Alan “SamuraiPanda” Bunney has announced that he will be full-time CEO of 1v1 esports organization Panda Global moving forward. The brand holds teams in various games such as Smash Bros., Hearthstone, and Rivals of Aether. They also sign fighting game professionals within Mortal Kombat, Soul Calibur, and Tekken.
SamuraiPanda has shared the news with his 17,000 Twitter followers. He explained that he has shifted his efforts from medicine to esports. Previously a full-time internal medicine doctor, he will now be 100 percent involved in Panda Global. Additionally, he states that he is planning to scale up the esports organization for 2020. Although he is now fully dedicated to esports, he does not plan to abandon his position as a doctor. His clinic is now operating through restricted hours so he can continue working with his patients.
After working esports part-time and doctor full-time for the last 5 years, I’m finally making the decision to shift my focus.
As of next week I will be full-time as CEO of PG, and be a part-time doctor.
This means PG will be scaling up tremendously in 2020. More news to come.
— Alan (@DrAlanB) February 8, 2020
A history of esports
Along with his announcement, SamuraiPanda shared that he has been in the esports scene for 12 years, competing in a multitude of games. He has a history of playing competitive Smash Bros., League of Legends, and a variety of fighting games. The feedback on his decision to switch focuses has been overwhelmingly positive. Many responses are wishing him good luck, while others say he is an inspiration.
Followers also see SamuraiPanda consistently cheering on his players, posting their achievements and supporting their games. In a recent tweet, he emotionally stated how proud he was of his team after Tyler “Marss” Martins earned the title of Genesis 7 Ultimate champion.
Insanely proud tonight. I’m always proud to be an esports team owner but nights like these make it all worth it.
— Alan (@DrAlanB) January 27, 2020
About Panda Global
Panda Global, founded in 2015, is a fast-growing North American esports organization. They proudly hold a roster of world champions and influential community leaders. Co-founded by SamuraiPanda and David “Masumaro” Wu, the brand continues to branch out in the esports industry while supporting the growth of its players. Their sponsors include Geico, Hyper X, Funimation, Twitch, Toshiba, and Metathreads.Â
