Category: Uncategorized

All EVO 2023 tournaments: Games, schedule, registration, & more EVOThe full lineup of tournaments for EVO 2023 has gone live, complete with an event schedule, registration details, and more. After a hiatus in 2021, and Sony’s acquisition of the Championship Series, the EVO fighting game tournaments returned to Las Vegas last year. The event is on track for yet another run this summer, with EVO 2023 penciled in for an August event at Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino. Here is everything fighting game fans need to know ahead of the summer’s festivities, including details about confirmed games, prize pools, and event schedules. Official games lineup for EVO 2023 The list of fighting games confirmed for this year’s festivities includes all of the following: Dragon Ball FighterZ – Guilty Gear: Strive – The King of Fighters XV – Melty Blood: Type Lumina – Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate – Street Fighter 6 – Tekken 7 – Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 – Notably, each title, barring Street Fighter 6 (PS5), will be played on a PS4 console. What’s more, this year marks the seventh appearance of both Tekken 7 and Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3. Schedule for Evo 2023 tournament EVO 2023 will be hosted at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas from Friday, August 4 through Sunday, August 6. Specific time slots for the various competitions have yet to surface. Prize pool details for this year’s EVO tournaments In a statement shared on the official EVO website, the organization’s General Manager, Rick Thiher, noted that each tournament will receive a $25,000 minimum prize pool. This is a first for the long-running fighting game tournament. Registration for EVO 2023 is already live EVO has already opened registration for this year’s EVO tournaments. Those interested can visit the event site, click on the “Join Now” or “Register” tabs on the left-hand side, then fill out the provided forms for access to Event Passes. At the time of writing, fans can purchase an Event Pass at the “Early Bird” price of $85. Every pass will come with a lanyard, water bottle, and a commemorative EVO 2023 badge. Anyone who wants to attend the EVO 2023 Arena Finals, scheduled for Day 3 in the Michelob ULTRA Arena, must buy a separate ticket via the AXS website.

EVO 2023 hits attendance record as line goes literally out the door EVO 2022/Li HoangEVO 2023 broke its record for most signups for the Las Vegas fighting game tournament, which has led directly to one of the biggest lines ever seen for the event in general. EVO 2023, the biggest fighting game tournament in the world, has opened its doors to welcome in the first players for morning pool play and spectators looking to watch and see what the venue has to offer. Developers like Riot Games are hosting beta tests for new titles, and other conventiongoers are selling merchandise on the venue’s floor. Getting into the venue, however, has proven to be a nightmare, as the line to get into EVO has stretched out of the door, down the hallway, past the Mandalay Bay casino and into the lobby. The monster line has been documented by many tournament goers, with Team Liquid’s Juan ‘Hungrybox’ Debiedma showcasing the queue in detail. EVO 2023 first day sees an incredibly long line The number of people trying to get into the venue is not at all surprising, considering the tournament broke its record for most signups. The line is so long that those who have the first block of pool play have been advised to skip the line entirely just to make sure they can make their matches on time. One EVO participant said they used the early pool play line and it took over nine minutes for them to walk to the front of the regular line. “We left the Mandalay room at 9:15 and my cousin is still making his way through the regular line,” the EVO attendee said. The three-day fighting game tournament has brackets for eight titles, with Street Fighter 6 as the marquee game with over 7,000 players signed up to play. The event will run from around 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, with action across the entire day from multiple different brackets for viewers and attendees to choose from.

EVO 2023 competitor goes viral after controller cover-up gone wrong evo2 | TwitchTekken competitor Meo-IL at EVO 2023 chose to cover up his controller in what has been an ongoing trend amongst high-tier competitors — but the way he covered it looked like he was up to something other than pulling off command inputs under there. Oh ‘Meo-IL’ Dae-il is one of the best competitors in Tekken 7. Hailing from South Korea and represented by Kwangdong Freecs, he’s one of the strongest Geese Howard players in the scene and is a force to be reckoned with. He’s also known for having a fun stage presence with dramatic celebrations and a big personality, making him incredibly fun to watch, as he often makes deep runs at Tekken tournaments. However, a clip of him playing on stage at EVO 2023 caught some eyes after a covering for his controller made it appear that he was up to something else. Meo-IL has unfortunate controller cover mishap at EVO 2023 Meo-IL has a bright personality and an amazing presence on stage. Between pulling out his futuristic-looking LED glasses after big wins and his incredibly colorful controller, this player is hard to miss. He hopped onto the emerging EVO 2023 trend of covering his controller, something players have been doing to hide their inputs from opponents lately. EVO 2023 KOF XV champion Zeng ‘Xiaohai’ Zhuojun used a similar strategy to hide his controller, and it’s been catching on fast. Meo-IL decided to hide his hands with a cute frog blanket, and the commentators on the match explained the ongoing trend as the competitor was getting prepped. He’d go on to cover his controller in this way for the remainder of his EVO 2023 run, and, as he discovered the most comfortable way to play with the covering, it began to look like he was up to something else under the blanket. In a clip that’s since gone viral, spectators weren’t too sure what to make of the unfortunate similarity to another action beneath the covers. Meo-IL has taken notice of the clip and has been a good sport about it, laughing off the striking resemblance to actions that could be performed with a different kind of fight stick. And, despite the optics, Meo-IL’s still alive in Top 6 and has a chance at winning it all via a loser’s bracket run at EVO 2023. It remains to be seen whether or not he changes up his controller cover strategy in the remainder of his matches at the event.

EVO 2023 competitor wins his match despite two controllers breaking on him Dacidbro | TwitterA competitor at EVO was unable to use both his keyboard and his normal controller in a competition, resorting to borrowing an arcade stick he’d never used from a bystander. However, this player managed to win his set against all odds. EVO 2023 is arguably the biggest fighting game event in the world, and it brings competitors from all around the world together to duke it out in their favorite titles. However, there are times when players’ equipment fails them. One competitor was left at a loss after both his controller and keyboard weren’t working, but a bystander agreed to let him use their arcade stick. Despite the odds and working with a controller he’d never used before, this player managed to clutch out the win. Guilty Gear Strive player takes home an unlikely win at EVO 2023 While the competitor chose not to give his name out, according to ‘Dacidbro,’ the owner of the fightstick, that doesn’t make his story any less incredible. According to Dacidbro, this anonymous player’s keyboard wasn’t usable due to the converter not working. Upon discovering it wasn’t working, the player tried to borrow a normal controller from another competitor, only to find out that controller was broken, as well. Dacidbro stepped in and offered this competitor his fight stick. While that one worked, he didn’t know how to use it. After a quick 10 minute lesson, this player was off to pools. And, against the odds, he won his match. Apparently, things didn’t go too well after the first match – but the fact he was able to get at least one win with a controller he’d never used before is a huge victory. And, while the result is nice, this entire exchange also goes to show how connected the FGC is. Two different people attending helped this player out, and he managed to participate and have fun despite the odds thanks to the goodwill of people who were there.

How to watch EVO 2022: Start date, stream & games lineup WB GamesSony recently shared Evo 2022’s full schedule and lineup, meaning a breakdown of what to watch and how is in order. To the surprise of many, Sony purchased Evolution Championship Series (Evo) last year, making it the proud owner of the world’s most prestigious fighting game championship. While Evo Online 2021 hit the web in August, the planned in-person tournament never saw the light of day. The esports event returns to its in-person roots this year, though, complete with a live tournament, developer interviews, and a PlayStation-hosted live show. Here’s the rundown on everything the FGC needs to know in the lead-up to this week’s festivities. When is Evo 2022 taking place? Evo will celebrate its 20th anniversary at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada from Friday, August 5 through Sunday, August 7. Notably, this marks the fighting game tournament’s first on-site gathering since Evo 2019. Evo 2022’s full game lineup Even though Nintendo pulled Smash Bros. from the selection of games, Evo 2022 still boasts an impressive lineup of titles. The list appears as follows, courtesy of the PlayStation Blog: Street Fighter V: Champion Edition – Guilty Gear -Strive- – Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate – Tekken 7 – The King of Fighters XV – Melty Blood: Type Lumina – Dragonball FighterZ – Granblue Fantasy: Versus – Skullgirls: 2nd Encore – How to watch Evo 2022 In addition to competition streams, Evo 2022 will also play host to broadcasts from developers and publishers. Better still, Sony’s PlayStation Tournaments: Evo Lounge live show will air on August 5 and 6, featuring curated show coverage, player interviews, and “exciting content and reveals” from the likes of Arc System Works, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Capcom, SNK, and WB Games. All events will be streamed live through Twitch and YouTube. The Evo 2022 stream guide notes that a “Special Event” on the Main Stage is slated to run on August 5 from 10:00 AM through 7:00 PM PDT. Fortunately, the Evo guide also features widgets that link to each event’s respective Twitch page. Those who want to check out PlayStation Tournaments: Evo Lounge will be able to do so via the publisher’s official Twitch and YouTube pages. The live show’s day one stream on August 5 will begin at 12:00 PM PDT, with the day two broadcast on August 6 scheduled for the same time.

EVO 2023 breaks all-time registration records as fighting game fever rises Capcom / Evolution Championship SeriesEVO 2023 has broken multiple all-time registration records, becoming one of the most highly-anticipated events of the season as fighting game fever rises among fans in the wake of massive releases like Street Fighter 6. EVO is the world’s largest fighting game tournament, taking place every summer in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fans can expect high-tier competition from the best pros in the scene, making for unforgettable moments that cement themselves in the hallowed annals of fighting game history. The Evolution Championship Series is the proverbial Mecca for fighting game competitors — and this year, it’s bigger than ever before. EVO has enjoyed its status as the premier fighting game event for many years. However, this year’s edition has seen more registrations than ever before, as told in a July 12 press release on EVO’s official website. EVO breaks records as multiple games see all-time registration numbers skyrocket According to this release, EVO 2023 will “officially have the most bracket competitors ever at an EVO event.” Overall, a whopping 9,182 unique players have registered for tournaments across EVO’s eight main titles, which include games like Street Fighter 6, Guilty Gear -Strive-, Tekken 7, and more. Over three-quarters of these registered players are competing in Street Fighter 6, with the title raking in a jaw-dropping 7,061 total entrants. In fact, counting only those players who entered Street Fighter 6 as their only event, it would still be the most-entered game at the tournament, boasting over 3,121 registered players. It’s worth noting that EVO also marks the very first event in the 2023 Capcom Pro Tour, with players across the globe looking to test their mettle in the season’s inaugural tournament. Guilty Gear -Strive- weighs in at second place, boasting 2,481 registered players, marking a “new franchise peak” for the game at EVO. Tekken 7 has 1,580 players competing in the title, which will soon welcome a new entry into the series as Tekken 8 looms on the horizon. That’s not all; old-school mainstay Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3 has also created a “new franchise peak” at EVO, boasting 1,346 registrations. It’s clear the community still has a lot of love for this title over a decade after its initial release in 2011. It’s safe to say that fighting game fever is at an all-time high right now. Following the massive release of Street Fighter 6, fans have two more major games to look forward to in Mortal Kombat 1 and Tekken 8 later this year or early 2024. EVO 2023 will take place from August 4-6 at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Considering EVO’s status as one of the premier destinations for big reveals, there’s no telling what could be in store for players this year, but one thing’s for certain: This is gonna be a tournament to watch out for.

Evo 2020 returns to Las Vegas – dates and venue revealed The dates and location for the EVO Championship Series 2020 have finally been revealed for FGC fans to start planning their trip to the premier tournament. EVO is hands down the biggest event in the 2020 fighting game circuit, as the best players from around the world in Super Smash Bros., Street Fighter, Tekken, Mortal Kombat and more will look to compete for the crystal hardware suited for champions. Every iteration of the event has delivered thrills ranging from glorious comebacks to shocking upsets, and fans expect no less from the first Evo of the new decade. Home of Evo 2020 Starting the hype train early, the tournament organizers revealed on October 31 when community and competitors can expect to return to Sin City. Evo is going back to Las Vegas, Nevada in 2020. Moreover, the upcoming tournament will mark the fifth consecutive year that FGC fans will converge on the Mandalay Bay to see the stories of the event unfold. From pools to playoffs, the packed tournament will feature three days of intense matches from July 31 to August 2. With that said, Evo will be partnering with the hotel resort and casino for event-goers to book their stay for the entirety of the competition. Even though the schedule and lineup of games to be played have yet to be announced, attendees can expect the weekend to be filled with exciting bouts from all titles. “Evo brings together the best of the best from around the world in a dazzling exhibition of skill and fun,” Evo’s description reads. “As players and fans gather to honor the competitive spirit in an open format and determine a champion.” Who is going to Evo 2020? As the FGC wait for confirmation on 2020’s pool of games, previous event winners could be returning to defend their titles as runner-ups look to dethrone them. With Smash Ultimate growing in popularity, Leonardo ‘MkLeo’ Lopez will undoubtedly make an appearance to further cement his place among the greatest of all time. It doesn’t matter which games get featured at Evo 2020, the FGC have come to expect Dominique ‘SonicFox’ McLean to absolutely destroy competitors in a number of titles like MK11 and Dragon Ball FighterZ. Last year Masato ‘Bonchan’ Takahashi took the top honors in Street Fighter V, while Pakistan’s Arslan ‘Arslan Ash’ Siddique overcame the heap of entrants to win it all in Tekken 7. The competition is sure to be rife with storylines and intense matchups, leading the FGC to get hyped for the next iteration of Evo in the Summer of 2020.

EVO 2022 beat EVO 2021’s viewership by almost 6 times EVO | TwitchEVO 2022 was a massive, in-person comeback for one of the world’s biggest fighting game tournaments with almost 6 times the average viewership compared to the previous year. EVO is one of the biggest fighting game events in the world. Having been a fixture in the fighting game community for over 20 years, EVO has gained a legendary status amongst FGC tournaments. However, due to the in-person nature of fighting games and how much it brings to the experience, EVO got hit hard by COVID restrictions on gatherings and travel. EVO’s first in-person tournament since 2019 had a massive in-person turnout, with thousands of fans cheering in the arena. But that turnout was nothing compared to online viewership. According to a recap of Twitch viewership on Gamesight, average viewership at EVO 2022 was up almost 6 times in comparison to last year’s tournament. EVO 2021 averaged around 11,000 viewers at any given time, while EVO 2022 averaged 64,799. This increase is already huge on paper, but those are just the numbers across the full event. Peak and average viewership numbers for Day 3, a day filled with top 8 fights, had much higher average viewership numbers. The main stage events for top 8s on Day 3 of EVO peaked well above the 64k mark. Here are the top 3 according to Gamesight’s post. Guilty Gear -Strive- – Average concurrent viewers: 94,296 – Peak Viewers: 111,803 – Tekken 7 – Average Concurrent Viewers: 107,472 – Peak Viewers: 132,333 – Street Fighter V – Average Concurrent Viewers: 129,815 – Peak Viewers: 156,601 – Concurrent viewers for EVO’s most anticipated matches were almost double that of the average across the event, and, with average viewership numbers so close to peak viewership, people that tuned in for top 8s tended to stay through the entire bracket. Across the entirety of Day 3, EVO’s viewership averaged at almost 100k. With character reveals like Bridget for Guilty Gear -Strive-, Kimberly and Juri for Street Fighter 6, and a teaser for Tekken 8 featuring Kazuya Mishima, EVO cemented itself as more than just a tournament. There were also some great audience moments like the DBFZ Cell yell when the audience and competitors came together to recreate an iconic moment from Dragon Ball Z. While EVO 2022’s peak was just shy of 2019’s, these viewership statistics put the cherry on top of what was an extremely successful return to form for EVO.

Evil Geniuses, Thunderpick expand partnership to Dota 2 team ahead of TI 2023 Thunderpick/ Evil GeniusesEvil Geniuses and the crypto betting platform for esports, Thunderpick, have announced an expansion of their partnership with the organization’s Dota 2 team ahead of its TI campaign. Evil Geniuses and Thunderpick have announced that the two companies are expanding their partnership. Thunderpick is now a partner of EG’s Dota 2 team and is working with the esports organization to create content and fan activations in the lead-up to The International 12. EG has a long history in Dota 2 and has qualified for TI 10 times. The org has multiple Tier 1 tournament trophies to its name and even won The International back in 2015. Thunderpick initially partnered with Evil Geniuses back in March to become the org’s Marquee Partner for its CS:GO teams. Thunderpick also became the organization’s official crypto casino and gambling partner. The financial terms of the initial partnership, and its recent expansion, were not disclosed. This is the organization’s second partnership it has inked since the departure of Nicole LaPointe as CEO in September. Thunderpick has enjoyed increasing popularity in the esports space over the last year and the company has even launched a CS:GO tournament series with a substantial Bitcoin prize pool. Evil Geniuses and Thunderpick expand partnership The International is set to start on October 12 and will feature the best-performing teams from the year in a battle for the lion’s share of the traditionally large prize pool. Evil Geniuses qualified for the world championship through the Dota Pro Circuit after a great start to the year. The Dota 2 squad placed first in the South American DPC and finished fourth at the ESL One Berlin Major. The team has struggled recently, however, with an early exit from the Bali Major in June and a top-12 finish at the Riyadh Masters event in July. EG and the esports betting platform have yet to reveal what activations are set to come, but fans should expect things like meet and greets, TI ticket raffles, and more in the future.

Evil Geniuses ownership group reportedly tried to buy Echo Fox A new report claims that Peak6, the company that acquired Evil Geniuses, tried to purchase Echo Fox. According to a report by Upcomer, Peak6’s $41 million-dollar bid to acquire Echo Fox wasn’t a credible deal. Emails obtained by the site claim the bid was “$10 million cash” with a “$31 million contingency payment”, but failed to convince the group the bid had any value. Part of this could be in part to Peak6 being brought in to the bidding process with only three hours left on Riot’s sale deadline on July 22. To be considered for the bid, they would have had to sign an NDA, understand Riot’s requirements to obtain the slot and were allegedly told they needed to come in at around $60 million. An Echo Fox member later contacted Peak6 and told them they wouldn’t have to come in at $60 million, disregarding the alleged email, but their bid would need more than $30 million in cash to even be considered. Peak6’s eventual offer came in after the deadline and was dismissed right away. According to Upcomer, it was valued at $17 and $20 million with $10 million being at the close of the sale. Additionally, $7 million were based on earnings before tax, interest, and other legal elements. Additionally, they noted that Peak6 had failed to respond by the deadlines and their eventual offer was not in the pre-approved format with details required for analyzation by Riot and investors. The alleged second offer, which came in past the second deadline, was “…completely devoid of critical details to even ascertain its validity—ignoring for a second that again that it was not in time and not in the required format.” One investor opined that he thought Peak6 was told about the deal with Kroenke Sports & Entertainment, which caused the company to up their bid. In any case, it’s yet another web of confusion in the crazy story of Echo Fox. And if that wasn’t bad enough, as Dexerto reported earlier today, the CEO and co-founder of Sentinels Robert Moore has filed a lawsuit against Kroenke Sports & Entertainment over their deal to purchase Echo Fox.

Esports community outraged by Evil Geniuses’ new logo and brand revamp Legendary North American esports organization Evil Geniuses have revealed their brand-new logo and revamped brand, and the majority of the esports community are most definitely not fans of it. When it comes to esports organizations, few have a history as rich and long as Evil Geniuses, who were originally founded in 1999 and have thrived since then. One of the most recognizable aspects of EG has always been their logo, which featured the two letters combined in a distinct way, surrounded by a circle. However, that iconic logo has now been thrown by the wayside, as on December 12, the organization announced a total revamp to their brand in honor of the beginning of a new decade. The new logo features the words EVIL GENIUSES written out one above the other, with the V slightly larger than the rest of the letters in such a way that it overlaps onto the second word. It’s time for a new decade of EVIL. 2020 isn’t ready for us. #LIVEEVIL pic.twitter.com/spCwp9uiVM — Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) December 12, 2019 EG also revealed what their new jerseys look like with this redesigned logo emblazoned across the chest. A sample of one of their shirts is currently visible on the home page of their official website, which was also revamped. The organization has adopted a new motto as well – “Live Evil,” taking advantage of the fact that the ‘Evil’ portion of their name spelled backward is ‘Live.’ Esports community reacts to Evil Geniuses’ brand revamp It’s safe to say that a very large majority of the reactions so far to EG’s new logo have been negative, as most fans have taken to questioning the organization for their decision to part ways with their iconic symbol. Prominent esports orgs Team Secret and Team Liquid both replied to the announcement tweet with GIFs to express their true feelings without having to actually spell them out. In fact, almost every single reply has been much of the same, with the only exceptions being those who are members of EG or companies that are partnered with them. Evil Geniuses have not issued a statement or response to all of this outrage, but they’ve most definitely seen it. That said, there’s probably not much for them to say, and it would be extremely unlikely that they bring back their old logo after spending so much effort and resources into this total revamp.

Evil Geniuses employees reveal another round of layoffs has hit the esports organization Evil GeniusesEvil Geniuses employees have started posting on social media that another round of layoffs has hit the esports organization. Multiple Evil Geniuses employees have posted that they have been let go by the esports organization. This is the third round of layoffs the company has undergone within a year. The first wave hit the company in December of 2022, and the second impacted managers in March 2023. This third wave has hit a variety of departments, while also impacting top-level employees at the company. Vice President of Operations and Studio John Jung kicked off the layoff posts by saying it was his last day at Evil Geniuses and wishing luck to everyone else who also got the axe on social media. According to one now-former employee, Evil Geniuses let go of roughly 20 people. “Unfortunately today is my last day at Evil Geniuses, to the other ~20 people that were laid off today and those before us I wish you luck and let me know if you need a reference,” former EG League of Legends analyst Beora said on social media. Evil Geniuses hit with third round of layoffs Other high-profile exits from the esports organization include former Global Creative Director Antonia Bonello and former Senior Director of Gaming & Performance Lindsey “GamerDoc” Migliore. GamerDoc has not posted about her exit on social media, however, her LinkedIn page shows her employment with the organization ending in November 2023. The exit of such high-ranking members has fueled speculation that the team is heading toward an eventual sale. Rumors of Evil Geniuses selling its LCS spot, or its ownership offloading the brand, have been swirling for a while. Speculation first started after EG’s former CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson stepped down on August 31. These layoffs additionally come amidst an economic downturn in the industry, commonly referred to as the esports winter. While EG has been impacted by the change in economic headwinds around esports, it has also been a part of scandal after scandal in recent memory. The organization was reportedly complicit in the alleged abuse of its star LCS bot laner and has reportedly kept its Valorant roster in contract jail after winning the 2023 world championship in the esport. In addition, Evil Geniuses recently came under fire for running a Rocket League tournament after dropping its previous tournament organizers for failing to secure partnerships and sponsors.

Evil Geniuses on top & FlyQuest flop at LCS Lock In week 1 With the first week of LCS Lock In complete, one team has stood out from the pack. Evil Geniuses are unbeaten so far in the competition, overcoming the likes of Cloud9, Immortals, and Dignitas. Impact and co. have been in an inspired form so far at the event, securing the top spot even before the rest of the Group Stage games finished. Will their aggressive play-style see them through to the end, and can FlyQuest bounce back from their first week woes? Read More: Ablazeolive on his LCS call-up – Teams were finally allowed to warm up against one another to see how they perform against each other with their new rosters. Despite adding two new faces to the roster during the competitive off-season, Evil Genuises shone during the matchups that honed an aggressive playstyle, standing out amongst the crowd. They were able to take down Cloud9 will incredible ease and precision. Luka ‘Perkz’ Perković recently stated that he was planning to make it through the LCS with a deathless streak, but ultimately this goal was quashed with a total of 7 deaths against Evil Geniuses during the first week. Read More: League of Legends patch 11.2: early notes – FlyQuest, on the other hand, has had an underwhelming start to the season. Dignitas dismantled them in their competitive match, with the team showing little promise in their opening games. For further LCS and League of Legends news and events, make sure to check out our dedicated hub.

Evil Geniuses CGO reveals old logo’s future amid backlash Following widespread backlash to the unveiling of the organization’s new logo, Evil Geniuses’ Chief Gaming Officer Phillip Aram gave a heartfelt explanation of what the future holds for the original crest logo, in a reply to former owner Alex Garfield. Mistakes were made, and even an organization going by the moniker ‘Evil Geniuses’ know that the way they unveiled their rebranded logo wasn’t the smartest. On December 13, Evil Geniuses unveiled a new logo as part of a rebranding project, and it quickly became the talk of the internet for the wrong reasons. After receiving a number of responses, Phillip Aram, Chief Gaming Officer at EG, personally responded to backlash from former owner Alex Garfield. Garfield’s statements echoed his sentiment that the new EG logo somehow tarnishes the legacy of the organization, and Aram acknowledged in his response that the organization did Garfield and the EG fans a disservice by leaving the legendary, round crest out of the rollout. Aram admitted that he “f****d up the delivery” with the new logo, and that the way it was presented caused fans to focus on “what was missing and not what was unveiled.” This is likely due to the fact that the initial announcement had zero mention of the old logo in any capacity. He went on to say that the plan initially was to “tinker” with the original symbol of Evil Geniuses as part of the brand refresh, but that time constraints meant they weren’t able to “figure out” what to do with it yet. He had hoped that the organization could tinker “in quiet” after the new logo came out, but says they messed up by not communicating that they were still working on the original logo “in the lab.” To the relief of fans of the old logo, Aram admitted that the old Evil Geniuses logo is not gone, that it is indeed coming back, and apologize for giving “all the fans a heart attack.” He also remarked that it was his hope that the history of Evil Geniuses, specifically regarding Garfield’s departure from the company, can soon be brought to public light. Garfield and Aram assured anyone reading that there was no bad blood between them, and that it’s mutual love between a past and current leader of the Evil Geniuses brand. In between the initial announcement and the response, plenty of other organizations and members of the community expressed outrage at the new logo, with some other teams even roasting Evil Geniuses for it. Even Evil Geniuses poked a little fun at themselves. We heard your concerns. Introducing our new new logo. #LiVEevIL pic.twitter.com/3lmSuGjCV4 — Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) December 13, 2019 The return of the old logo in some capacity will be one of several new things that Evil Geniuses fans have to look forward to in 2020. Their new-look Dota 2 roster is still a contender, their CSGO team has won two championships already, and they return to the LoL for the upcoming LCS Spring Split.

Evil Geniuses announce Thunderpick as CSGO sponsor Evil GeniusesEvil Geniuses have partnered with Thunderpick as the newest esports sponsor for their CS:GO teams. As one of the oldest esports organizations, Evil Geniuses’ success in CS:GO has waned in recent years. Since returning to CS:GO in 2019 EG has won several tournaments, but they have come up empty since their last first-place finish at ESL One: Cologne in 2020. But Evil Geniuses are hoping that the 2023 circuit will be more successful, and they are hoping their newest partnership will be the first step towards success. Evil Geniuses partners with crypto betting platform Thunderpick In a press release, EG has confirmed to Dexerto a new partnership with the leading online crypto betting platform, Thunderpick. Thunderpick, which brands itself as a crypto betting platform “made by gamers for gamers,” allows viewers to bet on live esports events in League of Legends, CS:GO, Dota 2, and Overwatch. By entering this partnership, Thunderpick will become the “Marquee Partner” for both of Evil Geniuses’ CS:GO teams. Their partnership with Evil Geniuses Gold also represents the first official sponsorship of a women’s CS:GO team. In a statement, EG CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson explained why Thundertalk was the ideal partner for the organization. “We are excited to partner with Thunderpick, a brand that shares our passion for creating innovative experiences for esports fans…Thunderpick’s commitment to ensuring a reliable and inventive betting environment will offer a new arm of engagement during events.” Kelly Sanders, Head of Strategy for Thunderpick concurred with Jameson’s sentiments. “Thunderpick is committed to supporting and growing players’ opportunities to succeed not only as players, but as creators and individuals, and this partnership marks a key milestone in our efforts to foster a larger and more diverse community within esports and gaming more broadly. We look forward to leveraging our platform and offering exciting new experiences for CS:GO fans while also introducing our brand to a wider audience.” Evil Geniuses are set to IEM Dallas 2023, which begins on May 29.

Evil Geniuses CEO steps down following a year fraught with controversy Evil Geniuses | YouTubeEvil Geniuses CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson has announced that she’s stepping down from her position following a year that was filled to the brim with controversy around the esports organization. Hot off of Evil Geniuses winning it all at Valorant Champions 2023, CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson has decided to step down from her position. 2023 saw Evil Geniuses in hot water more often than not between the Danny allegations, merch that disappointed fans following their Valorant Champions win, allegations that their content team plagiarized ideas from the LEC, and more. Though the end result has ultimately been positive for Evil Geniuses, the path to the finish hasn’t been an easy one. The org has ultimately been dealt yet another blow now that EG CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson is stepping down, giving the keys to Chris DeAppolonio as an interim CEO until they find someone to take on the role permanently. Evil Geniuses CEO Nicole LaPointe steps down As revealed in an interview by Digiday, LaPointe is stepping away from her role. The interview that accompanied the announcement had the now-former CEO reflecting on her time with the organization and what ultimately made her want to move on. According to her, the current model for monetizing an esports team doesn’t work. She’s passed the torch knowing that, in her mind, Evil Geniuses will have to evolve to survive. “The name of the game is what’s the next evolution of revenue growth, revenue diversification and innovation, because I think the world knows just functioning and monetizing as an esports team today doesn’t work.” LaPointe also claimed that she was “naïve” about the way that she stepped into the world of esports as a public-facing CEO, and that she feels like she’s had a positive impact even if there were fair criticisms levied against her. Additionally, LaPointe dismissed the notion that controversy surrounding Danny could have led to her departure amid an ongoing investigation. “We — myself or EG — have still not received any actual complaints from Danny or his family around this. Danny even posted on Twitter himself that he did not feel mistreated and had a good experience. So I know that’s been a divide; I know people want an apology. But, as of now, I have nothing to apologize for.” LaPointe also released a statement on EG’s Twitter account: Ultimately, it remains to be seen what happens now that Evil Geniuses will be under new leadership. While they’re certainly in a place to succeed considering they have some of the best teams in esports, it remains to be seen how the org will change as a result of this decision.

Evil Geniuses acquire League of Legends LCS spot from Echo Fox @Nimble_CODEvil Geniuses are jumping back into League of Legends by acquiring the North American League Championship Series franchise spot from Echo Fox, according to ESPN Esports’ Jacob Wolf. Update: The acquisition has been confirmed by Evil Geniuses, as of 5:32 pm EST. You saw that right — Evil Geniuses will be returning to the North American LCS (@LCSOfficial) for the 2020 Season. It’s been a hell of a day, but support makes it all possible. Full details are here: https://t.co/TMsDfc31Mk pic.twitter.com/ZPuE9lfYjY — Evil Geniuses (@EvilGeniuses) September 26, 2019 It’s been a memorable Thursday for Evil Geniuses. The North American organization made early morning waves with the acquisition of the NRG Esports CS:GO roster just before those players appeared to compete at the ESL One NY tournament. But the Blue brand didn’t stop there, as they have made another big splash in North American esports by acquiring the lone available LCS slot from Echo Fox, as initially reported by ESPN’s Jacob Wolf. Sources: @EvilGeniuses will acquire the League of Legends Championship Series slot previously owned by @echofoxgg after being selected by Riot Games as the league’s newest member. Evil Geniuses return to League of Legends for the first time since Sept. 10, 2014. — Jacob Wolf (@JacobWolf) September 26, 2019 Evil Geniuses attempted to buy the Echo Fox slot earlier in the summer, after Riot gave the Echo Fox organization an ultimatum to sell following the debacle with an investor in the 2019 campaign. The previous attempt fell through after a report showed financial issues with EG’s bid. Just like how their CS:GO announcement marked a return to the scene, their LCS announcement today marks a return to the competitive League of Legends scene as well. At the beginning of 2013, Evil Geniuses became a part of the European scene by acquiring the Counter Logic Gaming EU squad after they walked from CLG. EG EU finished third in the 2013 Summer EU LCS Playoffs, but missed out on 2013 Worlds. Evil Geniuses then gave up their EU spot and moved to North America, and qualified for the NA LCS via the promotion tournament. But after GoodGame Agency was purchased by Twitch, both its brands in EG and Alliance were forced to rebrand at the beginning of 2015, to Winterfox and Elements respectively. Winterfox failed to retain their spot in the NA LCS, and then finished dead last in the Challenger Series before disbanding in July 2015. The past few months have seen incredible changes for Evil Geniuses, not just including the CS:GO acquisition. The organization announced in July that they would not pursue a franchise spot in the upcoming Call of Duty league, and recently announced surprising departures to their legendary Dota 2 roster. With the acquisition, all the upcoming changes to the teams competing in the 2020 LCS have been set. Clutch Gaming will rebrand to Dignitas following the slot purchase from the Houston Rockets. OpTic Gaming will rebrand to Immortals following Immortals’ purchase of Infinite Esports. And now Evil Geniuses will join the LCS following the purchase of the Echo Fox slot.

Evil Geniuses announce departure of head of coaching staff Peter Dun Riot Games/Colin Young-WolffEvil Geniuses have announced that they are parting ways with their head of coaching staff, Peter Dun, after two years with the organization on October 18. Evil Geniuses said goodbye to their head of coaching staff, Peter Dun, in an announcement on Twitter after the team was eliminated from the League of Legends World Championships. Dun joined Evil Geniuses in 2020 as the team’s head coach and he transitioned to the role of head of coaching staff at the start of 2022. With Dun at the helm, the organization has won the League Champions Series championship for the first time in its history. He also led EG to its first Mid-Season Invitational and World Championship appearances in 2022. Dun has not been released from his current contract with EG, which expires on November 7, but he has been allowed to explore offers from other teams. In his own statement, Dun thanked the staff and players from his time with the organization. Evil Geniuses also looking to revamp staff Evil Geniuses were eliminated from Worlds 2022 just days before this announcement, going 1-5 in the Group Stage after fighting through the Play-in Stage to make the main event. EG is not the only North American organization looking to reorganize its behind-the-scenes staff. On October 17, 100 Thieves announced that they would be parting ways with their general manager after three years. 100 Thieves were also eliminated from Worlds in the Group Stage. Dun has been involved in professional League of Legends esports for over seven years starting as an analyst for the Brazilian team INTZ. He then went on to coach for INTZ before moving to Splyce and then MAD Lions. Dun would come to North America in 2020 to join EG as the organization returned to the LCS by purchasing Echo Fox’s slot in late 2019.

Eunited’s Burns Explains There’s More to Success than Gun Skill Succeeding in esports is something many hope to do and eUnited’s Matthew ‘Burns’ Potthoff might be helping others on their way with some direct advice. As General Manager of eUnited, it’s Burns’ job to look after and inspire the esports teams he works with. His experience as a GM, along with his former professional Call of Duty career, means he has a solid understanding of what it takes to succeed. Natural talent and good shooting abilities are undeniably important in games like Call of Duty, Halo and Gears of War, you would be hard pushed to find a professional player who doesn’t possess these qualities. Since everyone around the pro level can shoot, Burns says the key to success is the other things which you can bring to your team. What do you bring to your team outside of mechanical skill? -Attitude -Composure -Communication -Using Information in game -Leadership -ConfidenceThe list goes on. It’s not just about shooting your gun straight anymore. If you haven’t figured this out by now, figure it out. — eU Burns (@Potthoff) 15 July 2018 In order to build a successful team, it needs to be made up of players who have a mixture of the non-mechanical skill qualities Burns talks about. For instance, you may not need more than one leader per roster but a good attitude and communication is pretty important for all team members. Burns went on to say for players looking to become professional or see success, they need to look at what their other abilities are, as well as their gun skill. Burns went on to say for players looking to become professional or see success, they need to look at what their other abilities are, as well as their gun skill Rise Nation’s Daniel ‘Loony’ Loza also joined the conversation to share his thoughts that no matter whether a player is a professional or an amateur, the question of whether or not they will succeed has never been down to their ability to shoot. Pros have it figured out though, usually a loss is due to a communication issue, not being on the same page, or lack of practice. — eU Burns (@Potthoff) 15 July 2018 Burns agreed with this, saying most professional players don’t usually lose because they can’t shoot, but because of practice or communication issues. Read More: Full Division B Schedule for Week 8 of the CWL Pro League (Stage Two) – Matchups, Playoff Picture, Standings, and More – While some of these points may be common knowledge, Burns’ advice is the key to all competitive team’s progress and is worth taking on board for those hoping to develop careers or see success in esports.

CoD pro Clayster in hot water for mocking mobile esports Tencent / eU ClaysterIt looks as though mobile esports still has a ways to go towards gaining legitimacy after eUnited’s James ‘Clayster’ Eubanks made some comments on the scene that drew ire from many in the community. There’s no doubt that mobile esports has been growing substantially over the last couple of years, but the popularity still pales in comparison to that of other esports such as Call of Duty and League of Legends. Clayster took to Twitter to express his opinions on the mobile esports scene in response to an ESPN article about an all women’s mobile esports team. The criticism wasn’t revolved around the gender of the team at all, but rather it was focused on the notion of a whole organization existing just to field a mobile esports team. “A mobile squad? [I don’t care] if you’re male or female that’s hilarious hahahaha,” he said. This drew immediate ire from fans on the social platform, making connections from the criticisms to Clayster’s current position. “[I don’t know] how it’s that funny. There are clash players on teams bigger than the one [you’re] on right now,” a user said. Feel like this is counterproductive to what the article is trying to do? A mobile squad? Idc if you’re male or female that’s hilarious hahahaha https://t.co/PuPHCryIJ7 — eU Clayster (@Clayster) December 7, 2018 Others pointed that Clayster, a member of eUnited’s Call of Duty squad, and his team still “play on console,” insinuating that it wasn’t much better than mobile gaming. The 26-year-old AR player recognized the early success of mobile gaming but maintained his criticisms at the idea. “At ESWC there was a huge clash royale tournament,” he said. “I understand it and know there’s a huge scene, I just think it’s hilarious lol.” After drawing tons of unwanted attention, Clayster offered a clarification that served as his final thoughts. “Look, last thing I’ll say on the matter. Games that are made for mobile are fine by me, ports from other platforms are notoriously bad and clunky,” he said. “The setups at ESWC for CR were ridiculously extra, that’s where I was pointing out I found it funny, not the actual esport itself.” While mobile esports will no doubt continue to grow in the coming weeks and months, it might take some time for others to view the scene in a more serious light.

Sources: eUnited propose merger with OpTic Gaming MLG/OpTic/eUnitedNorth American esports organization eUnited have proposed a merger with OpTic Gaming, documents obtained by Dexerto show. OpTic Gaming CEO Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez is planning to wholly acquire Call of Duty League franchise OpTic Chicago, as reported by Dexerto on May 4. In line with the report, they are searching for financial partners to assist with the acquisition. Documents show that eUnited, who previously fielded Call of Duty teams pre-CDL, have proposed a merger with the OpTic brand. Described as a “unique investment opportunity” in one document, eUnited put forward a business move that would see OpTic Gaming, OpTic Chicago, and eUnited all held under one ownership umbrella. The venture was described as an opportunity to “help OpTic grow” by “merging operations” with the organization. Interestingly, the pitch also suggests that eUnited will field a team in the upcoming Halo esports circuit by 343 Industries and Esports Engine. At the time of publication, they have not announced their involvement in the franchise. While sources indicate that this merger is unlikely to go ahead, eUnited planned to take control over “back-office operations” and provide administrative support to H3CZ and OpTic — the organization he only obtained control over again in late 2020. Read More: NICKMERCS becomes part-owner of FaZe Clan – The four pillars of the suggested merger would have seen the company focus on competition (franchised leagues and collegiate esports), content (online programming, podcasts, and a digital agency), commerce (subscription services, gambling and merchandise), and community (fan engagement initiatives and community businesses). May 2021’s report reveals that the current state of OpTic Chicago is in flux, with OpTic CEO H3CZ looking to divest from NRG and bring the Call of Duty League franchise along with him. Both OpTic Gaming and eUnited declined to comment. eUnited’s planned moves over the past 18 months indicate that they are indeed looking to get involved in something bigger than just themselves. They were involved in a potential deal with Houston-based real estate investor Lee Zieben in September 2019, with reports stating that he planned to buy the organization alongside former OpTic-associated Overwatch franchise Houston Outlaws. Both the Outlaws and eUnited plans fell through for Zieben, with the former eventually being sold to Beasley Media Group by Immortals Gaming Club. In June 2020 eUnited entered an agreement to go public on the TSX Venture Exchange with Backstageplay in June 2020. This merger plan was terminated in November 2020 due to “difficult market conditions.” For now, it’s unknown whether OpTic Gaming and OpTic Chicago will be united under H3CZ’s ownership and, if so, who will financially contribute towards making it a reality.

Esports World Cup Foundation Club Support program: All teams & six-figure payment explained Esports World CupThe Esports World Cup is doing more than putting on a giant tournament in the summer, it’s also doling out billions of dollars to a select group of esports organizations from around the world. The Esports World Cup kicks off in July with teams competing in over a dozen esports titles. The people behind the mega tournament series, the Saudi Arabian government, are also directly injecting money into esports through its Esports World Cup Foundation Club Support Program. The club program was announced in February 2024. It will help the organizations chosen to join by giving them money to “support their existing operations and their entrance into new competitive titles within the Esports World Cup.” On May 6, 2024, EWC announced which teams have been chosen to join the program. Contents What esports teams are in the Esports World Cup Club? Thirty teams have been chosen for the Esports World Cup Foundation Club Support program. They are as follows: 100 Thieves – Blacklist International – Cloud9 – Fnatic – FURIA Esports – Karmine Corp – Gen.G – Guild Esports – Gaimin Gladiator – G2 Esports – Movistar KOI – NRG Esports – Ninjas in Pyjamas – Navi – LGD Gaming – OG Esports – LOUD – Spacestation – Team Liquid – Team Falcons – Team Secret – T1 – Talon Esports – Virtus Pro – Twisted Minds – Tundra Esports – Team Vitality – TSM – Weibo Gaming – The initial announcement for the program said only 28 teams would be chosen. However, the program has been expanded to include an additional two teams. 22 teams were given direct invitations, while eight others had to apply to be in the program. EWC has claimed over 150 esports organizations applied to the program. These club teams are not directly invited to the 19 esports tournaments at EWC and will have to battle through qualification just like everyone else. How much money do esports teams in the Esports World Cup Club earn? Teams part of the Esports World Cup Foundation Club Support program can earn an annual six-figure payout. The payout is tied to their competitive performance and ability to “drive viewership and fan engagement” in the lead-up to and at the Esports World Cup. The club program website says the 2024 “one-time stimulus” is for teams who want to enter new competitive gaming titles. The money promised has already led to multiple esports orgs re-entering or debuting in multiple competitive esports titles, expanding into different international markets, and expanding their existing staff, according to EWC. Notably, the exact amount of money eligible for teams to earn has not been revealed. This article will be updated when more information about the Esports World Cup Club is revealed.

Ethan’s gamble storming Valorant with CSGO’s exiles Despite having a flourishing career in the CSGO sphere since 2016 with Team Prospects, the allure of Valorant’s budding esports sphere has prompted Ethan to jump ships. Joining the 100 Thieves lineup, Ethan may very well be the push that the team needs to go the distance. Some in the scene feel that he made the switch way before his time, though. On Team Prospects, he spent four months proving himself alongside notable scene names, missing an event win against Cloud9 by the skin of their teeth. Despite this, Ethan’s teamwork and personal performance undoubtedly put him on the map. Establishing himself as a talented player, he was signed by NRG in 2018, proving to be his entry into the top-tier of competitive CSGO. Towards the latter half of 2019 after a dominating win against Astralis, he made the switch and was signed to Evil Geniuses, securing the top spot in the three subsequent events that followed. He even landed on the top 20 players of 2019 with HLTV in what was undoubtedly a monumental moment for the star. While 2020 saw issues travel restrictions, come June, Ethan and EG were back. They snatched both crowns at BLAST Premier Spring 2020 American Finals and cs_summit 6 Online, and also nabbed a win at the North American ESL One Cologne 2020. Now, in late February 2021, the star made the surprise switch to Valorant after three years with EG, and things are undoubtedly looking bright after his debut saw him hit the ground running against the likes of TSM and GenG. For all Valorant news and events, stay tuned over at our dedicated main page.

Esports World Cup 2024 stream, schedule, results, more Esports World CupThe 2024 Esports World Cup is now in full swing, with tournaments for League of Legends, Warzone, Fortnite, Counter-Strike 2, and more. You can keep track of the biggest events right here with the streams, schedule, and results. From the start of July until late August, the Esports World Cup, a successor to the Gamers8 event, is debuting this year, and the Saudi Esports Federation, with the help of the ESL FACEIT group, is bringing almost every major esports to Saudi Arabia. Sporting a combined $60 million prize pool, the EWC handily overtakes Gamer8’s $45 million last year. Below we’ll update you on each game’s tournament winners, dates, prize pool, and results as the Esports World Cup 2024 event gets underway. Esports World Cup 2024 stream The majority of tournaments will be streamed live on the EWC Twitch channel. Some specific games have their own dedicated channels, and there are a number of offshoot channels dedicated to covering games as they go. Dota 2 will be streamed on EWC Dota 2, for instance. But events like Warzone and Modern Warfare 3 will be on EWC White, and EWC Gold will host the League of Legends tournaments. The main Twitch channel will help you keep up with the action and get to the right place. Esports World Cup 2024 Schedule & results Below are the dates for select tournaments at the Esports World Cup. Warzone kicks off proceedings on July 3. There are more games besides these as well, including a handful of mobile games with equally impressive prize pools. For a full list of all games and tournament dates, check out the EWC page. Warzone: July 3 – July 6 ($1,000,00) Dota 2 [Riyadh Masters]: July 4 – July 21 ($5,000,000) League of Legends: July 5 – July 8 ($1,000,000) Counter-Strike 2: July 17 – July 21 ($1,000,000) Overwatch 2: July 24 – July 28 ($1,000,000) Rainbow Six Seige: July 31 – August 4 ($2,000,000) Apex Legends: August 1 – August 4 ($2,000,000) Fortnite: August 8 – August 11 ($1,000,000) Street Fighter 6: August 8 – August 11 ($1,000,000) Modern Warfare 3: August 15 – August 18 ($1,800,000) Tekken 8: August 22 – August 25 Club Championship leaderboard Not only will esports clubs be competing in individual games, but their overall performance across the entire event will be tracked based on how many Club Points they get. Each game will have Club Points up for grabs for orgs, the higher the placement, the more points orgs receive. As a general rule of thumb, all games will give out 1000 points for 1st place, 600 points for 2nd, and 350 points if the game has a 3rd place or 275 points if the game has a consolidated 3rd-4th place. There will be a $20,000,000 prize pool for this Club Championship which will be distributed to the top 16 teams. The top team will receive $7,000,000. The Club Championship is open to all teams that are participating in EWC tournaments, regardless of whether or not they are part of the Club Program. Below you can see how the prize pool will be split: While the other teams’ placement on the leaderboard is pending, Team Falcons are so far ahead that they’re locked in for the 7 million dollar grand prize at this point.

Esports World Cup 2024 takes over Vegas Sphere to reveal massive $60m prize pool Esports World CupThe Esports World Cup will be hosting over a dozen games and is putting $60 million dollars up for grabs between all of them, breaking the record for biggest esports prize pool of all time. Between the 19 titles being hosted at the Esports World Cup, over $60 million dollars will be up for grabs between the over 2,500 players and dozens of orgs that will be competing at the event. This trumps the record previously set by Gamers8’s $45 million dollar prize pool from the year prior, with the money being split between a variety of stages. $7 million will be up for grabs before the tournament gets started proper in qualifying stages held by either the ESL or the games’ Publisher depending on the title. From there, orgs’ placement across all games will be tracked, with a $20 million prize pool being awarded between the top 16 clubs. The rest of that pool will be split between the players themselves in each title, with an additional $50,000 on offer for each game’s respective MVP. To announce this, the Esports World Cup is taking over the Las Vegas Sphere to give spotlight to, alongside the massive prize pool and games represented at the tournament, some of the biggest names competing at the event, including players like TSM’s ImperialHal and Twisted Minds’ Arslan Ash. The Esports World Cup will be taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with the competition being spread across 8 weeks this Summer. And, while this doesn’t break the record for the biggest prize pool put up for a single game (that record belongs to DOTA 2’s TI 2021 at over $40 million), it’s the biggest prize pool put up for any one esports event and will have many orgs pining for those top spots.

Esports winter continues as Esports Engine lays off 65 employees after ESL acquisition Esports EngineThe esports winter is continuing as prominent tournament organizer Esports Engine has laid off 65 employees shortly after their parent company was acquired by ESL. On March 1, it was announced that the ESL FACEIT Group, one of the world’s largest esports event organizers and production companies, had bought out Vindex, and by extension Esports Engine. But just months after the acquisition, Esports Engine has now laid off 65 of its employees as the industry faces various downturns. On July 25, a range of former employees of Esports Engine announced on Twitter that they had been laid off by the company, from production operations to designers. One of the first tweets was by former Esports Engine Program Operator Ivy O-Shaughnessy announcing that they were part of the layoffs. “I was one of the 65 laid off by Esports Engine today. I’m devastated, and blindsided by the lack of warning,” she said in her tweet. This was followed by a sea of tweets from former employees announcing they were part of the layoffs. Tori Lynch, one of the founding employees of Esports Engine, was also let go. “Unfortunate news today, blindsided along with many other talented folks and am no longer a part of Esports Engine, a company I helped found and build,” she said. Adam Apicella, one of the founders of Esports Engine, who left in March following the sale, said, “Just hearing the terrible news. I can’t say much and need to be careful here.” He further proposed those who have been laid off to contact him if they need anything. Esports Engine finds its roots in the storied history of MLG, with many of its founding members working for the esports production company. But after MLG had been bought out by Activision Blizzard to operate its esports leagues, many members came together to create Esports Engine. The org has been responsible for the broadcast of the Halo Championship Series, Fortnite World Cup, and Twitch Rivals, to name a few.

Esports trends on Twitter in angry reaction to ECI’s $400 ‘esports certification’ Patar KnightAn announcement by the Esports Certification Institute (ECI) of the new $400 ‘esports certification’ for those aspiring to work in esports, has drawn a mixed reaction, to say the least. As esports continues to muscle its way into the limelight, people all over the world are hoping to score a career in one of the world’s biggest growth industries. Even the Olympics embraced esports in the form of their new ‘Virtual Series,’ something that has also divided fans. In the midst of esports’ exponential trajectory, an organization called the ECI are offering aspiring esports professionals an ‘esports certification’. ECI’s “esports certification” As announced via the company’s official Twitter, ECI have created a three-part exam that, once completed, will earn you their ‘esports certification’. We are excited to announce the launch of Esports Certification Institute, a Public Benefit Corporation created to foster professionalism, promote meritocracy, and increase diversity and inclusion in esports. ECI was created to give another path into esports for industry hopefuls pic.twitter.com/NQyxjiWOBc — EsportsCI (@EsportsCi) April 27, 2021 With the aim of “foster professionalism, promote meritocracy, and increase diversity and inclusion in esports,” the cost of taking the exam is $400, which they argue “is an investment into your career.” Esports professionals react Despite using one of their FAQs to address “why do people even need this thing,” the announcement has criticized by many esports professionals, so much so that it started trending on Twitter. Prominent League of Legends caster Isaac ‘Azael’ Cummings Bentley slammed the announcement, writing that neither a university degree or esports certification aided his esports career. My esports qualifications: University Degree❌ Esports Certificate❌ Literal World Champion ✅— Isaac CB (@AzaelOfficial) April 28, 2021 This was mirrored by Valorant sensation turned Team Liquid streaming partner Jonas ‘AverageJonaes’ Navarsete, who comments that “you don’t need a certificate, you need passion.” I got a career in gaming/esports with a job background that predates the internet by about 400 years (Opera). You don’t need a certificate, you need passion. — AverageJonas 🇳🇴 (@Average_Jonas) April 28, 2021 Finally, Product Manager for TSM, Allie Hahe, also noted that her parent organization already provides all of the support that the ECI claim to be offering, but do so “all for free.” I highly recommend to anyone considering a $400 “”esports certificate”” to instead check out the resources we offer at @TSMUniversity. We have industry professionals offering advice, mentorships, and more to help you learn about the industry, all for free.https://t.co/E1QQYtffw3 — Allie Hahe (@alliehahe) April 27, 2021 One of the concerns raised was over some of the specific questions in the exam, which read more like a maths test tied to gaming examples. These are real questions from the ECI’s practice exam…. LOL what pic.twitter.com/8aVrWJk5yn — Joe (@JoePokrzywa) April 27, 2021 However, not all were so dismissive of the ECI. The head of Competitive for OneTeam asks “would it kill you to try and look at the potential positive impacts?” https://twitter.com/Lazerchickenzzz/status/1387130430923710468 One of ECI’s founding members, Ryan Friedman, also clarified that the certification is aimed at those who want to enter the “traditional business” side of esports, not for “talent positions” such as casting and journalism. https://twitter.com/RyanWFriedman/status/1387087947510554625 Many people in hiring positions of esports have also said that the ECI certification will not be something they actively look for in candidates, including Dexerto. According to some of the scene’s biggest names, it’s passion and hard work that are more important. This doesn’t mean that the Esports Certification will have no merit in the future, but it won’t be for everyone.

Esports veterans MonteCristo and Thorin launch media network Last Free Nation Last Free NationEsports industry veterans Christopher ‘MonteCristo’ Mykles and Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields have launched Last Free Nation, a multi-platform podcast and digital network, with renowned media entertainment executive Peter Morris brought in as CEO. The independent podcast network features a roster of esports shows with some of the biggest names in the industry, including MonteCristo, Thorin, Richard Lewis (Dexerto’s Editor-at-Large), Christian ‘IWillDominate’ Rivera, Wolf Schröder, and Daniel ‘Dgon’ Gonzales. Last Free Nation is described as the “only independent, talent-owned destination in the world of esports dedicated to giving fans access to the most respected and notorious talent in esports sharing real opinions, hot takes, and dynamic conversations,” according to its launch press release. MonteCristo has been in the esports industry for over a decade as a broadcaster, league commissioner and business owner. He has worked for various event organizers as part of the on-air team in multiple games, including League of Legends, Overwatch, and CS:GO. He was also an owner in esports organization Renegades in 2015 and 2016, and served as commissioner of the now-defunct Flashpoint CS:GO league. Thorin has a similar storied history in esports as a journalist, content creator and analyst across multiple titles, winning the Esports Journalist of the Year award in 2017. He has worked alongside MonteCristo on multiple shows over the years, and the pair also played a key role in developing the concept behind Flashpoint, where Thorin served as creative director and analyst. Leading the strategy and business operations for LFN will be Peter Morris as CEO. He brings a wealth of experience from his years working with PodcastOne, Barstool Sports, IMAX, and Funny Or Die. “I’ve been lucky to be on the rocket ship of fast-growing media companies during my career and am especially thrilled to have the opportunity to partner with Monte, Thorin and our unparalleled talent to light the fuse on this one as the audience for esports continues to explode and we conquer the podcast and digital media landscape with innovative, authentic, and bold content for our fans,” said Morris. Last Free Nation looks to disrupt esports media The podcast network will bring along popular shows like “Summoning Insight”, “Revenge of By the Numbers”, and “The Four Horsemen” while also launching new talk shows like “Power Spike” – a League of Legends product that will feature MonteCristo, IWillDominate, and Dgon. “In an industry controlled by video game publishers and tournament organizers, esports fans crave more than commoditized content, they want to connect with authentic voices,” Thorin said in a press release. “Last Free Nation will provide a space for talent of diverse viewpoints to come together to provide honest and entertaining conversations.”

Esports prize money leaderboard 2023: Highest player and team winnings Colin Young-Wolff/Riot GamesAs 2023 reaches its halfway point, many esports circuits are ramping toward their world championships. Here are all players who have earned the most prize money in esports so far this year. We are about halfway through 2023 and some esports titles have already completed major tournaments and international LANs. The competitive calendar in some titles will start to heat up soon as world championships and other tier-one events will take place in the back half of the year. Rainbow Six: Siege has already crowned its world champions in 2023, while CS:GO has just finished its sole Major of the year. But in other titles, like Apex Legends, Valorant and League of Legends, things will heat up in the coming months. With about half the year behind us, let’s look at the top earners across all esports in terms of prize money so far in 2023. Top esports players of 2023 by prize money This list only includes a breakdown of total prize money earned by players based on placement in tournament play and the expected cut from their winnings. Most pros will give a portion of their tournament prize winnings to the organization they play for. The list is dominated so far by FaZe’s CS:GO players, who pocketed $1 million in March after winning the Intel Grand Slam, the prize awarded to the team that wins four large-scale events during a window of ten such tournaments. G2 Esports’ Rainbow Six squad, the winners of the recent Six Invitational event in Montreal, make up the rest of the top 10. StarCraft 2 star Li ‘Oliveira’ Peinan is the highest-ranked non-FPS player on the list, which also includes Gaimin Gladiators’ entire Dota 2 squad, the winner of two Major titles in 2023. Top esports teams of 2023 by prize money FaZe Clan and G2 Esports are the only two organizations that have crossed the $1 million threshold in tournament winnings since the start of the year. The North American organization owes much of that to its CS:GO team, who completed the $1 million Intel Grand Slam after winning ESL Pro League 17. Tianba, the Chinese organization founded by Chinese actor Chen He, is ranked third thanks to its PUBG Mobile team, which won Peacekeeper Elite League Spring 2023. French organization Vitality soared to fifth on the leaderboard after its CS:GO team’s victory at the BLAST Paris Major. This list will be updated as more esports tournaments conclude and prize money is handed out.

Esports TO Unified threatened with class action lawsuit over unpaid money Twitter @UnifiedEAUnified, an esports tournament organizer that does event management, production, and white-label services, has come under fire again as someone has threatened to file a lawsuit against the company. Unified came under fire in 2022 over missing payments, mistreating staff, and general incompetence. Dexerto previously reported that the company had outstanding payments due for freelance staff and participating teams. Unified has held tournament in a variety of titles, but mostly stick to Valorant and League of Legends events. These issues seemingly happened across multiple esports events and even led to the dismissal of Unified staff. The tournament organizer was chosen by Riot Games to host and broadcast an amateur event in 2021 and eventually earned the right to run the developer’s Proving Grounds circuit for 2022. The accusations over unpaid prize money from Unified events hit social media in July 2022. The company’s CEO, Ramsey Jamoul, responded to the allegations shortly after. The executive apologized for the delay in payments and said the company was “taking every action possible to right these wrongs.” New allegations hit esports TO Unified While that seemed to be the end of the situation, new allegations have surfaced over more alleged delayed payments from the company. Ethan Liu, who sold his company, Challengers Uprising, to Unified in 2022 has claimed that he is owed almost $3,000 by the company on social media. Liu told Dexerto that Unified has allegedly reneged on its agreed-upon payment schedule. He asked for others on social media who are also still owed money by the company to reach out, so they can start “mobilizing in some collective action.” As of the time of writing, one person has responded claiming he is also owed around $1,000 from Unified. The company has not made a statement about the claims as of yet.

Esports platform MPL reaches $2.3 billion valuation Mobile Premier LeagueMobile esports matchmaking platform Mobile Premier League has reached unicorn status following their latest investment, reaching a valuation of $2.3 billion. Mobile gaming is king in India, with titles such as PUBG Mobile and Call of Duty: Mobile sitting among the most popular titles in the country. Mobile Premier League, a platform that allows gamers to find matches and daily esports tournaments, are a prime example of this being the case — especially after their new round of investment. The Indian esports company have been valued at $2.3b following their Series E funding round. This stage of investment is quite uncommon, especially in esports, with companies potentially reaching this point when they’re still not ready to list themselves publicly. The investment came from Legatum Capital, a Dubai-based investment firm. MPL have not revealed the financial details of the round, but, according to Business Standard, the company raised $150m. While Mobile Premier League do indeed appeal to casual gamers, they have a section dedicated to esports on their platform. They cover some games that aren’t typically considered as part of the esports conversation, especially in the West, including speed chess and pool. “This investment is a recognition of the potential of the Indian gaming and esports industry and an endorsement of the capability of MPL to expand globally,” said MPL CEO and co-founder Sai Srinivas. “MPL’s proven success in India and Indonesia encouraged us to launch in the US, one of the world’s largest gaming markets. Our US operations are off to a promising start and we’re thus fulfilling our resolve to make our platform the esports and gaming hub of the world.”

Esports organizations are already recruiting Apex Legends players Respawn EntertainmentEsports organizations are already stepping into the Apex Legends scene – and they are searching for both players and content creators despite the game being out for less than a week. The free-to-play title released on February 4 and has already taken the gaming world by storm with over 10 million players playing in the first three days –Fortnite and PUBG. While an esports portion of the game may be a ways away just yet, that hasn’t stopped a North American team being the first to enter the scene despite the title only being in its infancy. On February 8, the organization NRG announced that they were on the hunt for Apex Legends players and content creators, making them the first team to make a step into the new release. However, the North American team were so overwhelmed by the response to their announcement that a Google form application had to be set-up for them to sift through the responses. “WOAH, we have received so many applications already! Thanks to everyone, so far, who has applied to the #NRGFAM,” they tweeted. “”Some of you are too busy playing Apex Legends to realize the legends that you could become if you reached the Apex of your potential”” :heart:️ NRG is recruiting players and content creators for @PlayApex! Submit your application to info@nrg.gg pic.twitter.com/r1AtddhTkY — NRG Esports (@NRGgg) February 8, 2019 NRG already have leading rosters in games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Rocket League, while also remaining in smaller games such as Clash Royale. The organization has already stepped into the Battle Royale genre with a four-man Fortnite roster that competes in all disciplines, solo, duos and squads – finding some, albeit limited, success in the recent Summer Skirmish. There may not be an esports side to Apex for some time, but that hasn’t stopped NRG getting ahead of the curve. The game’s developers, Respawn Entertainment, have already made plenty of key steps to make sure it isn’t a flash in the pan – announcing a full first-year roadmap and the implementation of key features such as Ranked Play and the ability to go Cross-Platform. Other esports organizations have also teased a potential move into the scene. On February 8, Danish squad North tweeted: “SteelSeries has Apex keyboards.., SteelSeries sponsors North….” SteelSeries has Apex keyboards.. SteelSeries sponsors North.. ..:thinking_face:— North (@TheNorthIsHere) February 8, 2019 However, no other esports team has officially made an announcement the way NRG has and it’s unlikely that any others will any time soon.

Esports ownership group OverActive Media reports $8m loss in 2021 so far OverActive Media/Toronto UltraCanadian esports ownership group OverActive Media have released their financial performance for the first six months of 2021, including a net loss of $8,210,000 CAD. The company own franchise slots in the Overwatch League, Call of Duty League, LEC, and Flashpoint across their three competitive brands: Toronto Defiant, Toronto Ultra, and MAD Lions. Each of the aforementioned leagues cost them millions of dollars to enter and, despite a growth in revenue for the six-month period, they are yet to become profitable. In their first financial report since becoming a public company on the TSX Venture Exchange in July 2021, they’ve revealed their income and overall performance. TSXV welcomes @overactivegg (TSXV: $OAM), an integrated global company delivering sports, media and entertainment to today’s generation of fans. To learn more about $OAM, trading now on #TSXV, visit: https://t.co/NOunwSPX2j pic.twitter.com/pPX7gPZuXu — Canada’s Markets (@tsx_tsxv) July 14, 2021 OverActive Media claim that they brought in a total of $3,402,000 CAD in revenue across the first half of 2021, which was a 56% increase upon the same period in the previous year. However, their net loss for the period was a total of $8,210,000 CAD. For the same period of 2020, they ended with a loss of $16,319,000 CAD, suggesting that they’re moving in the right direction. The parent company of MAD Lions, Defiant, and Ultra secured many partners over the period and often receive shares of the revenue generated from the leagues they’ve bought into in the second half of the year, according to a release. They entered deals with the likes of TD Bank, Crave Meals, and Bud Light. “We are delivering significant year-over-year revenue growth and generating a strong recurring revenue base from our sponsorship partners, who recognize the appeal of our team franchises to today’s generation of fans,” said Chris Overholt, CEO of OverActive Media of the company’s financial performance.

Talon Esports announces K-pop idol Min as newest brand ambassador Talon EsportsTalon Esports have announced their latest brand ambassador- Kim ‘Min’ Min-young, a former member of K-pop group Miss A. The worlds of esports and K-pop have found themselves colliding multiple times in recent years. K-pop idol Sunmi publicly expressed her support for Korean League of Legends team Damwon Gaming, and recently posted herself in a Jinx cosplay inspired by the Netflix original series Arcane. Idols Soyeon and Miyeon lent their voices to League characters Akali and Ahri for the virtual girl group K/DA created by Riot Games. Another partnership between esports and K-pop was announced on the 16th December, with Talon Esports revealing their newest brand ambassador would be Min, former idol and member of Miss A. https://twitter.com/talonkorea/status/1471390733592854531?s=21 The announcement video for the partnership features Min playing her way through multiple iconic games including Call of Duty and Super Mario. She also explains her history in the worlds of both K-pop and gaming, and her current love of Overwatch. She debuted in Miss A in 2010, and spent seven years as part of one of the world’s most popular K-pop girl groups before their disbandment in 2017. She has also been an avid gamer since childhood, using gaming as a way to de-stress from the challenging life of a successful idol. Talon CEO Sean Zhang explains that the partnership came about through Min’s love of gaming. “A really important factor was that she was naturally a gamer,” he states in the announcement video, “and that she was already using gaming as a pastime.” Talon Esports competes in multiple esports across the globe, with teams in League of Legends, Rainbow Six Siege, and Overwatch. Zhang explains that they are looking to ‘bridge’ the world of gaming with the industries of entertainment and music, and their partnership with Min is just one step closer to achieving this goal.

Esports organization eUnited reportedly shut down, only CEO remains CWLeUnited, an esports organization known for its Call of Duty and Rainbow Six Siege teams, has reportedly closed its doors according to The Esports Advocate. The 6-year-old company is down to just its CEO as the final member of the company according to the report. eUnited fielded teams in PUBG, Rocket League, Gears of War, SplitGate, Halo and League of Legends. The North American-based esports organization was best known for its successful Call of Duty teams before the esports turned into a franchising model with invited organizations. eUnited has not posted from its main Twitter account since December 18, 2022. Its last Tweet was of a pinned retweet of an Elgato post. The organization released the rosters listed on its website, Halo, Gears of War and Rocket League in late 2022. Gears of War esports closed down operations in 2022 as well. The last team with the organization was the PUBG team, departing on December 12. The final employee to exit eUnited was Matthew “Burns” Potthoff, according to the report, who announced via Twitter on Dec. 31, 2022 that it was his last day with the company. eUnited was founded in 2016 by Adam Stein with a real estate firm M&A Real Estate Partners based in California and James Daquino. Esports organization eUnited shuts down according to report The esports organization won the Call of Duty World League Championship in 2019. The eUnited esports team featured current pros and future CDL players CDL Alec ‘Arcitys’ Sanderson, James ‘Clayster’ Eubanks, Tyler ‘aBeZy’ Pharris and Chris ‘Simp’ Lehr. eUnited laid off many employees in August and September, according to the report. The esports organization never reported series earnings rounds, common for startup companies, and tried to hit the public market in Canada according to reports. Dexerto has previously reported that eUnited asked to merge with OpTic Gaming in 2021.

Esports org under fire after threatening casters for discussing pay Valve / GRIDFreelancers and esports broadcasters are speaking out against GRIDesports talent manager Kieran Cullinan who reportedly threatened to fire those who discussed their pay, sparking a bigger conversation of fair wages. The Snow Sweet Snow event organized by Relog Media and sponsored by GRID invited teams like Cloud9, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Gambit, and many more to compete in a $100,000 CSGO event that spanned an entire month. But CSGO analyst and host ‘Pr0nogo’ slammed the TO’s of these events for the pay that they were reportedly offering for Tier 2 and Tier 3 events. Then, matters were made much worse after a leaked message from Cullinan showed him advising his Snow Sweet Snow talent to keep their agreed payment undisclosed to the public. 35 euros a best of 3. 12.5 euros a best of 1. 100 euros for playoffs. Don’t talk about these things or you’ll get fired.Who the fuck does this guy think he is? — Pr0nogo (@pr0nogo) March 10, 2021 “GRID Talent: for anyone sharing [Snow Sweet Snow] payment rates outside of this group, I advise you go and read Section 6.1 of the contract you all signed with us, headed ‘Confidentiality, Sata Protection.’ Any further news I hear of this will result in immediate dismissal,” Cullinan’s message read. Read more: How to watch ESL Pro League Season 13 – Firing employees for discussing wages is illegal in the United States under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) with similar protections in place for the EU, making many question Cullinan’s threat. Contracts obtained by Pr0nogo revealed the low wages that Snow Sweet Snow talent were working under. Best of 1: €12.5 (about $14.91) – Best of 3: €35 (about $41) – Playoffs: €100 (about $119.27) – “Atrocious,” popular esports host Alex ‘MACHINE’ Richardson said after seeing the reported wages. “When I was first starting to cast for ESL UK [in 2014] I was working on £200 day rate if that’s helpful info.” Brutal. In 2012-2013 I was getting between €0 – 300 for 3 day events. Occasionally I would get flight covered but not accommodation. I like to think the industry has moved on a lot since, but these stories are cropping up now and then. — Xavier Dhorne (@ThisisZoot) March 10, 2021 This instantly created a larger conversation among esports talent and broadcasters about discussing wages, where more people had unpleasant run-ins with Cullinan. As esports grows in both size and financial standing, broadcasters are showing an initiative to educate each other in proper practices and previously earned wages to give rising talent a better understanding of fair pay.

Esports has a money problem. Will publishers be part of the solution? Marv Watson/Riot Games via ESPATAs most esports organizations continue to operate in the red, the sustainability of the industry is called into question. That’s where game developers may have a part to play. There are two main winners in esports: players and publishers. Publishers own the games, so they get to play God. For the esports industry, this has been a blessing and a curse: a publisher is the reason a given esport exists and the main barrier to its profitability. Publishers are bottlenecks for teams’ earning potential. It is within the power of publishers to transform the fate of teams and solve the finicky puzzle of monetizing esports. Traditional sports teams have healthy media rights deals to lean on. Football, basketball, cricket, tennis: the task of monetizing these was far simpler than for esports titles. A product, let’s say Wimbledon, was taken to a broadcaster, in Wimbledon’s case the BBC, which paid for the exclusive rights to show it on television. Most esports competitions have signed no such agreement because they live on Twitch or YouTube or both, which are free. They live there because the fans live there — not the other way around. As such, a big chunk of the revenue that is available in traditional sports is not there in esports. Esports fans are used to watching their favorite competitions at no cost. Their habits are entrenched; if asked to pay for Worlds this week, there would be a sharp drop in engagement and interest. Esports Twitter would erupt. But esports, believe it or not, has one advantage over traditional sports in terms of revenue-generating potential. Publishers could click their fingers and make teams rich. This would be immediate and simple. Teams could continue spending exorbitantly to promote a publisher’s game for as long as the publisher wanted, because they would no longer have to bend over backward to diversify. To achieve this, publishers could share revenue for things like in-game purchases related to esports. They have rarely done so. “That was a major problem in League of Legends,” Devin Nash, former CEO of Counter Logic Gaming (CLG) and co-founder of NOVO, told Dexerto. “For teams, you could put one skin [in-game cosmetic item] in the game and you would have funded a team for like two years. … The revenue verticals that are available to teams through actual in-game monetization are non-existent. As a whole, publishers are still very oppressive entities in esports.” Riot Games made more than $32 million from its Valorant Champions skins bundle, which was released alongside the Valorant competition of the same name. Half of this was shared with competing teams. Each team made around $1 million. To illustrate how vital this income is for teams, Danish esports org Astralis, a leading org globally, lost $850,000 in the first half of 2022. If Astralis had a team competing at Valorant Champions, revenue-sharing for one set of skins would have negated the org’s financial losses for half a year and still left them with $150,000 to spare. Such a revenue-sharing model is the easiest way publishers can help teams be more sustainable today, and the Valorant Champions example is promising. Riot Games appears to be taking this and other steps toward making partner teams more economically viable, such as an annual stipend of at least $600,000 for the VCT partner leagues, but details around future revenue-sharing intentions are limited. Still, Riot promises that more revenue sharing is planned, and in Valorant there isn’t a $10 million-plus fee required for teams to take part. If we see more Valorant Champions-level commitment, this could set a healthy precedent and transform the esports industry. But Valorant is one esport. “While Valorant is going in the right direction, the vast majority of esports, at a publisher level, is still messed up,” Nash said. “CDL — messed up. Overwatch League — messed up, beyond all recognition. It’s so broken. So we’re not in a place yet where there’s this Age of Enlightenment where publishers are [doing enough to help teams financially]. They’re still taking.” The problem has historically been that publishers rarely make things easy for teams. In 2020, Activision Blizzard mandated Overwatch League (OWL) teams, after already spending $20 million-plus to bag a spot in the league, foot the bill of renting out venues like the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York to be used for competitive fixtures, as reported by WIRED. Team owners were worried these venues would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars per day, and that ticket and merchandise sales wouldn’t be enough to recoup costs. “There was no way to make money off that,” one anonymous team owner told WIRED. Esports teams are not multi-billion-dollar sports franchises. This absurd downward pressure must alleviate if esports is to thrive, particularly as we face a macroeconomic downturn. “StarCraft would have been a completely successful, amazing esport,” Nash said, “but Blizzard insisted on controlling the IP totally. Riot makes the same mistake with all their games. So I agree Valorant is a better model than the LCS objectively — it doesn’t require tens of millions of dollars in franchise fees, and they obviously learned lessons in the LCS — but they are still not allowing any kind of community tournaments or any kind of IP. As long as you have that, you inherently limit the growth of the sport.” Some publishers are worse at esports than others. Activision Blizzard, particularly the Activision part, has a prickly reputation in gaming and esports these days. The company gutted Heroes of the Storm’s esports scene with a single blog post, upending the lives of hundreds of players, casters, and behind-the-scenes staff without a word of warning. The Overwatch League (OWL), an Activision Blizzard property, has been a massive failure relative to the expectations set by notorious CEO Bobby Kotick at BlizzCon 2016. Kotick pitched his rich friends on esports, particularly the Overwatch League, as the next big thing. It would sell out stadiums on a weekly basis, he said, and teams would earn a killing from concessions and broadcasting deals. Optimists called it ambitious. Others called it stupid. On most metrics — viewership over time, the excitement of fans, financial returns for teams and investors — the OWL has come up short. The Call of Duty League (CDL) is similar to the OWL: overpriced franchise spots, sky-high operating costs for teams, and enough hubris from Activision Blizzard to overshoot the league’s potential. Another Activision esports property botched. Jacob Wolf reported that Activision Blizzard is owed about $400 million in franchise payments by teams in the OWL and CDL. The leagues in their current state are unworkable. Besides the cost of franchise spots, the cash burn rate is a major problem for esports teams, with ludicrous player salaries the greatest contributor. Don’t hate the player While they surely cannot be blamed for it, players are paid far beyond what they return for teams in almost all major esports titles. Dot Esports reported last year that League of Legends player Perkz was earning $2 million per year on a three-year contract as a Cloud9 player. In 2020, Jensen agreed to a three-year, $4.2m deal with Team Liquid. Based on financial returns, players are just not worth that kind of money. “As an industry, we wanted to be traditional sports so bad,” Nash said. “We wanted to put up the LeBron James salaries, the Shaq salaries — we’re just not there. The reason why those salaries make sense in traditional sports is that there’s backing from Fortune 500 companies that will buy advertising space in those areas. We just don’t have that ecosystem developed in esports. … It’s a business. It’s got to make sense, and it doesn’t make sense right now.” Comparing esports to the NHL, Harris Peskin, Executive Director of the Esports Bar Association, said on Jacob Wolf’s Visionaries podcast: “What you have [in the NHL] is a maximum of roughly 50% of the hockey-related revenue to be spent on players. But when you have teams [in esports] spending in excess of their 1:1 ratio [on player salaries] in all of the revenue that they’re generating, obviously it’s not successful.” “I think the classic example is CS:GO, where the ecosystem has never made any sense to me because player salaries are so out of whack with the underlying earning potential,” said Dave Harris, founder of Guinevere Capital, which invests in Excel Esports and League of Legends Circuit Oceania (LCO), among others. “You see it in traditional sports, this problem of feast or famine — everyone is going the high-risk strategy. ‘If we get a good squad and finish top three and make it to Worlds or make it to a Major, then it pays off.’ But the problem is it becomes a zero-sum game very quickly as the value is transferred to the player, which de-risks it for them, and increases the risk to the org.” In nearly every major esport, player salaries are nonsensical. Nash doesn’t believe a salary cap will be introduced in any title because it would cause too much of a PR headache for publishers, and it would be too difficult to get team owners to work together. So what is the fate of unsustainable player salaries? Belts are about to be tightened on a global scale, far beyond esports. Before, lossmakers were tolerated as a cost of doing business. During a recession, investors deal less with ‘growth’ stocks — potentially high-growth companies — and more with steady companies with strong balance sheets. If there’s one thing esports teams tend not to have, it’s a strong balance sheet. Esports as we know it has never been through a recession. As a result, player salaries will correct. “What realistically is going to happen is the [venture capitalist team investors] and LPs [limited partners] are going to say, ‘We don’t have money to give you,’ or, ‘We do but we don’t want to give it to you — here is your budget for the year, figure it out,’” former CLG owner Nash said. “Then when these negotiation periods happen in October, [teams are] going to have a serious conversation with their players and say, ‘Hey, we need to pay you one-tenth of what you were getting paid before.’ “Then the player goes, ‘No thanks, I’m going to another team,’ and what previously would have happened is that there would have been a bidding war, but [bidding teams] are going to say, ‘Our VCs and LPs say the same thing,’ and this is just going to drive down prices and the ecosystem will just naturally correct, because the money won’t be there.” Ryan Morrison, CEO of Evolved Talent Agency, told Dexerto that while initial salary offers were lower than before and perhaps structured differently through bonus clauses and so on, in most titles, salaries are staying the same or increasing. Morrison said: “There are three types of owners right now. There are the guys who really believed in [esports] who have now completely checked out but are stuck with the franchise they’ve bought; there are the VCs who don’t care, who just want to look at a spreadsheet … and make it as profitable as possible; and there are the ones who still want to win, the ones who want to bring the trophy home. And to do that, they get in their heads which players they need, and if two owners like that get into a bidding war on a player, that’s all it takes to change the entire salary scheme. And we’ve never gone an off-season without seeing that happen. “Even though opening offers are much lower, even though players are desperate to play so they’re taking minimum salaries, if they wait long enough and if they have good representation, typically the salaries are still where they were — or higher.” Another executive at a leading esports talent agency told Dexerto that player salaries remain stable across major titles. And despite Morrison’s observation about player salaries still rising, as investors wrap their fists in preparation for a recession, money simply may not be available to esports teams. Valorant may be the exceptional title given the healthy-looking ecosystem Riot has set up for 2023, but for most others, the economics surely must correct at some stage. Guinevere’s Harris said that team owners should call the bluffs of salary demands more often. Soon they may not have a choice. Why should sponsors stick around? To make matters worse, sponsors, whom esports teams rely on immensely, are also losing. “Here’s what happens — this is the playbook I’ve seen a million times, right? The sponsor comes in, puts like $500,000 behind an esports team for a year, looks at the results. Nothing happens,” Nash said. He illustrated the point: “I know for a fact there was one esports team — a tier-one, global team — that was sponsored by a computer company to sell PCs. Guess how many they sold? Twenty-eight. [A superstar-level gaming influencer] for the same company, in the same amount of time, sold 1400.” Nash hinted that when organizations were making compelling team-based content — for example, the TSM and Team Liquid of old — the prospect of future sales improved because fans felt more connected to the brand. But right now, it makes more sense for sponsors to bet their money elsewhere. “The project managers and marketing people at [sponsoring] companies are realizing, ‘If I activate a single influencer to advertise my products, my engagement is going to be better; [customers are] going to be more interested,’” Nash said. “That’s where the money is going. And secondly, a lot of it is actually channeling over to digital spend — for example, running AdWords — because the CPMs are just better.” So sponsorship revenue, the one saving grace for esports teams and upon which most teams rely enormously, may be reduced. Nash said for some teams this is already happening. “For endemic sponsors, I’d say what that sponsorship is worth [for a year] is about $200,000 to $400,000. That’s around the amount it’s actually worth in terms of ROI, probably closer to $200,000. But what the teams are asking for is like upwards of a million bucks. … Lots of teams are taking endemic equipment sponsorships for close to free, like $20,000 to $50,000 a year, because they can’t fill the spots. They can’t sell them.” Is esports doomed? This piece is optimism disguised as doomerism. As an industry, instead of being swept up by premature hype, we should acknowledge the challenges we face and work to overcome them. When player salaries inevitably correct, we as an industry should be OK with it, and encourage the Twitter dogs who bark loudly to accept reality. Until teams start generating more revenue, very few players should be on million-dollar-plus salaries. If publishers believe esports is a net positive for their games overall, they should do more to protect teams. Perhaps — hopefully, for the industry’s sake — Riot will set the tone with Valorant esports in 2023; it has been a good start. If teams, which are burning ungodly amounts of cash, run into problems and cannot offer players the money they’re happy with, those players might turn to full-time content creation. This would be catastrophic for esports, and if Riot, to use an example, believes League of Legends esports drives hype for its game, a sudden shock to the esports ecosystem might impact the bottom line. As Doublelift recently said: fewer top-tier players might equal fewer fans of the esport. This may ultimately hurt the pockets of publishers. Hopefully, this prospect will be enough to encourage publishers to do more for teams. Publishers can solve this problem by working with teams, rather than against them. If publishers truly want players to be paid well, they should share with teams a bigger piece of the pie than they currently gorge on alone.

Esports Job Roundup – 100 Thieves, TurtleBeach, Philadelphia Fusion and More! If you’re an esports fan wanting to explore the possibility of working in the industry, it may not be as hard as you think. Esports has progressed well beyond the days of teams and tournaments being run out of a bedroom with a small team of volunteers and part-timers. Now, full-time careers are rampant and in so many sectors that anyone can make their dream job their actual profession. Here are our top 5 jobs from HitmarkerJobs.com featuring some of the most recognized companies in esports. Product Manager – Turtle Beach Location: San Diego, CA – Type: Full Time – Apply/More Info: LINK – One of the OG’s of the esports scene, a brand so renowned that if you haven’t used a turtle beach headset it’s questionable whether you’ve ever actually gamed. Turtle Beach is looking for a Product Manager with 5 years of experience in a product marketing, product management or a similar role. Social Media Manager – Philadelphia Fusion Location: Los Angeles, CA – Type: Full Time – Apply/More Info: LINK – Another absolute giant from Overwatch, finishing 2nd in the Overwatch League’s inaugural season. With their spectacular orange identity and amazing content, Fusion is looking for an esports all-rounder who can dominate their social media. Marketing & Social Media Intern – 100 Thieves Location: Los Angeles, CA – Type: Paid Internship – Apply/More Info: LINK – One of the newer teams in the scene but one that is making some huge waves, 100 Thieves is said to be looking to take the Fortnite scene by storm after already securing 1st seed in their debut season in the NA LCS. Some of the requirements of this paid internship are being passionate and knowledgeable about Fortnite, its community and competitive scene. Head Coach – Shanghai Dragons Location: Brisbane, CA – Type: Full Time – Apply/More Info: LINK – Founded in 2017, Shanghai Dragons is a Chinese team from The Overwatch League. There are no restrictions on nationality in this job as well as a light experience requirement, making it accessible to a lot of you. If you know how to adapt to meta changes in Overwatch and develop plans that lead to team victory, take a look at this job. Head Coach, Overwatch Contenders – Infinite Esports and Entertainment Location: Frisco, TX – Type: Freelance – Apply/More Info: LINK – With the huge success of the Overwatch League it’s no surprise that not only the league teams are hiring but also the team’s academie! GG Esports, the academy team for the Houston Outlaws, is looking for a Head Coach to work with analysts, veterans, and esports professionals to develop the next generation of talent. Three Full Time Writers – Dexerto Location: Remote (United States) – Type: Full Time – Apply/More Info: LINK – If none of the above take your fancy, you could of course work for us. This is a remote-specific role based on the west coast of the United States for someone able to commit 40+ hours, available to start in 1-2 weeks!

Esports event calendar (2024): All major tournaments, dates and games BLASTThe 2024 esports season has begun as multiple titles have started their first events of the year. Here is a comprehensive list of the biggest tournaments in all major esports games that you can follow in the coming months. The different esports circuits and leagues across the world are starting up as the year begins. Many have changed formats due to the recent economic volatility around esports, and gaming in general. The Overwatch League closed down and has been replaced by a new open circuit organized by ESL. The 2023 season saw multiple esports teams crowned as Champions across the globe. T1 won the League of Legends World Championship in South Korea, while Team Vitality claimed the sole CS:GO Major win of the year in front of a French crowd. Below fans will find a list of all the major competitions coming in 2024 across Valorant, Mobile Legends, League of Legends, Dota 2, and more.

Esports event calendar (2023): All major tournaments, dates and games Michal Konkol/Riot GamesWe are now in the second half of 2023, with major esports tournaments popping up left and right until the end of the year. Here is a comprehensive list of the biggest tournaments that you can follow in the coming months. The many esports circuits across the digital landscape are continuing to chug along as the 2023 calendar enters its final six months. Most competitions have had some major tournaments already and are either rumbling on toward their world championship or another major tournament to close out the year. These major tournaments include huge third-party events for multiple esports titles and developer-run events that serve as the culmination of a long and exciting circuit. Below fans will find a list of all the major competitions left for 2023 across Valorant, Mobile Legends, League of Legends, Dota 2 and more.

Esports computer optimization company COMPREADY is set to change expectations COPMREADYCOMPREADY is a computer optimization service tailored for Valorant esports players, tournament organizers and teams. The company official launched on October 6 with a mission to disrupt the industry according to its founders. Valorant has seen its fair share of technical pauses and hardware hiccups on the biggest stages in the realm of esports. COMPREADY, a computer optimization service specifically tailored to Valorant, is aiming to fix that problem for tournament organizers, Valorant teams and players. “Our goal is to raise the bar of equitability and inclusion in process with performance and so we want to raise every computer’s performance so that everybody’s competing at the same level and that the integrity of the game is at the same,” COMPREADY founder Austin ‘Apex’ Copeland told Dexerto in an interview. The company claims that with its services, teams and organizers can save money on buying yearly releases of GPUs and CPUs, which usually range in the hundreds of dollars, by letting its technicians optimize their machine’s performance for a $160 fee. The founders also said they plan to charge tournament organizers a monthly fee for helping with events. Fans of Valorant esports should recognize the other founder of the company in Thomas ‘Trippy’ Schappy, who was formerly a head coach, assistant coach and analyst for FaZe Clan from 2020-22. Trippy said in an interview with Dexerto that he learned to optimize computers at a young age with his father, a former IT technician, and has been doing it for friends for years. He said he used to optimize his player’s PCs as a part of a coaching package he would offer to teams. “When I was coaching FaZe, I noticed we’re losing rounds literally based off the fact that my players are skipping frames, or they’re jittering and they’re having like these lag issues,” he said. “We could have literally won the round if we just had a game that was running properly.” The two founders pointed specifically to LAN tournaments that Riot Games has run, like the 2021 North American Last Chance Qualifier and Masters Berlin, as tournaments in which the computers used for competition did not set players up for success. “There needs to be like some kind of standards in Esports, because we’re kind of sitting here and we’re watching Valorant Champions and you get like a 30-minute tech pause because the computer is just completely breaking down,” Trippy said. Already starting strong With the two’s connections within the professional scene, Apex has coached for TSM and other Valorant teams in North America, they have already linked up with some of the more prominent organizations to optimize their player’s computers for online competition and practice. Organizations highlighted on their website include TSM, The Guard, Team Liquid and NRG Esports. COMPREADY also has a partnership with Aim Lab. According to Trippy, he started charging people for his services in March of 2022 and the company filed to become an LLC in late July. Now in early October, the company has launched a PR campaign announcing its services to the public and has expanded to include four technicians. The team recently went with the free agent squad Nearest Airport to Viper’s Pit in Toronto to help optimize their computers ahead of their games. The team placed top four at the event. The goals for the company, according to the two founders, is to eventually got into software for computer optimization and potentially expand into other esports. “Every game runs kind of on different engines and kind of function a little bit differently and kind of what you need out of out of each game varies. So it’s still it’s just a little bit of a time thing right now. I think our biggest goal is just nailing down Valorant as a whole,” Trippy said about expanding into different esports. For now, COMPREADY is just looking to further their connections with Riot Games and help them and other organizers in the space bring the best product forward for Valorant esports fans. “Our end goal is to do that for all games, to cut down on all breaks and all problems that happen,” Apex said.

Esports Cycling champ banned for cheating after ‘digitally doping’ Instagram: cameronjeffersYouTuber Cameron Jeffers has revealed that he has been stripped of his cycling esports national championship victory for “robo-doping.” Jeffers took part in British Cycling’s eRacing Championships back in March, and went on to win the tournament, with the grand finals held in the BT Studios in Stratford, London. In a YouTube video uploaded on October 4 though, the 22-year-old revealed that he had been stripped of his national championship, after admitting that he had cheated to acquire an upgraded virtual bike for use in the competition. The tournament saw some of Britain’s best cyclists headed to London to race on stationary bikes using the Zwift game, which offers players a visual representation of themselves riding around courses designed by Zwift themselves. All the riders using the Z1 Concept bike in-game, but the use of this has cost Jeffers his national championship after he gained access to the bicycle illegally. Unlocking the bike takes around a month of work, but by using a program that faked his Zwift avatar riding for hours at a time, he was able to gain access to it without having to go through the arduous process himself, as it tells the game that you are cycling without anyone needing to sit on the bike at all. In his video, Jeffers states that he has been “disqualified, disgraced, and banned from cycling,” and admits that his use of the program was “unethical and unsporting.” Using a “robo-doped” bicycle is strictly prohibited in the British Cycling esports ruleset, and while Jeffers claims he acquired his Concept Z1 before this regulation was officially instated, he accepts that what he did was wrong. The 22-year-old regularly uploads videos of himself to the popular content-sharing site showing off his practice routines as he trains for competition both on the road and on the game, however, due to his ban, he will not be able to compete in any racing for a period of six months. On top of losing his national championship and his suspension, Jeffers has also been issued a £250 fine, which British Cycling states is in relation to the “manipulation of pre-race data to gain an unfair advantage via in-game equipment.” Cheating is an issue that has affected cycling for years, most famously with Lance Armstrong stripped of seven Tour de France titles following an investigation into doping. The British Cycling eRacing Championship has been awarded to James Phillips, who finished second in London.

Esports commentator and former SC2 pro Geoff ‘iNcontrol’ Robinson dies aged 33 iNcontroLPopular StarCraft commentator and former pro player Geoff ‘iNcontroL’ Robinson has died aged 33 following a sudden illness. Posts from iNcontroL’s social media accounts on Sunday, July 21 announced that he had unexpectedly passed on Saturday, July 20, after suffering from a sudden illness. “With immense grief, we announce Geoff’s unexpected pasing due to sudden illness Saturday,” the statement reads. “We ask privacy as his family works to understand what happened and make arrangements.” Geoff is deeply loved across many communities and we’re all working to make sure his affairs are in order as he’d want. BARRISTAN is safe in the care of friends, and family will share words of remembrance when they are ready. Let’s live today in his example of love and laughter — Geoff Robinson (@iNcontroLTV) July 22, 2019 The statement also requests that anybody who wishes to show their support for iNcontrol or his family could do so by making a donation to Southern California Bulldog Rescue, an organization dedicated to providing shelter, homing assistance, and medical funds for bulldogs. The former Starcraft 2 player was a highly popular figure in the competitive gaming community from both his playing days and further career in broadcasting. As a player he captained the Evil Geniuses StarCraft team, and once his career as a competitor was over he transitioned into becoming a popular commentator for the game as well as entertaining fans as a streamer on a variety of titles. Tributes have been pouring in from other prominent esports commentators and personalities. Nick ‘Tasteless’ Plott said iNcontrol “brought so much laughter to me and so many others, while Sean ‘day9’ Plott described him as a “one-of-a-kind person.” Rest In Peace @iNcontroLTV . There will only ever be one of you. You brought so much joy and laughter to me and so many others. I just wish I could have said goodbye. Just because you die young doesn’t mean your story won’t live forever. — Nick Plott (@CallMeTasteless) July 22, 2019 I’ve known Geoff for almost 20 years. We played Brood War in high school & college and did years of SC2/BW events together. Geoff was a one-of-a-kind person. I’ll miss you man. I’m so sad. https://t.co/Rcv6qb1sEs — Sean Plott (@day9tv) July 22, 2019 Many from outside the StarCraft community have also registered their shock and grief at the news, with CS:GO commentator Anders Blume describing iNcontrol as “one of the friendliest most radiant people I’ve ever met.” Esports journalist Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields similarly described him as “one of the most entertaining people to ever be involved with esports.” I am speechless, what a heartbreaking thing to be reading. One of the friendliest most radiant people I’ve ever met. I’m shocked, all my thoughts are with his family. — Anders Blume (@OnFireAnders) July 22, 2019 One of the most entertaining people to ever be involved with esports. His contributions will be remembered and there’ll never be another like him. — Thorin (@Thooorin) July 22, 2019 Details of the sudden illness that took iNcontroL’s life remain publicly unknown at this time.

Esports casters respond to AI commentator bot on social media: “Truly depressing” Michal Konkol/Riot GamesAI has come to the esports space as a social media account that works with AI posted a video using the tool to create commentary over a League of Legends match. Esports commentators and fans alike were caught by surprise when an X account posted a video using the newest version of AI tools from OpenAI to create commentary over a League of Legends match. The AI caster commentated the T1 vs. LNG Esports League of Legends Worlds 2023 match and described the state of the match along with gameplay concepts like vision. The reaction from the esports community has mostly been negative or apathetic. Esports and gaming fans have been dubious of buzzword technological advances like crypto, NFTs, and AI, and this instance seems no different. Most fans described the AI caster as lacking emotion and energy, and called the bot “opposite of human.” Casters decry casting bot posted to social media Esports casters, who seem to be the next victim of AI taking over their jobs, were not fans of the new bot’s implication either. “It’s truly depressing how there’s so much AI development focused on replacing things that bring joy in life,” League of Legends caster Isaac ‘Azael’ Cummings-Bentley said on social media. One of the most tenured casters in esports, Mitch ‘Ubershouts’ Leslie, took the opportunity to joke about the dire state of the industry in response to the bot. “Ayo casters y’all thought a 60% salary correction was the least of your concerns?” he said. Call of Duty, Halo, and Rocket League caster Sean ‘Spaceman’ Rogers called AI in general imitation at best, and theft at worst. “Throw it in the trash where it belongs,” Rogers wrote. There does not seem to be any fear for commentators at the moment, as the bot doesn’t appear to be up to the task of replacing them anytime soon. Whether an esports tournament organizer will take advantage of the bot and pour the resources into creating an AI commentator has yet to be seen.

Esports Certification Institute pulls $400 certificate after viral backlash Unsplash / Esports Certification InstituteJust 24 hours after its launch, the Esports Certification Institute has removed its controversial exam and begun offering refunds in light of viral backlash. A mere 24 hours after its launch, the ECI’s initial examination — and its now-viral $400 ‘esports certificate’ — has since been pulled, with the institute now offering refunds. The inaugural exam from the Esports Certification Institute consisted of 120 multiple choice questions, one essay, and tests on the following topics: esports knowledge, statistical literacy, and problem-solving. It’s this exam that led to a great deal of backlash online before ultimately being pulled down. “We hear you,” the official EsportsCI account said in a lengthy Twitter thread on April 29. “We have plenty to fix and much to iterate through. We messed up. “The certification exam in its current form, isn’t it. “We’re pausing and going back to the drawing board in order to retool everything we’ve done. For the many people who have signed up for the exam or paid for the study guide, we’ll be refunding your purchases immediately.” We’re pausing and going back to the drawing board in order to retool everything we’ve done. For the many people who have signed up for the exam or paid for the study guide, we’ll be refunding your purchases immediately, though it may take a few days to return to your account. — EsportsCI (@EsportsCi) April 29, 2021 While the exam itself was central to the controversy across the internet, the institution remains steadfast in its overall ambitions. “We launched ECI with the belief that it could further promote professionalism,” the recent Twitter thread continued. “We hope the conversation generated about hiring practices in esports continues to happen.” Former Clutch, DIG execs launch org to help esports careers The organization was originally created to administer a “merit-based examination and certification program” for esports, assessing entry-level candidates and outside professionals on their esports expertise. The ambitions of their overall efforts were promoting meritocracy, fostering professionalism, and increasing diversity and inclusion, according to a release. The institute was founded by Dignitas’ former chief of staff Ryan Friedman and Houston Rockets’ former vice of president of esports Sebastian Park, and has appointed plenty of familiar faces in esports as advisors. G2 founder Carlos Rodriguez, Enlight founder Eunice Chen, Evil Geniuses’ Nicole LaPointe Jameson, FlyQuest’s Tricia Sugita, Gen.G’s Chris Park, and Cloud9 VP Donald Boyce were all named to the advisory board at launch.

Esports caster Daniel “DC” Coke dies aged 34 Twitter: @dcwastakenEsports communities from around the world have paid tribute to Daniel “DC” Coke, a caster and former Smash pro. Coke died after struggling with depression and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) for some time. On May 13, DC’s Twitter account confirmed his death. He was 34 years old. DC was a former Super Smash Bros. for Wii U pro who took part in numerous tournaments between 2016 and 2017. He was also a tournament commentator for the same game, as well as a variety of other fighting games. This made DC known in many different esports circles that now together with people who co-casted with Daniel, his family, and friends mourn his passing. Tributes paid to Daniel Coke The Tweet announcing his passing stated that “DC struggled in silence with depression and illness. He did not have the heart to fight those battles any longer.” The illness in question was reported to be Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The replies to the announcement are filled with people from all over the world recalling interactions they had with DC and expressing their sadness. “DC, you’re the reason why I ever took a shot at commentary. You called me into the stream room at Versus and asked me to cast top 8 with you for the first time. I had the time of my life and discovered something that I actually enjoyed, thanks to you,” recounts VikkiKitty, another pro esports commentator. “I truly wish we got to do more of this. As an up-and-comer, I always appreciated those times we’d be in the same room together. Rest in peace, my friend,” wrote Koopa, another person who worked with DC. DC clearly inspired many interested in the esports scene, be it players or commentators, who will remember Daniel and their interactions for years to come.

Esports betting giants Rivalry go public on TSX Venture Exchange RivalryEsports betting company Rivalry have officially listed themselves on the TSX Venture Exchange, meaning they’re now a public company. The world of esports betting has been a subject of notable growth in recent years, with the industry sky-rocketing to new levels in the period when traditional sports betting was not available because of the global health crisis. While some traditional sportsbooks added esports markets to their offering, esports-focused companies such as Rivalry and Luckbox — who went public on the TSX Venture Exchange in January 2021 — were already prepared for the influx of customers. Now, Rivalry are joining their competitors Luckbox on the Toronto exchange in an effort to “build on this momentum” by increasing their presence into new markets such as Australia and Canada, developing new products, and building upon their social media presence and video content. 🚨 1/ I’m the Co-Founder & CEO of Rivalry. We’re a global esports focused sportsbook & media co slated to go public via direct listing next Tues Oct 5th on the TSXV, ticker $RVLY (~$180M CAD EV).This week is our roadshow and I thought it would be interesting to twtr 🧵 preso. pic.twitter.com/ab0b1UBG70 — Steven Salz (@StevenSalz) September 30, 2021 While Rivalry claim that they are the “most engaged esports betting brand in the world,” they also operate within sports and casino games. In fact, they plan to develop “innovative multiplayer casino games” in the near future. Read More: Every public esports company & organization – The betting company are based in Toronto and launched in August 2018 after being granted their Isle of Man gambling license. Over the course of their lifespan, they’ve sponsored major esports organizations like Fnatic and FURIA. “Listing publicly on the TSXV marks the next major step in Rivalry’s journey,” said Rivalry CEO Steven Salz. “We are building the most comprehensive betting and entertainment experience for the next generation globally, and feel we are just getting started. “Our team is grateful for the support of all our early investors and we look forward to continued mutual success.”

Esports Awards officially announce date & location for 2021 Esports AwardsThe Esports Awards have announced an official date for 2021, and confirmed the awards show will be returning to its traditional live format. Esports, like any other multi-million dollar industry, needs its own awards show, which is exactly what the aptly named Esports Awards provides. In 2020 like every other live event dealing with ongoing global events, the Esports Awards went online for a socially-distanced show via stream. Awards were presented, and achievements recognized, but it just lacked that special flair a live event with an audience brings. The good news is, we’ll have a live show to look forward to again in 2021. When are the 2021 Esports Awards? November 20, Arlington, Texas. Be ready for the biggest night in esports. The Esports Awards returns. pic.twitter.com/4ftsfV1TjV — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) May 21, 2021 On Friday, May 21, The Esports Awards announced that the 2021 awards ceremony will be broadcast with a live audience once again from Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas on November 20, 2021. So, who’s nominated for what this time around? We don’t know just yet, as nominations for various categories are still going on. Nominations for the “Community” awards wrapped up on May 20, and next up is the “Industry” category, with nominations due sometime in June. Nominees for the “Creative” category will be revealed in July, and finally those for “Pro & On-Air Talent” will be due, last in September. Once all the awards have nominees, you, the gaming public, will have the chance to vote on who you think deserves to win. We don’t have any exact dates for voting yet, but it should start after the last talent category is decided, and end before the show itself on November 20. ESPORTS AWARDS 2021 NOMINATIONS CLOSING DATEShttps://t.co/Sy2h49KVIY pic.twitter.com/H0MJ2NnK2q — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) April 20, 2021 So if you want to see your favorite streamer, team, organization or online publication (hint hint) take home some hardware from what’s become the most prestigious esports awards show around, don’t forget to get your vote in. We’ll have more information on all of the nominees, as well as an exact time and how to watch the stream as soon as that info’s made available, so be sure to check back.

Esports Awards 2019: Finalists announced for Game of the Year, best Journalist and more Esports AwardsIndustry finalists for the Esports Awards, including awards for Game of the Year and Esports Journalist of the Year, have been announced following a huge tally of nominations from across the scene. The annual Esports Awards are set for a venue change for the first time in its history as they make the major shift from London to Texas, USA, but the voting and awards themselves have stayed the same, with industry nominations set to be revealed this week. This major change comes during the award’s fourth year. The Esports Awards are widely regarded as the most prestigious in the world of esports, recognizing the biggest and best in players, streamers, organizations, on-screen talent, journalism and more. The top professional players in both PC and console esports will be vying for the trophies, as well as big name streamers and on-air talent, with categories for the best in the world of gaming entertainment also handed out. Read more: Hastr0 defends Nadeshot’s CDL decision – Nominations for awards like Streamer of the Year, Esports Personality of the Year, and Content Creator of the Year were announced in July, and now the developers, publications, and sponsors in the running for the industry-focused plaudits have been revealed. Esports Game of the Year Award Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – League of Legends – Fortnite Battle Royale – Overwatch – Dota 2 – Call of Duty – Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds – Rainbow Six: Siege – Rocket League – Esports Website Coverage of the Year ESPN – Dexerto – The Esports Observer – HLTV – Liquidpedia – The Score Esports – Inven Global – Dot Esports – GosuGamers – VPEsports – Esports Journalist of the Year Jacob Wolf – Emily Rand – Richard Lewis – Jarek ’DeKay’ Lewis – Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields – Ashley Kang – Dustin Steiner – Kevin Aiello – Tyler ‘FionnOnFire’ Erzberger – Esports Publisher of the Year Activision/Blizzard – Riot Games – Steam – Epic Games – Ubisoft – PUBG Corporation – Tencent Games – EA – Supercell – Capcom – Esports Commercial Partner of the Year Intel – State Farm – HyperX – Red Bull – G Fuel – DHL – Alienware – Scuf Gaming – Logitech – AT&T – Esports Supporting Agency of the Year Award Character Select Agency – ESG Law – Evolved Talent – Loaded – Hitmaker Jobs – National Association of Collegiate Esports – Code Red Esports – Freaks 4U Gaming – Esports Hardware Provider of the Year Alienware – Intel – Nvidia – Scuf Gaming – HyperX – Logitech – Razer – AMD – ASUS ROG – Secretlab Chairs – Astro Gaming – MSI – It is expected most nominated players and personalities will travel to the new venue in Arlington, though there are always a few absences among the list. The awards hosts are hopefully, however, that the shift from the UK to the United States may lower this number. Read more: John Carmack disses casual Overwatch players – Last year’s hosts Eefje ‘Sjokz’ Depoorte and Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez have also confirmed they will again host the award ceremony in 2019. I am excited to announce I will once again be hosting the Esports Awards alongside the wonderful @GoldenboyFTW – Tune in to tonight’s show @EsportsAwards to find out who made it as a Finalist for the Community Awards and where the 2019 Ceremony will be taking place! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/3Gzmwqsv7b — Eefje Depoortere (@sjokz) July 10, 2019 The prestigious awards are set to be held at the new 100,000 square feet purpose built Esports Stadium in Arlington on November 16, with general admission tickets to go on sale for fans in coming weeks.

Esports Awards Lifetime Achievement Class of 2021 revealed Twitter, @esportsawardsFeaturing a wealth of legendary esports talent, the Lifetime Achievement Awards class of 2021 was announced on August 26th. There’s no denying the amount of talent inside the world of esports. Every day some of the very best talent in the world gathers together to put on a show for their respective games and communities. It’s not often that we get to celebrate those figures, but that’s exactly what the Esports Awards have aimed to do with the Lifetime Achievement award. This year’s class features some of the most game-changing personalities around the scene. Who are this year’s inductees? Adam Apicella A founding employee of Major League Gaming, Adam Apicella has mastered the live esports environment. After 16 years of hosting tournaments with MLG, he is now the CEO of Esports Engine and continues to bring the world of esports alive around the world. He is perhaps most known for his involvement in the Call of Duty World League, where he defined himself as an ardent ally to the Call of Duty community. Amy Brady & Amber Dalton Together, these twin sisters created a safe space for women to gather together in the world of gaming and esports. The PMS clan was one of the biggest gaming groups in the world, and at one point was the biggest clan on the entire Xbox Live platform. There are still thousands of members who remain active and continue to further the fight for women in gaming. Michal Blicharz Intel Extreme Masters has become a household name in esports, and that’s in no small part to Michal “Carmac” Blicharz. Over his fifteen-year career, he has become one of the world’s foremost experts in tournament organization. Today, he leads ESL as their Vice President of Pro Gaming. Justin Wong Even people outside of the world of fighting games know who JWong is. With a career that has lasted over 2o years, Justin has been a constant force for good both inside his community and out. He continues to redefine what it means to be a veteran presence in a scene that has very few of them. MissHarvey As a player, Stephanie Harvey was a force to be reckoned with. She collected five world championships across fifteen years and forced the outside world to recognize just how good women can be at video games. Throughout her time in esports, she has been a champion for diversity and gender-inclusivity in gaming. She is now a director of development with Counter Logic Gaming. Walshy Dave Walsh was one of esports’ first superstars. In 2006, after only two years of being a professional gamer, he signed a one million dollar deal with Dr. Pepper and sparked national interest in the competitive Halo scene. He collected tons of accolades along his eight years as a pro player, as well as winning twenty-three total MLG tournaments, and setting the record for most consecutive tournament wins at nine. After his retirement, Walshy took to the sidelines and joined the Halo Championship Series in a full-time commentating position. It’s always nice to see remarkable people be recognized for their work and each of these individuals has earned their place amongst the esports elite. We’ll get to see who might be on their way to joining these icons when the Esports Awards show kicks off on November 4.

Esports Awards 2023: Finalists, categories & schedule Esports AwardsThe Esports Awards are back once again in 2023, celebrating the very best of the industry, from players to publishers, videographers to journalists, and many more in between. Here are all the details, including the final nominees and how to vote. On Thursday, June 1, the Esports Awards announced the eighth edition of the event, bringing it back to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the second year in a row. The event celebrates the best of the esports industry across a wide range of categories, honoring players, teams, influencers, journalists, and more. Here are all of the details you need about the Esports Awards 2023, including the finalists for all categories, ahead of the big show on November 30, 2023. Esports Awards 2023: Finalists The Esports Awards have now revealed the finalists for all major categories ahead of the 2023 awards. Here are all of the nominees: Esports Cosplay of the Year Larissa Rochefort – LittleJem – Kinpatsu Cosplay – Annjelife – Inaste – Akemi Hogan – Bec of Hearts – Esports Creative of the Year Ovilee ‘Ovilee May’ May – Seso – kvindsgn (fix) – Thorsten Denk – Team Liquid Enigma – Sydney Malham – Esports Creative Team of the Year LOUD – Team Vitality – G2 Esports – Sentinels – Team Liquid – North Studio – FlyQuest – Paper Crowns – NMBRS – Esports Content of the Year Gucci – Valorant – G2 Esports – ESL – LoL Esports – Seth ‘Scump’ Abner – Red Bull Gaming – Rocket League Esports – FURIA – Team Liquid Valorant – Esports Content Creator of the Year Juan ‘Hungrybox’ Debiedma – LOUD – Seth ‘Scump’ Abner – The Score Esports – Gaules – S8ul Esports – Judo Sloth – OTK – Last Free Nation – Christian ‘IWDominate’ Rivera – Esports Personality of the Year Seth ‘Scump’ Abner – Ludwig Ahgren – Gaules – MoistCr1TiKaL – Disguised Toast – NOBRU – Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez – Mortal – Coringa – Streamer of the Year Ibai – xQc – Kai Cenat – tarik – Gaules – QTCinderella – Seth ‘Scump’ Abner – Paulinho O Loko – RiversGG – FPS_Shaka – Esports Broadcast/Production Team of the Year ESL – Esports Engine – Riot Games – BLAST – Psyonix – Esports Commercial Partner of the Year Red Bull – Logitech – Monster – Prime Gaming – Gillette – Intel – Gucci – Chipotle – State Farm – Esports Coverage Platform of the Year Liquipedia – Dexerto – Esports Insider – HLTV – Esports Charts – Dot Esports – Sports Business Journal – Esports Hardware Piece of the Year AMD RYZEN 9 7950X – Logitech G Pro X 2 Lightspeed – ASUS ROG ALLY – Stream Deck MK.2 – Higround Keyboard – Razer Viper Mini Signature Edition – Samsung Odyssey OLED G8 – Corsair Xeneon Flex – Esports Publisher of the Year Riot Games – Mobile Legends – Supercell – Pokemon – Valve – Psyonix – EA – Esports Supporting Service of the Year Character Select Agency – ESG Law – GRID – Evolved Talent – Esports Engine – OP.GG – Paper Crowns – Bad Moon Talent – New LVL Recruiting – Prodigy Agency – Esports Game of the Year Valorant – League of Legends – CS:GO – Rocket League – Call of Duty – Mobile Legends – PUBG Mobile – Dota 2 – Fortnite – Esports Mobile Game of the Year PUBG Mobile – Mobile Legends – Brawl Stars – Arena of Valor – Call of Duty Mobile – Free Fire – Honor of Kings – Clash Royale – Pokemon UNITE – Esports Team of the Year Team Vitality – CS:GO – Team Vitality – Rocket League – Fnatic – VALORANT – Evil Geniuses – VALORANT – New York Subliners – Call of Duty – JD Gaming – League of Legends – w7m Esports – Rainbow Six Siege – Echo – ML:BB – Gaimin Gladiators – DOTA – TSM – Apex Legends – Esports Organisation of the Year Team Vitality – LOUD – Team Liquid – G2 Esports – Gen.G Esports – Karmine Corp – Moist Esports – 100 Thieves – OpTic Gaming – NAVI – NRG – Esports Coach of the Year Danny “Zonic” Sørensen – Victor “Ferra” Francal – Christine “Potter” Chi – Ehsan “DREAL” Javed – Igor “igoorctg” Santos – Renzo “Renzo” Oemrawsingh – Jan “Swani” Müller – Aske “Cy-” Larsen – Yoon “Homme” Sung-young – Esports Breakthrough Player of the Year Alexis “Zen” Bernier – Max “Demon1” Mazanov – Thomas “Scrappy” Ernst – Kim “D0NGHAK” Min-sung – Kim “Peyz” Su-hwan – Anders “Vejrgang” Vejrgang – Martin “Yike” Sundelin – Esports PC Player of the Year Nikola “NiKo” Kovač – Cho “Maru” Seong-ju – Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut – Quinn “Quinn” Callahan – Nemanja “Hunter” Kovač – Zhuo “Knight” Ding – Emir “Alfajer” Beder – Max “Demon1” Mazanov – Phillip “ImperialHal” Dosen – Jung “Chovy” Ji-hun – Esports Controller Player of the Year Alexis “Zen” Bernier – Paco “HyDra” Rusiewiez – Zain “Zain” Naghmi – Matthew “KiSMET” Tinsley – Mashita “acola” Hayato – Amjad “AngryBird” Al-Shalabi – Finlay “Rise” Ferguson – Jack “ApparentlyJack” Benton – Arslan “Arslan Ash” Siddique – Phillip “ImperialHal” Dosen – Esports Mobile Player of the Year Mohamed “Mohamed Light” Tarek – Frederic “Bennyqt” Gonzales – Gaku “Gaku” Mukai – Erik “Joker” Granström – Burenbayar “TOP” Altangerel – Tensai “Tensai” – Peng “Fly” Yunfei – Esports Colour Caster of the Year Marc “Caedrel” Robert Lamont – Dan “Gaskin” Gaskin – Josh “Sideshow” Wilkinson – John “JohnnyBoi_i” MacDonald – Mohan “Launders” Govindasamy – Thomas “Chance” Ashworth – Ioannis “Fogged” Loucas – Dominik “Lacoste” Stipić – Chad “Spunj” Burchill – Michael “Hypoc” Robins – Esports Desk Analyst of the Year Mimi “aEvilCat” Wermcrantz – Tyler “Tbates” Bates – Barento “Raz” Mohammed – Alyssa “Allycxt” Parker – Anthony “NAMELESS” Wheeler – Mira “Ephey” Riad – Alex “Mauisnake” Ellenberg – Kale “Genome” Morton – Mathieu “Maniac” Quiquerez – Esports Host of the Year Alex “GoldenBoy” Mendez – Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere – Freya “Freya” Spiers – Sean “Stax” Stackhouse – Caleb “WavePunk” Simmons – Yinsu “Yinsu” Collins – Chris Puckett – Jorien “Sheever” van der Heijden – Lottie Van-Praag – Ana Xisdê – James “Dash” Patterson – Esports Play by Play Caster of the Year Steven “Tasty Steve” Scott – Alex “Machine” Richardson – Brennon “Bren” Hook – Mark “Onset” Hatcher – Conner “Scrawny” Girvan – Brandon Smith – Callum “Shogun” Keir – Clayton “Captain Flowers” Raines – Mitch “Uber” Leslie – Bruno “BrunoClash” Veiga Lopes – Miles Ross – Lauren “Pansy” Scott – Esports Journalist of the Year Jacob Hale – Richard Lewis – Dominic Sacco – Kevin Hitt – Alexander Lee – James Fudge – Mikhail Klimentov – Antonio Yuste – Cecilia D’Anastasio – Alejandro Gomis – Esports Awards 2023 date & location This year’s event will take place in Las Vegas, NV on November 30, 2023, just like it did in December 2022. The best in the industry will be heading out to Resorts World Las Vegas, to celebrate the games we all know and love. In 2022, they also hosted various events around the awards, such as a golf tournament, so there could be more to come like that down the line. Esports Awards 2023: Voting & nominations With a few months still to go before the event takes place, the nomination process has been and gone.. Nominations were open to those working in the industry from June 1 and had to be completed before July 7. The names of the first nominees were revealed on July 26, while the names of the Pro and On-Air finalists were revealed on September 20. Once nominations were in and announced, the Esports Awards panel shortlisted the candidates for each category. You can now vote on the Esports Awards website. Esports Awards 2023: Key dates Key dates include: June 1: Nominations open – July 7: Nominations close – July 26: First nominees reveal – July 26: Voting opens – September 20: Pro and On-Air nominees reveal – November 13-20: Turbo voting period–votes are worth double – November 20: Voting closes on all categories but 3 – November 25: Voting closes for Esports PC Player, Esports Organization, and Esports Team of the Year – November 27-28: Inaugural Scholars – November 29-30: Esports Awards 2023 –

Esports Awards 2024: Winners, categories, finalists & more Esports AwardsThe Esports Awards are back in 2024, with the show & its awards being split into two separate shows. Here’s a rundown of what the categories are for awards and which finalists are up for voting. The show will now be held during the final days of the Esports World Cup in 2024, 2025, and 2026 as part of a partnership deal between the Esports Awards and EWC. The Saudi-backed mega event was previously known as Gamers8, and it has transformed into an even bigger tournament series in 2024. Now the Esports Awards will be capping off that tournament as well. Here’s a full list of categories for the 2024 Esports Awards, as well as which nominee won the award. How to vote on the Esports Awards 2024 Voting ran from June 27, 2024 to August 20, 2024. If you’d like to cast your vote on categories, you’ll have to wait until next year’s awards. Esports Awards 2024 categories and finalists Streamer of the Year Nicholas “Jynxzi” Stewart – Kai Cenat – Ibai “Ibai” Llanos – Cody “Clix” Conrod – Darren “iShowSpeed” Watkins Jr. – Case “CaseOh” Baker – Félix “xQc” Lengyel – Marc “Caedrel” Lamont – Victor “Coringa” Augusto – Alexandre “gAuLeS” Chiqueta – Samantha “Rivers” Treviño (Winner) – Esports Personality of the Year Jeremy “Disguised Toast” Wang – Tarik “tarik” Çelik – Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag – Seth “scump” Abner (Winner) – Ibai “Ibai” Llanos – James Banks – Marc “Caedrel” Lamont – Naman “Mortal” Sandeep Mathur – Bruno “Nobru” Goes – Esports Content Group of the Year G2 Esports – Offline TV – Karmine Corp – Sentinels – Fnatic – T1 – S8UL Esports (Winner) – Esports Game of the Year Counter-Strike 2 – VALORANT (Winner) – League of Legends – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – Dota 2 – Apex Legends – Rainbow Six Siege – Rocket League – PUBG Mobile – Mobile Esports Game of the Year Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (Winner) – Brawl Stars – Honor of Kings – PUBG Mobile – Call of Duty: Mobile – Clash Royale – Free Fire – Pokémon UNITE – Esports Content & Coverage Platform of the Year Liquipedia (Winner) – Esports Charts – Dexerto – HLTV – Dot Esports – Sports Business Journal – Esports Insider – Esports Publisher of the Year Riot Games (Winner) – Valve – Epic Games – Microsoft Gaming – Ubisoft – Capcom – EA – Moonton – Esports Commercial Partner of the Year Red Bull (Winner) – Intel – Logitech G – Mastercard – Razer – Lenovo – AT&T – Adidas – Creative Team of the Year ESL FACEIT Group – Riot Games – BLAST – 100 Thieves – Flyquest – LOUD – NRG/Full Squad Gaming – Sentinels – Team Liquid (Winner) – Team Vitality – G2 Esports – Esports Content of the Year GODS ft. NewJeans (뉴진스) (Official Music Video) | Worlds 2023 Anthem – League of Legends (Winner) – Think Like A Pro VALORANT Duelist | Know Your Role – G2 Esports x Mastercard: Mastercard Gamer Academy Educational Content Series – Manners maketh man | T1 x Ralph Lauren – TEAM LIQUID x AURA & ECHO || HELLO INDONESIA & THE PHILIPPINES – The 3 prodigies of Rocket League | Worlds 2023 documentary – Esports Breakthrough Player of the Year Danil “donk” Kryshkovets – Team Spirit – Cauan “cauanzin” Pereira – LOUD (Winner) – Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak – Team Falcons – Han “SangJoon” Sang-jun – REJECT WINNITY – Pedro “swiftt” Gomes – Ninjas in Pajamas – Daniel “Daniel” Piecenski – G2 Stride – Wang “UMA” Yuan-hao – Street Fighter player – Rayan “Sniper” Shoura – 100 Thieves – Esports Analyst of the Year Emily Rand – Mimi “aEvilcat” Wermcrantz – Jacob “Pimp” Winneche (Winner) – Tyler “Tbates” Bates – Mathieu “Maniac” Quiquerez – Kevin “Purge” Godec – The7WorldsGaming – Léo “Alphama” Robine –

Esports Awards 2022 to move to Las Vegas, nominations now open Esports AwardsThe Esports Awards ceremony will move to Las Vegas this year as Secretlab and Verizon return to sponsor the event that will now take place at Resorts World Las Vegas, the company announced on May 19. The ceremony will take place on December 13 in the Resorts World Theatre, with tickets available now starting at $50. The capacity for the event will be around 5,000 persons. The nominations open for the various honors put up by the Esports Awards start May 19 as well, with the Finalists for each category releasing on various dates starting on June 30 with its entertainment categories. The company will also be holding other events at its venue starting on December 11 including its Lifetime Achievement Ceremony and Leadership Summit. For 2022, the grouping for various awards have been changed, with new groups joining the cast of existing categories like entertainment, creative, pro, on-air talent and collegiate. There will also be a new award called Esports Content Group of the Year debuting in 2022. Read More: Esports Awards 2021: All winners & nominees – “We could not be more excited to start building a legacy with Resorts World Las Vegas,” the CEO of Esports Awards, Michael Ashford said. “We recognize the awards are a deserved end of year celebration and want to build something that caters to delivering a best-in-class experience.” The show will also feature a golf event, the Esports Awards Open, in partnership with Golf + Gaming Club. In 2021, the award ceremony took place in Arlington, Texas, and featured over 10 million votes cast across its various awards by the community according to a press release by the company. In Texas, 100 Thieves took home the award for esports organization of the year with Ibai ‘Ibai’ Llanos claiming the rights to streamer of the year and Miles Ross winning Esports play by play caster of the year in 2021.

Esports Awards 2021: All winners & nominees Esports AwardsThe Esports Awards is an annual event that celebrates the very best in the business. The best players, and those behind the scenes are celebrated: We’ve got a rundown of the nominees and winners of each award from the big night. In previous years at the Esports Awards, we’ve seen epic speeches from the likes of streamer Dr Disrespect and Richard Lewis. Not only that, but in 2019, Dexerto won the award for Esports Coverage Website of the Year (sadly we didn’t get the nod again in 2021). Here’s everything you need to know about the Esports Awards 2021, including the categories, nominees, and winners. Esports Awards 2021: Winners & nominees You can find the full list of Esports Awards 2021 winners and nominees below. Esports Organization of the Year In the final award of the night, @100Thieves has won Esports Organization of the Year at the @esportsawards 2021! pic.twitter.com/5ttoVqbA7N — Dexerto (@Dexerto) November 21, 2021 Winner: 100 Thieves – G2 Esports – Team Envy – TSM FTX – NRG – OverActive Media – T1 – Fnatic – Cloud9 – Team Liquid – LOUD – FaZe Clan – Streamer of the Year .@IbaiLlanos has won Streamer of the Year at the @esportsawards 2021! pic.twitter.com/hzfO5nV0Ol — Dexerto (@Dexerto) November 21, 2021 Winner: Ibai ‘Ibai’ Llanos – David ‘TheGrefg’ Martinez – Dr Disrespect – Jaryd ‘Summit1g’ Lazar – Victor ‘Coringa’ Augusto – Ludwig ‘Ludwig’ Ahgren – Jack ‘CouRage’ Dunlop – Rachell ‘Valkyrae’ Hofstetter – Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel – Nick ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff – Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek – Naman ‘Soul Mortal’ Mathur – Esports Team of the Year The @ATLFaZe has won Esports Team of the Year at the @esportsawards 2021! pic.twitter.com/RAocknIz3s — Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports) November 21, 2021 Winner: Atlanta FaZe (Call of Duty) – DWG KIA (LoL) – MAD Lions (LoL) – Natus Vincere (CS:GO) – Sentinels (Valorant) – Gambit Esports (Valorant) – Shanghai Dragons (Overwatch) – The General NRG (Rocket League) – PSG.LGD (Dota 2) – Ninjas in Pyjamas (Rainbow Six) – Esports PC Player of the Year .@natusvincere’s @s1mpleO has won Esports PC Player of the Year at the @esportsawards 2021! pic.twitter.com/W3z17XqBcF — Dexerto (@Dexerto) November 21, 2021 Winner: Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev – Heo ‘ShowMaker’ Su – Lee ‘LIP’ Jae-won – Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo – Kim ‘Doinb’ Tae-sang – Wang ‘Ame’ Chunyu – Luccas ‘Paluh’ Molina – Ayaz ‘NAts’ Akhmetshin – Dmitry ‘sh1ro’ Sokolov – Esports Controller Player of the Year .@ATLFaZe’s @SimpXO has won Esports Controller Player of the Year at the @esportsawards 2021! pic.twitter.com/f4VYRKIgry — Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports) November 21, 2021 Winner: Chris ‘Simp’ Lehr – Dominic ‘SonicFox’ McClean – Tyler ‘aBeZy’ Pharris – Justin ‘jstn’ Morales – Jack ‘JBM’ Mascone – Eric ‘Snip3down’ Wrona – Victor ‘Fairy Peak!’ Locquet – Gavin ‘Tweek’ Dempsey – Evan ‘M0nkey M00n’ Rogez – Joseph ‘Mang0’ Marquez – Esports Personality of the Year And the winner of the Esports Personality of the Year award presented by @CocaCola is… @nobru CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Ai1JSJU6Ms — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: Bruno ‘Nobru’ Goes – Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag – Luka ‘Perkz’ Perkovic – Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo – Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez – Carlos ‘Ocelote’ Rodriguez – John ‘JohnnyBoi_I’ Macdonald – Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez – Gustavo ‘Baiano’ Gomes – Eefje ‘sjokz’ Depoortere – Parker ‘Interro’ Mackay – Esports Play by Play Caster of the Year .@MilesTheRoss has won Esports Play By Play Caster of the Year at the @esportsawards 2021! pic.twitter.com/T1VvuDJKS6 — Dexerto (@Dexerto) November 21, 2021 Winner: Miles Ross – BrunoClash – Mitch ‘Uber’ Leslie – Callum ‘Shogun’ Keir – Lauren ‘Pansy’ Scott – Parker ‘Interro’ Mackay – Alex ‘Machine’ Richardson – Owen ‘ODPixel’ Davies – Trevor ‘Quickshot’ Henry – Clayton ‘CaptainFlowers’ Raines – Esports PC Rookie of the Year .@natusvincere’s @b1tcs has won Esports PC Rookie of the Year at the @esportsawards 2021! pic.twitter.com/yR5G1D1Ljd — Dexerto (@Dexerto) November 21, 2021 Winner: Valerii ‘b1t’ Vakhovskyi – Tyson ‘TenZ’ Ngo – Adam ‘Adam’ Maanane – Ayaz ‘NAts’ Akhmetshin – Kyle ‘Danny’ Sakamaki – Dmitry ‘sh1ro’ Sokolov – Javier ‘Elyoya’ Prades Batalla – Oh ‘Pelican’ Se-hyun – Robin ‘Robinsongz’ Sung – Esports Controller Rookie of the Year And the winner of the Esports Controller Rookie of the Year award in partnership with @ScufGaming is… @M0nkeyM00n CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/hjZ8lcFFOA — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: Evan ‘M0nkey M00n’ Rogez – Raúl ‘DmentZa’ Palazuelos – Paco ‘HyDra’ Rusiewiez – Jamie ‘Insight’ Craven – Eli ‘Standy’ Bentz – Andres ‘dreaz’ Jordan – Marc ‘MaRc_By_8.’ Domingo – Esports Coach of the Year .@ShanghaiDragons’ @moonbyungchul89 has won Esports Coach of the Year at the @esportsawards 2021! pic.twitter.com/iULiSSntVi — Dexerto (@Dexerto) November 21, 2021 Winner: Moon ‘Moon’ Byung-chul – Emiliano ‘Sizz’ Benny – Bok ‘Reapered’ Han-Gyu – Kim ‘kKoma’ Jeong-gyun – Andrey ‘Engh’ Sholokov – James ‘Crowder’ Crowder – Mark ‘MarkyB’ Bryceland – James ‘Mac’ MacCormack – Dyjair ‘Mity’ Soares – Andrii ‘B1ad3’ Gorodenskyi – Arthur ‘TchubZ’ Martins – Esports Mobile Player of the Year Winner: Zhu ‘Paraboy’ Bocheng – Karl Gabriel ‘KarlTzy’ Nepomuceno – Jash ‘Learn’ Shah – Brian ‘Tectonic’ Michel – Piyapon ‘TheCruz’ Boonchuay – Mohamed ‘Mohamed Light’ Tarek – Mustafa ‘SkYRiiKZz’ Ibrahim – Gabriel ‘Syaz’ Vasconcelos – Lucas ‘LucasXGamer’ Vinícius Batista Rocha – Cauan ‘Cauan7’ da Silva – Esports Host of the Year And the winner of the Esports Host of the Year award presented by @visit_arlington is… @sjokz CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/ao25UVYjvp — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: Eefje ‘sjokz’ Depoortere – Tres ‘stunna’ Saranthus – James ‘Dash’ Patterson – Loviel ‘Velly’ Cardwell – Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez – Ana Xisdê – Brody ‘Liefx’ Moore – Soe Gschwind – Jorien ‘Sheever’ van der Heijden – Chris Puckett – Ghassan ‘MiloshTheMedic’ Finge – Caleb ‘WavePunk’ Simmons – Esports Journalist of the Year And the winner of the Esports Journalist of the Year award is… @Kevin_Hitt CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/razj9plGPY — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: Kevin Hitt – Jacob Wolf – Richard Lewis – Adam Fitch – Ashley Kang – Tyler ‘FionnOnFire’ Erzberger – Liz Richardson – Wasif Ahmed – Pablo ‘Bloop’ Suárez – H.B. Duran – Esports Collegiate Ambassador of the Year And the winner of the Esports Collegiate Ambassador of the Year award is… @haskell CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/drpd9th4ev — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: Dr. Chris ‘Doc’ Haskell – Ryan Johnson – Adam Antor – Arianne Lim – Chris Turner – Esports Play of the Year Siege star @Virtue_R6 has won Esports Play of the Year at the @esportsawards 2021! pic.twitter.com/YJ4qWDdbyP — Dexerto (@Dexerto) November 21, 2021 First: Jake ‘Virtue’ Grannan – Second: Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev – Third: Ariano ‘Kroonos’ Ferreira – Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo – Mehmet Yagiz ‘cNed’ Ipek – Santino ‘try’ Rigal – Casper ‘cadiaN’ Moller – Jason ‘Beaulo’ Doty – Eric ‘Snip3down’ Wrona – Mathieu ‘ZywOo’ Herbaut – Esports Game of the Year #VALORANT has won Esports Game of the Year at the @esportsawards 2021! pic.twitter.com/y5CRUHokqF — Valorant News (@ValorINTEL) November 21, 2021 Winner: VALORANT – League of Legends – Free Fire – CS:GO – Call of Duty – Rocket League – Rainbow Six Siege – Dota 2 – PUBG Mobile – Overwatch – Esports Video Production Team of the Year And the winner of the Esports Video Production Team of the Year award is… @G2esports CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/iovfhsxaaS — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: G2 Esports – Team Liquid – FaZe Clan – LOUD – TSM FTX – 100 Thieves – Metagame Documentary team – Fluxo – OpTic Gaming – YUNG ELDR – Esports Creative of the Year And the winner of the Esports Creative of the Year award presented by @RolandGlobal is… @thorsten_denk CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/gotuRYXXsN — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: Thorsten Denk – Danny Lopez – Liquid Enigma – Euller Araujo – Karina Ziminaite – Gabriel Ruiz – Robert Rogers – Caroline Parker-Stark – SesoHQ – AaronCreate – Esports Publisher of the Year And the winner of the Esports Publisher of the Year award is… @riotgames CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/qldepliHis — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: Riot Games – Tencent – Garena – Ubisoft – Psyonix – EA – Activision Blizzard – Epic Games – Valve – Esports Supporting Service of the Year And the winner of the Esports Supporting Service of the Year award presented by @UnionHomeMtg is… @discord CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/9oaG9jaq78 — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: Discord – ESG LAW – Paper Crowns – Aftershock Media Group – Hitmarker – The Story Mob – ESEA – Creative Artists Agency – Character Select Agency – Prodigy Agency – Mobalytics – Esports Mobile Game of the Year And the winner of the Esports Mobile Game of the Year award presented by @Verizon is… @FreeFireBR CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/D1P3uMf6mQ — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: FreeFire – Arena of Valor – PUBG Mobile – Call of Duty Mobile – Clash Royale – League of Legends: Wild Rift – Brawl Stars – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – Esports Content Creator of the Year And the winner of the Esports Content Creator of the Year award presented by @visit_arlington award is… @AshleyKang CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/u8AK1zXUG7 — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: Ashley Kang – Musty – Maciej ‘MacieJay’ Dzikowski – Nick ‘LS’ De Cesare – Bananaslamjamma – SunlessKhan – Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez – UpUpDownDown – NadeKing – iFerg – Coconut Brah – Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields – Esports Content Series of the Year And the winner of the Esports Content Series of the Year award is… @metagamedoc CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/NFEoNwsPUx — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: Metagame – Liquid Origins – The Process (OpTic Gaming) – G2 Voicecomms – Dota: Dragon’s Blood – Fight for First: Excel Esports – Lore // Valorant – TSM: Legends – The Eavesdrop Podcast – Esports Color Caster of the Year CSGO caster @SPUNJ has won Esports Color Caster of the Year at the @esportsawards 2021, and probably acceptance speech of the night too 😂 pic.twitter.com/LqL324cEDK — Dexerto (@Dexerto) November 21, 2021 Winner: Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill – Michael ‘KiXSTAr’ Stockley – Andrew ‘Vedius’ Day – Stephen ‘Sajam’ Lyon – John ‘JohnnyBoi_I’ Macdonald – Sam ‘Kobe’ Hartman-Kenzler – Thomas ‘Chance’ Ashworth – Josh ‘Sideshow’ Wilkinson – Mohan ‘Launders’ Govindasam – Esports Analyst of the Year League of Legends caster @Caedrel has won Esports Analyst of the Year at the @esportsawards 2021! pic.twitter.com/yMcGK2tE3c — Dexerto (@Dexerto) November 21, 2021 Winner: Marc Robert ‘Caedral’ Lamont – Anthony ‘NAMELESS’ Wheeler – Emily Rand – Jacob ‘Pimp’ Winneche – Kyle Freedman – Jess ‘JessGOAT’ Bolden – Sean ‘sgares’ Gares – Jonathan ‘Reinforce’ Larsson – Jason ‘Moses’ O’Toole – Esports Hardware Provider of the Year And the winner of the Esports Hardware Provider of the Year award is… @CORSAIR CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/2hgIb6nX1Y — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: Corsair – Logitech G – Razer – Elgato – HyperX – NVIDIA – Intel – AMD – Alienware – Secretlab – SteelSeries – ASUS ROG – Esports Creative Piece of the Year And the winner of the Esports Creative Piece of the Year award is… @G2esports CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/EM2Ah8tFY8 — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: No Clue | adidas partners with G2 Esports – Metagame Documentary – LEC Anime Teaser – Introducing Your LA THIEVES – FaZe Clan enters Rocket League – LPL Spring Split 2021: Break the Silence – LEC: Reckless with my Heart – Introducing Team Liquid Valorant – SEGUE O FLUXO | Nobru and Cerol introduce the new LBFF Team – Esports Apparel of the Year And the winner of the Esports Apparel of the Year award is… @100Thieves CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/798JdsFgs2 — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: 100 Thieves – Spacestation Gaming – FaZe Clan – G2 Esports – Team Vitality – Fallen Wear – Cloud9 – Ateyo – Fnatic – Team Liquid – Esports Photo of the Year And the winner of the Esports Photo of the Year award is… @ericananmalay CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/dN0WuLGPrC — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: Eric Ananmalay – Esports Cosplay of the Year And the winner of the Esports Cosplay the Year award is… @PeytonCosplay CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/tKpu5m2o8H — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2021 Winner: Peyton Cosplay – FusRoFran – Kinpatsu Cosplay – Willow Creative – Sneaky – Skydaddi – Glory Lamothe – LittleJem – Panel’s Choice Award In case you have missed it! The winner of the 2021 Panel’s Choice Award is… @Fizzi36 CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/0vmPJcufdR — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2021 Winner: Fizzi – Esports Creative Team of the Year And the winner of the Esports Creative Team of the Year award is… #AlexProductions CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/1DcHOZtsgj — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2021 Winner: Alex Productions (with Dr Disrespect) – WePlay – G2 Esports – StreamSpell – Paper Crowns – GETREKT Labs – AOE Creative – 100 Thieves – Team Liquid – Esports Collegiate Program of the Year And the winner of the Esports Collegiate Program of the Year award is… @MaryvilleGG from @MaryvilleU CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/2BmLOev1mH — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2021 Winner: Maryville University – Buckeye Gaming Collective — Ohio State University – University of Hawai’i – Northwestern University – Boise State University – Longhorn Gaming — University of Texas at Austin – Illini Esports — University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign – Minnesota State University – Grand Canyon University – Winthrop University – Esports Coverage Platform of the Year And the winner of the Esports Coverage Platform of the Year award in association with @sizzlecreative is… @esportsobserved CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/sAQGKDVHvc — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2021 Winner: The Esports Observer – Dexerto – Esports Insider – Dot Esports – HLTV.org – Liquipedia – Esportmaníacos – Inven Global – SiegeGG – Esports Broadcast/Production Team of the Year And the winner of the Esports Broadcast/Production Team of the Year award is… @riotgames CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/W9AYl6rWDB — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2021 Winner: Riot Games – ESL Gaming – Nerd Street Gamers – Psyonix – Esports Engine – Activision Blizzard – Beyond the Summit – BLAST Premier – Garena – FACEIT – Esports Commercial Partner of the Year And the winner of the Esports Commercial Partner of the Year award presented by @grindgaminginc is… @intel CONGRATULATIONS!! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/xYFsuQFpHR — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2021 Winner: Intel – Red Bull – BMW – State Farm – Logitech G – Mountain Dew – HyperX – Alienware – Verizon – FTX – Cash App – Esports Awards 2021: Lifetime Achievement Class Seven pinnacles of the esports community were inducted into the Lifetime Achievement Class at Esports Awards 2021: David ‘Walshy’ Walsh – Justin Wong – Michal ‘CARMAC’ Blicharz – Amy Brady – Amber Dalton – Stephanie ‘MissHarvey’ Harvey – Adam Apicella – And our first inductee of the night is @Walshy! pic.twitter.com/NqvQO2jaqM — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2021

Esports Awards 2022: All winners on the night Esports AwardsThe annual Esports Awards is a crowning event, celebrating the very best in the industry from players and games to journalists and content creators. Here’s the full list of winners from the prestigious night. The Esports Awards has become a fun annual event that brings together talent from all different sides of the esports world. From Call of Duty players, to League of Legends shoutcasters, and Valorant content creators, it’s always a huge topic of discussion and a source of pride for anybody nominated. Here are the categories at this year’s awards, taking place in Las Vegas, NV, on December 13, as well as the winners of each. Esports Awards 2022 winners Esports Organization of the Year Presented by Lexus Winner: OpTic Gaming – 100 Thieves – FaZe Clan – LOUD – Team Liquid – G2 – Cloud9 – T1 – FURIA – Nova Esports – Evil Geniuses – Streamer of the Year Winner: Ibai – Gaules – Valkyrae – Asmongold – tarik – Kameto – loltyler1 – TimTheTatman – Dr Disrespect – QTCinderella – TheGrefg – NICKMERCS – Esports PC Player of the Year Winner: Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev – Russel ‘Twistzz’ Van Dulken – Jacob ‘yay’ Whiteaker – Jeong ‘Chovy’ Ji-hoon – Andrey ‘Shao’ Kiprsky – Illya ‘Yatoro’ Mulyarchuk – Zhang ‘Faith_bian’ Ruida – Andrei ‘Odoamne’ Pascu – Jacob ‘HisWattson’ McMillin – Jaime ‘Cyber’ Ramos – Cho ‘Maru’ Seong-ju – Esports Controller Player of the Year Winner: Matthew ‘FormaL’ Piper – Enzo ‘Seikoo’ Grondein – Yan ‘yanxnz’ Xisto Nolasco – Leonardo ‘MkLeo’ López Pérez – Kenneth ‘Kenny’ Williams – Evan ‘M0nkey M00n’ Rogez – McArthur ‘Cellium’ Jovel – Derek ‘iDom’ Ruffin – Umut ‘Umut’ Gültekin – Noyan ‘Genburten’ Ozkose – Esports Personality of the Year Winner: Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag – Eefje ‘Sjokz’ Depoortere – Alexandre ‘Gaules’ Borba – Naman ‘Mortal’ Sandeep Mathur – Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok – Oleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev – Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez – Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez – Nicolle ‘Cherrygumms’ Merhy – MoistCr1TiKaL – Bruno ‘Nobru’ Goes – Esports Team of the Year Winner: LOUD (Valorant) – FaZe Clan (CS:GO) – LA Thieves (CoD) – Team BDS (Rocket League) – Nova Esports (PUBG Mobile) – Natus Vincere (CS:GO) – LA Gladiators (Overwatch) – PSG.LGD (Dota 2) – T1 (League of Legends) – Esports Mobile Player of the Year Winner: Ceng ‘Order’ Zehai – Luan ‘Lost’ Souza – An ‘Long’ Xulong – Mohamed ‘Mohamed Light’ Tarek – Cauan ‘Cauan7’ da Silva – Sitetampo – Eman ‘EMANN’ Sangco – Esports Host of the Year Winner: James ‘Dash’ Patterson – Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez – Eefje ‘Sjokz’ Depoortere – Caleb ‘WavePunk’ Simmons – Lottie Van-Praag – Yinsu Collins – Ana Paula ‘Ana Xisde’ Cardoso – James Banks – Freya Spiers – Soe Gschwind – Jorien ‘Sheever’ van der Heijden – Esports Play-by-Play Caster of the Year Winner: Lauren ‘Pansy’ Scott – Alex ‘Machine’ Richardson – BrunoClash – Clayton ‘CaptainFlowers’ Raines – Miles Ross – Victoria ‘VikkiKitty’ Perez – Parker ‘INTERRO’ Mackay – Mark ‘Onset’ Hatcher – Mitch ‘Uber’ Leslie – Owen ‘ODPixel’ Davies – Joey ‘Jorby’ Ahrens – Esports Colour Caster of the Year Winner: Andy ‘Bravo’ Dudynsky – Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill – Andy ‘Vedius’ Day – Mike ‘hypoc’ Robins – Isaac ‘Azael’ Cummings-Bentley – Matt ‘Mr X’ Morello – Niclas ‘Pengu’ Mouritzen – Thomas ‘Chance’ Ashworth – James ‘Jamesbot’ Villar – Trent ‘TrentPax’ MacKenzie – Dan ‘Artosis’ Stemkoski – Esports Creative of the Year Winner: Christian Skimmeland – Roma Bib – Tiago ‘Liquid Enigma’ Paixao – Euller Araujo – Gregory ‘SesoHQ’ Ortiz – Ella Pravetz – Jay Braga – Caroline Parker-Stark – Esports Content Series of the Year Winner: Players – The Process – T1 THE LOCKER ROOM – G2 Voicecomms – The Eavesdrop Podcast – Backstory – Road to The International – The Story Of… (theScore esports) – Esports Cosplay of the Year Winner: Kinpatsu Cosplay – Inastes_tears – Anaelic – LittleJem – Skydaddi – Har_Fie – Peyton Cosplay – Romu – Anna Veber – Larissa Rochefort – Esports Play of the Year Winner: Russel ‘Twistzz’ Van Dulken – Kenyen ‘Capsidal’ Sutton – Joe ‘Joyo’ Young – Yan ‘yanxnz’ Xisto Nolasco – Erick ‘aspas’ Santos – Thunder Awaken – Gabriel ‘Syaz’ Vasconcelos – Kim ‘Malrang’ Geun-seong – William ‘Glutonny’ Belaid – Paris ‘Light’ Ramirez Garcia – Content Group of the Year Winner: S8ul Esports – FaZe Clan – LOUD – One True King – G4TV – Tribo Gaules – OfflineTV – Full Squad Gaming – Team Summertime – 100 Thieves – Esports Mobile Game of the Year Presented by Verizon Winner: PUBG MOBILE – League of Legends: Wild Rift – Free Fire – Pokémon Unite – Arena of Valor – Mobile Legends: Bang Bang – Call of Duty: Mobile – Brawl Stars – Esports Game of the Year Winner: Valorant – League of Legends – CS:GO – Rocket League – Dota 2 – Free Fire – Apex Legends – Rainbow Six Siege – Fortnite – Esports Content Creator of the Year Winner: Juan ‘Hungrybox’ Debiedma – Jared ‘SunlessKhan’ Zook – Ashley Kang – Thomas ‘ZooMaa’ Paparatto – Phillip ‘ImperialHal’ Dosen – Brian ‘BSJ’ Canavan – Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez – Mohan ‘launders’ Govindasamy – Christian ‘IWDominate’ Rivera – Esports Commercial Partner of the Year Winner: Verizon – Red Bull – Intel – Logitech G – Monster Energy – Gucci – KITKAT – Nike – Esports Broadcast/Production Team of the Year Winner: Riot Games – Esports Engine – LVP (Liga De Videojuegos Profesional) – BLAST Premier – Beyond the Summit – PGL Esports – ESL Gaming – FACEIT – Esports Collegiate Ambassador of the Year Winner: Christine Fan – Justin Banusing – Jack Fenton – Adam Antor – Sergio ‘Physix’ Brack – Daniel Clerke – Yugina Yun – Nyle Sky Kauweloa, PhD – Kevin Hoang – Ryan Johnson – Esports Apparel of the Year Winner: 100 Thieves – Team Liquid – FaZe Clan – FlyQuest – G2 Esports – Cloud9 – Fnatic – OpTic Gaming – TSM – Team Vitality – Esports Publisher of the Year Winner: Riot Games – Valve – Psyonix – Garena – Epic Games – Tencent – Ubisoft – PUBG Corp – EA – Esports Coach of the Year Winner: Andrii ‘B1ad3’ Horodenskyi – Chet ‘Chet’ Singh – Erik ‘d00mbr0s’ Sandgren – Robert ‘RobbaN’ Dahlström – Matthew ‘Satthew’ Ackermann – Zhang ‘xiao8’ Ning – Go ‘Score’ Dong-bin – Maxwell Alexander ‘Max Waldo’ Waldo – Diogo José ‘Jebuz’ Fernandes de Jésus – Théo ‘Mew’ Ponzoni – Esports PC Rookie of the Year Winner: Ilya ‘m0NESY’ Osipov – Felipe ‘Less’ Basso – Emir ‘Alfajer’ Beder – Joseph Joon ‘jojopyun’ Pyun – Ammar ‘ATF’ Al-Assaf – Jacob ‘valyn’ Batio – William ‘Spoit’ Löfstedt – Kim ‘ZEST’ Hyun-Woo – Huang ‘Wayward’ Ren-Xing – Esports Controller Rookie of the Year Winner: Enzo ‘Seikoo’ Grondein – Matías ‘Scorpionprocs’ Martínez – Amer ‘Pred’ Zulbeari – Adam ‘Bound’ Gray – Axel ‘vatira.’ Touret – Emre ‘EmreYilmaz’ Yilmaz – UMISHO – Esports Photograph of the Year Winner: Colin Young-Wolff – Esports Creative Piece of the Year Winner: The Bellhop | Gucci Gaming Academy – FATALE: Coming for the Crown | 2022 Verizon VCT Game Changers – 2022 Here we are – WATCH US FOLLOW US – Become the Nightmare | VCT22 Masters Reykjavík Cinematic – Together We Rise | Liquid VALORANT Montage – The Topfather | G2 MSI Hype Video – TOMORROW WE FIGHT | 2022 LCS Summer Promo ft. Voyboy, Doublelift, Sneaky, Shiphtur – IEM Katowice 2022 – Immortals – Blast Premier Spring 2022 Posters – Lifetime Achievement Class of 2022 Dennis ‘Thresh’ Fong – Daniel ‘OGRE1’ Ryan & Tom ‘OGRE2’ Ryan – Emil ‘HeatoN’ Christensen – Morgan Romine, PhD – Jason Lake – Alexander Garfield – Esports Coverage Platform of the Year Winner: Dexerto – Liquipedia – Esports Insider – Sports Business Journal – Esportmaníacos – HLTV.org – SiegeGG – Dot Esports – Juked – Esports Journalist of the Year Winner: Ashley Kang – Kevin Hitt – Chandy Teixeira – Richard Lewis – Adam Fitch – Jacob Wolf – Brieuc ‘LEC Wooloo’ Seeger – Antonio Yuste – Liz Richardson – George Geddes – Luís Mira – Cecilia D’Anastasio – Esports Desk Analyst of the Year Winner: Jessica ‘JessGOAT’ Bolden – Emily Rand – Marc Robet ‘Caedral’ Lamont – Anthony ‘Nameless’ Wheeler – Mimi ‘aEvilCat’ Wermcrantz – Alyssa ‘Allycxt’ Parker – Jacob ‘Pimp’ Winneche – Janko ‘YNk’ Paunovic – Mike ‘Gregan’ Ellis – Jonathan ‘Reinforce’ Larsson – Avery ‘SVG’ Silverman – Mathieu ‘Maniac’ Quiquerez – Esports Creative Team of the Year Winner: LOUD – Sentinels – AOE Creative – Paper Crowns – North Studio – G2 Esports – OpTic Gaming – Team Liquid – MAD Lions – 100 Thieves – Team Vitality – Esports Supporting Service of the Year Winner: Esports Engine – The Story Mob – ESG Law – Character Select Agency – New Level Recruiting – Paper Crowns – Aftershock Media Group – United Talent Agency – Prodigy Agency – Evolved Talent Agency – Esports Collegiate Program of the Year Winner: University of Hawai’i – Boise State University – Maryville University – University of Warwick – St. Thomas University – Illinois State University – Northwood University – Grand Canyon University – University of North Carolina at Charlotte – Southern University – Esports Hardware Provider of the Year Winner: Logitech G – Razer – Intel – NVIDIA – Alienware – Corsair – HyperX – SCUF Gaming – ASUS ROG – SteelSeries – Battle Beaver – AMD – That concludes the full list of winners for this year’s Esports Awards on December 13, as well as the latest entrants into the Lifetime Achievement Class.

Esports Awards 2020: dates, new awards & categories, format changes Esports AwardsThe first details for this year’s Esports Awards have been announced, including key dates, the first wave of nominations, several new awards and categories, the Ambassador Program and more. Considered to be the Oscars of esports, the Esports Awards recognize the best of the best when it comes to pro players, streamers, organizations, coverage websites and other industry members. The prestigious ceremony will be returning in 2020 for its fifth consecutive year, but before then, a whole nominations process will determine who will be among the exclusive list of big names that are to be honored. On May 27, they hosted the first of six Spotlight Shows in the leadup to the main event, revealing some of the changes that have been made to this year’s process. For your convenience, we’ve included the whole broadcast below, so you can watch the full show that was hosted by legendary caster Chris Puckett. Key dates & process There are five stages to the 2020 Esports Awards season, from the moment nominations open to the grand final ceremony where the awards get handed out. While the date for the main event has not yet been announced, there are some key timing details for fans to take note of. The finalists for each of the five awards categories will all be announced in separate Spotlight Shows, starting in July. Stage 1 – Nominations open – Stage 2 – Finalists announced – Stage 3 – Public vote – Stage 4 – Panel vote – Stage 5 – The Awards – Community – Announced in Spotlight Show 2 in July – Industry – Announced in Spotlight Show 3 in August – Creative – Announced in Spotlight Show 3 in August – Pro – Announced in Spotlight Show 4 in September – On-Air Talent – Announced in Spotlight Show 4 in September – New awards and categories The 2020 Esports Awards will be mixing up the traditional groups of award categories, which, as listed above, will now be split into Community, Industry, Pro, On-Air Talent and Creative, the final one being a totally new section. As a result, there are also eight awards that will be presented at this year’s ceremony: Esports mobile game of the year – Esports mobile player of the year – Esports collegiate award – Esports content team of the year – Esports content series of the year – Esports caster of the year (play by play) – Esports caster of the year (Color) – Esports analyst of the year – Mobile esports and Creatives WE HEAR YOU! We are pleased to announce an array of new awards to our roster! pic.twitter.com/W34wcCzpw5 — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) May 27, 2020 Ambassador Program Also making its debut this year is the all-new Ambassador Program, which is meant to honor those who have contributed mightily to the world of esports and supported the awards in the past. Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf – Fortnite World Cup winner, multiple Esports Award winner, Forbes 30 under 30. – Craig ‘Mini Ladd’ Thompson – top gaming YouTuber, 2019 Content Creator of the Year, raised hundreds of thousands for charity. – Nyvi Estephan – Leading host of esports in Brazil, presenter at a variety of major companies. – Bil ‘Jump’ Carter – Esports host and commentator at many major events, worked 70+ events in 2019. – Britanni Johnson – Head of Creators at G2 Esports, expert in influencer marketing, casting, and strategy consultant, worked with notable brands such as Twitch, AT&T, and Disney. – Jess Brohard – Esports host with over 10 years of experience, worked in Call of Duty World League, National PUBG League, Pokemon World Championships, and more. – Ross ‘TommyT999’ Thompson – Video game industry veteran and longtime content creator. – New Panel members The Panel is one of the most important parts of the Esports Awards process. Made up of key industry experts, the Panel makes up 75% of the vote for almost every award, with the remaining 25% being accounted for by the community. For 2020, there are 11 new members, including Matt Ruttledge, the Director of Mobile Gaming at Complexity, and Nicolas Estrup, Director of Product and Experience for BLAST. Welcome the latest Esports Awards panel members! @Peteletz@horusstv@TheMobileMatt@eunicechen@EEvisu@nicolasestrup@SkylerJohnson@BritanniJohnson@tempusrob@Hudsonwisler@mario_prosp pic.twitter.com/PFgxYg6hz8 — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) May 27, 2020 Nominations – how to nominate Nominations for all 31 awards are now open, so those wishing to submit names for consideration can do so by visiting the Esports Awards 2020 nominations page. Dexerto, winners of the 2019 Esports Coverage Website of the Year, are eligible again this year, so if you would like to see us go back-to-back, make sure to nominate us again!

Esports Awards 2020: Industry finalists, categories, more Esports AwardsThe 2020 Esports Awards are upon us, meaning everyone from fans to industry vets can cast their vote for their favorite teams, brands, personalities, companies and more, to take home some hardware. After a two-month voting period — during which fans cast their decisions “in the millions” — the finalists for the Industry categories have finally been revealed, and they’re stacked with top-tier experts, pros, and influencers vying for some of the Awards’ greatest acknowledgements. Popularly hailed as the “Oscars” of esports, the Esports Awards has now revealed its finalists for such categories as Esports Journalist of the Year, Esports Game of the Year, and even Esports Coverage Website of the Year — a category we at Dexerto were nominated for! Previously, the award organizers announced the various nominees to the Community awards, but have now revealed who will be going up for the Industry. Industry finalists for the 2020 Esports Awards are: Esports Journalist of the Year: Ashley Kang – Jarek Lewis – Richard Lewis – Emily Rand – Adam Fitch – Duncan Shields – Jacob Wolf – Tyler Erzberger – Esports Hardware Provider of the Year: Razer – AMD – Logitech – Intel – Nvidia – HyperX – Corsair – Asus Rog – Alienware – Scuf Gaming – Elgato – Respawn – Esports Commercial Partner of the Year: Intel – Red Bull – BMW – Logitech – Mastercard – State Farm – Mountain Dew Game Fuel – Nike – Louis Vuitton – Esports Coverage Website of the Year in association with Sizzle Creative: ESPN – The Esports Observer – Esports Insider – Dexerto – Liquipedia – HLTV – The Score Esports – Inven Global – Esports Game of the Year in association with Koyo: League of Legends – CS:GO – COD Modern Warfare – Dota 2 – Rainbow Six Siege – Rocket League – VALORANT – F1 2019 – Fortnite – Esports Publisher of the Year: Riot Games – Activision Blizzard – Valve – Ubisoft – Epic Games – PUBG Corp – Psyonix – 2K – EA – Supercell – Tencent – Esports Supporting Agency of the Year in association with Grind Gaming: ESG Law – Hitmarker Jobs – The Story Mob – Esports Engine – Character Select Agency – Prodigy Agency – Paper Crowns – The Esports Awards has also introduced its very first Lifetime Achievement Award Inductee in fighting game legend Daigo Umehara, best known for his historic and jaw-dropping performances in competitive Street Fighter. As a six-time EVO champion, one of the fighting game community’s — and competitive gaming, in general — greatest players, is the first to receive such an honor. https://twitter.com/esportsawards/status/1299075964559863809 Make sure to stay tuned to see who will be nominated for the rest of the categories and vote here to cast your ballot for who deserves recognition in the 2020 Esports Awards Show.

Esports Awards 2019: Streamer of the Year finalists revealed and new location announced Esports AwardsThe annual Esports Awards are back for 2019, but with some big changes afoot, moving from their previous venue in London across to Texas, USA, where they will present awards for the best in esports competition and industry. Partnering with Esports Stadium Arlington, a new 100,000 square feet, purpose built esports venue, the Esports Awards will now be welcoming fans to attend the ceremony on November 16, with general admission tickets to be available. The 2019 event will be the fourth annual iteration of the Esports Awards, widely regarded as the most prestigious in the world of esports, recognizing the biggest and best in players, streamers, organizations, on-screen talent, journalism and more. The top professional players in both PC and console esports will be vying for the trophies, as well as big name streamers and on-air talent, with categories for the best in the world of gaming entertainment also handed out. All previous years have been held in London, with mostly nominees and industry-folk filling the seats, but the move to the Arlington Stadium will facilitate a grander affair, with fans now cheering on the winners. Streamer of the Year nominees The first finalists have been announced on July 10, for the Streamer of the Year category: Tfue – NICKMERCS – Dr Disrespect – CouRage – Ninja – Alanzoka – Gotaga – TimTheTatman – Pokimane – Shroud – Esports Personality of the Year nominees Nadeshot – Sjokz – Goldenboy – DrLupo – FalleN – Steve Arhancet – Ninja – Ocelote – H3CZ – You can vote for your favorite here. Content Creator of the year CouRage – Mini Ladd – LazarBeam – Ali-A – Thorin – Terroriser – FaZe Jev – UpUpDownDown – SunlessKhan – Travis Gafford – Nadeshot – Videographer of the Year Matt “Mawcho” Reyez – Cory Doggett – Gabriel Ruiz – Johannes Lehner – Damian Estrada – Robert Rogers – Max Olivo – Charles Dalton – Logan Dodson – Esport photographer of the year Helena Kristiansson – Joe Brady – Joao Ferreira – Kirill Bashkirov – Michal Konkol – Peter Chau – Chris Bahn – Steph Lindgren – Nuno Miranda – Esports breakthrough game of the year Apex Legends – Super Smash Bros. Ultimate – PUBG Mobile – Old School Runescape – Guns of Boom – Brawl Stars – Magic: The Gathering Arena – FIFA 19 – NBA 2K19 – Battalion 1944 – Esports cosplayer of the year Sneaky – Jessica Nigri – Kitty Kaboom – LittleJem – Maul – Kinpatsu – Spoon Makes – Willow Creative – Anaelic – Polygon Forge – Yaya Han – Jonathon Oudthone, President of Esports Stadium Arlington, said they aim to be the most prestigious stadium in all of esports, and “hosting the most prestigious esports awards show on the planet” is part of that goal. Esports Awards say the partnership and new venue is a “big step forward”, and have secured a number of other partnerships, including Secret Lab Chairs, The Koyo Store and Touch of Ginger, who will sponsor individual award categories. Many of the big name players and streamers nominated will travel to the event, although in previous years with travelling to London sometimes tricky, some have missed out. Now moving to the US, where a large number of nominees typically reside, hopefully none of the potential winners will miss out on the occasion. Returning hosts Eefje ‘Sjokz’ Depoorte and Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez have confirmed they will be back to host the 2019 show too. I am excited to announce I will once again be hosting the Esports Awards alongside the wonderful @GoldenboyFTW – Tune in to tonight’s show @EsportsAwards to find out who made it as a Finalist for the Community Awards and where the 2019 Ceremony will be taking place! 🙂 pic.twitter.com/3Gzmwqsv7b — Eefje Depoortere (@sjokz) July 10, 2019 How does the Esports Awards work? As with previous years, fans can get involved with the process by nominating individuals, teams, websites and sponsors for the different categories. While the community awards are now closed, the ‘Pro’ and ‘Industry’ categories are still open, so you can nominate your favorites. Once a selection of nominees are picked, fans select from the finalists to select the winning nominees for a myriad of categories. Previous award winners include the likes of CoD pro Seth ‘Scump’ Abner and Twitch streamer Dr Disrespect. The best in the business will be recognized again this year, on November 16.

Esports Awards 2020: All winners & nominees Esports AwardsThe Esports Awards are back for 2020. Hundreds of industry heavyweights have been nominated for awards, and while there’s no in-person fanfare this year, there’s still going to be plenty of celebration. Here’s everything you need to know. Since 2015, the Esports Awards has been “dedicated to showcasing top class performance and innovation from, amongst others, the players, teams, media, hardware providers, games, events and personalities within the scene.” The Esports Awards are a time for the industry to celebrate the successes of the year. While in 2020 there hasn’t been much in the way of international competition or huge LANs, there’s still plenty of good to look back upon. The industry awards are being held online this year due to the global health crisis, but that hasn’t stopped the fanfare. Be sure to stick with Dexerto as we take you through the two-day awards show live. Esports Awards 2020 winners & nominees Esports Content Series of the Year (Winner: Eavesdrop Podcast) The winner of the Esports Content Series of the Year is The Eavesdrop Podcast by @H3CZ an incredible content series, hearing your favourite esports figures talking all things esports with none other than the founder of @OpTic pic.twitter.com/Fzr3kTN8Of — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2020 TSM Legends – G2 Voice Comms – The Hunt (Chicago Huntsmen) – The Heist (100 Thieves) – The Squad (Team Liquid) – The Story of (Score Esports) – Through The Smoke (Complexity) – Eavesdrop Podcast – Winner – Esports Hardware Provider of the Year (Winner: Elgato) The winner of the Esports Hardware Provider of the Year is @elgato#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/YeTzQh1Rsf — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2020 Razer – AMD – Logitech – Intel – Nvidia – HyperX – Corsair – Asus ROG – Alienware – Scuf Gaming – Elgato – Winner – Respawn – Esports Commercial Partner of the Year (Winner: Logitech) The winner of the Esports Commercial Partner of the Year is @LogitechG#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/ECJPH8dbrI — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2020 Intel – Red Bull – Logitech – Winner – BMW – State Farm – Mastercard – Nike – Louis Vuitton – Mountain Dew Game Fuel – Lifetime Achievement in Esports Daigo Umehara – Craig ‘Torbull’ Levine – Richard Lewis – Michael Sepso – Lim ‘Boxer’ Yo-hwan – Johnathan ‘FATAL1TY’ Wendel – Esports Coach of the Year (Winner: Heen) The winner of the Esports Coach of the Year is @Heen1337 of @teamsecret after their incredibly dominant year in DOTA#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/WiItKYvrdJ — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2020 Wilton ‘zews’ Prado – Raymond ‘Rambo’ Lussier – Tobias ‘tow b’ Herberhold – Fabian ‘GrabbZ’ Lohmann – Park ‘Crusty’ Dae-hee – Lee ‘Zefa’ Jae-min – Lee ‘Heen’ Seung-gon – Winner – Robert ‘Chrome’ Gomez – Luo ‘BSYY’ Sheng – Justin ‘Lycan’ Woods – Esports Videographer of the Year (Winner: Logan Dodson) The winner of the Esports Videographer of the Year is @LoganDodson, he claims the award for the second year in a row!#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/Ydl1xzZAkT — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2020 Sean Do – Logan Dodson – Winner – Charles Dalton – Pete Nguyen – Cassidy Sanders – Perra Andersen – Julian Ramirez – Tuomo Vakeva – Esteban Martinez – Caroline Parker-Stark – Esports Photographer of the Year (Winner: Rich Lock) The winner of the Esports Photographer of the Year Award is @richlockphoto#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/0T6yTqzAce — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2020 Rich Lock – Winner – Michal Konkol – Eric Ananmalay – Peter Chau – Logan Dodson – Helena Kristiansson – Kyle Miller – Nuno Miranda – Stephanie Lindgren – Katy Eyre – Chris Ott – Radoslaw Makuch – Esports Analyst of the Year (Winner: Spunj) The winner of the Esports Analyst of the Year is none other than CS:GO’s @spunj #EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/VjyUH8ssqG — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2020 Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill – Winner – Nick ‘LS’ De Cesare – Indiana ‘Froskurinn’ Black – Ioannis ‘Fogged’ Loucas – Anthony ‘Nameless’ Wheeler – Lee ‘Wolf’ Jae-wan – Jacob ‘Pimp’ Winneche – Loviel ‘Velly’ Cardwell – Jonathan ‘Reinforce’ Larsson – Esports Collegiate Award (Winner: Rashad Appleton) The winner of our first ever Esports Collegiate Award is @TyBuuTV, an incredibly passionate and driven individual. Congratulations! pic.twitter.com/I1vo6XxDZL — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 20, 2020 NACE – NUEL – College Carball – Kevin ‘Kebunbun’ Hoang – Tespa – Tyrelle ‘TyBuu’ Appleton – Winner – Maryville University – UC Irvine – Full Sail University – Esports Content Creator of the Year (Winner: UpUpDownDown) The winner of the Esports Content Creator of the Year in association with @EsportsStadium is none other than WWE superstar and gaming extraordinaire @UpUpDwnDwn#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/k9oTcsWKfw — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Ashley Kang – Esports Talk – Musty – Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez – Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag – UpUpDownDown – Winner – Esports Personality of the Year (Winner: Ocelote) The winner of the Esports Personality of the Year presented by @Lexus is @CarlosR founder of @G2esports#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/SCzIKtK9vv — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Carlos ‘Ocelote’ Rodriguez Santiago – Winner – Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez – Matthew ‘Nadeshot’ Haag – Eefje ‘Sjokz’ Depoortere – Benjamin ‘DrLupo’ Lupo – Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok – Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez – Indiana ‘Froskurinn’ Black – Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo – Esports Publisher of the Year (Winner: Riot Games) The winner of the Esports Publisher of the Year in association with @LiveCGI from Esports Supply is @riotgames#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/SF4ttxxZJR — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Riot Games – Winner – Valve – EA – Ubisoft – Epic Games – PUBG Corp – Psyonix – 2K – Supercell – Tencent – Activision Blizzard – Esports Mobile Game of the Year (Winner: Free Fire BR) The winner of the Esports Mobile Game of the Year presented by @Verizon is @FreeFireBR#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/R3dp7v4k1x — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 PUBG Mobile – Clash Royale – Clash of Clans – Free Fire – Winner – CoD Mobile – Arena of Valor – Brawl Stars – Mobile Legends – Esports PC Rookie of the Year (Keria) The winner of the Esports PC Rookie of the Year in association with @MatrixKeyboards is @T1Keria of @T1LoL#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/juATKPTh2P — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won – Ryu ‘Keria’ Min-seok – Winner – Alec ‘Fultz’ Fultz – Mingyi ‘Spica’ Lu – Matthew ‘Wardell’ Yu – Edward ‘Tactical’ Ra – Esports Game of the Year (Winner: League of Legends) The winner of the Esports Game of the Year in association with @thekoyostore is @Leagueoflegends#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/jmrydyexFu — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 League of Legends – Winner – CS:GO – Fortnite – Dota 2 – F1 2019 – Rainbow Six: Siege – Rocket League – Valorant – Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Esports Play of the Year (Winner: XANTARES) The winner of the Esports Play of the Year in association with @RESPAWNProducts is @XANTAREScsgo of @BIGCLANgg#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/TVq9XukTLS — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Ludvig ‘Brollan’ Brolin – Luke ‘Kendrew’ Kendrew – Justin ‘jstn.’ Morales – Ismailcan ‘XANTARES’ Dortkardes – Winner – Troy ‘Canadian’ Jaroslawski – Jacob ‘JKnaps’ Knapman – Gabriel ‘FalleN’ Toledo – Helvijs ‘broky’ Saukants – Mathieu ‘ZyWoo’ Herbaut – Paul ‘Hyper’ Kontopanagiotis – Jason ‘Beaulo’ Doty – G2 Esports (League of Legends) – Esports Coverage Website of the Year (Winner: Esports Observer) The winner of the Esports Coverage Website of the Year in association with @Sizzlecreative is @esportsobserved#Esportsawards pic.twitter.com/utYqDOPYY2 — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 ESPN – Dexerto – Esports Observer – Winner – Liquipedia – HLTV – The Score Esports – Inven Global – Esports Insider – Esports Console Player of the Year (Winner: Shotzzy) The winner of the Esports Console Player of the Year Award in partnership with @ScufGaming is @Shotzzy of @Dallasempire he takes home his second award of the night!#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/dMm04XElrh — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 James ‘Clayster’ Eubanks – Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro – Winner – Donovan ‘Tekkz’ Hunt – Ian ‘Crimsix’ Porter – Caden ‘Sypical’ Pellegrin – Jacob ‘JKnaps’ Knapman – Victor ‘Fairy Peak’ Locquet – Mossad ‘Msdossary’ Aldossary – Esports Console Rookie of the Year (Winner: Shotzzy) The winner of the Esports Console Rookie of the Year in partnership with @ScufGaming is @Shotzzy of @DallasEmpire#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/Z5Kz4F79dT — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Anthony ‘Shotzzy’ Cuevas-Castro – Jason ‘Firstkiller’ Corral – Henrique ‘Zezinho’ Lempke – Indervir ‘iLLeY’ Dhaliwal – Joris ‘Joreuz’ Robben – Joseph ‘Owakening’ Conley – Esports Content Team of the Year (Winner: LEC) The winner of the first ever Esports Content Team of the Year award is @LEC#Esportsawards pic.twitter.com/DFucMNrfu1 — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 100 Thieves – G2 Esports – 1UP Studios – Complexity – NRG – FaZe Clan – Cloud9 – LEC – Winner – EUnited – Esports Journalist of the Year (Winner: Emily Rand) The winner of the Esports Journalist of the Year is @leagueofemily#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/7eNxG51x1g — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Ashley Kang – Jarek ‘DeKay’ Lewis – Richard Lewis – Emily Rand – Winner – Adam Fitch – Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields – Jacob Wolf – Tyler Erzberger – Esports Caster of the Year – Color (Winner: KiXSTAr) The winner of the Esports Colour Caster of the Year is Rainbow 6 Siege’s very own @KiXSTArTV#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/Zw0plIYmBS — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Joe ‘MerK’ De Luca – Indiana ‘Froskurinn’ Black – Andy ‘Vedius’ Day – Nick ‘LS’ De Cesare – Jason ‘moses’ O’Toole – Mohan ‘launders’ Govindasamy – Thomas ‘Chance’ Ashworth – Michael ‘KiXSTAr’ Stockley – Winner – Ioannis ‘Fogged’ Loucas – Henry ‘HenryG’ Greer – Esports Caster of the Year – Play by Play (Winner: CaptainFlowers) The winner of the Esports Play by Play Caster of the Year is League of Legend’s @CaptainFlowers#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/ADBQXNVfdH — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Mitch ‘Uber’ Leslie – Clint ‘Maven’ Evans – Clayton ‘CaptainFlowers’ Raines – Winner – Trevor ‘Quickshot’ Henry – Daniel ‘Drakos’ Drakos – Ibai ‘Ibai’ Llanos – Anders ‘Anders’ Blume – Auguste ‘Semmler’ Massonnat – Owen ‘ODPixel’ Davies – Esports Supporting Agency of the Year (Winner: CSA) The winner of the Esports Supporting Agency of the Year in association with @grindgaminginc is @TheCSA#Esportsawards pic.twitter.com/yeq3MLWHIb — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 ESG Law – Hitmarker Jobs – The Story Mob – Esports Engine – Paper Crowns – Prodigy Agency – Character Select Agency – Winner – Esports Creative Team of the Year (Winner: Paper Crowns) The winner of the Esports Creative/Creative Team of the Year in association with @ebeatzmusic is @papercrowns#Esportsawards pic.twitter.com/F6IyoIhXnR — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Popcorp – AoE Creative – Damian Estrada – Paper Crowns – Winner – Euller Araujo – Hugo Bonnamy – Gregory ‘SesoHQ’ Ortiz – Roma Bib – Visuals by Impulse – Esports Mobile Player of the Year (Winner: Zuxxy) The first ever winner of the Esports Mobile Player of the Year Presented by @Verizon is @bagas_zuxxy#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/r8dySoxYFn — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Peng ‘Fly’ Yunfei – Made Bagas ‘Luxxy’ Prabaswara – Bruno ‘Nobru’ Goes – Naman ‘MortaL’ Sandeep Mathur – Made Bagas ‘Zuxxy’ Pramudita – Winner – Luke ‘iFerg’ Fergie – Frank ‘Surgical Goblin’ Oskam – Esports PC Player of the Year (Winner: Nisha) The winner of the Esports PC Player of the Year is @Nishadota of @Teamsecret#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/UM1ED2T6Wz — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Mathieu ‘ZyWoo’ Herbaut – Zhou ‘Knight’ Ding – Rasmus ‘Caps’ Winther – Kwon ‘Striker’ Nam-joo – Nathaniel ‘Rampy’ Duvall – Lasse Aukusti ‘Matumbaman’ Urpalainen – Michal ‘Nisha’ Jankowski – Winner – Kyle ‘Bugha’ Giersdorf – David Donizza – Jay ‘Sinatraa’ Won – Troy ‘Canadian’ Jaroslawski – Benjy ‘Benjyfishy’ Fish – Esports Organization of the Year (Winner: G2 Esports) The winner of the Esports Organisation of the Year is @G2esports after an incredible year across all of esports there truly could only be one winner! Huge congratulations!#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/eUfNKtg8B1 — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 G2 Esports – NRG – Team Liquid – Envy – Cloud9 – Spacestation – 100 Thieves – TSM – Streamer of the Year (Winner: Ibai) The winner of the Esports Awards Streamer of the Year presented by @Lexus is @IbaiLlanos#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/vvu7foGWHj — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Benjamin ‘DrLupo’ Lupo – Imane ‘Pokimane’ Anys – Tim ‘Timthetatman’ Betar – Nick ‘NICKMERCS’ Kolcheff – Jaryd ‘Summit1g’ Lazar – Alexandre ‘Gaules’ Borba – Felix ‘xQc’ Lengyel – Ibai ‘Ibai’ Llanos – Winner – Jack ‘CouRage’ Dunlop – Naman ‘MortaL’ Sandeep Mathur – ‘Swagg’ – ‘Asmongold’ – Esports Host of the Year (Winner: Sjokz) The winner of the Esports Host of the Year is none other than @Sjokz#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/A0TMFU58mu — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Ana Xisde – Chris ‘Puckett’ Puckett – Eefje ‘Sjokz’ Depoortere – Winner – Alex ‘Machine’ Richardson – Frankie Ward – Lottie Van-Praag – Jorien ‘Sheever’ van der Heijden – Soe ‘Soembie’ Gschwind – James ‘Dash’ Patterson – Alex ‘Goldenboy’ Mendez – Esports Team of the Year (Winner: Team Secret) The winner of the Esports Team of the Year is @teamsecret from DOTA#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/NNjlpxv5AO — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 21, 2020 Top Esports (League of Legends) – Shanghai Dragons (Overwatch) – Team Vitality (CS:GO) – Team Secret (Dota 2) – Winner – DAMWON Gaming (League of Legends) – Dallas Empire (Call of Duty) – G2 Esports (League of Legends) – Spacestation Gaming (Rainbow Six: Siege) – San Francisco Shock (Overwatch) – Spacestation Gaming (Rocket League) –

Esports Awards 2019 results The Esports Awards 2019 kicked off on November 16, 2019 at the Esports Stadium Arlington in Arlington, Texas, and here are the results. Millions of people voted in many categories for their esports winners, and many finalists were back from previous years to try and reclaim their crown. The show made its debut in the United States for the first time, and kicked off its celebrations at 6:15PM PST (8:15PM CST, 2:15PM GMT), where thousands of viewers tuned in across streaming platforms such as Twitch and Mixer to cheer on their favorite esports stars. A total of 27 awards were handed out across categories such as Esports Supporting Agency of the Year, Streamer of the Year, and Esports Journalist of the Year, and we’ve got the roundup below. Esports Cosplayer of the Year The winner of the Esports Cosplay of the Year 2019 is @littlejem4#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/tyyUnMAgN0 — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 LittleJem – 1st place – Maul Cosplay – 2nd place – Polygon Forge – 3rd place – Jessica Nigri – Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi – Kinpatsu Cosplay – Spoon Makes – Yaya Han – Willow Creative – Anaelic – Esports Publisher of the Year The winner of the Esports Publisher of the Year in association with @populous is @riotgames#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/1pbJeE9UPZ — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Riot Games – 1st place – Epic Games – 2nd place – Valve – 3rd place – Activision Blizzard – Ubisoft – PUBG Corporation – Tencent – EA – Capcom – Supercell – Esports Videographer of the Year The winner of the Esports Videographer of the Year in association with @eBeatzMusic is @LoganDodson #EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/bCD0JGW0ae — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Logan Dodson – 1st place – Charles Dalton – 2nd place – Mawcho – 3rd place – Cory Doggett – Johannes Lehner – Robert Rogers – Damian Estrada – Gabriel Ruiz – Sean Do – Max Olivo – Esports Supporting Agency of the Year The winner of the Esports Supporting Agency of the Year is @loadedgg#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/aXGJpJeB7V — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Loaded – 1st place – Evolved Talent Agency – 2nd place – ESG Law – 3rd place – Freaks 4U Gaming – Character Select Agency – Hitmarker Jobs – Code Red Esports – National Association of Collegiate Esports – Esports Play of the Year The winner of the Esports Play of the Year 2019 is @xSexyCake#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/kRi7IMhciL — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 S3xycake – 1st place – Squishy – 2nd place – Caps – 3rd place – Woxic – Dafran – S1mple – Yung – Tjhaly – Dev1ce – Simp – Nisha – Esports Caster of the Year The winner of the Esports Caster of the Year 2019 is @HenryGcsgo#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/5g2tAqP6b0 — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Henry “HenryG” Greer – 1st place – Chris “PapaSmithy” Smith – 2nd place – Jack “CouRage” Dunlop – 3rd place – Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles – Mitch “Uber” Leslie – Clayton “CaptainFlowers” Raines – Kaci Aitchison – Ben “Benson” Bowe – Indiana “Froskurinn” Black – Clint “Maven” Evans – Matt “Mr X” Morello – Matthew “Sadokist” Trivett – Esports Commercial Partner of the Year The winner of the Esports Commercial Partner of the Year in association with @BlinkfireStats is @HyperX#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/WgyHND8khA — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 HyperX – 1st place – Intel – 2nd place – Red Bull – 3rd place – Logitech – DHL – Alienware – AT&T – State Farm – G FUEL – Scuf Gaming – Panel’s Choice Award of the Year The winner of the Panels Choice Award 2019 in association with @touch_of_ginger is @synide. pic.twitter.com/9IsprejiGF — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Ryan Thompson – Esports Console Rookie of the Year The winner of the Esports Console Rookie of the Year 2019 in association with @ScufGaming is @SimpXO#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/jzeXMqcQKj — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Chris “Simp” Lehr – 1st place – Aydan “Aydan” Conrad – 2nd place – Mohammed “Mo Auba” Harkous – 3rd place – Dylan “Dylan” Henderson – Tyler “aBeZy” Pharris – Kyle “Scrub Killa” Robertson – Dylan “Envoy” Hannon – Leonardo “MKLeo” Perez – Gavin “Tweek” Dempsey – McArtuher “Cellium” Jovel – Esports PC Rookie of the Year The winner of the Esports PC Rookie of the Year 2019 is @bugha #EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/a8TluUC1zH — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf – 1st place – Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut – 2nd place – Emil “Nyhrox” Bergquist Pedersen – 3rd place – Danila “dan” Dontsov – Jere “sergej” Salo – Jeong “Nenne” Yeon-kwan – David “aqua” Wang – Tim “Nemesis” Lipovšek – Esports Journalist of the Year The winner of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2019 is @RLewisReports#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/wkMfERI8Yz — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Richard Lewis – 1st place – Ashley Kang – 2nd place – Antonio “Inyustificado” Yuste – 3rd place – Jacob Wolf – Tyler “FionnOnFire” Erzberger – Duncan “Thooorin” Shields – Jared “DeKay” Lewis – Emily Rand – Dustin Steiner – Kevin Aiello – Esports Hardware Provider of the Year The winner of the Esports Hardware Provider of the Year is @intel#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/BJcQgcycdW — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Intel – 1st place – Nvidia – 2nd place – HyperX – 3rd place – AMD – Logitech – ASTRO Gaming – Scuf Gaming – Republic of Gamers – Secretlab – Micro-Star International – Razer – Alienware – Esports Coach of the Year The winner of the Esports Coach of the Year in association with @MaikaiCph is @zonic#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/pTA4tG92y0 — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Danny “zonic” Sørensen – 1st place – Kim “kkOma” Jeong-gyun – 2nd place – James Crowder – 3rd place – Titouan “Sockshka” Merloz – Brice “Faccento” Faccento – Park “Crusty” Dae-hee – Eric “adreN” Hoag – Mike “Packing10” Szklanny – Nicholas “Ashes” Ridgeway – Rémy “XTQZZZ” Quoniam – Fabian “GrabbZ” Lohmann – Esports Game of the Year The winner of the Esports Game of the Year 2019 in association with @thekoyostore is @LeagueOfLegends #EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/G00SJ284D2 — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 League of Legends – 1st place – Counter-Strike: Global Offensive – 2nd place – Rainbow Six Siege – 3rd place – Fortnite – Overwatch – PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds – Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 – DOTA 2 – Rocket League – Street Fighter V – Esports Personality of the Year The winner of Esports Personality of the Year 2019 in association with @visit_arlington is @Nadeshot #EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/PWyzVH5pKu — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag – 1st place – Jack “CouRage” Dunlop – 2nd place – Tyler “Ninja” Blevins – 3rd place – Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez – Benjamin “DrLupo” Lupo – Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere – Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo – Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez – Steve Arhancet – Carlos “ocelote” Rodríguez Santiago – Esports Coverage Website of the Year The winner of the Esports Coverage Website of the Year 2019 in association with @sizzlecreative is @Dexerto#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/fDcviugTzi — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Dexerto – 1st place – ESPN Esports – 2nd place – Liquipedia – 3rd place – VP Esports – GosuGamers – Dot Esports – Inven Global – theScore esports – The Esports Observer – HLTV – Esports Team of the Year The winner of the Esports Team of the Year in association with @secretlabchairs is @G2esports#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/5ldBhpmkAz — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 G2 Esports [LoL] – 1st place – Astralis [CS:GO] – 2nd place – San Francisco Shock [OWL] – 3rd place – SK Telecom T1 [LoL] – Vancouver Titans [OWL] – Renault Vitality [RL] – 100 Thieves [CoD] – G2 Esports [RB6] – Team Liquid [CS:GO] – Fun Plus PhoeniX [LoL] – OG [Dota 2] – EUnited [CoD] – Content Creator of the Year The winner of the Esports Content Creator of the Year 2019 in association with @esportsstadium is @MiniLaddd! #EsportsAwards https://t.co/fuj7npTQ8C — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Craig “Mini Ladd” Thompson – 1st place – Jack “CouRage” Dunlop – 2nd place – Brian Michael “Terroriser” Hanby – 3rd place – Jared “SunlessKhan” Zook – Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag – Jason “Jev” Eugene – Duncan “Thooorin” Shields – Travis Gafford – UpUpDownDown – Lannan “Lazarbeam” Eacott – Alastair “Ali-A” Aiken – Esports PC Player of the Year The winner of the Esports PC Player of the Year 2019 is @bugha#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/yr7ZHLYOBi — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf – 1st place – Luka “Perkz” Perković – 2nd place – Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev – 3rd place – Johan “N0tail” Sundstein – Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz – Niclas “Pengu” Mouritzen – Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng – Jay “sinatraa” Won – Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen – Russel David “Twistzz” Van Dulken – Matthew “Super” DeLisi – Rasmus “Caps” Winther – Esports Console Player of the Year The winner of the Esports Console Player of the Year 2019 in association with @ScufGaming is @SonicFox5000#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/LB0Wteq8Jx — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Dominique “SonicFox” McLean – 1st place – Alexandre “Kaydop” Courant – 2nd place – Chris “Simp” Lehr – 3rd place – Justin “jstn” Morales – Sam “Octane” Larew – James “Clayster” Eubanks – Gilbert “Xplosive” Rojo – Juan “Hungrybox” DeBiedma – Brandon “Dashy” O’tell – Mohammed “Mo Auba” Harkous – Leonardo “MKLeo” Perez – Kenny “Kenny” Williams – Esports Host of the Year The winner of the Esports Host of the Year 2019 is @GoldenboyFTW#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/V54eCNlVd0 — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Alex “Goldenboy” Mendez – 1st place – Eefje “Sjokz” Depoortere – 2nd place – Nyvi Estephan – 3rd place – James “Dash” Patterson – Alex “Machine” Richardson – Tres “stunna” Saranthus – Paul “Redeye” Chaloner – Katie Bedford – Frankie “getfrank” Ward – Chris “Puckett” Puckett – Streamer of the Year The winner of Streamer of the Year 2019 in association with @visit_arlington is @drdisrespect#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/3fe5uKohYs — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Dr Disrespect – 1st place – Jack “CouRage” Dunlop – 2nd place – Alan “alanzoka” Ferreira – 3rd place – Nick “NICKMERCS” Kolcheff – Corentin “Gotaga” Houssein – Michael “Shroud” Grzesiek – Tyler “Ninja” Blevins – Turner “Tfue” Tenney – Timothy John “TimTheTatman” Betar – Imane “Pokimane” Anys – Esports Organization of the Year The winner of the Esports Organisation of the Year 2019 is @TeamLiquid#EsportsAwards pic.twitter.com/mvLZrpkYAI — Esports Awards (@esportsawards) November 17, 2019 Team Liquid – 1st place – G2 Esports – 2nd place – 100 Thieves – 3rd place – Cloud9 – Team Vitality – Fnatic – NRG Esports – EUnited –

ESP and Richard Lewis Announce ‘WSOE’ Multi-Genre Esports Tournament with ‘Fight Card’ Style Matches A new multi-genre esports tournament ‘World Showdown of Esports’ (WSOE) has been unveiled by ESP Gaming, and journalist and former ELEAGUE host Richard Lewis will have a central role. The WSOE hopes to be unique in offering “fight card-style matches that showcase the best games, players and teams across the globe”, starting with a PlayerUnkown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) tournament. A plush venue will host the inaugural tournament on July 14 – 15, in the PokerGO Studio at the ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Players from OpTic Gaming, Team Envy, Vitality, FaZe Clan and more will all be in attendance – with $100,000 in prize money on offer. Richard Lewis, a well-known figure in the esports world for over a decade has been appointed Director of Talent, and will “oversee the on-air personalities for WSOE streaming and live events.” The twist with these events, which plan to host other esports titles in the future, is the ‘fight card-style” structure, which ESP says in the press release has been inspired by boxing and martial arts events. “The WSOE focuses on the drama and spectacle of head-to-head competition between the world’s best players from a variety of genres and games across mobile, PC and console. Taking its inspiration from boxing and mixed martial arts, the WSOE will crown champions in several competitive divisions. Uniquely in the world of esports, and unlike round-robin or bracket-style esports competitions, the WSOE’s “fight card” style presentations will feature compelling matchups of champions and challengers going head-to-head in every event. Also featuring innovative prizing and production elements designed to reward aggressive gameplay and foster rivalries, the WSOE’s bouts will offer fans the most entertaining broadcasts in competitive gaming.” Announcing the first live event presented by the WSOE and @auzom_gg: The @PUBG Pan-Continental: a $100,000 invitational featuring 16 of the world’s best teams battling it out over 2 full days of competition! For details, keep an eye on https://t.co/gYdSptWvkp! #WSOE #PUBGPC pic.twitter.com/n91DstpCJW — WSOE (@WSOE) July 10, 2018 Lewis, who previously worked as on screen talent at CS:GO and Tekken tournaments during his time with Turner Sports and ELEAGUE, is challenged by few in terms of experience in the esports space. “With the WSOE, we’re completely flipping the script on the traditional esports tournament format in a way that has never been done in competitive gaming.” The WSOE’s unique format allows us to create the matches that competitors and fans want to see and that the competitors want to engage in. We look forward to re-imagining and growing the sport of competitive gaming and crowning our first WSOE Champion this fall.” The PUBG Pan-Continental, Presented by Auzom and the WSOE, will be broadcast live on www.twitch.tv/wsoe from July 14-15, where 16 teams of four players will compete for $100,000 in cash prizes. Invited teams include top players from the Auzom Premier League and other world-class PUBG organizations.

Esports arena operators Allied Esports lose $3m in second quarter of 2021 Allied EsportsAllied Esports Entertainment have revealed their financial performance for the second quarter of 2021, up to June 30, including a $3m loss. Describing themselves as an esports entertainment company, Allied Esports own and operate the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas and portable arenas known as Allied Esports Trucks in both Europe and North America. With the global health situation producing lockdowns in many places around the world, it’s been difficult for gamers to congregate at arenas to compete with, and against, their friends. Allied Esports have struggled to generate substantial revenue despite the easing of restrictions in North America, making only $0.8m in the second quarter of 2021. This is a 33% increase over the second quarter in the previous year. The loss for continuing their operations for the quarter amounted to $4.3m, with a rounded loss of $3m when adjusting for earnings before interest taxes, depreciation, and amortization (frequently referred to as EBITDA). Allied Esports claim that they produced 81 events, 43 of which were third-party online and in-person productions, but are exploring a possible sale of the company “in order to maximize shareholder value.” They’re working with Lake Street Capital Markets to scope out potential buyers. The company sold World Poker Tour, a previous business arm of the parent company outside of esports, for a total of $105m in July. They claim there’s “significant interest” in their esports business arm from consumers but there has been “no potential or particular buyer” identified at the time of publication. Thank you for 13 million live views and 7 million unique views! Here’s to many more! (You can start by checking out https://t.co/fgovejnFWq). 😉 pic.twitter.com/3vh25ltpFq — Allied Esports – $AGAE (@AlliedEsports) August 13, 2021 “Overall, I am pleased with the steady progress of our Esports business as demonstrated by the 65% quarter over quarter growth in revenue,” said CEO Libing Wu. “This growth was driven by the gradual recovery of the In-person pillar of our Esports business, as we slowly emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic and continue to benefit from the easing of mandated restrictions on live events and social gatherings.”

ESL & FACEIT sold in shock $1.5 billion Saudi takeover ESLESL has reportedly sold for $1 billion to Savvy Gaming Group (SGG), a firm funded by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund (PIF). Aside from ESL, the group also purchased the FACEIT platform for $500 million, sources close to the deal confirmed to Dexerto. The sovereign fund from Saudi Arabia is set to acquire one of the most recognizable tournament organizers in esports from The Modern Times Group, first reported by Handelsblatt then SBJ. ESL is known for ESL One events in CSGO and Dota 2, as well as the ESL Pro Tour and the Intel Extreme Masters tourney series. The deal was first reported on January 24, 2022, and is set to be finalized in Q2 2022. PIF also purchased FACEIT, the London-based esports platform, for $500 million. The competitive gaming service hosts community-driven events for CS:GO, Dota2, League of Legends, and more. The company partnered with Valve in 2018 to put on the $1 million FACEIT London Major. It was the United Kingdom’s first Major and played host to the likes of Astralis, Natus Vincere (NAVI), Team Liquid, and more. The deal marks another landmark acquisition for Public Investment Fund’s (PIF) after buying Premier League football club Newcastle United in December 2021. Savvy acquisitions merge into ESL FACEIT Group At the onset of SGG’s newest acquisitions, ESL and FACEIT announced they would merge into one entity: ESL FACEIT Group. The idea is to give teams, players, and publishers “a consistent journey that could take them from casual competitions to arena events on one platform,” the company said. Brands like FACEIT, DreamHack, ESL, ESEA, and Badlion are expected to continue separate operations that span from casual online events to major esports tournaments. SGG is fully owned by PIF and will manage ESL FACEIT to create “a world-class esports ecosystem… to accelerate [development] of an unrivaled experience for players and fans.” CSGO reacts to ESL FACEIT purchase Esports fans from CSGO and other prominent titles expressed concerns with the SGG’s acquisition and merger of ESL and FACEIT. The Saudi-funded purchase has divided opinions on the $1.5 billion deal that’s going to reshape leading esports tournament organizers. “So ESL, FaceIt and Dreamhack are all one company now?” asked esports host and caster Goldenboy. “That seems weird… right?” So ESL, FaceIt, and Dreamhack are all one company now? That seems weird… right? — Goldenboy 🇵🇷 (@GoldenboyFTW) January 24, 2022 “I’m interested in the possibilities of the FACEIT/ESL merger for what it can bring to the gaming space,” Rainbow 6 caster CaliberJacob tweeted. “But if that advancement means esports then starts regressing LGBTQ+ inclusivity because Saudi values don’t line up with Western ones, then it’s absolutely not worth it.” I’m interested in the possibilities of the FACEIT/ESL merger for what it can bring to the gaming space. But if that advancement means esports then starts regressing in LGBTQ+ inclusivity because Saudi values don’t line up with Western ones, then it’s absolutely not worth it. — Jacob (@CaliberJacob) January 24, 2022 Whether it’s the heavy ties to money from Saudi Arabia or that major esport entities are now under one roof, fan trepidation spans everything from questions on inclusion to anti-trust concerns. After being acquired, ESL FACEIT Group are now planning the next phases of its development with upcoming tourneys like IEM Katowice and DreamHack events.

ESL tight-lipped on controversial 1xBet partnership as deal is extended ESLEsports tournament organizer ESL has deflected questions about its partnership with betting company 1xBet, which has been declared bankrupt by a court in Curaçao. In March 2021, ESL unveiled 1xBet as the “first-ever exclusive global betting partner” of the ESL Pro Tour in CS:GO and ESL One Summer and Winter in Dota 2. According to the tournament organizer, the partnership included a range of custom segments in CS:GO and Dota 2 broadcasts, including “data driven player impact cards, match predictions, and custom maps.” The announcement of the global partnership was met with widespread indignation and criticism due to the reputation of the Russian-founded betting platform, which is headquartered in Cyprus and has a license issued in Curaçao, a Caribbean island tax haven. In 2019, a Sunday Times investigation into 1xBet’s global activities had revealed that the platform promoted a “pornhub casino” with topless couriers, took bets on children’s sports and cockfighting, and advertised on websites that streamed Premier League matches illegally. In a comment to Esports News UK in 2021, ESL said that it was “aware of allegations made against one of our partners”, and vowed to investigate the matter. “Integrity is a number one priority for ESL,” the company reiterated at the time. But almost 18 months have passed, and ESL is yet to reveal the results of the investigation. The deal was due to run “throughout the entirety of 2021 and up to IEM Katowice 2022”, an event that ended in February. But 1xBet’s logo continues to be displayed on the broadcast of ESL’s top CS:GO and Dota 2 competitions and on the company’s official website. The partnership has been extended, ESL confirmed to Dexerto, but it’s unclear why there has been no announcement to that effect. But ESL is not the only esports company with which 1xBet is partnered. It sponsors a number of esports organizations, including OG, Team Spirit and MIBR, as well as HLTV.org’s CS:GO world rankings. In March 2021, WePlay, a Ukrainian tournament organizer, also landed in hot water after agreeing to a “long-term partnership” with 1xBet. “WePlay Esports and 1xBet: partnership of leaders” was how the Ukrainian company described the deal, which included “all WePlay Esports tournaments over 2021”, starting with the WePlay Ultimate Fighting League (WUFL), a multi-game league featuring Mortal Kombat 11, Soulcalibur VI, and Tekken 7. The announcement led to fierce criticism from the fighting game community. Weeks after the conclusion of the first season of the WUFL, which ran between March 25 and April 11, 2021, developers NetherRealm (Mortal Kombat) and Bandai Namco (Tekken and Soul Calibur) issued similar statements to announce that they would no longer be working with WePlay due to a difference in vision. Contacted by Dexerto, WePlay alluded to a February 26 statement announcing that the company had “terminated all partnership agreements with companies from Russia” following the invasion of Ukraine. WePlay also stated that WUFL Season 1 was the “last project” it collaborated on with 1xBet. “After that, we didn’t have any joint projects or integrations within our products,” WePlay said. 1xBet bankrupt At the end of 2021, a court in Curaçao declared 1xBet’s parent company, 1X Corp N.V., bankrupt for failing to return funds to customers. This followed a class action lawsuit filed in August 2021 by the Foundation for the Protection of Victims of Online Gambling (SBGOK), which collects and investigates claims against online casinos with a Curaçao license. On May 6, the Curaçao Court of Justice upheld an appeal from SBGOK against a decision from a Court of First Instance to dismiss the bankruptcy claim against 1X Corp. Court documents show that the group of players represented by SBGOK claim that they are owed almost 1.65 million Netherlands Antillean Guilders, the equivalent of $920,000 USD. According to the Curaçao Chronicle, one of the players is an Israeli gambler who is allegedly owed $255,000 by 1xBet. As part of the bankruptcy proceedings, Arend de Winter, a lawyer in Curaçao, was appointed as a trustee by the court to wind up the company. He told independent magazine Josimar that he contacted Curaçao eGaming requesting that 1X Corp’s licence be canceled. “As the only valid representative of 1X Corp, I am saying to cancel their licence but [Curaçao eGaming] are saying it will cause a lot of damage,” Mr. de Winter said. Despite the court ruling, 1xBet continues to offer its services in multiple countries around the world. On August 1, it signed a three-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain to become the French football club’s regional partner in Africa and Asia before expanding to other regions from next season onwards. This is despite the fact that 1xBet cannot operate in France. “This is an illegal site in France and has resulted in a large number of blocking orders,” a member of ANJ, France’s national gambling authority, is quoted by L’Equipe as saying. France is one of several countries where access to 1xBet is restricted. The list also includes the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, Poland, and the Netherlands, among others. In the UK, 1xBet blocked access to its website following the Sunday Times investigation. Premier League clubs Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham all ended sponsorship deals with 1xBet, with the UK Gambling Commission warning them that promoting the betting company could be a breach of UK law and that they risked severe fines and up to 51 weeks’ imprisonment. The Gambling Commission also slapped FSB Technology, with which 1xBet had a white label agreement, with a £600,000 ($697,000 USD) fine for “advertising, money laundering and social responsibility failings”. According to The Sports Integrity Initiative, 1xBet was founded by Russian businessmen Roman Semiokhin, Dmitry Kazorin, and Sergey Karshkov. The trio is on the wanted list of the Investigative Committee of Russia (SKR), which found 1xBet guilty of generating 63 billion rubles, or over $1 billion USD, in illegal gambling income. They currently reside in Cyprus, where 1xBet’s headquarters are located. ESL’s response The news of 1xBet’s bankruptcy only adds fuel to discussions about ESL, one of the biggest esports companies in the world. Earlier this year, ESL and tournament platform FACEIT were acquired by Savvy Gaming Group, which is backed by the Saudi Arabian government’s Public Investment Fund, in a deal worth $1.5 billion, according to Sports Business Journal. The deal has been the subject of fierce criticism in many quarters for Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. Additionally, ESL has also come under fire for its partnership with the US Air Force, which came into effect in February 2020. Dexerto put a number of questions to ESL. We asked if ESL is aware that 1xBet has been declared bankrupt in Curaçao, and, if so, why the partnership is still in place. We also asked about the conclusions of the alleged investigation launched in 2021 into the claims against the betting company, and why there has been no announcement of the renewal of the partnership. In a brief statement, ESL simply said: “Yes, 1xBet is still our partner, and we continue working together.” Contacted by Dexerto, the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC), of which ESL is an active member, declined to comment.

ESL says IEM Katowice will go on as planned despite Ukraine crisis ESLESL has guaranteed that IEM Katowice’s CS:GO and Starcraft 2 tournaments will go ahead as planned despite calls for the event to be postponed in the wake of Russia’s attack on Ukraine. In a brief statement posted on Twitter, ESL said that it is “closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine”, where gunfire and explosions have been heard in several major cities following an attack launched by Russian troops on February 24. “Our current priority is to support the players, the talent, and the staff who may be affected by it,” ESL said. “The Starcraft 2 and CS:GO tournaments will continue as planned.” We are closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine. Our current priority is to support the players, the talent and the staff who may be affected by it. The SC2 & CSGO tournaments will continue as planned.— Intel® Extreme Masters (@IEM) February 24, 2022 ESL’s statement has been met with some disapproval, with a number of people arguing that the tournaments should be postponed in the wake of the attack. The Starcraft 2 tournament, which will bring the curtain down on ESL Pro Tour 2021/22, began on February 23 and will run through the end of the week, with $500,000 on the line. None of the 36 players in attendance are from Russia or Ukraine. But the CS:GO competition is a completely different story. Among the six teams who remain in the tournament, there are two players from Ukraine and ten from Russia, in addition to one coach from each country. NAVI’s Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev, who is Ukrainian, was shocked by the news of the attack. “Please, please stop, I can’t take it anymore, we all need peace,” he wrote on Twitter, later adding that his city was being shelled. On social media, NAVI, a Kyiv-based organization, said they were “devastated” by the recent developments. “Our main goal right now is to try to stay calm and take care of ourselves, our loved ones, and those who need help,” NAVI said. “We are all together in this. And together we’ll get through it. “It is impossible that during this war we pretend that everything is okay. It is not.” IEM Katowice’s CS:GO tournament, featuring a $1 million prize pool, will resume on February 25 after a four-day break. The matches will be held in front of an audience at the Spodek Arena for the first time since 2019 after the 2020 edition was played behind closed doors and the 2021 tournament was held online.

ESL Parent Company MTG’s Shares Plummet In Value After Huya Joint Venture Collapses Logo Credit: MTG / ESLThe parent company that owns DreamHack and ESL, Swedish tech company MTG, saw their shares drop nearly 20% in value after a joint venture with Chinese live-streaming platform Huya fell through. The move had been in the works since September 2019 when it was agreed in principle that Huya would buy a $30 million stake in Turtle Entertainment (ESL), a move that saw them gain share value in anticipation of access to the Chinese market. Huya received $461.6 million from Chinese mega-corporation Tencent, with the deal also agreeing that Tencent could purchase additional shares to reach 50.1% voting power at a later date. In a statement released on the MTG website they described the deal’s collapse as being down to “differing views between the two parties on allocation of contractual risk and other key commercial terms.” The CEO and President of MTG, Jørgen Madsen Lindemann, added: “We still believe in the logic of this transaction and its potential for both MTG, HUYA, and for the esport industry globally. However, both parties see a mutual termination of the negotiations as the only way forward for now given the status of the negotiations at this stage.” “With that said, expansion into the important Chinese esport market continues to be a priority for MTG and we are looking forward to seize opportunities in the near future.” The press release also stated that the development would have no operational impact on ESL in 2020. The development comes at a time when there has been much debate about the new look ESL Pro League for Counter-Strike and the commitments required from prospective partners in that league. A meeting is due to take place between teams and ESL between the 22nd-24th January in order to finalize some of the details of the agreement between all parties.

ESL locks up big name from WWE and MLB for new executive position Frank Uddo has been named the Senior Vice President (SVP) of Global Media for ESL. A new position at ESL, the SVP of Global Media will be in charge of the companies media rights deals and will manage partnerships with media and streaming platforms. Before being hired by ESL, Uddo worked as the SVP of International Content Media Distribution for the WWE and as VP of International Broadcast Sales and Marketing for the MLB. In both roles, he achieved significant media revenue growth and ESL will be hoping he does the same for them. “Frank has an impressive background in both traditional sports and media rights distribution, and will be able to use this knowledge to reach and serve our fans as well as for monetization,” said David Neichel, Co-Chief Executive Officer, ESL in a press release. “As the industry continues to further professionalize, media partnerships are becoming a crucial brick of the ecosystem. We want to meld the best from the world of traditional sports while further developing what makes esports so special and engaging for our huge and fast-growing global audience.” This hire is the latest in a trend of esports poaching executive level talent from traditional sports. Blizzard especially has targeted traditional sports executives while expanding its departments focused solely on esports. Not all traditional sports executives are cut out for esports, but in dealing with things like media licenses, esports will do well having the best talent available from its established physical counterparts.

ESL enters Israeli market with new TV broadcasting deal Gaming Channel/ESL/Viola SchuldnerTournament operator and production company ESL have extended their reach by entering the Israeli market through a new broadcast deal that will see select tournaments broadcast on television in Hebrew. ESL have one of the more extensive reaches in the esports industry through dozens of broadcast and media rights deals, and their latest agreement will see them reach national television in Israel. Starting in July 2021 with IEM Cologne, The Gaming Channel are now broadcasting events from the ESL Counter-Strike Pro Tour for the remainder of the 2021 season. More specifically, the deal covers Season 14 of ESL CS:GO Pro League, IEM Fall, and ESL National Championships Global Playoffs, ESL Mobile: PUBG Mobile EU, and ESL Mobile: Clash of Clans EU. As well as broadcasting the aforementioned events on national linear television, The Gaming Channel have also acquired the rights for digital and VOD broadcasts in their region to “reach even bigger audiences” entirely in Hebrew. Read More: 100 Thieves announce Lexus partnership – ESL hold plenty of broadcast deals to give them a presence in dozens of countries, both digitally and on television. Just earlier in July 2021, they announced a deal with recently revived G4 — a gaming TV network owned by American telecommunications conglomerate Comcast. Say hello to esports on linear. Welcome @ESL to the G4 family! pic.twitter.com/oHlIeRltkR — G4 (@G4TV) July 22, 2021 “Our partnership with ESL is a huge step for esports fans in Israel,” said The Gaming Channel’s general manager, Yoav Sochen. “For the first time ever, Israeli gamers will have the opportunity to enjoy some of the world’s biggest events in Hebrew, on their TV. “The esports scene in Israel is growing fast, and we can’t wait to see how ESL will help shape the next generation of competitive gamers in Israel.”

ESL give final ruling on FaZe Clan match fixing allegations in Rainbow 6 Pro League siege.ggESL have issued their final ruling on the allegations of match fixing between FaZe Clan and Black Dragons in the Rainbow Six Pro League. The world of esports was shocked several weeks ago when prominent esports organization FaZe Clan were accused of fixing a match with Black Dragons in LATAM Pro League Season 9. At the time, Black Dragons analyst Thiago ‘Thyy’ Nycézio reportedly claimed that their player Juninho ‘GdNN1’ Nunes had struck an agreement with FaZe’s Ronaldo ‘ion’ Osawa, a former Black Dragons player, to fix their match on April 10. However, in their June 12 competitive ruling, ESL announced that they had found Black Dragons guilty of unsportsmanlike behavior and providing misleading information. As a result of the ruling, Black Dragons have received two major penalty points in total, one for not being able to show up on schedule, and the other for deliberately causing internet issues that led to them intentionally forfeiting. The two point penalty is massive for Black Dragons, as it results in the team losing 20% of all of the prize money they earned during Season 9. As for FaZe Clan, ESL said that there there had been no “concrete evidence” found to confirm that FaZe or their members had been involved with the apparent match fixing. While the ruling did not definitely clear FaZe of the accusations, it did at least help clear the bad air that had been surrounding the organizations since the initial allegations were made. This will be a big relief for the org, considering that they are still embroiled in a controversial lawsuit with their star Fortnite player Turner ‘Tfue’ Tenney. What happened in the match on April 10? The allegations of match fixing were based on what had occurred during a match between Black Dragons and FaZe Clan on April 10. Constant internet issues and power outages made it impossible for Black Dragons to finish the match, giving their opponents the 7-0 win by default. According to claims made by Nycézio, FaZe would return the favor and forfeit over the match when the two were scheduled to meet again on June 30. Two audio recordings were released in support of these accusations, with more evidence supposedly having been sent directly to Ubisoft, but all of that has now been determined to be inconclusive and even “misleading” by ESL.

Envy owner Hastr0 reveals insane $30k gaming setup YouTube: DEXERTO OriginalsTeam Envy owner Mike ‘Hastr0’ Rufail might have housed teams that have won world championships across all range of games and genres — but he’s also a pretty avid gamer himself, as his insane gaming room setup would suggest. Envy is one of North America’s longest-standing esports organizations, and throughout its journey Hastr0 has consistently pushed the brand to new heights, becoming one of the most successful orgs in the industry. While Hastr0 himself is perhaps one of the busiest men in esports, that doesn’t mean he’s turned away from gaming himself — in fact he built himself an epic gaming room in the Envy headquarters in Frisco, Texas, and it’s truly envy-inducing (get it). Hastr0’s $30k gaming room When Dexerto got a tour of Envy’s massive Frisco headquarters, one of the more jaw-dropping aspects of the entire place was Hastr0’s setup. It features a liquid-cooled Corsair wall, multiple monitors, soundproof padding around the room, world championship rings and cheques, and much more. Timestamp 7.23 While some might think that someone like Hastr0 would struggle to find time to play any games at all, he ensured viewers that he “wouldn’t have made this [room] for just conference calls!” While Hastr0 didn’t get into the nitty-gritty of what exactly went into the room, he did confirm the $30k price tag, and you don’t spend that much without going all-out. Be sure to check out the video embedded above, and more like it, on the Dexerto Originals YouTube channel. While Hastr0 leads one of the biggest esports organizations in the world, we’ve also produced documentaries on OpTic H3CZ and SypherPK, with many more to come.

Epic Games raises over $1 billion in newest financing round After an incredibly successful year with the rising popularity of Fortnite Battle Royale, Epic Games has achieved another large milestone. If it wasn’t enough that Fortnite continues to be one of the biggest games on the planet, Epic Games just received a massive boost from some big-name investors. On October 26, the same day Fortnite’s $2.6 million event at TwitchCon kicks off, it was announced that Epic had received $1.25 billion in financing from a group of investors that includes aXiomatic, the company that just a $25 million investment from NBA legend Michael Jordan. In addition to aXiomatic, Epic received investments from KKR, Iconiq Capital, Smash Ventures, Vulcan Capital, Kleiner Perkins, and Lightspeed Venture Partners. With these names being some of the biggest in the Silicon Valley venture capital investment scene, it’s just yet another sign of Fortnite’s immense growth and potential here in 2018. This latest round of investments is perhaps the biggest sign yet that companies are ready to pay top dollar for esports properties over the next few years. Esports consultant Rod ‘Slasher’ Breslau summed it up perfectly when he said that “the war over competitive video games and esports […] has only begun.” The war over competitive video games and esports between Epic, Activision Blizzard, Valve, Riot Games, and Ubisoft has only begun. Bethesda and Rockstar are next. And Tencent is there smiling in the shadows. — Rod Breslau (@Slasher) October 26, 2018 Speaking of Tencent, Slasher was also quick to remind everyone that Tencent already has a large stake in the esports scene, having invested in multiple companies already. Reminder from @blakeir that Tencent owns stakes in all these esports game developers: Riot (League of Legends): 100% Supercell (Clash Royale): 80% Epic (Fortnite): 48% Bluehole (PUBG): 10% Activision Blizzard (OW, SC, HS, HoTS): 5% Ubisoft (Rainbow6): 5%https://t.co/VpKCJ9W5uN— Rod Breslau (@Slasher) October 26, 2018 With Fortnite’s first competitive season featuring a $100 million prize pool spread across the different Skirmish and upcoming World Cup events, time will tell what the prize pool for Season 2 looks like after these investments. If nothing else, this simply caps off an impressive week for esports after Drake, Michael Jordan, and now the Silicon Valley, have taken the dive with major investments.

Envy Gaming take over management of Esports Stadium Arlington Twitter: Esports Stadium ArlingtonEnvy Gaming — the parent company of Envy, OpTic Gaming, Dallas Fuel, and OpTic Texas — have agreed to acquire the operating contract for the Esports Stadium Arlington in Texas. Esports parent company Envy Gaming have been in growth mode following their $40m investment led by media company Gray Television back in March 2021. From entering new competitive gaming titles to making acquisitions, it’s clear that they’re not slowing down as they kick-off their 2022 season. Now, they’ve added one of the United States’ first and biggest esports venues to their list of responsibilities. They’ve now closed on an agreement with Esports Venues LLC, a group that was previously owned by Texas Rangers and Infinite Esports & Entertainment co-owner Neil Leibman, that will see them take over operations for the venue. Their first act while managing the Esports Stadium Arlington is hosting the inaugural Call of Duty League event in 2022. The CDL Kickoff Classic will take place on January 21-23. In a sense, the stadium has now returned to its original owners. Envy acquired OpTic Gaming in November 2021, and it was Infinite Esports & Entertainment, the former parent company of OpTic, who initially established the venue. When Infinite disbanded, with OpTic changing hands to Immortals Gaming Club, NGAGE Esports went independent and continued to operate the stadium until December 2020 when new management took over. Now Envy Gaming, who own OpTic Gaming, are in control. Esports Stadium Arlington 🤝 Envy DFW’s home for live esports is under new management. pic.twitter.com/Wlegt1fQTX — ENVY (@Envy) January 13, 2022 “Esports Stadium Arlington is without a doubt the best venue in North America right now for any publisher or league considering an esports event with spectators,” said Envy president and COO Geoff Moore. “Keeping Esports Stadium Arlington operating at a high level is a natural extension of what we strive for at Envy Gaming: We want to give all people that love gaming the opportunity to enjoy amazing competitions in a social environment.” “Live events, and the reactions they generate from the players and audiences, create a unique experience for both the attending fans and anyone watching the broadcast. The beauty of Esports Stadium Arlington is that this valuable experience can be created very efficiently.”

Envy CEO slams Forbes esports valuations as “utter garbage” Envy GamingAdam Rymer, Chief Executive Officer of Envy Gaming, has dismissed Forbes’ recent esports company valuations as “utter garbage,” after they named TSM, Cloud9 and Team Liquid as the most valuable orgs in the world. On December 5, Forbes published their list of the ten most valuable esports organizations in the world, offering a total value for each of the ten they listed. Top of the list was Team SoloMid which was listed as being worth a jaw-dropping $410 million. Cloud9 and Team Liquid took the silver and bronze spots, while FaZe Clan, NRG and 100 Thieves also made the list. However, as is fairly common with Forbes’ valuations, industry insiders have come out to criticize the list, none more notable than Envy Gaming CEO Adam Rymer. The most valuable esports orgs in 2020, according to Forbes 💰 pic.twitter.com/a21cnSShCZ — Dexerto (@Dexerto) December 5, 2020 Rymer took over as CEO of Envy in summer 2020, taking the reigns from Mike Rufail. Envy Gaming is the parent company of Team Envy, the CDL’s Dallas Empire and the Overwatch League’s Dallas Fuel. On his LinkedIn, Rymer said: “This Forbes analysis is utter garbage. To be clear, this is not a criticism of the organizations included/mentioned all of whom deserve to be there. I have friends at all of them and have a great respect for what they are doing across the board, but in full transparency, this is a complete “drive-by”, cursory analysis which has led me to question the entire valuation/editorial capability of Forbes.” Rymer went on to explain that since Forbes’ last valuation (in which Envy were ranked number 8), Envy has massively expanded, added Post Malone to their ownership group and won the inaugural CDL Championships. Regardless, they missed out on a top 10 spot. On December 7, he added more context to his post by explaining that Envy provided Forbes with requested information but refused to continue to work with them when they “learned of their changed methodology for this year’s list.” “None of this was apparently relevant to this study to even be mentioned,” Rymer finished. “Based on the companies mentioned, one would think it was purely based on which organizations would give them the biggest article reach (which, to be fair, is certainly a contributor to value). In my honest opinion, this list has become a disservice to the entire industry.” Rymer’s criticism is fairly scathing, and there are certainly some questions to address over the reasons behind Envy Gaming’s absence from the list.

Envy Gaming fully rebrands to OpTic Gaming Envy Gaming is no more, as OpTic Gaming officially becomes the organization’s brand name moving forward OpTic Gaming owner Hector “Hecz” Rodrigues announced on a podcast with Chief Gaming Officer Mike “Hastr0” Rufail that the Envy Gaming name is now being absorbed into OpTic Gaming. Envy Gaming and OpTic Gaming merged in November 2021 and created the Call of Duty team OpTic Texas. Based out of Dallas, Envy was originally founded as a professional Call of Duty team in 2007. Creating teams for titles including Rocket League, Counter-Strike, Gears of War, Halo, League of Legends, and Valorant, Envy established itself as one of the largest global esports organizations. After years of success, Rufail believes that it is time to “put Envy to the side for now” and put all of the organization’s resources into OpTic. Envy Gaming retires its name and logo Rufail announced that it was his decision to “sunset” the Envy name and logo. All Envy teams besides its Overwatch team, the Dallas Fuel, will rebrand their logo and name to OpTic Gaming. Envy’s Rocket League team will adopt the OpTic name, and Super Smash Bros. Melee player Justin “Wizzrobe” Hallett is now OpTic Wizzrobe. Behind the decision to keep the Dallas Fuel branding, Rufail said that the Dallas Fuel brand was “engrained in the Overwatch community.” The Chief Gaming Officer said, “when we merged our companies together we had this thought of taking both of our brands and do things with them and continue to do the same things we have always done but continue to grow them.” Rufail did not rule out the potential of doing something with the Envy brand in the future, but he believes that this is the right move to help the organization “survive” and eliminate any confusion for potential investors or sponsors. The Chief Gaming Officer stated, “we still own the brand and could still potentially do something in the future if we want to but it just made so much more sense to me to put all of our resources into OpTic because that’s where we are really going to grow our business and that’s a fact.” Rufail thanked Envy fans on Twitter for their support over the years. So, I am proud and elated for what @Envy will rest as. It is legendary and solidified in the esports history books and nothing can change that. Now, I’m going to lay these bricks every day for you and I hope you all guide me on the way. Let’s get after it @OpTic. #GreenWall baby. — Mike Rufail (@hastr0) June 27, 2022 Hastro teases new OpTic Rocket League skins and potential CSGO return Hecz and Rufail are not able to confirm any details yet, but Rufail hinted at OpTic Rocket league skins coming to the game. Rufail said, “Those OpTic cars look fire too. The cars are going to be in the game and they look sick.” Envy acquired a CSGO team in 2015 and the organization had a memorable run until disbanding in 2021. OpTic shortly had a CSGO team, but it broke up abruptly in 2019. The Chief gaming officer hinted at a potential return to CSGO saying, “Taking the Optic brand into new territory is something we are looking at and maybe potentially taking some of these other games like Counterstrike. we both miss it.”

Luminosity owners Enthusiast Gaming file to go public on Nasdaq Enthusiast/LuminosityGaming and esports media company Enthusiast Gaming are looking to attract more American investors by filing to list on the Nasdaq. Enthusiast are already listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange and the OTCQB, an American mid-tier equity market that typically attracts early-stage companies. They filed their registration statement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on April 13 in hopes of making it on the Nasdaq, so they can afford to continue acquiring companies. The company is behind major esports brands such as team brand Luminosity Gaming, Call of Duty franchise Seattle Surge, and Overwatch franchise Vancouver Titans. They’re much more widespread in the larger gaming industry though, having built and acquired over 100 gaming websites and 1,000 YouTube channels since launching in 2014. Enthusiast claim that reach extends to “over 300 million gamers every month” through their various media platforms and “generated 42 billion views” in 2020 across their YouTube channels. Read More: MAD Lions & Toronto Ultra owners raise $40m – Other brands in their portfolio include publications Destructoid, PC Invasion, and Escapist. They’re also well known for EGLX, a gaming expo that combines “esports, music, fashion, and lifestyle.” Enthusiast Gaming are the third esports-related company to express intentions of dual-listing on different national exchanges in 2021. Danish esports organization Astralis and David Beckham-owned Guild Esports are also looking to access investors stateside through OTC financial markets. Enthusiast Gaming is pleased to announce it has filed a Registration Statement on Form 40-F with the SEC. #eglx #engmf #gaming https://t.co/1pPRx2cp5t — Enthusiast Gaming (@WeAreEnthusiast) April 13, 2021 “While we are very much a global company, the US remains our most prominent source of audience and revenue,” said Enthusiast CEO Adrian Montgomery. “Naturally, a US registration is a significant milestone for the Company. We are the largest gaming media platform in North America and believe a NASDAQ listing will allow us to enlarge our shareholder base and accelerate our growth strategy, including our M&A roadmap. This registration statement is a final step towards a NASDAQ listing.”

Envy CEO: How Envy Gaming will expand with $40m investment Envy/Adam RymerNorth American esports organization Envy Gaming made a big announcement in March 2021, unveiling that they had raised $40 million in investment from TV company Gray Television. Typically, at the stage Envy are at, companies can go one of two ways. Following a Series C round, they tend to either prepare to become publicly listed by bolstering all of their current initiatives or they undergo mass growth through acquisitions and developing new business arms. With franchises in Call of Duty League and Overwatch League, and a long legacy in place with the core brand of Envy Gaming, the question of where the company plans to go became very interesting following this investment. I had a bunch of theories of where Envy could go next. With teams like Astralis and Guild having already gone public, and teams like TSM utilizing supplementary businesses to generate revenue, the possibilities seemed endless. Instead of creating what would be essentially fan-fiction through reckless speculation, I thought it’d be best to speak to Envy CEO Adam Rymer to find out what’s actually on the horizon. The next era of Envy This investment doesn’t necessarily mark the beginning of a new phase for Envy, you could build a solid case that they’re already in the middle of growth. Ever since Rymer was brought in as CEO as long-time leader Mike ‘Hastr0’ Rufail stepped down to become chief gaming officer, Envy have made some interesting moves. Read More: Envy Gaming raises $40m investment – “We’re in an exciting phase of esports growth,” Rymer said. “We’re starting to see some companies really emerge as bigger presences across the board in esports, gaming, and lifestyle. This investment gives us a real opportunity to be in that conversation. For us, it’s staying true to who we are as Envy, our history of competing and success, and making sure that if something’s not working on the competitive side we make the changes and address it. We’re still 100% dedicated to that, but that’s what gives us the foundation to really build a bigger engagement platform with our audience.” Falling in line with many other organizations, they’ve since made big strides in the arena of content creation and influence. The organization has signed chess prodigies the Botez sisters, former Call of Duty world champion Tyler ‘TeeP’ Polchow, TikToker Sebas Beron, and Warzone streamer BobbyPoff. They even welcomed music superstar Post Malone as an investor in August 2020. While competition has always been important to Envy, and it remains as such, they’ve realised that there are additional methods of building a brand, engaging existing fans, and acquiring new ones. They’ve been fleshing out this pillar of their business. “We are in a place where fans of esports are fans of a bunch of different teams, players, and streamers,” Rymer said. “We’re trying to work on how Envy ties into that by bringing on more content creators who can support what we’re doing on the gaming side. We have some announcements coming that are related to casual players where Envy can take a bigger role in bringing those audiences together and bringing the gaming audience to a bigger set of brands and areas outside of just the core competitive space. “One of the things that we are in full agreement with Gray is taking some risks and trying something. If it fails, then fail quickly and look at the things that work and go after them in a bigger way. That’s essentially what we’re after now. I don’t think any of us have really considered the next investment phase or any of those strategies just yet, the focus is on what are we doing tomorrow with the resources that we have to grow the business and revenues.” Beyond capital, what can Gray bring to Envy? They’re a legacy broadcast company with roots in traditional forms of media. Envy are a new-age media company, for all intents and purposes, that exists mainly in digital mediums. On the surface, that may be a difficult question to answer. “They have a different set of skills than we do from an audience development perspective, but there are also areas where there’s a lot of great overlap,” he explained. “They are a local broadcaster and there is a lot of local sponsorship and advertising deals there. We’re looking forward to working together with them on monetizing locally in an amazing way. They also have phenomenal production capabilities. “You can probably identify a whole lot of things that would make watching any of these games a lot more exciting and fun and interactive and participatory, especially for non-endemic audiences. How do you make Call of Duty exciting for someone who’s never played it before? How do you make Overwatch exciting? We’re hoping that we can work together on figuring some of those things out but we’re not forcing anything to happen together with them right now.” Gathering data and making acquisitions While the core pillars for many esports organizations include competition, content, and merchandise, Envy, Team Liquid, and Cloud9 have started building out another pillar that may soon be standard across the industry. Fan engagement initiatives such as Liquid+ and EnvyUS hope to reward avid supporters with unique perks in exchange for a small subscription fee. As well as making these fans feel truly part of a community, it helps the orgs to better understand their interests, demographics, and much more. This, in theory, can help to inform future decisions with success being less of a gamble. “It is an extremely important part of the future of our business,” Rymer told me. “Knowing who our fans are, especially when they are distributed across multiple social channels, is a critical piece of how an organization stays relevant in the future. One of the things I strongly believe in is ‘don’t forsake perfect for the sake of the good.’ So, for me, it was just getting something out there, start learning, start talking to the people who sign up, and start figuring out how we can be better at it. “So far that’s been working great. We’ve been iterating and we’ve got a roadmap now of how to make that a much more engaging, exciting, and integrated opportunity that goes across all of our brands, our creators, and especially our live events. When live events start to come back is when you’ll start to see those kinds of membership programs become a lot more useful because we’re ready to offer some really nice features and benefits to members.” It’s easy to see these initiatives as a play to monetize fans, but it runs deeper. When a user signs up, they have to give some basic information — information that can be crucial in understanding demographics and how best to serve those who truly support you. Envy are making a play to establish themselves as synonymous with esports in Texas but that doesn’t mean they’re neglecting to get to know their international fans. “It’s not getting data for the sake of data,” he answered. “It’s all about value exchange. My goal is to recognize that, unlike other sports, our fans are all interacting with us digitally. So if I’m not figuring out how to get to know them where they are then I’m just sitting there passively, waiting for somebody to tap me on the shoulder and say ‘Notice me and do something for me.’ “If I send you an email about every single thing my teams are doing, you’re going to zone out extremely quickly. But if you tell me that you’re a huge fan of the Dallas Empire and that’s it, I’ll make sure that that’s what you’re seeing. There might be ways for you to get involved in other aspects of the org, but I’m not going to force you to do that.” In search of avenues of esports that can actually generate profit — it’s not so easy making that happen strictly from competition — organizations such as FaZe Clan and 100 Thieves are focusing intently on personality-based content and selling merchandise. Read More: 100 Thieves launch NFTs – Hastr0, a competitor in Call of Duty himself many years ago, made his stance on this approach known on Twitter in January 2021 by throwing some side-eye at these so-called “hoodie selling orgs.” The past few months of Envy’s development suggests they too see the benefits in investing in revenue streams outside of competing, so I reminded Rymer of this situation and asked whether his org can now be considered a ‘hoodie org.’ “Of course, why not want to be everything? If you look at what’s happened over the last year we’ve really started to expand our content business and the creators that we’re working with,” he said. “I think 100 Thieves is onto something and has done a phenomenal job with being able to engage and activate their fan base. “If you’re an esports org, you have to be in esports. And if you’re going to be in esports, you have to be in the areas that people are excited about. We’ll all have our unique spins on what our brand means and what it represents and what offerings we have for our fans. Look, it’s all in jest and now is not the time for anyone to be criticizing another org’s business model. There’s so much room to continue to grow and find new opportunities. If anything, I’m looking forward to ways that we can work together.” Acquisitions aren’t uncommon once a company has closed their Series C round, so naturally I thought about all of the potential avenues Envy could go down in this regard. Could they establish a talent management arm like TSM, perhaps they want more franchise slots, or is now the time to get into software and infrastructure? Envy famously missed out on securing one of the 10 long-term partnership slots in Riot Games’ North American competition, the LCS, and it’s rumored that more slots will be up for grabs in the coming years, so is a re-application possible? Rymer discussed all of these potential moves. Read More: Schalke 04 considering selling LEC slot – “When we look to invest in something, one of our big avenues is how can Envy help grow that business,” he said. “I’m not looking to be a venture capitalist and just say ‘Hey, there’s an awesome thing out there that I can make a billion dollars on.’ We’re looking for things that can help the development of esports as a whole and what you’ll find is most of the things that we’re interested in investing in, I would love nothing more than to have other organizations invest in the same thing. How can I help develop companies that are supporting what all the organizations are trying to do? “We’re lucky because we’re in a position where we see a lot of these opportunities. All things are on the table but it’s whether we can accelerate the growth and incubate something in a way that a traditional Silicon Valley venture capitalist couldn’t. We look at the data, we look at the audience size, we look at our local audience and try to understand if people in Texas going to be excited about watching this and being part of it. It’s not just about clout for us. We’re going to keep watching what the cost is of being in those leagues, how player salaries and audiences are increasing, and what the likelihood is of actually succeeding within those leagues. It’s an area that we are definitely interested in.” Looking ahead In 2019, Envy was valued at $170m according to Forbes. In 2020, they didn’t make the list despite the 10th-ranked organization being valued at $150m. That suggests the organization has dropped off massively — or that they didn’t want to play ball with the publication and are happy to keep working without the hype that that list often generates. Read More: TikTok dominates Forbes 30 under 30 list – “We believe in having our actions speak for us in this regard,” Rymer said of’s Envy’s exclusion from last year’s list. “Raising the money from Gray — who is a sophisticated investor and was able to look under the hood and see some of the things that we’re working on — implies that there are some things that are happening coming down the pipe which have real meaningful asset value attached. We’re a little unique. “Not every team can say that they’ve got as core of a location-based strategy as we do. We’re very focused in Texas. There are different gaming platforms, different esports organizations, different games and publishers and monetization strategies. Who’s right? Who’s wrong? I don’t know for sure. We’ll see what happens over the next couple of years but we feel good about where we are and we feel good about who we’re competing against. To be able to continuously go up against some of these other guys on a regular basis is what’s going to create fandom for esports in a way that hasn’t really existed as strongly before.” Envy are intent on forging a new path for themselves, forgoing being just a trophy-hunting organization and more a fully-fledged media outfit. Their recent signings, and the significant $40m investment, suggests Rymer has plenty up his sleeves for 2021 and beyond.

EliGE and Hungrybox become owners of Team Liquid Team Liquid/ESLTeam Liquid have added five of their players and creators as co-owners of their organization, including long-time Counter-Strike star Jonathan ‘EliGE’ Jablonowski. Stationed in both the Netherlands and the U.S., Team Liquid are a prominent esports organization with top competitors across multiple competitive titles. They’ve now expanded their ownership group with five of their members — ranging from a fighting game pro, to an actor, to a women’s basketball star — in an effort to access more capital and give them real stakes in the org. The leaders at Liquid personally selected the group of members that were allowed to invest and acquire shares in the organization. Those who now own some of the company include CS:GO star EliGE (who joined the org in 2015), Super Smash Bros. Melee player Juan ‘Hungrybox’ Debiedma, WNBA star Aerial Powers, poker player and streamer Alexander “Lex” Veldhuis, and actor and fighting-game-enthusiast Asa Butterfield. There are only a handful of examples of major organizations welcoming their members as co-owners to date. 100 Thieves welcomed creators Rachel ‘Valkyrae’ Hofstetter and Jack ‘CouRage’ Dunlop as co-owners in April 2021, the same month Nicholas ‘Nickmercs’ Kolcheff obtained equity in FaZe Clan. Similarly, Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg obtained ownership in TSM in 2019 (though he recently had to let go of it when he left to join Liquid in November 2021) and longtime T1 star Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok was named a co-owner of the org in February 2020. 💙💙💙 TL!!! It all started with you! Love my fam 💙 https://t.co/MZyRWRac3u — LIQUID | Aerial Powers (@aerial_powers23) December 10, 2021 “There’s a difference between being awarded equity as a form of compensation, to provide alignment to the organization, versus an elective investment of their own capital into the organization that they’re part of,” Team Liquid co-CEO Steve Arhancet told Digiday. “I think it speaks volumes to their own decision-making and degree of confidence.”

eFuse postpones Creator League amid layoffs, community NFT backlash eFuseEsports company eFuse has announced the postponement of the Creator League amid layoffs at the company and fan backlash. eFuse is a software development company in esports that has its hands in news, Esports.gg, esports broadcasting, eRena, and streaming with their ‘Sidekick’ app. The company announced its Creator League on September 2, which was set to feature multiple high-profile creators including IShowSpeed and Bella Poarch, among others. The league was supposed to feature eight creator-managed teams that would compete against each other in a wide range of esports and competitive gaming titles across a 7-month season. The league came under fire after its announcement, however, as its association with cryptocurrency and NFTs came to light. The revelation saw one of the league’s biggest attached creators, CDawgVA, say he is pulling out of the competition as he agreed to join while “not fully understanding the tech behind it.” On September 5, many eFuse employees announced that they were no longer with the company. Now, the league has been postponed, according to an announcement from eFuse. eFuse announces Creator League postponement as company goes through layoffs The company has laid off 30% of its staff, about 30 people, eFuse told Dexerto. The layoffs have hit multiple departments of the business, including their social media and design teams, as well as multiple people involved in running tournaments and production behind the scenes. Some of the company’s collegiate tournament admins for College COD and College Carball, which were acquired by the company in 2021, were also let go. The most high-profile employee part of this round of layoffs is James ‘Ritzy’ Bevins, who was the Director of Social at eFuse. He worked at the company for over four years, according to his LinkedIn profile. “eFuse, the esports software company operating Creator League today announces the project’s postponement, and consequently an organization-wide restructuring after launching Sept 2nd,” a statement provided to Dexerto by eFuse said. The CEO of eFuse, Matthew Benson, said in the statement that the company remains excited about the Creator League. The company also addressed its association with NEAR, a blockchain network, and its connection to cryptocurrency. “Per recent feedback on the creator league launch, the company is also clarifying that the NEAR blockchain is being used to validate data and log information relating to the community passes. All passes are purchased in USD and therefore, no cryptocurrency is being purchased. Additionally, the company states the Creator League community passes are not considered NFTs nor a token launch because they had no transfer utility, which means there is no ability to resell,” the company said. Shawn Pavel, the Vice President of Engineering for eFuse, apologized on behalf of the company for not disclosing their use of the blockchain within the Creator League. “To be clear, the Creator League is not an NFT project and we have never sold tokens,” Pavel said. eFuse also said fans who purchased community passes will still get to participate in an open Fortnite tournament hosted by the company. Updates to the Creator League schedule will come in the following weeks, according to the statement. There are currently serious doubts about eFuse’s viability as a company following these layoffs, but sources have told Dexerto that a large funding round is expected in the near future. Esports has been in a rough spot as an industry, as multiple organizations and companies have folded and investment money from private equity and other sources has dried up.

Edward Gaming’s new $1.5 billion esports industry park in pictures SuperGenLPL organization Edward Gaming and their parent company SuperGen have announced one of the biggest singular investments in esports to date. The construction of the Shanghai International NCC&Esports Center will cost over 10 billion yuan and is expected to be complete in 2023. In the world of esports, the bar for organizations training facilities and headquarters has certainly been raised in recent years. It was only back in April that North American organization Team SoloMid announced their $50 million gaming facility. This remains the largest and most expensive esports center in the entire United States. Since then, other esports organizations have announced huge and ambitious projects, including the LPL’s Edward Gaming who has begun construction on a billion-dollar esports industry park, based in Shanghai. Esports center, pool, and more The esports industry park, which is set to be complete in 2023, will function as Edward Gaming’s headquarters and training facility. However, the plans also incorporate various other features that truly set this apart from other esports construction projects. For example, the park will include a dedicated venue, capable of hosting an on-site audience of 6,000 spectators. This will allow EDG to host their own events and bring fans into the center to watch their favorite team. On top of this, the park will include a 5-star esports-themed hotel and an indoor skydiving venue. Read More: Rogue reveals meaning behind logo redesign – With the project set to be an estimated 500,000 square meters in size, there’s no doubt it’ll be a spectacle to behold when it’s finally complete. In the meantime, EDG’s teaser for the facility gives us a digital glimpse of what we can expect. A digital glimpse at the Shanghai International NCC&E-sports Center! With a total investment of more than 10 billion yuan, it’ll not only act as EDG’s home venue, but also have facilities such as Asia’s deepest deep diving “pool” (40.4m), the largest indoor skydiving center, etc pic.twitter.com/7mryUtbDRk — Linda Pro League 🦦 (@iCrystalization) January 4, 2021 EDG and SuperGen are certainly going all-out with the size and scope of this esports industry park. It’s an incredibly ambitious project and it’ll be interesting to see how it comes along over the course of 2021. There’s no doubt the bar is being raised every single year for the standard of esports facilities. It begs the question, what kind of projects can we expect to see in the next 10 years? At this point, it’s difficult to tell, but it’s certainly exciting to speculate.

EDG player tests positive at Valorant Champions Istanbul ahead of elimination match A member of EDward Gaming’s Valorant roster has returned a positive test at Valorant Champions Istanbul ahead of their elimination match against Team Liquid. For the past week, millions of fans from around the world have been tuning in to see who will be crowned the next Valorant Champions in Istanbul. The event instantly beat the peak viewership of VCT Stage 2 Masters in just the first match. However, so far, Champions hasn’t exactly gone all to plan, as players and staff members from various competing organizations have received positive tests – causing some disruption. Now, Riot Games has revealed that an unnamed EDward Gaming member has tested positive. EDG tests positive at Valorant Champions As a safety precaution, all participants are required to partake in regular mandatory testing, in which a member of EDG produced a positive result from a PCR test. Should the affected player feel well enough to compete, they will play on a LAN network built in the isolation facilities. Meanwhile, the rest of the team and their opponents will compete from the usual venue. An update on #VALORANTChampions İstanbul. pic.twitter.com/PRv08qqAGa — VALORANT Champions Tour 🇹🇷 (@ValorantEsports) September 4, 2022 After falling to Paper Rex in their opening series, EDG is set to face European powerhouse Team Liquid in their elimination match — the match which will decide the team to head home first. The news follows players and staff members of 100 Thieves returning positive tests ahead of their first Champions match. OpTic Gaming’s head coach Chet is also among those who’ve received a positive test so far.

Edge Esports Announces Strategic Partnership with The Esports Company Esports agency Edge Esports has announced a strategic partnership with The Esports Company. The Esports Company is the lead agency organizing the FIFA eWorld Cup and is set to host this year’s FIFA eWorld Cup final from August 2-4 in London. Ahead of the event, a partnership between The Esports Company and London-based Edge Esports has been announced, after the two companies have been working together in recent months. Edge Esports is a start-up aiming “to create a safe ecosystem for gamers, teams, leagues and brands to connect using our network, expertise and proprietary technology.” Edge will assist The Esports Company with high-level strategic and commercial support as the company grows. Edge Esports founder and CEO Adam Whyte commented on the partnership: “The Esports Company have demonstrated their commitment to player welfare and delivering value for their audience and sponsors. Last year, I attended the FIFA Interactive World Cup Final – now the FIFA eWorld Cup – at London’s Central Hall Westminster and 12 months on we are delighted to partner with the events organiser to help them connect their audience to brands.” The Esports Company CEO Jakob Shaetz also stated: “The Esports Company has been working within the esports industry for the last 8 years. Never in this time have we come across a more knowledgeable and experienced company willing to do whatever it takes to enhance esports. The Edge Esports team has been around since the beginning of the esports boom. Combining our companies experience we will be able to support esports culture and expand the industry as a whole.”

Echo Fox terminates contracts of entire LCS roster Echo FoxEcho Fox announced on August 16 that they had terminated the contracts of their entire League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) roster. Riot games announced that Echo Fox had forfeited their LCS slot earlier in the week on August 13 and that the company would look for a replacement starting August 16. After a year of drama for the esports organization, Echo Fox has apparently decided to liquidate their entire roster of LCS players. What did Echo Fox say? The company made the announcement through an official statement, according to The Esports Observer. “Following the departure of Echo Fox from the LCS, we’ve had to take the unfortunate step of terminating our contracts with our current League of Legends players. While each player contract is different, we are making sure to handle every case with the care necessary to ensure they are treated fairly in this time of transition. We will also be working to support them as they enter the next phase of their careers, whether that be with another esports organization or whatever path they may choose. “We are deeply grateful for our players for what they have given to Echo Fox during our time in League of Legends.” The official Echo Fox LCS roster has 14 people total, with 10 players, three coaches, and an analyst. According to TEO, the company declined to comment on specific players. Echo Fox was the first time the LCS had lost a founding team since Riot Games moved the league into a franchise based system in 2017. Who will replace Echo Fox? There’s no information about who will take up Echo Fox’s spot, but the league’s 30-day application period begins on August 16. LCS Commissioner Chris Greeley said the league would use “an expedited process similar to the 2017 system that we used to select our initial long-term partners,” to fill the vacant spot. Echo Fox’s time in the LCS may be coming to an end, but it will be interesting to watch and see who the league ends up bringing in to replace them.

DWG KIA rebrands to Dplus KIA ahead of LCK 2023 Dplus KIAWorlds-winning esports organization DWG KIA has opted for a rebrand ahead of the coming year of LCK competition, complete with a new look and name for one of League’s biggest orgs. Damwon has cemented itself as one of South Korea’s best LCK teams over the last few years. Between taking the world title in 2020 and having solid performances at both Worlds 2021 and 2022, they’re one of the most formidable organizations within pro-League of Legends. However, they won’t be going into 2023 as DWG KIA. In 2023, they’ll be rebranding to Dplus KIA, complete with a new logo and overall look. Dplus KIA is the new face of Damwon in the LCK Damwon Gaming dominated in 2020, taking both domestic and world titles with relative ease. To ring in 2021, they partnered with KIA and shortened Damwon Gaming to DWG, giving us DWG KIA. After being the 2021 runners-up, 2022 was pretty rough up until Worlds where the org had a serious surge and almost took down GenG. If they hadn’t lost 2-3, Worlds 2022 could have looked very different. They’re looking to regain their dominance in 2023 with the signing of world champion ADC Deft, and they’ll be doing it under yet another new-ish name. DWG KIA will be Dplus KIA in 2023, and they’ll be looking to dominate in the LCK. Dplus has shown off its new roster clad in black and white, a new color palette for the organization. The “D” in Dplus is meant to hold on to what remains of their name as Damwon while embracing a new identity as a team with more “global recognition,” according to a press release from Dplus KIA. Oddly enough, this rebrand comes mere months after Damwon went out of its way to film a lengthy promotional video and created several announcements for their new roster under the DWG KIA name. Their Dplus rebrand will be shown off during Deft’s show match against Faker on January 10, giving fans a first look at the next step for Damwon.

EA is launching a new competitive gaming division franchise A job description on HitmarkerJobs.com revealed a new posting from EA, looking for a program manager for an as-yet unnamed ‘new competitive gaming franchise.’ The job’s description revealed that the division in question hasn’t been announced yet, although it seems that EA is gearing up ahead of the organization’s official release. “EA’s next official Competitive Gaming Division franchise has yet to be announced,” the statement reads, “but behind the scenes its commissioner is spinning up the global leadership team responsible for inspiring the world to play competitively, making stars of our players and creating the future of interactive entertainment.” The description likewise reveals EA’s stance on competitive gaming, stating that “‘competitive gaming’ is not just esports; it’s also the competitive experiences in-game that impact all players.” While specific games were not mentioned in the description, other postings from EA point to titles like FIFA, with openings for FIFA Assistant Live Producers and a FIFA C++ Software Engineer. However, these could reference EA’s already existing esports programs for the titles. This isn’t the first time EA has dabbled in competitive gaming, either – the California-based game company created the EA Competitive Gaming Division in 2015, which focuses on EA’s largest competitive titles like FIFA, Madden NFL, and Battlefield. Even so, it seems that EA is looking to bolster this initiative by bringing on a few new recruits. Fans will have to wait with bated breath for further information, but those interested in applying for the position could get a broader taste of what the franchise entails.

DreamHack Aus here for the long run with plans to mix esports, streaming, and VTubers ESLDreamHack Australia is around for the long run after inking a multi-year deal with the State of Victoria, with plans to mix esports, streaming, and (seemingly) VTubers. DreamHack Australia has become a staple for the local gaming community ever since the blockbuster event started going down under in 2021, in a city that rarely sees esports/gaming events of its kind regularly. And it looks like ESL FACEIT Group and DreamHack are here for the long run, as the group has inked a five-year deal with Visit Victoria to lock the iconic LAN event in Melbourne for the next half-decade. “It puts us in a great spot to plan and grow the festival over the next five years,” said Ben Green, Head of Product for the ESL FACEIT Group Australia. “So having that sort of commitment from them is very exciting for us.” The partnership was a no-brainer for ESL, Green said, as the Victorian government had been supporting them for the past five years, and the deal essentially solidified DreamHack’s spot in Melbourne. “It’s really good to hold events, and particularly Melbourne, we know that’s where a massive part of the gaming community in Australia is based. So, it’s sort of one plus one equals three, right?” ESL reveals plans to mix esports, streaming, and VTubers with 2024’s DreamHack Naturally, being DreamHack, Counter-Strike is bound to make an appearance, and with ESL Challenger Melbourne once again returning, it will see this particular tournament played in CS2 for the first time. And of course, DreamHack’s legendary BYOC LANs is making yet another appearance. However, with recent DreamHack events, esports hasn’t been the sole draw, especially here in Melbourne. As Green explained, “I want to find the right balance for the content in the LAN. Is it competitive esports? “Is it catch up with your mates for three days and have a base to play games from whilst also going and experiencing the rest of the show? There’s still a little bit of balance there to find what’s right.” With last year’s DreamHack, the big headliner for the festival was Trash Taste’s appearance at the festival, with a live episode of their podcast being filmed there, and a maid cafe occasionally staffed by the trio to boot. So what’s this year’s headliner? Despite being reticent on details of what to expect, Green teased something adjacent to Trash Taste. “If you like Trash Taste, or you’re a VTuber fan, I think that this is the year. I think it’s gonna be more than you think it is…” Green teased. Tickets for DreamHack are on sale from March 14 with three different tiers for fans to purchase.

DSG signs Kyedae, QuaterJade, Sydeon in new all-female Valorant team Knights ArenaDSG has announced their all-female Valorant team to compete in VCT Game Changers, with Kyedae, QuaterJade, Sydeon, and TrulyTenzin all confirmed to be joining the team. When a who’s who of female Valorant streamers decided to stream their coaching and scrim sessions, many of their viewers immediately speculated the four mega streamers might be forming a team to compete in Game Changers. Now however, we can confirm that the female-led Valorant dream team to be true. On March 28, Disguised Toast announced his long rumored Game Changers roster, which includes Kyedae, QuaterJade, Sydeon, and TrulyTenzin are all confirmed to be in the roster. Joining them is Lydia “Tupperware” Wilson, a former Game Changers player for Immortals, and Corey “Ruin” Hartog, a former coach for Complexity. What will the roles on DSG Game Changers look like? The streamed coaching and scrim sessions already revealed many aspects of how their team would work. As the most experienced player on the team, Tupperware was given the in-game leader role. All the other in-game roles have been cemented during the stream. Below you can find a list of their roles from the stream. Kyedae: Controller and Sentinel flex – QuaterJade: Duelist – Tupperware: IGL and Initiator – Sydeon: Controller and Sentinel flex – Truly Tenzin: Initiator flex – The scrims showed promise for what is arguably the most clouted team in Game Changers. Despite losing all the scrimmed maps, it was clear they had the skill to hang with the teams they played against. The squad was able to perform the set plays and executions which were discussed during the coaching session, and the four executed tupperware’s mid-round calling well. DSG Game Changers will be playing in the upcoming Open Qualifiers for Series One for the VCT Game Changers NA, and they will be streaming their practice and scrim sessions throughout the week. Disguised Toast responds to backlash over signing streamers Upon the announcement, DSG faced backlash over signing Valorant streamers rather than already established Game Changers players. Disguised Toast responded to one such criticism over his approach for a Game Changers roster. He explained that when he tweeted out asking who were the best unsigned Game Changers players, he got a alot of recommendations but did not feel creating a roster with a month out towards the Open Qualifiers was right. “I received a lot of great recommendations but ultimately felt like there was not enough time to put together a team responsibly” he said. He further explained that building a proper Game Changers roster would cost roughly $300,000. Which he did not feel comfortable enough to commit the amount to the scene just yet, as he feels it is still very underserved by Riot. Rather, he said, “I went with the content approach.” He said he was upfront with both Tupperware and Ruin with his intentions, and they agreed to his project. For all the latest Esports news and updates, be sure to check out Dexerto’s full coverage here.

Dr DisRespect has a problem with the word ‘esports’ Dr DisRespect has an issue with the word ‘esports’ and wants to find a better phrase to describe the competitive scene. The two-time Blockbuster Gaming champion has never been someone that holds anything back when it comes to his opinion. He always gives his opinion to his viewers and followers, whether it be unpopular or not and this time is no different. This time, however, the Doc doesn’t have an issue with a game or a game developer. He’s taken issue with the word ‘esports.’ During his November 28 stream, the Doc received a $50 donation from Twitch user Marco who tells him to move to Texas for better internet and so he can dominate opponents in the newly opened esports arena in Arlington. The two-time responds: “I think esports, the word and just the way esports looks makes me sick to my stomach. I don’t know why. Esports? That’s the word we decided to go with? That’s accepted? Esports?” He adds that he wants to start a campaign to start over and find a different word, something that is organically grown to describe the space. “esports? I’m not sold man,” he further states. The Doc added to his annoyance on Twitter, tweeting on November 29: “I can’t stand the word ‘esports’. This can’t be the word we all agreed upon. Sounds lazy. Sounds manufactured. There has to be something better than ‘esports’. I hate saying it and I hate looking at it. It’s ugly.” I can’t stand the word ‘esports’. This can’t be the word we all agreed upon. Sounds lazy. Sounds manufactured. There has to be something better than ‘esports’. I hate saying it and I hate looking at it. It’s ugly. — Dr Disrespect (@drdisrespect) November 29, 2018 However, the two-time has yet to offer a resolution to his issue. “I’m not saying I have the solution or what that name could be,” Doc said, during his stream on the 28th. “I just hateeeee esports.”

Drake and Scooter Braun join Nadeshot’s 100 Thieves as Co-Owners 100 ThievesRap superstar Drake has officially joined esports organization 100 Thieves as a co-owner, along with entrepreneur Scooter Braun, announced on October 23. Hints at a possible collaboration between 100 Thieves and Drake first came when the star followed the organization on Instagram, as well as their founder, former Call of Duty professional Nadeshot. 100 Thieves received a multi-million dollar investment from Dan Gilbert, owner of Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans, in late 2017, allowing them to move into the NA LCS. On Tuesday, October 23, the organization announced it had completed its Series A funding round, with SB Projects founder Scooter Braun, and of course Drake, becoming co-owners. Scooter Braun represents some of the biggest musical artists in the world, including Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande, and will join the organization’s board. Forbes claims that along with the 2017 investment, 100 Thieves now has a total of $25 million in funding. Proud to finally announce that Drake and Scooter Braun join @100thieves as co-owners. https://t.co/HBZPkS8QNu pic.twitter.com/5bLciLe8Yv — 100T Nadeshot (@Nadeshot) October 23, 2018 Of Nadeshot’s ambition specifically, Braun said “He has a clear vision for where esports is going and how to build an amazing brand within it, and that’s why I wanted to bet on him and 100 Thieves.” And Nadeshot repaid the compliment, saying of Braun, “He’s really defined pop culture with the clients that he’s worked with and helped their careers over the last decade, and for us, it’s just unbelievable to be able to tap into that wisdom and that knowledge.” Nadeshot, real name Matthew Haag, started his long journey in esports with Call of Duty, over ten years ago. After becoming the best known player, he retired in 2015, becoming a full time YouTuber. However, his passion for competition remained, so in 2016 he set up the 100 Thieves organization, stepping back into Call of Duty briefly, while also releasing a clothing line. After an unsuccessful start with the Call of Duty roster, 100 Thieves turned attention to apparel solely, which remains a key pillar of the brand. Drake’s involvement with the organization is possibly linked to the apparel arm, as he also has his own OVO clothing brand. Former Call of Duty caster and head of YouTube gaming Ryan ‘Fwiz’ Wyatt congratulated his long time friend on realizing his long time dream. I’m just so damn proud of my best bud @Nadeshot. Went out and started his dream by creating @100Thieves and now our favorite rapper is invested in his team. I mean, c’mon. GO GET THEM, BRUDDAH! The power of the mind is not a joke!!! Congrats!!! pic.twitter.com/44lu5nvBL1 — Ryan Wyatt (@Fwiz) October 23, 2018 Popular streamer Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins, also a former competitive esports player, congratulated Nadeshot. Ninja streamed Fortnite with Drake on Twitch in March 2018, which for many was Drake’s first introduction to the gaming world. OpTic Gaming owner, Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez, who Nadeshot credits with believing in him during his time as a player for OpTic Gaming, also voiced his pride at seeing his “young brother” succeed. SEE, now this is Proud of my young brother and the moves he’s making as CEO of his Esports org. https://t.co/tEGX5c67Li — Hector Rodriguez (@OpTicH3CZ) October 23, 2018 Now fielding teams in League of Legends, Clash Royale, Call of Duty and Fortnite, as well as a number of popular content creators, the 100 Thieves is expansion is rapid and shows no signs of slowing down. They are now looking to recruit a further ten people to their ‘content team’, and more professional players and streaming talent. The expansion will move “beyond esports” too, with other participants in the round of funding including Sequoia Capital, WondrCo, Marc Benioff, Drew Houston, Green Bay Ventures, Tao Capital and Willoughby Capital. H/T: 100 Thieves

Dr Disrespect blasts “”overrated”” Epic Games after watching Fortnite World Cup qualifiers Fortnite and the upcoming World Cup event. Dr Disrespect vs Epic Games: A brief history The hugely popular Twitch streamer, who has amassed a cult-like following of over three million followers on the platform, has never been one to mince his words or hold back when it comes to leveling criticism. He has regularly taken on game developers, including numerous shots at Epic in the past, when he takes issue with something they’ve done to their game – be that releasing a poorly constructed title to begin with or tossing out a patch update that seemingly breaks something in-game. The Doc talks trash on Twitter This time, however, he didn’t blast Epic for adding a new weapon or nerfing an in-game grenade but, instead, piled on to the already standing criticism about the Baller vehicle, by once again labeling the developers as “overrated.” The Doc vented his frustrations about trying to watch FaZe Clan’s Turner ‘Tfue’ Tenney in the World Cup qualifiers – only to have the games overtaken by players in Ballers. He tweeted: “I’m trying to watch Tfue slay out in these qualifiers but these overrated developers from North Carolina think watching a bunch of blue balls is fun.” I’m trying to watch Tfue slay out in these qualifiers but these overrated developers from North Carolina think watching a bunch of blue balls is fun. — Dr Disrespect (@drdisrespect) April 13, 2019 Players grow frustrated of the Baller vehicle Prior to the start of the qualifiers, Epic announced that all of the vehicles in Fortnite would be receiving significant changes. The Baller was the first to take a hit, losing 100 health points in a hotfix update – taking it from 300 health to 200. Yet, the vehicle stills remains an effective way to survive until the late game and scoop up high placements purely by waiting in the shadows. The Doc and plenty of other players find the vehicle frustrating because of how it disrupts the flow of games. Will Epic make another change to the Baller? As the two-time stated, fans tune in to watch players like Tfue run riot over games and dominate their opponents, but the Baller disrupts that and forces them to always be wary of what may be lurking behind them. It remains to be seen if Epic decides to drop an additional update prior to the World Cup tournament but it seems unlikely – as they won’t want to make too many game-altering changes prior to their crowning esports event.

Dota 2 pro player claims he was forced to pee in a bottle during DPC match Tundra EsportsIn a bizarre turn of events, Tundra Esports’ Dota 2 player Oliver ‘skiter’ Lepko was forced to pee in a bottle during his team’s Dota Pro Circuit match against Into The Breach after admins refused to allow a bathroom break. The 2022-23 Dota Pro Circuit season is well underway, and a shocking event during Tundra Esports’ match against Into The Breach has stunned the community. The prohibition of bathroom breaks is a long-forgotten rule in Dota esports, but one that the PGL admins are enforcing. Although the admins cannot be blamed for simply enforcing the rules, the main question that needs to be addressed is why bathroom breaks are prohibited. Many Dota 2 pro matches undergo a few pauses due to technical issues, but a pause because of a physical requirement is simply not allowed. skiter forced to pee in a bottle as admins deny bathroom break skiter, the carry for Tundra Esports, the defending TI champions, is one of the most prominent personalities in the Dota community. However, being refused a bathroom break is not something that he might have ever expected. The Slovakian player posted about the incident on Twitter after finishing Tundra’s series against Into The Breach with a close 2-1 victory. While many in the community are busy with their memes and banter about the incident, the other half is questioning the rules that prevent a player from taking a bathroom break when they need to. Given that Dota is a high-intensity esports title that requires constant focus and extreme concentration to master, a break of any kind can be considered a distraction for all 10 players in the lobby. However, having to play for prolonged periods while controlling your need for a bathroom break can not only cause distractions in the game but also have long-term adverse effects on your physique. With matches in Dota 2 often lasting for more than an hour, it is high time that some changes are made to the rules of professional Dota 2.

Doublelift pulls off insane quadkill vs DAMWON at Worlds 2019 RiotIn their first match of League of Legends World Championships is already producing some big plays. In the closing moments of the DAMWON vs Team Liquid match in Group D, Liquid’s trusted late-game carrier Doublelift delivered an extraordinary play to seal it for the top-seeded North American team. Despite losing Jake ‘Xmithie’ Puchero early in that teamfight, Liquid dealt so much damage to the enemy team that DAMWON tried to run away. But Doublelift smelled blood in the water and flashed in to pick off the two players on their last bit of health, and then chased down the other two to secure the quad-kill and the team ace. With all of DAMWON dead with at least 30 seconds before any of them could resurrect, Liquid marched down the midlane and broke down the enemy team’s base to take the match, and move to a 1-0 record in Group D. The quadkill from Doublelift and subsequent victory for Team Liquid sent Twitter into an absolute frenzy. LCS reporter Travis Gafford successfully backed up his prediction that Liquid was going to prove that the Worlds theme “Phoenix” is about them. “I told you,” he tweeted. Gafford’s Worlds theme parody co-star, avid Team Liquid fan and LCS interviewer Ovilee May expressed her excitement for Liquid and the North America region as well. “FIRST WIN OF GROUPS,” she tweeted. “LET’S GO NA!” FIRST WIN OF GROUPS EZPZ LETS FUCKING GO @TeamLiquidLoL LETS FUCKING GO NA!#WORLDS2019 #LCS #TLWIN — Ovilee May (@OvileeMay) October 12, 2019 But the Doublelift play and the Team Liquid victory weren’t the only things gaining Twitter traction, as several people honed in on Jung ‘Impact’ Eon-yeong’s ponytail. The official G2 Esports account hailed it as the “real MVP” of the match, and ESPN Esports writer Tyler ‘FionnOnFire’ Erzberger created a clever rhyme to celebrate the terrific game Impact had. “THESHY OUTDATED, NUGURI OVERRATED, FOR SO LONG WE’VE WAITED, IMPACT HAS BEEN ACTIVATED,” he tweeted. THESHY OUTDATED NUGURI OVERRATED FOR SO LONG WE’VE WAITED IMPACT HAS BEEN ACTIVATED pic.twitter.com/vtMu8IPVsb — The Esports Writer (@FionnOnFire) October 12, 2019 For Team Liquid and for Doublelift, they are looking to put an end to the heartbreak they’ve experienced at the international level. Liquid had a poor performance in the group stage of last year’s Worlds, and in 2019, a magical run at the Mid-Season Invitational came to a crashing halt in the grand finals, where they lost an embarrassing 3-0 series to G2. With the exception of the very first Worlds in 2011, when Doublelift played for Epik Gamer, he has never made it out of the group stages of Worlds. A North American team has also never finished at the top of their group. With a 1-0 start for Liquid, they are on the right track to erase both curses, but it’s still a long way to go. You can keep track of all the results and watch the matches at Worlds 2019 here on Dexerto, using our Worlds 2019 hub.

Everton & England striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin joins new esports org YouTube: Everton/Semper FortisEverton and England national team footballer Dominic Calvert-Lewin has officially signed with UK organization Semper Fortis Esports as a brand ambassador. The organization officially announced the signing of the professional footballer on May 20, 2021, confirming speculation from earlier in the month. Calvert-Lewin will be paid for his role at Semper Fortis through the form of warrants, which represent the right for him to purchase stock in the company after one year. Through the newly signed deal, the striker will promote the team on his social media platforms and it’s stated that he will impart knowledge from his experience in sports with them. A report from early in May 2021 claimed that both Calvert-Lewin and Manchester United footballer Harry Maguire were in discussions with Semper Fortis Esports. It’s unclear if he is set to join his England club teammate at the organization at the time of publication. Read More: Every public esports company & organization – Semper Fortis currently compete in Rocket League, having acquired the Top Blokes brand and the roster that represents it earlier in 2021. The team is considered one of the best in Europe. They became a public company when they listed on the Aquis Stock Exchange Growth Market in April 2021, allowing retail investors to buy shares in them. Semper Fortis is thrilled to announce it’s very first brand ambassador appointment with Dominic Calvert-Lewin joining the team. Dominic joins as an integral component to the Company’s mission in bridging the gap between physical and digital. Watch this space…#SEMP pic.twitter.com/DVm0dibvuE — Semper Fortis Esports (@SFesports_GG) May 20, 2021 “Esports has been on my radar for quite a while now and I am excited to take my first steps into the space with Semper Fortis,” the Everton star said. “As an athlete, being competitive is part of my DNA so it’s great to be an ambassador for a brand that is striving to be the best. “I’m looking forward to connecting with new audiences and getting involved with the multiple opportunities the burgeoning gaming industry has to offer. This exciting chapter has just begun.”

Gaimin Gladiators win Dota 2 Berlin Major 2023: Results and placements ESLThe second Dota 2 Major of 2023, held in Berlin and featuring 18 teams from across the globe, is now in the books as Gaimin Gladiators came out on top after almost a fortnight of competition. If you missed any of the action, we’ve got you covered with the full results below. After Gaimin Gladiators secured their victory at the Dota 2 Lima Major, the stage was quickly set for the subsequent Berlin Major. With the road to The International picking up pace, the qualifying teams were all looking to secure as many DPC points as they could from the second Major of the ongoing DPC Season. However, try as they might, none could dethrone the reigning champs as Gaiming Gladiators proved unstoppable once again, taking the trophy home in their second straight Major victory. But with a whopping $500,000 on the line alongside 2,700 DPC points, there was plenty at stake for the rest of the world’s top Dota 2 talent. Be sure to brush up with our full recap of the Dota 2 Berlin Major below. Contents Berlin Major 2023: Final standings Dota 2 Berlin Major 2023: Schedule & Results The Dota 2 Berlin Major 2023 featured three different stages, which all played out from April 26 until May 7. Here’s a full breakdown of the three stages: April 26-30: Group Stage, featuring 18 teams; – May 1-3: Playoffs, featuring 12 teams; – May 5-7: Finals, featuring 6 teams in the Arena. – The last phase of the Major was hosted at the Velodrom in Berlin. Tickets were sold out well in advance, resulting in a massive turnout from the crowd during the Finals. Berlin Major 2023 (Playoff stage): May 1-7 Day 6: May 7 Day 5: May 6 Day 1: May 1 Day 2: May 2 Day 3: May 3 Day 4: May 5 Berlin Major 2023 (Group stage): April 26-30 Green = Qualified for playoffs’ upper bracket. Yellow = Qualified for lower bracket. Red = Eliminated. Group A Group B Day 1: April 26 Day 2: April 27 Day 3: April 28 Day 4: April 29 Day 5: April 30 Tiebreakers Dota 2 Berlin Major 2023: How to Watch The Berlin Major was streamed live on the ESL_Dota2 Twitch channel, which we have embedded below so you can catch up. Though if you missed the games live, another option is to always rewatch them later on YouTube VODs through the ESL Dota 2 YouTube channel. Dota 2 Berlin Major 2023: Qualified Teams The Berlin Major saw 18 Dota 2 teams from across the globe battling it out to be crowned as the champions, who walked away with the biggest share of the prize pool and DPC points. Here is a list of all the 18 teams that qualified for the tournament. Note: Due to visa issues, Shopify Rebellion mid lane player, Abed, was unable to attend the event. He was replaced by Mikey. Note: Due to visa issues, OG’s DM, Misha, and Chu were unable to attend the event. The two players were replaced by MinD_ContRoL and Kitrak. So there you have it, that’s everything you need to know to catch up on the Dota 2 Berlin Major 2023. Now that it’s over, don’t forget to check out our Dota 2 hub for all the latest news and updates about the MOBA.

DJ Esports 10 million Worlds Prediction series: Elevating esports betting with the power of AI & Crypto Esports has evolved beyond LAN parties and cramped hotel ballrooms, into floodlit arenas, packed with tens of thousands, and millions more watching online. But the next evolution of esports isn’t yet complete, and one player in the space has their targets set on taking esports broadcasts and community engagement to the next level. DJ Esports started as a meeting of the minds over seven years ago, as LoLMatrix and IMsports collided to make IMesports. The collision sparked an idea; “to enrich the esports viewing experience,” by providing a quantitative framework for evaluating teams and players, and for skilled analysts to prove themselves by identifying performance trends and ultimately predict the outcomes of esports matches. Where does DJ Esports fit into this? As the premier all-crypto esports betting site, the platform combines cutting-edge analytics, a dedicated team of experts, and crypto-only transactions, to provide a hub for esports betting like no other. There is also an emphasis on community, with a lively Discord channel filled with passionate and like-minded esports fanatics, all offering their takes and insights. Central to DJ Esports’ commitment is to ignore the norms, and provide a more open and responsible platform for users to enjoy – often a rarity in esports. Now branching out around the world, DJ Esports provides a unique opportunity for esports fans perhaps unfamiliar with the platform. It could also be a pivotal moment for western esports generally, elevating the industry norms and pushing true fan engagement with all esports matches to the next level. DJ Esports has also partnered with influencers in esports, including Thorin and ex-LoL pro Wickd, who are diving into the platform live, and exemplifying the power of the analytical tools on offer. What is the DJ Esports Worlds Prediction Series? The Worlds Prediction Series is already underway on DJ Esports, with a 10 million USDT prize pool in total, and offers participants the chance to earn up to 800,000 USDT – while being free to enter. In fact, signing up will secure you a bonus 400 DJT for free. Signing up is available now – and it’s totally free. The series is split into three stages, with the first stage underway now and running until September 24 – the early bird special. Throughout this stage, the goal is to rack up as much DJT (the platforms play coin) as possible, in anticipation for LoL Worlds. This is where stage two comes in – the League of Legends World Championship. Every account will be topped up wit 1,500 DJT to start, and then can start betting on matches from the big four major tournaments: League of Legends Worlds – Dota2’s The International – CS:GO Major – Valorant Worlds – One week after Worlds, your DJT balance will determine your winnings – with the top prize set at 300,000 USDT. And this top prize may be more attainable than you think – you will have to double your DJT balance 15 times. You can see the prize breakdowns below: The final stage is only for the biggest winners. DJ Esports estimates that 36 participants will reach this stage, and then will “Face Off” with head-to-head bets, with the overall winner securing the 800,000 USDT top prize. Week 1 Stage 1 Starts 8/6! First Top Up 8/13 Worlds Prediction Series 10 Million USDT Prize Pool Sign up on https://t.co/LajuQ3fUUR Get 400 DJT Top Up by sharing this poster with username and @ us. Join our https://t.co/IqGJQiWwo9 and message our modmail for 800 DJT. pic.twitter.com/Sh1ZevzE3H— Esportsbet.io 🚀 (@EsportsBet) August 8, 2021 And, it also pays to get involved in the community side of things. You can claim additional DJT by sharing the event graphic on social media (like the post above) and reaching out to DJ Esports staff members in the Discord, which is always lively. Why choose DJ Esports? If there is a time to get involved in the betting side of esports, it’s now, and DJ Esports offers the most complete, thorough and secure way to take part. The platform uses a transparent system, where real-time stats directly feed into the odds you see, allowing users to look behind the curtain, rather than going in blind. It’s also worth noting that DJ Esports plays host to the widest range of markets, offering pinpoint-accurate odds on all live matches, and boasting the lowest spreads and highest cash-back rebates. With over 30,000 unique bets, and a team of expert analysts constantly with their eye on the ball, updating live odds in real-time. DJ Esports developed the Esports Matrix Data (EMD) program, which collated a whopping 94% of “relevant competitive Esports data in what truly is the first of its kind.” Not to mention the opportunity to bet on over 100 streamers, with the world’s first Streamer Bets markets, covering games such as CS:GO, Valorant, League of Legends, FIFA, and more. Odds are generated for the Streamer Bets markets by DJ Esports’s very own AI algorithm, which reads and passes live stream data to odds generation algorithms. But, it goes beyond just betting and taking part in the community. For crypto enthusiasts and newcomers alike, DJ Esports is also a DEFI platform. This means you can earn up to 30% annual interest on your Crypto holdings, paid daily, and can boost this through cash back rebates of up to 8%, by referring friends through the VIP program. Is DJ Esports safe? Yes, DJ esports is a safe and secure platform to participate in live esports betting. Esports, and by extension, esports betting, is still nascent. There is often concern about the security of platforms involved. However, DJ Esports is 100% crypto: providing a safe, secure and traceable form of transaction, thanks to the inherent qualities of the blockchain. But, to really put user’s minds at ease, DJ Esports holds $10,000,000 of cryptocurrencies in their Etherscan wallet, and makes weekly withdrawals to prove ownership – and that they can pay out any client’s bets.

Disguised Toast reveals which esport DSG is planning to enter next Disguised ToastPopular content creator Jeremy ‘Disguised Toast’ Wang has dropped a major hint about the esports title he will be dipping his toes into next. At the same time, he has cast doubt on the possibility of signing a Smash player. The OfflineTV member created his own esports project, Disguised, at the start of the year, and it has proved immensely popular in the community, despite results not always going as expected. After dropping the men’s Valorant squad last month, Disguised currently has two squads: a men’s League of Legends team, currently competing in NACL, and a Valorant Game Changers squad. Disguised is on track to cost $1 million in its first year, but that hasn’t kept Toast from making expansion plans and trying to find new ways to cover the costs of the project. Last month, he launched a Patreon, giving fans an exclusive look at the team’s finances, including salaries, revenue and merchandise, in exchange for as little as $5. Disguised Toast hints at his next esports title While streaming Disguised’s NACL match against Cincinnati Fear earlier this week, Toast revealed that he is “looking to sponsor a TFT player at competitive events.” “But it’s not because he’s going to be, like, ‘Yeah, I’m DSG,’” he said. “It’s more to have someone to root for. “We’re still working out the details. Long story short, TFT is something very high on our priorities. You’ll probably hear something official within the next couple of months.” Toast made it clear that this is more of a passion project, stating that esports teams “don’t really belong in RNG games”. At the same time, he joked that Teamfight Tactics would be a very cheap game to get into. “You pay them 50 bucks and that’s more money than they’ve seen their entire life,” he said. Earlier this month, Disguised vowed to sign a Super Smash Bros. player if his Patreon reached 3,000 subscribers before the end of July. After an initial surge of members, the number of patrons has stabilized at around 1,700, which indicates that the target will not be met. And Toast has now explained why he thinks that entering 1v1 games is not a very interesting proposition for esports teams. “I just don’t think teams really belong in a 1v1 game,” he said. “I still find teams to be a little weird, even in fighting games. My personal opinion is that esports teams, when it comes to 1v1s, it doesn’t translate as well. It can be, like, Cloud9 Mang0 or TSM Leffen, but it’s never like, ‘TSM beat C9’. It’s always like, ‘Mang0 beat Leffen’. “It’s a big difference where the credit really does go to the player, which it should, it’s a 1v1 game. It doesn’t require teamwork. There’s no team in a teamwork-less game. “I feel like if I were to get into a fighting game, it would be Riot’s fighting game.” Riot Games’ fighting game title, tentatively named ‘Project L’, is still under development. In an August 2022 update, the developers said that they were still working on the game’s core mechanics.

Disguised Toast unveils bold esports plans for 2024 DSGJeremy ‘Disguised Toast’ Wang revealed his plans for 2024 for his esports team, Disguised, along with a new logo and merchandise. Disguised put out a video on social media with its owner Disguised Toast, explaining the organization’s plans for 2024. The content creator showcased the esports team’s new merchandise and updated logo, along with his hopes of breaking even in terms of finances next year. He also said Disguised is jumping head-first into social media outside of X (formerly Twitter), launching accounts on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Disguised currently only has a Teamfight Tactics player signed to its brand. However, the organization owner said he plans to re-enter many of the same titles as he did in 2023 and also add one more. Disguised Toasts unveils 2024 esports plans The organization at different times in 2023 had a men’s and women’s Valorant team, an Apex Legends roster, and a squad in League of Legends. Those teams saw varying success across the board with the League team bringing home the organization’s sole trophy after winning the NACL 2023 Summer Playoff Championship. The organization also tried to jump back into Valorant after The Guard’s former players were given the chance to find another brand to sign under to stay in VCT Americas for the 2024 season. However, G2 Esports beat Disguised to the punch. Disguised Toast said in the announcement that he hopes to jump into a title that has a great passion for esports in 2024, the fight game scene. “I love the passion the fan base has for fighting games and the passion the players themselves have for it. I want to support that so we are looking to sign at least one fighting game player for 2024,” he said. Fans will have to wait and see which players will get to join the DSG brand in 2024 as the new esports season starts for some leagues in January and February.

Disguised Toast hints at esports expansion following Valorant success Twitch: DisguisedToastOfflineTV member Jeremy ‘Disguised Toast’ Wang has dropped a major hint that he wants to have a footprint on more esports titles, and asked the community for input. The popular streamer and content creator dipped his toes into esports waters for the first time at the start of the year with a men’s Valorant roster. The team qualified for NA Challengers in their first attempt and, despite some struggles, became a fan favorite, averaging over 73,000 viewers during the league’s Split 1, according to Esports Charts. And then last month, Disguised Toast signed a second, all-women’s, roster to compete in the VCT Game Changers qualifiers. The team, headlined by four streamers, fell short of qualifying and was ‘dropped’ afterward, but it proved an instant success, helping shatter the region’s viewership record by a wide margin. Before both moves, Disguised Toast asked his Twitter followers for advice on which players to sign. And on April 6, he once again turned to his community for help with a tweet asking which esport title he should get into next. Esports community replies to Disguised Toast The responses to Disguised Toast’s tweet were varied. OpTic Creative Director Davis ‘Hitch’ Edwards suggested that he enters Call of Duty, saying that “the DSG CDL arc is what people really want to see.” Many encouraged him to enter the Fighting game community (FGC), which has seen a handful of esports organizations, like Luminosity and Moist Esports, make splashy moves in recent weeks. Five top Super Smash Bros. players became free agents on April 6 after CLG was acquired by NRG. One of those players, Cody Schwab, who recently won MAJOR UPSET: Melee in Portland, is on board with the idea, posting the following tweet in response to Disguised Toast’s message: “Please.” Other responses included CS:GO, PUBG Mobile, Pokémon, Teamfight Tactics, and even League of Legends. It might be some time before Disguised Toast decides which title he should move into next, but the possibility of the content creator expanding his esports portfolio seems to be very much real.

Disguised Toast launches Patreon as DSG team will cost $1m in 2023 YT: Disguised ToastStreamer Disguised Toast has launched a Patreon to help support his esports team, which is on track to cost $1 million in its first year. In a video update, the popular content creator gave the latest news about his esports project, which started in January with the signing of a men’s Valorant team. Disguised Toast’s decision to dip his toes into the esports pool was applauded by the community, especially as it came during a dark period for the industry, known as the “esports winter”. Several companies have had to lay off staff and scale back operations and some have even shut down amid financial challenges. But as much as Disguised has been a welcome addition to the esports landscape, the project has required considerable effort and personal expense by Toast, who is on track to spend $1 million in 2023 and has struggled to find sponsors willing to help alleviate the financial burden. “Brands don’t want to be in esports because they’re tired of bleeding money,” he said in his latest video. “We approached this very high-profile energy drink brand that is currently sponsoring another very high-profile esports org. “We went to them and we were like, ‘Hey, we noticed you’re in the esports space. We’d love it if you’d partner up with us. Here are our numbers. Our YouTube numbers do twice as well. Our Twitter engagement is ten times better, and we only want half the money. Can we work something out?’ “They said, ‘Sorry, we’re leaving esports. The only reason why we’re only sponsoring this team is because the contract ends next year and then we’re out of here because they didn’t deliver on what they promised.’ “That’s pretty much the story across the board. Brands are scared of esports because they invested millions into it and they didn’t get any significant return.” Disguised Toast went on to paint a bleak picture of North American esports. “All of them [organizations] are either broke or going broke. And I do mean all of them. Some orgs will try to put on a front and say, ‘Hey, we’re still good. We look good. Everything is cool here’. “Trust me when I say: Everyone is losing a lot of money. A lot of people are being fired. No org is safe right now.” Disguised Toast launches DSG Patreon The OfflineTV member added that, in order to help fund his esports team, he has partnered with “the most sponsors I have taken in my career.” “Every sponsor [means] being able to pay for one more player’s salary for the month,” he said. “It keeps DSG going and buys me more time while I figure out how to make it all work.” Moreover, in an effort to help balance the team’s books, Toast has launched a Patreon to give fans the chance to support the project for only 5$ a month, with all money going “directly to the players and staff.” Subscribed members will be able to join the Disguised company Discord and receive exclusive content from Toast, including access to the company’s finances. “If you are really curious about the money breakdown, that is something I’m going to make available,” he said. “If we’re asking for fan support, then it is imperative that we are transparent with how that money is spent. We have to be financially responsible. “You will see in the balance sheet that we are paying our players a pretty low amount.” Disguised Toast is currently supporting only a League of Legends team, which competes in the NACL, a developmental League of Legends competition that is one tier below the LCS. Last week, the creator parted ways with his Valorant squad following the relegation from the Challengers League, with the organization currently re-evaluating its future in the scene.

Disguised Toast explains why his Valorant team won’t have a crypto sponsor YT: Disguised ToastTwitch streamer and OfflineTV personality Jeremy ‘DisguisedToast’ Wang has explained why his DSG esports org won’t have a crypto-related sponsor. Streaming giant Disguised Toast has been a late albeit welcome addition to the world of esports. In January 2023, Toast revealed he had acquired a Valorant esports team consisting of former Knights, 100 Thieves and First Gaming players. Known as DSG, the team has got off to an auspicious start and qualified for NA Challengers. It has certainly been a learning experience for Toast outside of the matches themselves. On January 20 he asked how esports organizations actually make money and, just before that, said it’s costing him tens of thousands of dollars per month. Despite the confusion over financial viability, Toast has explained why we won’t be seeing DSG donning a cryptocurrency based sponsor anytime soon. Disguised Toast rejects crypto sponsors for his Valorant team Speaking on 100T Hiko’s stream, he outlined why he wouldn’t be comfortable accepting a cryptocurrency based sponsor for his DSG outfit. After stating that a lot of esports orgs go “hand in hand” with crypto, he explained why his won’t follow suit: “I’m gonna try my best to avoid it. Because, I don’t know, personally I think as an esports org you can’t accept crypto money and then shill it to all your fans. “Then once it goes down it’s like ‘well guys, we’re actually not gonna be in the crypto space anymore, sorry!’ Wipe your hands clean of it and pretend you weren’t just selling this to your very young player base.” In short, it seems that Toast has found the recent volatility in the crypto space evidence that it’s not quite ready to be pushed on esports fans, especially when some are so young. Esports organization TSM were forced to suspend a $210m partnership with crypto firm FTX after it collapsed and their owner became embroiled in legal troubles. Toast did say that he was more open to a gambling sponsor but, as of now, there’s no confirmed sponsors for DSG’s immediate future.

Dignitas promises paid wages for interns after backlash over job posting Flickr/Jernej Furman/DignitasEsports organization Dignitas has confirmed that a job posting for an unpaid intern was made in error and will be offering paid wages for all interns. On February 11, the organization tweeted out that they were looking to hire a League of Legends Player Manager Intern. Now, a Dignitas and New Meta Entertainment spokesperson has told Dexerto that the posting was made in error. “Moving forward, all Dignitas and New Meta Entertainment interns will receive compensation in the form of paid wages,” the spokesperson said. The original job listing stated the candidate would assist with the LoL team’s management operations but would be work around their current schedule of classes. https://twitter.com/AkinolaGG/status/1360231339241439237 The backlash was swift with fans and those within the industry mocking the team and any benefits one may earn from the job. “You guys have NBA money. Expecting someone to work for free in LA is a bad look,” esports host Akinola Verissimo remarked. “If someone is doing work that helps your bottom line, pay them. The only acceptable angle where unpaid would work is if they get to sit, watch, and learn, like a school class.” “Shame on you for not offering any compensation,” LEC journalist Tom Matthiesen slammed. “You guys can do better. Pay your interns,” TSM content producer Cryssylol added. Students primarily took issue with the fact that if they wanted a job it would need to be a paying one, especially in this current climate given the global health concerns. You guys can do better. Pay your interns. Also, p sure the terms of this indicate that it’s illegal under California law if you run it through the Primary Beneficiary test.https://t.co/wXPn6gGXhW. — TSM Cryssy (@Cryssylol) February 12, 2021 Following the response, Dignitas replied to the original tweet, repeating that the position is designed to work around the intern’s own schedule. This is a 12 week, 15-20 hour / week program meant for a college student that will work around the intern’s current schedule of classes. All business-related expenses will be subject to the company’s reimbursement policy — Dignitas (@dignitas) February 12, 2021 “This is a 12 week, 15-20 hour / week program meant for a college student that will work around the intern’s current schedule of classes,” the team explained. “All business-related expenses will be subject to the company’s reimbursement policy.” In any case, the organization has opted to update its policies after the waves of criticism.