Japan-based esports management agency RELATION X has secured a strategic investment from talent agency group Gushcloud International. 

Though financial details of the deal have not been disclosed, it is known that all esports players with RELATION X will be exclusively represented by Gushcloud Japan – a subsidiary of Singapore-based Gushcloud International.

RELATION X was founded in February 2020, and recently entered a partnership with Gushcloud Japan to set up an esports team with a Japanese VALORANT roster. Earlier this month, the agency also teamed up with Global Growth to organise esports competitions. 

Gushcloud International was founded in 2011 as a global influencer, entertainment, and talent acquisition company. Today it has around 300 employees and serves Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, the United States, Greater China, and Australia. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Despite a great deal of progress over the last year, Japan is still lagging behind the rest of Asia, North America and Europe when it comes to team-based esports, so it’s encouraging to see investment in esports talent infrastructure.  

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Publishing and media veteran Robyn St Germain has been appointed Executive Director of Sales & Global Partnerships at Beasley Esports. 

In her new role, St. Germain will oversee sales operations for Overwatch League’s Houston Outlaws, and will also capitalise on opportunities to grow Beasley Media Group’s other esports properties like CheckpointXP and Team Renegades. 

St. Germain was previously with stock photography company Shutterstock, where she was Sales Manager of its Media – Entertainment Enterprise Team. Her extensive resume also includes being West Coast Director of Sales and Custom Solutions at TheKnot Worldwide (formerly XO Group), Business Development Director for The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Vice President of Strategic Account Management for the Kids & Family Group (Viacom Media Networks), West Coast Director of Sports Illustrated Group for Kids (Time Inc. Magazines – Sports Illustrated Group), West Coast Director at Glamour and Mademoiselle Magazines (CondeNast Publications), and West Coast Director of Seventeen Magazine (Primedia). 

Regarding her new appointment, St. Germain commented:

“I could not be more excited to be joining the Houston Outlaws organisation. With the overwhelming popularity of esports, the tremendous fans it reaches, and the innovative, creative spirit that lives at the Outlaws, I knew this was absolutely the right fit for me. 

“With the success the team has already received and our plans to take this team to the next level, I am very enthusiastic about what the future holds.”

While Beasley Esports’ Chief Operating Officer, Lori Burgess, added:

“Robyn adds gravitas and bench strength to any sales leadership team she commits to. Robyn possesses an incredible ability to engage and motivate clients to work with her, sharing their most vulnerable and mission-critical needs so that she can deliver game-changing solutions. 

“She has an award-winning personality and serves as an outstanding brand ambassador for any brand she chooses to represent. It has been nothing short of a privilege to have worked with her on three different occasions throughout my publishing career.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Yet again, we see an experienced executive from the wider entertainment and media sector making the transition to the world of esports and gaming. And, it’s certainly an exciting space that Robyn is jumping into, with brands all over the world increasingly curious about the exploding esports space. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Season 2 of B Site’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) series Flashpoint will feature 12 teams and a $1M USD prize pool. 

Group play will run from 10-22 November, with playoffs from 30 November – 5 December, and the grand final slated for 6 December – which will see the champions land a cool $500K (and, the AK-47 trophy, of course). 

c0ntact Gaming, Cloud9, Dignitas, Team Envy, Gen.G Esports, MAD Lions, and MiBR, who collectively own the league through B Site, will be joined by qualified/invited teams BIG, OG, Fnatic, forZe eSports, and Virtus.pro. 

Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles and Duncan “Thorin” Shields will lead the on-camera talent in the London studio, providing commentary and analysis throughout the tournament, and also hosting post-game show, The Blind Spot. 

Commenting on the upcoming tournament Commissioner of Flashpoint, Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles, said:

“We’re pumped to be back with Flashpoint 2 to further deliver on our promise for raw and unfiltered entertainment for our fans with the largest prize pools of 2020 with arguably the coolest trophy in all of sports

“We’re eager to watch our storylines unfold including the emergence of BIG and OG this year, how the rebuilt rosters of some of our teams such as Cloud9 will compete and if MAD Lions can defend its title.”

Notably, although Flashpoint 2 teams will be competing online, they will all be travelling to Europe to play to ensure integrity in terms of server response times. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, this means many players and staff will have to endure lengthy quarantine before the competition starts.

MAD Lions claimed victory over MiBR in last year’s Flashpoint 1 final, which attracted more than 271,000 concurrent viewers. The entire inaugural season clocked up an impressive 7M+ hours watched. 

According to Esports Earnings, CS:GO has awarded the most prize money out of all esports this year, with teams netting $11M in prize money, across 406 tournaments in 2020 – Flashpoint alone is set to have paid out $2M ($1M for Flashpoint 1 in April, and $1M in the upcoming Flashpoint 2). Across all esports, 2020 has seen over $71M awarded in 2,700+ tournaments. 

AYO.NEWS says:

The fact that organisers are insisting all teams travel to Europe to play, even though it’s online, shows how seriously they are taking integrity – which is probably a reflection of the fact the league is team owned, and they appreciate most what a difference server response times can make. 

However, with the COVID-19 crisis rapidly worsening across Europe, and total lockdowns and new travel rules being introduced on a daily basis, the viability of the ‘play in Europe’ plan must be under threat. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Nubia Technology has been announced as the first ever mobile phone partner of the BLAST Premier Counter-Strike Fall Series. 

The collaboration will see in-game branding featuring Nubia’s RedMagic 5S phone appear across the BLAST Premier Fall Series, as the world’s top CS:GO teams do battle. Nubia will also be giving fans the chance to win phones and behind-the-scenes access during the tournament, and all on-screen talent will also be provided with the gaming phones. 

Since being founded in late 2012, China-based Nubia has aimed to bring high-end gaming phones to the wider esports community, most recently with its RedMagic 5S model. 

Discussing the partnership Commercial Director at BLAST, Leo Matlock, said:

“We are excited to showcase Nubia’s impressive RedMagic 5S gaming phone to the esports ecosystem via our global audience. 

“This partnership is a strong fit with both brands sharing a major focus on innovation, technology and gaming – and with more and more people gaming and watching BLAST Premier on their phones every day – their product should be something that naturally resonates with our fans.”

While CEO of Nubia, Ni Fei, added:

“We love nothing more than offering gaming enthusiasts the latest advanced technology and a user experience that will take mobile gaming to a whole new level. We’re excited to build on the successful RedMagic range of models which has become one of the highly-rated gaming smartphones since its launch. We’ve worked hard to improve every last detail.

“We are confident about the RedMagic 5S. It will give gaming enthusiasts in the region the opportunity to enjoy the smoothest gaming experience so they can stay ahead of the competition whatever game they are playing.”

The BLAST Premier Fall Series takes place from 26 October to 4 November, and will see leading teams including Astralis, NiP, G2 Esports, OG, Vitality, NAVI, FaZe Clan, Complexity, BIG, MiBR, Evil Geniuses, and FURIA fight it out for the title. Notably, it will be one of the first major Counter-Strike events since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic where all teams will be face-to-face in Europe. 

Staying with BLAST, last month the tournament organiser announced a partnership with blockchain company Hdac Technology. 

AYO.NEWS says:

A gaming phone partnership makes perfect sense for BLAST, and it’s sure to give Nubia Technology a fair boost in terms of brand exposure beyond China. And, we have to admit, those RedMagic phones do look awesome (nah, we’re not getting paid, but hell, I need a new phone, so if Nubia is reading this…cough, cough).

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Ghost Gaming has been acquired by a group of investors led by Andrew Steinberg and Todd Harris. 

Steinberg and Harris are bringing extensive experience from the traditional sports and gaming industries respectively. Steinberg is Managing Partner at Phoenix Capital Ventures and was formerly chief revenue officer of the NBA’s Atlanta Hawks, while in addition to being CEO of Skillshot Media, Todd Harris also co-founded Atlanta-based game developer Hi-Rez Studios.

The acquisition has also seen Ghost Gaming relocate from Irvine, California, to Atlanta, Georgia.

Discussing the acquisition Steinberg said:

“I can’t stress enough how thrilled we are to bring this phenomenal brand and organization to Atlanta. I’ve spent decades in traditional sports and I’ve never been more excited as I watch esports explode in popularity.… This provides us a multitude of opportunities for brands to work with Ghost to create unique digital experiences and engage millions of people.”

Ghost Gaming currently fields players in Fortnite, Rocket League, and Smite, has an extensive line-up of content creators, and a growing merchandise line. 

AYO.NEWS says:

What a turnaround for Ghost Gaming, which back in April was reportedly close to shutting down, after being hit by financial trouble due to the COVID-19 lockdown-triggered economic crisis. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

Esports and gaming clothing company Sector Six Apparel LLC has formed a UK-based subsidiary, Sector Six Apparel, Ltd. 

The move is intended to allow the company to offer European fulfilment and distribution, provide regional customer service and support, and will allow payments to be accepted in British pounds and euros.

Formed in 2016, the company specialises in the amateur and collegiate esports merchandise markets, and in 2018 was absorbed into the Nashville-based We Are Nations Group. 

Commenting on the development co-founder of Sector Six Apparel, Josh Whatley, said:

“We don’t want to be the Nike or Adidas of esports, we want to be the Sector Six of esports. We are excited to open up our European production and fulfilment and give the region quality product and service with less hassle.”

While CEO of We Are Nations, Patrick Mahoney, added:

“My second ever esports event was an amateur Call Of Duty event. It was clear that those teams came to play hard and represent, and they looked good and proud to be doing it.  I’m happy to be part of this culture through Sector Six – it’s the literal backbone of our industry.”

Staying with We Are Nations, earlier this year the company launched a dedicated esports investment firm, Nations Ventures. 

Hello Europe! 😏https://t.co/uxw0SwDoKP pic.twitter.com/GNl7HxLaxg

— Sector Six Apparel (@Sector_Six) October 21, 2020

AYO.NEWS says:

As we’ve noted previously, the amatuer and collegiate esports communities are essential to the long-term sustainability of the esports industry, providing an on-ramp for professional players, specialists and other staff alike. However, increasingly, they are also a lucrative market in their own right, both in terms of merchandising and sponsorship opportunities. 

‘AYO.NEWS says’ features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited or its affiliates or associates. 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.