Isle of Man-based esports betting operator Luckbox is looking to make five key hires as it pursues its ambitious growth plans. 

The company, which recently announced a CAD $4.5M funding drive and plans to publicly list on the TSX Venture Exchange, is now advertising for a Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Head of Marketing, VP of Operations, CRM Lead, and a node.js Backend Developer. 

Luckbox says the roles can be based at its offices in the Isle of Man or Bulgaria, or even fully remotely for the right candidates. Full details of the opportunities are available here.

Commenting on the news Luckbox CEO, Quentin Martin, said:

“It’s been a fantastic year for us so far and our oversubscribed funding round has put us in the perfect position to capitalise. We’re now ensuring we maintain that momentum by filling these very important roles with the right people who share our passion for growing Luckbox rapidly.

“We see these roles as a priority right now and we will be further strengthening the team in the coming months.”

Luckbox now offers wagering on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, League of Legends, Overwatch, Call of Duty, King of Glory, Starcraft II, Starcraft, Hearthstone, FIFA, NBA 2K, Rocket League, and Rainbow Six Siege. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Despite the COVID-19 crisis still raging across the world, things are looking up for the Luckbox team, with business booming, the company about to become only the second dedicated esports betting operator to be publicly listed, and even the Isle of Man completely out of lockdown so they can all pop down the pub to celebrate! 

‘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

Hong Kong-based Nova Esports has entered India through a partnership with GodLike Esports. 

Nova GodLike will be fielding an all-Indian roster in Tencent’s PUBG Mobile – a game which has become something of a cultural phenomenon in India, where mobile games are exploding in popularity due to the low technical requirements to play, and rapid proliferation of low-end smartphones. 

Discussing the news CEO of Nova Esports, Anthony “AY” Yeung, said:

“PUBG Mobile is currently trending in the gaming section of India. It has surpassed other games in terms of popularity and revenue and made a place for itself in Indian pop culture. Even people who have not played the game would have seen and heard about it through various social media memes and posts.”

Nova Esports has fielded rosters in several mobile titles including PUBG Mobile, Arena of Valour, Clash Royale, and Clash of Clans. Recently the organisation announced it will be fielding League of Legends team in the Pacific Championship Series. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Like other developing countries, in a way India has leapfrogged a whole stage of digital entertainment development seen in other countries, largely missing out the fibre home broadband and PC/console stage, and going straight to the smartphone era. The proliferation of cheap budget smartphones and reliable mobile internet now offers the prospect of a massive market for games like PUBG – indeed, there are thought to be more than 15 million players of the title in India already. 

Staying with PUBG Mobile in India, earlier this month UK-based esports organisation Fnatic announced a long-term partnership with Indian streaming platform Loco. Fnatic acquired Indian PUBG Mobile team XSpark in October 2019. 

‘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

Brazilian digital bank BS2 is the latest sponsor to ditch traditional sports in favour of esports. 

Though due to run through December, the bank’s sponsorship with Brazilian soccer team Clube de Regatas Flamengo is being terminated early, on 30 June. In its place, BS2 is sponsoring two of the country’s biggest esports organisations; paiN Gaming and Vivo Keyd.

BS2 says the shift from traditional to esports is part of its strategy to establish itself in the rapidly growing gaming and esports universe. The bank is also launching “BancoBS2.gg” to enable direct communication with the gaming and esports communities through Instagram and Twitter. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Though sponsors were already beginning to shift their sponsorship budgets from traditional sports to esports before the COVID-19 pandemic, the unprecedented shutdown of traditional sports and explosion in popularity of esports during the crisis will likely accelerate the trend. 

‘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

United States-based esports organisation Rise Nation has rebranded as Rise as it looks to expand. 

The makeover includes a new logo and a renewed identity and focus, with the organisation saying it is aiming to “expand our content, explore new team options, and solidify our platform.” 

A new $50K Warzone charity tournament, set to be streamed on ESPN Esports’ Twitch channel was also announced, and EGL confirmed as the organisation’s official apparel partner. 

Discussing the rebrand CEO of Rise, Rodger Saffold, said:

“Rise’s rebrand goes beyond changing our logo, and aims to utilize everything we’ve learned over the past six years to grow our stake in the industry. With the rebrand we’re sharpening Rise’s identity and purpose while emphasizing relationships with our fans. We want to expand our content, explore new team options, and solidify our platform.”

Rise currently fields teams in Rainbow Six Siege, Gears of War, Fortnite, Street Fighter, and Apex Legends, and has commercial partnerships in place with EGL, SCUF Gaming, Kontrol Freek, and G-Fuel. 

AYO.NEWS says:

In such a rapidly evolving world as esports, we’re seeing organisations re-brand increasingly frequently. Though, as always, some fans will inevitably moan about the changes for a while, the new branding is more of an evolution than a revolution, paying clear homage to the old identity, and we’re sure it will give the Rise players and staff an extra impetus in their expansion efforts.

In late May we saw fellow North American esports organisation Evil Geniuses unveil the first phase of its rebranding with a new crest and player jerseys, while Kansas-based Midwest Esports also rebranded as Unified Esports Association (UEA). 

‘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 ESL has appointed Patricia von Halle as Director of Consumer Marketing. 

Having joined ESL in late 2016 as Marketing Manager, a year later von Halle became a contracted Counter-Strike: Global Offensive observer, and two years after that was appointed Lead Event Marketing. 

Before joining ESL, von Halle worked as a copywriter and editor with 99Damage and Gute Propaganda. 

Earlier this month ESL announced the appointment of former ProSeibenSat.1 executive Stefan Beitz as its new Chief Financial Officer. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With the global economy plummeting headlong into a COVID-19 lockdown triggered catastrophe, it’s great to see the esports industry is still bucking the trends and making new appointments! Given her experience and passion for esports, we’re sure von Halle will excel at her latest role. 

‘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

North American esports organisation Dignitas has partnered with RESPAWN, Razer’s mental performance drink brand. 

The agreement will cover the development of new products, lifestyle and video content, and digital events. RESPAWN will also be presenting partner of Dignitas’ League of Legends content series, Odyssey, and its branding will feature on the team’s uniforms and jerseys. 

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

“Our increased focus on technical performance and development creates a unique synergy with RESPAWN’s core mission. We are eager to begin working together to provide our players and fans original creative content and the energy and focus they need to perform at the highest level.”

While Senior Product Marketing Evangelist at RESPAWN, Sean Driscoll, added:

“RESPAWN adds another layer of performance to gaming by helping competitors’ own focus and agility. Athletes from the championship-winning Dignitas organization are a perfect way for us to reinforce our products’ efficacy while working to create the next big thing.”

HBSE-owned Dignitas also has commercial partnerships with Champion, HyperX, Raynor Gaming, Verizon, and Vie.gg. 

Staying with Dignitas, earlier this month the organisation also named Susquehanna International Group, LLP (SIG) as its exclusive global quantitative trading firm and trading technology sponsor. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Professional esports players and serious gamers alike are under intense mental pressure, so RESPAWN’s product has found a ready market, and this partnership is sure to gain the brand a lot of extra global exposure. I wonder if RESPAWN would help a content writer?

‘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