Esports organisation Dignitas has expanded its partnership with Susquehanna International Group, LLP (SIG).

In a first-of-its kind partnership, Dignitas has named SIG as its exclusive global quantitative trading firm and trading technology sponsor.

The multi-year agreement will see SIG act as presenting sponsor of a variety of digital and physical activations for esports fans and SIG employees, including Dignitas’ new social media content, “Predict the Draft presented by SIG.” 

The trading firm will benefit from access to the organisation’s fan base in Clash Royale, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Rocket League, and VALORANT, and Dignitas will create interactive gaming experiences to bring SIG employees together with esports players. 

Susquehanna Private Equity Investments, LLLP, a member of SIG, is also an investor in Dignitas’ new parent company New Meta Entertainment Inc. (NME), having participated in September 2019’s USD $30m funding round. 

Discussing the partnership CEO of Dignitas, Michael Prindiville, said:

“Gaming is such a core element of SIG’s work culture, with ongoing gaming-focused events that cultivate the company’s competitive spirit. Combining this passion with Dignitas’ community of casual viewers and esports armchair experts to engage [in] game theory, champion drafting, map selection, and strategy, is truly a ground-breaking sponsorship. We are proud to align with a sponsor who strongly values immersing themselves with the brightest minds in esports and gaming.”

While Founder of SIG, Jeff Yass, added:

“We are thrilled to expand our presence in the esports community by sponsoring Dignitas, one of the most competitive franchises in professional esports. Gaming is at the core of our approach at SIG and this sponsorship complements the culture of competition and gaming at SIG. Esports is a rapidly evolving industry and through this sponsorship, we will provide Dignitas with the resources needed to support its next phase of growth.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Given the existing relationship between SIG and Dignitas, and the fact that the esports audience is young, tech savvy, smart and ambitious, this extension seems to make a lot of sense. We’re sure other trading firms will be watching this with interest.

Staying with Dignitas, in May its female CS:GO team made history competing in VALORANT – becoming the first major pro female team to compete in multiple titles. 

‘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

Global esports media network BLAST has confirmed its inaugural Dota 2 tournament will be broadcast in 29 territories, across five continents.

32 hours of BLAST Bounty Hunt action will be shown in 11 languages including English, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, French, and Polish, and broadcast in 29 territories across five continents.

Launching today, BLAST’s first foray into Dota 2, Bounty Hunt will feature the best teams from across Europe, including OG Esports, Team Secret, Nigma, NIP, Alliance, and Team Liquid, competing over five consecutive days for a prize pool of USD $150,000. 

In 2019 BLAST delivered seven Counter-Strike: Global Offensive events across five continents, broadcasting 1 billion minutes of action in 19 different languages. 

BLAST has also ramped up its output to cater for the millions of fans stuck at home during the COVID-19 lockdowns, introducing multiple new lines of tournaments, content series and commercial partnerships. 

Between 30 April and 21 June, BLAST is aiming to bring to life more than 308 hours of world-class esports to fans all over the world. 

Commenting on the new Bounty Hunt tournament, VP Distribution and Programming, Alexander Lewin, said:

“We are delighted to start our first DoTa tournament and are thrilled to have partnered with a global, who-is-who, of linear and online broadcasting for Bounty Hunt. This confirms the desire for a BLAST DoTa 2 product that we have been working so hard to make happen over the last few months.”

The Bounty Hunt tournament will feature a dynamic prize pool and an interactive fan prediction game giving fans the chance to win $5,000 from the prize pool. 

As we previously reported, BLAST Bounty Hunt has attracted high-profile sponsorships from online bookmaker betway, Danish peripherals manufacturer SteelSeries, and Nestle chocolate brand KitKat.  

The tournament will be broadcast on BLAST’s new DOTA 2 channels Twitch.tv/BLASTDota and YouTube.com/BLASTDota

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International organisation Gen.G Esports has announced a partnership with German athletic apparel brand Puma. 

The deal covers Gen.G’s South Korean presence, where it competes in League of Legends, and will see the organisation and sports brand collaborate on merchandise and experiences. Gen.G players and content creators will also be kitted out with Puma gear. 

Gen.G has extensive commercial partnerships in place with several major brands, including Benefit Cosmetics, Bumble, DESKER, DouYu, Eastern Michigan University, Geekstar, Hang Sung Motor, Logitech G, McDonald’s, More Labs, Old Spice, SIDIZ, and Silicon Valley Bank. 

Puma’s expanding esports portfolio includes Cloud9 in North America and the UK, AGO Esports in Poland, and ORDER in Australia. 

Play.
Cultivate.
Inspire.

Gen.G Korea is proud to welcome @PUMA to the family! We’re excited for this partnership to bring new merch, collaborations, and experiences to all of the Gen.G fans!#TigerNation #WeAreGenG pic.twitter.com/9Wy7fausk1

— Gen.G Esports (@GenG) June 9, 2020

AYO.NEWS says:

Like other major sports apparel brands including Nike, Adidas and Kappa, Puma is clearly intent on expanding its presence in esports as a way to connect with younger demographics. As for Gen.G, it’s yet more proof that their commercial team is on the ball – ensuring the organisation has one of the most impressive sponsor portfolios in the industry. 

‘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

Spanish League of Legends team G2 Arctic has partnered with Head & Shoulders shampoo. 

The deal will see G2 Arctic collaborate with the Procter and Gamble brand to create content featuring players. 

It is the second commercial sponsorship for G2 Arctic, which was founded in 2019 by Berlin-based G2 Esports and Arctic Gaming. The first sponsorship deal was signed with Nabisco’s Chips Ahoy! snack brand.

G2 Arctic competes in the SuperLiga Orange, alongside teams like MAD Lions, Movistar Riders, and Vodafone Giants. 

Commenting on the partnership CEO of G2 Arctic, Luis Garcia, said:

“This agreement represents a further step in our project and what better way to continue growing together than with H&S. At G2 Arctic we are ambitious and as such we need to move forward with the best and with agreements like this we are achieving it.

“H&S is a brand associated worldwide with the world of sports and leader in its category, so this agreement we believe is not only a huge step for us, but also for the esports sector as a whole. I am sure that thanks to H&S we are going to bring great moments to our fans.”

While Marketing Director of H&S in Spain, Fátima Collarte, added:

“At H&S we have been a brand associated with sports for years, for us it is a natural step to enter the fascinating world of esports. We are very excited about this agreement and we are looking forward to entering this sector, and what better way than to do it with the help of a great team like G2 Arctic.”

AYO.NEWS says:

This is quite an interesting deal – Head & Shoulders was long the world’s most popular shampoo, thanks in large part due to massive global marketing, but over the past few years it has fallen out of favour. P&G are obviously now trying to reconnect with younger generations, and esports seems like a great way to do it. This could be the beginning of a major new push for H&S. 

‘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

Chinese esports organisation YTG Gaming (YTG) is selling its related rights and interest in its King Pro League (KPL) franchising spot. 

According to the Esports Observer, the sale includes the organisation’s KPL slot, player contracts, and team social media accounts. The sale is taking place on the Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange as a 20-day auction, and at the time of writing the bid price had reached ¥61M RMB ($8.6M USD). 

There are 16 teams in the Tencent-hosted KPL, which YTG has been part of since 2017. Teams that took part in the 2020 Spring Season were AG Super Play, QG Happy, GK Gaming, Dynamite Gaming, TS Gaming, Team WE, WTG Gaming, Rogue Warriors, X-Quest, Edward Gaming, eStar Pro, Hero JiuJ, Royal Never Give Up, TOP Esports, Vici Gaming, and LGD Goose. 

YTG has not given a reason for the sale, but it has been speculated that the COVID-19 crisis and resulting economic downturn, along with poor team performance, have led to the decision to sell and exit the league. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With the world facing an unprecedented economic crisis thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting lockdowns, even the booming esports industry isn’t immune from financial difficulties. With many organisations having stretched themselves to afford pricey franchise slots, from KPL to Call of Duty League, we’ll likely see more organisations decide to sell up and exit as financing gets harder to come by. 

‘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

Danish peripherals manufacturer SteelSeries and Nestlé chocolate brand KitKat have been confirmed as sponsors of the inaugural BLAST Bounty Hunt Dota 2 event. 

SteelSeries will supply analysts and commentators with headsets, and will be presenting all “bounties” – extra prize money for match victors.

KitKat will be engaged in a “number of branding and content activation opportunities,” and will sponsor in-broadcast feature “Captain’s Kick Back,” which will see team captains talk about their life in and outside of esports.

Commenting on the sponsorship, KitKat Marketing Manager Europe, Middle East & North Africaq, Georg Fischer, said:

“KitKat has always been about a smile in the break and getting a fresh perspective which is also very relevant in gaming and the highly competitive esports environment. We made our first steps in esports earlier this year and were overwhelmed by the positive feedback from fans, teams and partners alike. This confirmed the strong fit between KitKat and the community, and we look forward to a great collaboration with BLAST to bring meaningful, fun content and surprises to the Dota 2 Bounty Hunt!”

An online-only USD $145K prize-pool tournament, the action starts tomorrow, and runs until 13 June. Teams will be taking part from OG Esports, Team Secret, Nigma, NIP, Alliance, and Team Liquid. 

It is notable as the first Dota 2 competition series organised by BLAST, which usually focuses on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO).  As we reported last week, major online bookmaker Betway has also been announced as an official sponsor of the event. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With Betway, SteelSeries, and KitKat getting behind it, BLAST’s first Dota 2 Bounty Hunt seems to have the wind in its sails, and we’re looking forward to seeing the results, and if this turns into a regular event. 

‘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