All live esports events for PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS (PUBG) have been cancelled for the year, and will be replaced by a regional online series.

PUBG Corp. made the decision to cancel the PUBG Global Series, and replace it with a new regional online series, in response to the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) crisis.

The PUBG Continental Series (PCS) will consist of events in May, June and August, across four regions (Asia, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America), and feature a total prize fund of USD $2.4 million.

The first event, in May, will take the form of a charity showdown, with each region’s winner nominating a charity which PUBG Corp. will donate $100K to.

In an attempt to provide much needed revenue to competitors, and more entertainment for fans, June and August will also see the return of the “Pick’Em Challenge” and in-game items.

According to PUBG Corp., the 21 teams that had previously qualified for the now cancelled Berlin roadshow tournament will receive $20K each as compensation. The teams that had qualified were Gen.G, FaZe Clan, 4AM, OGN ENTUS, Natus Vincere, Team Liquid, Exalt Gaming, WTSG, ENCE, Northern Lights Team, Global Esports Xsset, Team Curson, Golden Cat, Buriram United Esports, Cerberus Esports, ArkAngel Predator, VRLU GHIBLI, GRIFFIN, Element Mystic, Team Quadro, and SunSister.

AYO.NEWS says:

While it will of course be disappointing for those teams that had qualified for Berlin, the $20K compensation each is a nice touch from PUBG Corp, and we’re sure the fan community and teams will make the best of the situation and embrace the new online Continental 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.

Southeast Asian esports organisation EVOS Esports has teamed up with e-commerce platform Lazada Indonesia – the local branch of Lazada Group.

The one-year partnership will see Lazada support EVOS Esport’s activities, including tournaments and other events, and is part of the company’s efforts to boost mobile gaming and esports in Indonesia.

Kicking off the partnership, last week EVOS soft launched its official store on the Lazada Indonesia platform, holding a flash sale of official merchandise.

In June, EVOS Esports will be running an open talent audition, making around 250 tickets for the Mobile Legends audition and 250 tickets for the Free Fire audition available for sale on the Lazada platform.

Discussing the partnership Co-founder and Chief Business Officer of EVOS Esports, Hartman Harris, said:

“We are thrilled on the collaboration with Lazada Indonesia. EVOS Esports is the leading esports organisation that connects esports players, influencers and fans across Southeast Asia.

“With a total following of over 65M YouTube subscribers and 50M Instagram followers and over 350M views per month, EVOS Esports has always been interested in growing the esports eco-system and we are delighted in creating immersive experiences for the esports community together with Lazada Indonesia.”

While Chief Marketing Officer at Lazada Indonesia, Monkia Rudijono, added:

“We are very excited about the collaboration with EVOS Esports. As a company that adapts the sophistication of Alibaba’s technology, Lazada is committed to continue in accelerating the progress of the technology-based creative economy and encouraging the talents of every individual, especially the younger generation, so that they can grow in one of the sectors that is growing rapidly, mobile gaming and esports.”

Founded in 2017, Jakarta-based EVOS Esports now manages 50 gaming influencers and works with more than 300 esports talents across the Southeast Asia region.

In 2019 EVOS Esports secured more than €8 million in funding in the course of several rounds. Investors included Insignia Ventures Partners, several Indonesian angel investors, and top-level management from a leading Chinese ecommerce company.

AYO.NEWS says:

With a population of nearly 270 million people and an estimated 52 million mobile gamers (according to Newzoo), the potential for gaming and esports in Indonesia is huge, so its no surprise to see Lazada keen to associate itself with the sector. From EVOS Esports’ point-of-view, with merchandising becoming increasingly important to esports organisations’ revenue generation, such a partnership makes a lot of sense.

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.

Internet payment company Neosurf is now an official partner of Riot Games’ foremost League of Legends competition for the Oceanic region, the Oceanic Pro League (OPL).

As presenting partner of the OPL Final Series, Neosurf has been giving away in-game costmetics throughout the playoffs (17-18 April), and will do the same for the grand final scheduled for 24 April.

An official statement on the OPL website said:

“We’d like to extend a warm welcome to leading payment provider, Neosurf as an Official Partner of the OPL, and Presenting Partner of the OPL Finals Series! The partnership will result in some awesome new content and experiences for OPL viewers, tune in to the Playoffs this weekend for a little taste of what’s to come.”

Launched back in 2004, over the last few months Neosurf has enthusiastically embraced esports, recently partnering with Excel Esports in the UK, and K1ck eSports Club in Portugal. Staying down under, in October 2019, the company signed a multi-year deal with Australia-based EHPC – through which it became sponsor of Dire Wolves, N8 Esports, Supa-Stellar, and Team Oracle.

AYO.NEWS says:

Neosurf obviously sees esports as a central plank of its marketing strategy moving forward, and its good to see the company has a truly global outlook, supporting esports organisations spanning Europe and Oceania. Given the massive increase in popularity esports is experiencing thanks to the COVID-19 crisis, we expect companies already sponsoring esports, like Neosurf, to double down on their investments over the coming months.

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.

Los Angeles-based gaming lifestyle and esports organisation FaZe Clan has revealed details about its recent USD $40m Series A funding round.

Led by Jimmy Iovine and ecommerce platform NTWRK, the round also included well-known music artists Disco Fries, DJ Paul, Offset, Pitbull, Ray J, Swae Lee, and Yo Gotti, along with sports stars Gregory Van Der Wiel, Jamal Murray, Josh Hart, Meyers Leonard, and Nyjah Huston.

Other investors in the round included actor Chris O’Donnel, radio host Big Boy, CEO of Epic Records Troy Carter, Sylvia Rhone, and Guy Oseary.

According to FaZe Clan, the new capital will be used for brand expansion, day-to-day operations, and player acquisitions.

Commenting on the round CEO of FaZe Clan, Lee Trink, said:

“These influential investors recognize the cultural significance of FaZe Clan as well as the enormous business opportunities around our content, esports teams and apparel.

“We have a hyper-engaged global audience and FaZe Clan is the most powerful lifestyle brand in all of gaming. This round of funding provides the capital to continue to reshape the future of sports and entertainment.”

At the start of the year, FaZe Clan also revealed it had entered into a $22.7m convertible loan facility, with Canadian investment bank Canaccord Genuity acting as exclusive financial advisor.

AYO.NEWS says:

FaZe Clan are certainly attracting its share of celebrity backers, which can only raise its profile across many demographics – further strengthening its lifestyle brand appeal. The injection of capital coming at a time when many organisations are struggling to raise funds, is also a big vote of confidence in the organisation.

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.

In a bit of good news for the weekend, the LEC has announced Robin Schulz will be giving a special performance on Sunday 19 April.

To get players and fans around the world in the mood for the Spring Split Finals, the hugely popular German DJ will live-stream a 45-minute set.

Musician, DJ and producer Schulz has toured sold-out shows around the world and played at some of the most sought-after festivals, from London’s iTunes to Miami’s Ultra Music, along with Tomorrowland in Belgium and Brazil.

His unique blend of house, electro, and pop has made him one of the most successful German artists of the decade, best known for his global chart-topping remix of “Waves (feat. Mr Probz)”, and breakthrough hit “Prayer in C (feat. Lilly Wood & The Prick).

In total, Schulz has received 258 Gold Platinum, and Diamond awards and achieved 9 airplay chart #1s and 10 Top 10 singles. His new track “In Your Eyes (feat. Alida)” is set to be his next hit as it tops the German, Apple, and Spotify charts.

Full Spring Split Finals Schedule on Sunday, April 19:

3:00 – 3:45 PM CEST – Performance by Robin Schulz

4:00 – 5:00 PM CEST – RDY CHK

5:00 PM CEST – Final Match Begins

Tune in at 3:00 PM CEST this Sunday to catch the show over at https://watch.lolesports.com/

AYO.NEWS says:

With so many people stuck at home and fed up, this weekend’s LEC finals are being eagerly awaited by millions of fans around the world, and Schulz’s set is bound to make the event even more exciting and uplifting, so we say kudos to Schulz and everyone involved in making it happen – its exactly what is needed right now, and the perfect illustration of how the global esports community is doing its bit to keep spirits high.

Staying with League of Legends, earlier this week DreamHack and Riot Games announced the new Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC).

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.

On Sunday 19 April, six real-life Formula 1 drivers will race in the Virtual Chinese Grand Prix.

Real Formula 1 drivers race in a virtual Shanghai

Following the success of the second F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix, the winner of that race, Charles Leclerc, will be joined by F1 drivers George Russell, Antonio Giovinazzi, Lando Norris, Alex Albon and Nicholas Latifi on the virtual starting grid this Sunday.

Joining the professional Formula 1 drivers will be a host of other talent, including Real Madrid and Belgian international goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who will be making his Virtual Grand Prix debut with Red Bull.

The race will be taking place at the accurately modelled Shanghai International Circuit, China, on the  on same day when the real-life Formula 1 Heineken Chinese Grand Prix 2020 should have happened.

All drivers will be racing remotely, with the host broadcast coming live from the Gfinity Esports Arena from 18:00 (BST) on Sunday 19 April. The race will take the form of a qualifying period, followed by a 28-lap race.

The race will be broadcast live on the official Formula 1 YouTube, Twitch, Weibo, and Facebook channels, and also via broadcast partners in more than 100 countries, including Sky Sports in the UK, and ESPN in the US.

F1 Esports Series China Championship

Sunday will also see the F1 Esports Series China Championship commence its 2020 season with a Pre-season Event. In addition to qualifiers, regional finals, and the Grand Final, the 2020 season will also see the introduction of a new 22-race Pro League.

Sunday’s pre-season event will include two exhibition races. The first will be an All-Star race at Circuit de Monaco, driven by the top racers from the 2019 Season, while the second will be a Pro League pre-season race at Shanghai International Circuit.

The F1 Esports Pro Exhibition race will begin at 17:00 (BST), and will be broadcast on the official Formula 1 YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook channels, plus selected TV broadcasters.

AYO.NEWS says:

Sim racing really is witnessing an explosion in popularity thanks to the COVID-19 lockdowns – proving itself to be the esport that most readily attracts both professionals and fans from the real-life sport it is based on.

Aside from Formula 1, the most successful migration to sim racing has definitely been NASCAR, with the eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitation Series breaking records and prompting major networks including NBC and FOX to significantly expand their esports coverage.

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.