South Korea-based T1 Entertainment & Sports has expanded its streaming deal with Twitch to include all of its players and content creators. 

Previously the partnership between T1, a joint venture between SK Telecom and Comcast Spectacor, and Twitch had focused on its League of Legends team only. However, the new expanded multi-year agreement covers all of T1’s talent. 

In January this year, T1 Esports & Entertainment inked an exclusive apparel partnership with global sportswear giant Nike, and has since announced deals with Logitech G, Samsung, Hana Bank, and BMW (in a deal alongside Cloud9, G2 Esports, Fnatic, and FunPlus Phoenix). 

In May, the organisation also announced an investment in Los Angeles-based esports analytics startup Mobalytics. 

In addition to League of Legends, T1 fields teams in Apex Legends, Hearthstone, PUBG, Overwatch, Fortnite, Dota 2, Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Valorant, and FIFA Online 4. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With Twitch feeling the pressure from other streaming platforms, securing a multi-year deal with an organisation as big as T1 must be something of a relief. 

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Allied Esports has partnered with Riot Games’ VALORANT Ignition Series, launching Allied Esports Odyssey. 

The VALORANT Ignition Series is testing the waters to see how viable Riot’s new five-person tactical shooter is as an esport, and has so far featured 11 events around the world, including Brazil, Japan, and New Zealand. 

Featuring top teams like G2, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Vodafone Giants, and Fish123, Allied Esports Odyssey will offer a €15K prize pool and be produced from Allied Esports’ HyperX Esports Studio in Hamburg, Germany. Each match will be broadcast live on twitch.tv/AlliedEsports. 

Online qualifiers run from 8-9 August, with the tournament taking place between 11-16 August, featuring six teams (four invited and two from open qualifiers), and using a best-of-two, round-robin format. 

Staying with Allied Esports, in July the company teamed up with Esports Entertainment Group (EEG), operator of the VIE.gg esports betting platform, to launch the VIE.gg Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Legend Series.

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Kate Vale has joined the board of amateur tournament and competition matchmaking platform Mogul.gg as a non-executive director. 

Vale, who has held management positions at Google, YouTube, and Spotify, is joining Canva co-founder Cameron Adams, and Mogul Chairman Adam Jacoby, on the board, as the Australian company fights it out for dominance in a crowded marketplace. 

Welcoming Vale to the company Mogul Director, Cameron Adams, said:

“I’m thrilled to welcome Kate to the Mogul board. Since being a long-ago colleague of mine at Google, she’s built on that with pivotal roles at Spotify and YouTube… Mogul’s strong tournament product brings communities together and Kate’s guidance on how Mogul can build bridges between players, organisers and publishers gaps will be invaluable.”

While Vale herself added:

“I’m delighted to take up this appointment. Mogul’s world-class software suite is already delivering value for publishers, organisers, and brands and their gamer communities.

“The esports eco-system is only nascent, which in my experience presents great opportunities for a digital product to navigate and deliver value to rights-holders whilst meeting consumer needs. No one has won this category yet, so I am very excited to work with Gernot, Cameron and the Mogul team to build something special.”

With in-person esports events off the table for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, Mogul, like other similar platforms, stands to benefit as esports moves entirely online. At the end of June, the company said it had more than $2.4m in cash reserves, and a quarterly net operating cash flow of around $489K.

AYO.NEWS says:

No one can say Mogul is scrimping when it comes to recruiting top industry talent, but will it translate into commercial success? 

While Mogul’s offering is top notch, and it’s got global partnerships in place stretching across Oceania, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, the COVID-19 crisis will likely make future funding harder to come by, even for esports and gaming companies. 

‘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. 

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London-based Veloce Esports has secured £4m GBP in its latest funding round, and announced plans to merge with Veloce Racing.

Investors in the round included former Lloyds Development Capital CEO, and current co-chairman of Veloce Racing, Darryl Eales, and former Liberty Global Executive and current Veloce Esports chairman, Eric Tveter (he also participated in a Veloce angel funding round in September 2019). 

Russian scientist, mathematician, entrepreneur, and Veloce Racing non-executive chairman, Andrei Cheglakov, and former Marussia F1 CEO, and Veloce Racing co-chairman, Andy Webb, also participated in the funding round. 

Discussing developments and plans, Veloce Esports CEO, Rupert Svendsen-Cook, said:

“The world has changed in the last few months and it has deeply impacted all sports, even esports. Our team took the initiative very early on and showed immense determination to come out of this moment in a considerably stronger position than when the pandemic started. 

“Beyond that – and speaking as someone who has recently recovered from Covid-19 – we used this time as an opportunity to raise our head above the parapet. We were there to capitalise on the surge and leverage the enhanced exposure to raise significant capital, bringing our two businesses closer together to further boost our growth plans. Between both esports and racing, we are all extremely excited for what the future holds.”

Though it previously fielded a team in Rocket League, Veloce Esports is now entirely focused on sim racing titles, fielding teams in F1 2020, Forza, Project Cars 2, and Gran Turismo. As previously reported, the organisation also operates McLaren Racing’s sim racing initiative. 

Veloce Racing is planning to compete in 2021’s Extreme E competition, featuring electric-powered off-roaders. 

Veloce Racing Chairman and ex-CEO of Lloyds Development Capital, Darryl Eales, added: 

“As investors we are extremely excited to continually help the management grow Veloce across the ever flourishing esports industry and Extreme E, the next year is going to be a busy one with Extreme E’s inaugural season kicking off in 2021 and esports’ recent boost in popularity. We’re all excited to see what the future holds for Veloce!”

AYO.NEWS says:

Though the success of its latest funding round is impressive, the most notable thing here is the fact a real-world motorsports organisation, Veloce Racing, is merging with an esports organisation, Veloce Esports. What could better illustrate the rise of esports than that!?

‘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. 

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Esports betting platform Rivalry has launched support for Bitcoin (BTC), via a partnership with CoinCorner. 

The Isle of Man-licensed esports operator, which says the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has served as an accelerant for esports betting, has teamed up with UK-based Bitcoin exchange, CoinCorner, to accommodate the increasing demand for alternative online banking and payment methods, like Bitcoin, which benefit from cheaper fees and no chargebacks. 

Commenting on the news Rivalry CEO, Steven Salz, said:

“Our integration with CoinCorner has allowed us to offer Bitcoin as a payment option to our players and further simplify the payment experience. It’s partnerships like these that help us evolve the betting experience for a new cohort of bettors that think and behave differently”.

While Business Development Manager at CoinCorner, Sam Tipper, added:

“Since I joined CoinCorner in 2019, we’ve been making huge strides in assisting businesses across multiple industries to accept Bitcoin – preparing them for the new reality of a changing payment landscape. This is particularly true for businesses regulated out of the Isle of Man, like Rivalry, who cater to a global market.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Considering the majority of esports bettors are young, supporting cryptocurrencies is now a must for esports betting platforms. Indeed, some, like Unikrn and Luckbox have gone way beyond merely accepting the major cryptos, to integrating a wide range of tokens and creating entire ecospheres. 

While we’re in the Isle of Man, a couple of weeks ago the island’s government underlined its commitment to esports by appointing Chris Kissak, formerly with Amber Gaming, as Head of Esports at Digital Isle of Man. 

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Gen.G Esports has partnered with sports marketing agency Red Card Global with a view to Southeast Asian expansion.

Singapore-based Red Card Global has been helping to build brands through sports marketing and corporate social responsibility projects since 2005, and counts major brands like Coca-Cola, LaLiga, Puma, Toyota, Canon, YKK, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and International Premier Tennis League (IPTL) among its clients.

Commenting on the news founder of Red Card Global, R. Sasikumar, said:

“Esports is a space that cannot be ignored. We have been involved in some major traditional sports deals in Asia over the past 15 years, and we are proud to form this partnership with Gen.G, allowing our new partners to tap on our extensive network in Southeast Asia, a market that is 600 million people strong. The work has already started and we are working for an early win.”

While Chairman and founder of Gen.G, Kevin Chou, added:

“Southeast Asia is esports’ fastest-growing market, and home to some of the best talents in the world. Gen.G has already recruited star players from the region, such as BnTeT, and won major tournaments in the region. 

“Gen.G is now ready to form strategic partnerships in the region to anchor our next major global expansion. Esports is the first truly global sporting community, and Gen.G will be the first esports organization to expand to the region in a significant way.”

South Korea, China, and United States-based Gen.G is one of the world’s major esports organisations, and fields teams in many titles including Apex Legends, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, League of Legends, Overwatch, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, NBA 2K, and Valorant. 

The organisation has commercial partnerships in place with the University of Kentucky, Eastern Michigan University, bumble, Han Sung Motor (Mercedes-Benz), Puma, Douyu, more Labs, Geekstar, Logitech G, benefit San Francisco, McDonalds, Sidiz, Desker, Silicon Valley Bank, and Old Spice. 

Just last week it announced American artist, creative director, content creator, fashion designer, and DJ, Heron Preston, had been appointed an executive brand advisor.  

AYO.NEWS says:

Containing the world’s biggest and fastest growing markets, Southeast Asia is rapidly becoming the critical battleground for esports organisations. Though Gen.G already has a significant Asian presence, the partnership with Red Card Global and Chou’s words suggest they have very big ambitions! 

‘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