X Games, the iconic action sports property, has hired experienced sports executive Paul Asencio to lead its commercial operations as chief revenue officer (CRO).
In the role, he will lead global partnerships, sponsorship sales, and commercial revenue strategy for X Games and the new X Games League (XGL), reporting to chief executive Jeremy Bloom.
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Asencio has more than 25 years of commercial experience across several major sports properties, including the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) mixed martial arts promotion, the Williams Formula 1 motor racing team, the New York Mets Major League Baseball franchise, and international e-commerce and merchandising giant Fanatics.
He spent more than five years leading sponsorship as senior vice president of global partnerships at UFC, before serving as CRO of Williams Racing, where he oversaw commercial and marketing operations.
Asencio spent 17 years with the Mets in multiple roles, including senior vice president of corporate partnerships, sales and services, followed by two years as vice president of venue business development at Fanatics.
Most recently, he served as executive vice president of global partnerships at sports media and marketing technology firm Playfly Sports.
Bloom said: “We've spent the last two years building an entirely new model for action sports, and the momentum behind X Games is as strong as ever. We've launched a professional sports league with eight teams and a growing global footprint. Now it's about turning that momentum into a sustainable, scalable global business.
“Paul helped drive global commercial growth at UFC and Formula 1, two of the biggest growth stories in sports. He knows how to build high-performing teams, create meaningful partnerships, and turn passionate fandom into long-term value.”
The X Games format was transformed from standalone events into a professional team-based league, with the new concept announced in September 2025, which organizers hope will provide athletes with more structure, visibility, and earning opportunities. Following this year’s inaugural summer season, it plans to expand to a winter competition in 2027.
X Games has secured ownership groups for six of eight inaugural XGL clubs: XC New York (winter and summer), XC Los Angeles and XC São Paulo summer clubs, along with winter clubs XC Golden State and XC Park City.
MoonPay, which was named as X Games title sponsor in January, holds the options for the final two clubs – XC Tokyo (summer) and XC Whistler (winter). Should the option expire, the franchises will be put on the market.
The first XGL summer season took place earlier this year, featuring three stops in Sacramento, California (June 26 to 28) and Chiba, Japan (July 4 and 5), with the season ending with the New Orleans Championship.
The competition is claimed to have reached 18.3 million U.S. television viewers, up 78.5% year over year, with 7.5 million viewers tuning into multiple stops.
The X Games League’s first winter season will be held next year with three stops, including Aspen, Colorado (January 29 to 31), Calgary, Canada (February 19 to 21), and Ruka, Finland (April 9 to 11), which will serve as the championship event.
The X Games League held its first winter athlete draft on September 16 in Los Angeles in preparation for next year’s inaugural season, which will feature skiing and snowboarding disciplines.
Alongside MoonPay, XGL now features a broad roster of big-name sponsors led by founding partner Monster Energy, the energy drinks company, with the league securing an automotive partner, Jeep, betting and streaming partners Stake and Kick.com, technology partners Amazon, Google Cloud, and Anker, and several food and drink partners in BeatBox Beverages, 805 Beer, Pacifico, Kraken Rum, High Noon, Factor, and TinCup Whiskey.
Earlier this month, ticketing and entertainment tech provider Fever was brought in as its official ticketing platform.
Other official partners include the US Army, Polaris, Bobcat, and iHeartRadio.
