Casual esports platform startup Rally Cry has secured $1.2m in seed funding, attracting backing from founders of Blizzard Entertainment, Twitch, and Riot Games.

Rally Cry, which was founded by twin brothers Adam and Tyler Rosen, says it aims to “bring social and competitive gaming to all ages and skill levels.”

Investors in the funding round included Mike and Amy Morhaime, Co-founder of Blizzard Entertainment and former VP of Global Esports at Blizzard Entertainment respectively; Kevin Lin, Co-founder and former COO of Twitch; and Marc Merrill, Co-founder and Co-chairman of Riot Games.

Other investors includes Andy Hyltin, Vice Chairman of CNL Holdings; Rich Newsome, Partner at Newsome Law; Paul Mears, President of Hello!; Destination Management; and Vincent Francoeur, former Head of Web & Mobile at Blizzard Entertainment.

Explaining the concept behind Rally Cry, Tyler Rosen said:

“There’s a tremendous opportunity to serve the millions of non-professional gamers out there looking for a more organized way to connect, play, and compete with each other. There are numerous organizations supporting the professional esports scene, and we’re excited to be the organization that serves everyone else.”

While Adam Rosen added:

“We’re thrilled to have the support of Mike and Amy Morhaime, Kevin Lin, Marc Merrill, and all of our investors. Their experience building and supporting global gaming communities is invaluable. We look forward to leveraging their collective wisdom as we launch our programs this year and beyond.”

And, Blizzard co-founder and former CEO, Mike Morhaime, noted:

“Adam and Tyler are experts at creating both professional and grassroots programs to support players from around the world. With Rally Cry, they are filling a very important void in the gaming landscape.”

In 2010, the Rosen brothers founded Tespa, which was acquired by Blizzard Entertainment just three years later, and has built a collegiate esports network covering more than 1,200 colleges and over 100,000 students.

At Blizzard, the Rosen brothers were also behind notable competitive events, including Heroes of the Dorm – the first live collegiate esports TV broadcast on ESPN. They were also part of the team behind esports at Blizzard’s annual convention, BlizzCon.

AYO.NEWS says:

With such an experienced founding team, the backing of some of the biggest names in the gaming industry, and a nice bit of capital to get it going, the future is looking good for Rally Cry. We’re sure they’ll find plenty of demand, especially if the current virus-induced lockdowns continue for a long time.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

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

The United Soccer League is the latest traditional sports organisation to turn to esports during the COVID-19 crisis, announcing a Rocket League tournament.

With the United Soccer League (USL) currently on hiatus in response to the global COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, organisers have announced a new 32-team Rocket League tournament called the USL eCup.

Soccer players, supporters, and team ambassadors will be taking part – many of whom will be totally new to Rocket League, which should make things ‘interesting’ to say the least!

Commenting on the news USL senior vice president of digital, Lizzie Seedhouse, said:

“We just wanted to create something fun and entertaining. More than anything, this tournament will be a great way to give clubs and supporters the ability to come together, compete and have some fun.”

The tournament has been officially approved by Rocket League developer Psyonix, and will be in a World Cup-type format, with group, knockout, and final stages, the action kicks off on 31 March and will run through to 24 April.

Every game in the USL eCup: Rocket League Edition will be streamed live on Twitch, with daily coverage also provided on USLChampionship.com and USLLeagueOne.com.

AYO.NEWS says:

As the COVID-19 crisis drags on we’re seeing more and more traditional sports organisations turn to the virtual world. The most successful so far must be the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitations Series – the first race of which attracted an incredible 903,000 viewers on FOX Sports 1, making it the most popular esports TV program ever, and persuading the network to commit to broadcasting the entire series.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

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

Tribe Gaming, the US-based mobile-focused esports organisation, has secured over $1m in its seed funding round.

Investors included high-profile sports stars like Boston Celtics player Gordon Hayward, and WWE pro wrestler Claudio “Cesaro” Castagnoli; CEO of Super Evil Megacorp, Kristian Segerstrale; and angel investor, Victor Krahn.

Tribe, which was launched in April 2017 and currently fields teams in Brawl Stars, Call of Duty Mobile, Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, and PUBG Mobile, says it will used the capital to help fund expansion plans, which include a new HQ and content lab in Austin, Texas.

Commenting on the round CEO of Tribe Gaming, Patrick “Chief Pat” Carney, said:

“Just a few years ago, mobile games were dismissed as simple puzzles and time-wasters – now mobile has grown into its own ecosystem of complex games and world-class competition, with an extremely passionate fan base at its core. We started Tribe to help mobile gaming grow into the best it can be, and I’m grateful for the confidence our new investors have placed in our vision to help it reach the next level.”

.@ChiefPat talks about our first round of financing, plans for 2020 (and beyond), and more in our latest episode of the Chief Chat! ⚔️

What do you want to see from Tribe in 2020? pic.twitter.com/2bYRb2GviQ

— Tribe Gaming (@TribeGaming) March 26, 2020

While investor Gordon Hayward, added:

“I’ve been an NBA All-Star and made it to the NCAA championship, but I still get a rush when I’m taking down my enemy’s towers in a game of Clash [Royale].

“Tribe is about celebrating mobile gaming, whether it’s by cheering your team on the sidelines or watching your favorite streamers on your couch. I’ve been a mobile gaming fan for a long time, and I can’t wait to help bring those experiences to more people around the world.”

AYO.NEWS says:

That’s an impressive result for Tribe Gaming, and having investors of that calibre onboard is sure to open doors too. Its yet another example of traditional sports stars getting involved in esports – something that is sure to accelerate given the current global sports lockdown.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

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

The Esports division of Serie A football club Hellas Verona FC, has partnered with Italian energy and gas supplier Gruppo Sinergy.

A local Verona-based business, Gruppo Sinergy is also main sponsor of Hellas Verona’s football shirts, and now will be main sponsor on Hellas Verona FC Esports’ jersey – which is based on the ‘Macron Third’, Hellas Verona’s third kit.

Hellas Verona FC Esports was only established a few weeks ago, through a partnership with Outplayed Esports, and will compete in FIFA’s eSerie A against Roma, Fiorentina, and Sassuolo, and also in eFootball PES against Bologna, Sassuolo, and Lazio.

AYO.NEWS says:

Given that Gruppo Sinergy already sponsor Hellas Verona FC’s traditional football teams, this seems like a logical extension, and bodes well for the future of the club’s fledgling esports effort – which itself has been launched at an opportune time given COVID-19 has so badly disrupted real-life sports.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

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

It almost doesn’t matter in which part of the world we are currently sitting. The struggle with coronavirus has affected operations in all kinds of businesses. One of the highlights of the situation is the cancellation of all major sports leagues, be it NBA, NHL or MLB. But in the light of all these events, one type of entertainment still continues through all this chaos – esports. 

We have seen it first in China. Even though the LPL, China’s regional League of Legends competition was paused in early January, it very quickly switched to online mode, which allowed the competition to continue without any unnecessary risks involved. In some ways, esports are coming a little bit back to their roots, where online tournaments were the bread and butter of the competition. 

And, its not only that esports continue to operate, at the moment they are stronger than ever. With many people sitting at home, esports’ events continue to be one of the regular things remaining to be seen. Even more importantly, esports’ viewers, mostly sitting at home, are very used to watching events on Twitch or Youtube, so it’s not a big change for them.

Looking at Europe, we see that the LEC league of League of Legends was briefly paused to prepare the online solution, while CS:GO tournaments like the Flashpoint, ESL pro League or ESEA continue almost as if nothing happened.

Pavol Krasnovsky, CEO of esports analytics company RTSmunity, commented on the situation:

“Even before current crisis, many betting operators realised that it is time to redefine their opinion regarding significance of Esports in their sportsbook offer. With all major sports events and leagues being cancelled or rescheduled, esports are becoming main target of punters, all around the world. In upcoming months, esports offer will become one of main deciding factors in punter´s choice of bookmakers.”

On top of that, we see very quick reactions from well-known brands like the NBA teams, which decided to offer at least competitive matches in NBA2K when they can’t play the sport itself. Another example can be the Australian Grand Prix, which was cancelled but ultimately resulted in heated esport battle between F1 drivers and other sports stars like Thibaut Courtois – to fill the void, they decided to race in an esport event, and to show the people what esports are about.

And, if you want to see some more examples, just look at football, where many teams played a game of FIFA20 against each other as the stadiums are on lockdown. And, here are some more – Fox Sports network has revealed, that the inaugural eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series race on March 22nd drew 903,000 viewers on FS1, making it the highest-rated esports TV program to date. How crazy is that?

Hand in hand with sports is also one industry – the betting industry. With many classic sport events canceled, esports are now a shining beacon of content and product offers. Considering the already fast acceleration of the esports betting market, the whole coronavirus situation can be seen as a sort of “when life gives you lemons, just make a lemonade” moment.

Aside from the fact that there is still a huge amount of events to bet on, there are also many new viewers and punters watching very closely to see what esports are about. And what they will see is mainly this – esports are innovative, very dynamic and able to adapt very easily. To make it possible to adapt for sportsbook operators,they need to act now, because very soon, the migration of punters will be done, and they will very quickly realize who has the most comprehensive offer.

Following the successful debut of the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series on 22 March, the whole series will be broadcast on FOX, FOX Sports 1, and the FOX Sports App.

According to a release, the broadcaster made the decision after the first event, which was won by three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin, attracted an incredible 903,000 viewers on FS1 according to Nielsen Media Research – making it the most popular esports TV program ever.

The eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series takes place on the iRacing platform, and features drivers from the NASCAR Cup Series, Xfinity Series, the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, and sim racers, and was launched to keep NASCAR fans entertained during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Commenting on the news Executive Producer for FOX Sports, Brad Zager, said:

“This rapid-fire collaboration between FOX Sports, NASCAR and iRacing obviously has resonated with race fans, gamers and television viewers across the country in a very positive way. We have learned so much in a relatively short period of time, and we are excited to expand coverage of this brand-new NASCAR esports series to an even wider audience.”

While Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer at NASCAR, Tim Clark, added:

“We’re overwhelmed by the positive feedback and encouragement sent by industry stakeholders, drivers, partners, media and most importantly, our fans. We all can’t wait to get back to racing and our partners at iRacing and FOX have worked with us to do just that – race. We are committed to running these eNASCAR iRacing events as long as necessary. Providing a platform for our fans to watch and engage with their favorite drivers is our number one priority.”

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing the cancellation or postponement of traditional motorsports, several events have turned to the virtual world to keep the engines running, including the Australian Supercars Championship and Formula One.

AYO.NEWS says:

As terrible as it is, it definitely looks like the COVID-19 crisis is introducing a lot of new people to the world of esports! Given the success of initiatives like the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series, we wouldn’t be surprised if they end up outliving the pandemic.

AYO.NEWS says features the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of Pentagon Digital Limited.

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