London-based grassroots esports organisation LDN UTD has partnered with health and wellness company Bio-Synergy. 

As LDN UTD’s official nutrition partner Bio-Synergy will provide players with nutrition guidelines, fitness routines, and products. 

Discussing the partnership Co-founder and CEO of LDN UTD, Oliver Weingarten, said:

“As a grassroots esports organisation we aim to provide opportunity and accessibility to gamers of all backgrounds and give them the chance to further a career in gaming, whilst aligning with societal benefits. 

WFor us that means education on health and nutrition are of paramount importance. We are pleased to have Bio-Synergy join the LDN UTD family, to support our League of Legends team and drive them to success via the supply of products and expert tutelage.”

While Founder and CEO of Bio-Synergy, Daniel Herman, added:

“Having worked with [YouTuber turned boxer] KSI’s trainer in the past, we understand the importance of both mental and physical performance in esports. We look forward to working with LDN UTD and its community, and helping the League of Legends team to excel in the UKEL.”

LDN UTD recently held tryouts for a League of Legends team, and has also held tryouts for FIFA 20 and Apex Legends. 

Staying with nutrition, last month North American esports organisation Misfits Gaming announced a partnership with Destined 2 Dominate, in a deal that covers its American gaming teams and Call of Duty League franchise Florida Mutineers. 

Many other esports organisations including Cloud9, Gen.G Esports, and GamersOriginal have also entered wellness partnerships. 

AYO.NEWS says:

As esports gets ever more demanding on players, nutrition and well-being will only get more important. For professional organisations who have a lot of money invested in teams, it’s especially important to protect those investments and ensure they are performing optimally. Meanwhile, for nutrition and wellness companies, esports offers a fantastic opportunity to promote their products and services to a whole new market.

‘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

Joystick, a new dating site built specifically to help gamers find love and playmates, has gone live. 

Founded by David Minns, a “serial dating entrepreneur” who has won several awards, including at the UK Dating Awards, and Global Dating Insights, Joystick is a fully-featured dating site, claiming to offer first-class security and one of the best privacy policies in the industry. 

Open to every gender and sexuality, Joystick is signing-up members from all over the world, and is squarely aiming to cater for exactly what gamers want, including on the technology front – the site says a global search takes just 0.02 seconds, and a profile load is sub 400ms. 

Offering powerful search, private chat and pictures, gaming centric profiles, reporting and blocking features, and optimised for mobile, laptops and desktops, the site also offers the ability to easily delete your entire profile and make it “as if you never joined.” 

During launch, Joystick.dating is completely free.

AYO.NEWS says:

We’ve often commented on how gaming and esports are very much a total lifestyle for millions of people around the world (something that many traditional bookies, for example, continually fail to grasp), so Joystick clearly has potential if it can get some traction, and it’s easy to see how there’s vast scope for expansion beyond its core matchmaking service.

Of course, existing dating services haven’t been ignoring the gaming and esports community, with Tinder even sponsoring esports organisations, so Joystick will need to prove it offers something really special. 

‘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

LEC has partnered with LVP (MEDIAPRO Group), to launch LEC SuperFantasy, giving fans the opportunity to craft their ultimate dream teams. 

The LVP team has plenty of experience with fantasy, being responsible for the phenomenal success of Superliga Orange (SLO) Fantasy. 

Fans will now be able to:

Build a dream team

Draft a dream team from the entire LEC Summer Season roster. The team should contain one coach and five players: top, mid, jungler, bottom, and support. Each of the chosen LEC players’ performances throughout the day will contribute towards the fantasy score of your dream team. The higher your score, the higher your ranking will be in the LEC SuperFantasy ladder.

Boost scores

There are special card types fans can use to increase the number of points they earn — different cards will have a different level of rarity. 

Join lobbies and compete in new ladders

Fans can track their progress in the LEC SuperFantasy Ladder by checking the LEC SuperFantasy’s official lobby under the ‘General’ tab. This is the main lobby in which all players are competing, but fans can join others as well.

Registration is open now. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Fantasy is going from strength-to-strength in esports, and is clearly an excellent way to enhance fan engagement, so we expect to see much more of it over the coming years. 

Staying with the LEC, yesterday KitKat was named as a main sponsor of the Summer Split, and will be one of the first partners to feature on the new in-game banners in Summoner’s Rift Arena.  

‘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

The BBC has confirmed it will be broadcasting the entire W Series Esports League – a new all-female motorsport championship.  

All 10 races in the new W Series Esports League will be available across BBC iPlayer, BBC Red Button, and the BBC Sport website. 

Launched by W Series, following the cancellation of its real-world races due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, the series will feature all of its 18 real drivers. The series is being hosted in partnership with peripherals brand Logitech G and sim racing platform iRacing. 

The action starts today and will run through to 13 August. 

Commenting on the news CEO of W Series, Catherine Bond Muir, said:

“We want the brand-new W Series Esports League to be intensely competitive, serious and authentic. Our partnerships with Logitech G, Beyond Entertainment and iRacing are going a long way to help us realise that ambition, and this new partnership with the BBC takes us further still.

“The W Series Esports League can open both W Series and the world of esports to a wider audience, and the BBC’s unrivalled experience, trusted voice and diverse platforms will be the perfect conduit for that.”

AYO.NEWS says:

As we’ve said before, perhaps no genre of esports has benefited from the COVID-19 lockdowns more than sim racing. With organisers and broadcasters finding it surprisingly easy to transition from real-world to virtual world, and fans warming to it instantly, it looks like sim racing will only get more popular, even after the crisis eventually passes. 

‘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

Riot Games has announced Nestlé chocolate brand KitKat as a main sponsor of the LEC. 

KitKat will also be one of the first sponsors to be featured on the recently announced in-game banners in Summoner’s Rift Arena. 

As we previously reported, the new banners enable partners to display their branding on in-game arena banners, and are being launched across all official League of Legends esports leagues, starting with this year’s Summer Split. 

The branded banners will only be visible to broadcast viewers, with players themselves still seeing the standard in-game banners. 

In addition to the in-game banners, there’s also more content planned in the future, “pairing everyone’s favourite chocolate treat with the on air talent of the LEC.”

The LEC returns on watch.lolesports.com on Friday 12 June at 18:00 CEST. 

AYO.NEWS says:

KitKat was the official ‘Breaks & Pauses Presenter’ of the LEC for the Spring Split, so we guess Nestlé was happy with the results. In fact, the brand seems to be doubling down on its esports efforts, also sponsoring the inaugural BLAST Dota 2 Bounty Hunt, which is currently underway. 

‘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 tournament organiser BLAST has announced a partnership with the Smiley Company.

A real pop culture phenomenon, the iconic Smiley face symbol was created way back in 1972, and the London-based Smiley Company now manages the official iconography, holding licensing rights in more than 100 countries worldwide. 

A special BLAST x Smiley Collection has been created, featuring a T-shirt, hoodie, and bucket hat, and will be available at the BLAST online shop throughout June. 

Discussing the collaboration Head of Partnerships at the Smiley Company, Matt Winton, said:

“In this competitive and rapidly changing market, esports and licensed brands are benefiting enormously from collaboration. By creating rich, connected, and personalised experiences, brand collaborations keep the esports community engaged, as part of a broader franchise development strategy. This is not just increasing the financial rewards for esports companies, but also creating the captivating content that is enhancing the gamer lifestyle.”

While Commercial Director for BLAST, Leo Matlock, added:

“Esports is a huge passion point for young people, as a core part of a diverse range of interests. We are excited to team up with Smiley to bring out this positive collection, which will not only appeal to esports fans but all lovers of street fashion. 

“Smiley has worked with a number of highly respectable brands and we’re looking forward to offering the esports community something they can wear while they enjoy BLAST’s live esports entertainment and when they socialise.”

Earlier this year, BLAST partnered with US apparel brand Champion, and has hinted that more lifestyle collaborations are planned for 2020. 

Staying with BLAST, it is currently hosting its inaugural Bounty Hunt Dota 2 tournament, which has attracted sponsorships from online betting operator Betway, gaming peripheral manufacturer SteelSeries, and Nestle chocolate brand KitKat. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Yet another historic, globally recognised brand has jumped into the world of esports! We’re sure the collection will go down well with fans, and we wouldn’t be surprised if the Smiley Company explores more esports collaborations. It just shows how lucrative esports merchandising is becoming for both organisations and established non-endemic brands.

‘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