggered by internal disputes, misaligned partnership objectives, and the forced sale of its League of Legends slot—highlighted the vulnerability of esports organizations to governance failures. The dissolution underscored that even organizations with strong brand recognition and competitive success can collapse due to financial and structural risks. Echo Fox remains a reference point for both the potential and perils of venture capital integration in esports.

Did You Know?

• Echo Fox was founded in December 2015 by retired basketball player Rick Fox after purchasing the NA LCS spot of Gravity Gaming.
• In 2018, Echo Fox signed seven fighting game players at once, including Leffen, who had previously represented TSM.
• The organization's LCS slot was sold to Evil Geniuses after a deal with Kroenke Sports and Entertainment fell through due to a racist remark by partner Amit Raizada.
• Echo Fox was officially confirmed disbanded in November 2019 amid lawsuits between Rick Fox and his business partners.

Founding & the Partnership That Cracked

Echo Fox was born on December 18, 2015, when retired basketball player Rick Fox, alongside business partners Amit Raizada and Khalid Jones, purchased the North American League of Legends Championship Series slot previously held by Gravity Gaming. The trio rebranded the franchise under the Echo Fox name and stepped into the professional esports world. According to Raizada, he and Jones each committed one million dollars to launch the new venture, while Fox contributed no personal capital. This financial arrangement would later become a point of deep contention. The partnership soured over time, with Raizada alleging that Fox attempted to extract five million dollars from him through what he characterized as extortion. What began as a high-profile crossover from traditional sports into competitive gaming quickly revealed the fragility of a business structure where the most recognizable name held the title but not the financial skin in the game. The early cracks in the partnership foreshadowed the legal battles that would ultimately tear the organization apart just four years later.

Reshaping the Fighting Game Community

Echo Fox made its mark in the fighting game world beginning in April 2016, when it signed Street Fighter V competitor Julio Fuentes, followed a month later by Super Smash Bros. professional Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman. The organization's most consequential move came in 2017, when it signed seven FGC players simultaneously—a signing widely regarded as one of the largest in esports history. That group included Street Fighter specialists Justin Wong, Yusuke Momochi, Hajime "Tokido" Taniguchi, and Yuko "ChocoBlanka" Momochi; Mortal Kombat players Dominique "SonicFox" McLean and Brad "Scar" Vaughn; and Smash competitor Leonardo "MKLeo" Lopez Perez. Three of those seven had previously competed under the Evil Geniuses banner, and former EG manager Antonio "CoolGrayAJ" Javier joined as the new team manager. The roster later swelled to thirteen with the addition of Korean and French Tekken pros Saint, JDCR, and VorttexX-Shadow. By offering salaried compensation and inter-tournament travel support across multiple titles, Echo Fox fundamentally raised the economic floor of the FGC and set a new standard that other organizations were compelled to match.

The League of Legends Rollercoaster

Echo Fox's League of Legends journey was marked by dramatic swings. In January 2016, concerns over player work-eligibility forced the team to forfeit its match against NRG Esports. The 2016 Summer split ended in last place, sending the squad to a relegation match where it defeated NRG 3-0 to survive. When the NA LCS transitioned to a franchised model in 2018, Echo Fox invested in a permanent partner slot and received an equity investment from the New York Yankees. That season's Spring split saw the roster finish second with a 12-7 record, narrowly missing first place after losing a tiebreaker to 100 Thieves. The organization's LoL chapter ended abruptly on August 16, 2019, when both the main and academy rosters were released and the team departed the professional scene. In the same year, Kroenke Sports and Entertainment had agreed to purchase the LCS slot for $30.25 million, but the deal collapsed over legal complications tied to their partner Sentinels. Riot Games ultimately selected Evil Geniuses as the organization that would acquire the slot.

Dissolution & the Cautionary Legacy

The final chapter of Echo Fox unfolded through a web of lawsuits that exposed deep fractures within the organization. In September 2019, a letter bearing the signatures of Stratton Sclavos, Daniel Deshe, Ravi Srivastava, and Khalid Jones formally moved to oust general partner Rick Fox, accusing him of repeatedly acting against the company's best interests. Fox responded by filing his own lawsuit against Raizada and Sclavos, alleging fraud, conspiracy, and breach of contract. By November 2019, an investor publicly confirmed the organization had disbanded. Yet Echo Fox's legacy is not solely one of collapse. The organization helped normalize esports athletes by investing in housing, nutritional programs, and psychological support for team members, drawing parallels to traditional sports infrastructure. In the fighting game community, its model of multi-title rosters with guaranteed salaries and travel support raised industry-wide expectations. At the same time, the rapid disintegration—driven by misaligned partnership goals, rapid integration of venture capital, and internal disputes—remains a frequently cited cautionary case study in esports corporate governance.