Esports Entertainment Group (EEG) is now the official esports tournament provider for Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise, Philadelphia Union.

Via its recently acquired Esports Gaming League (EGL) platform, EEG will host tournaments for Philadelphia Union, giving fans the chance to win team merch and “one-of-a-kind” experiences. 

Discussing the deal Esports Entertainment Group CEO, Grant Johnson, said:

“We’re excited to further extend our reach into Major League Soccer through our partnership with the Philadelphia Union. Traditional sports teams continue to incorporate esports into their programs, and we are quickly becoming the go-to provider for tournament solutions for this highly attractive market segment.”

While SVP of Corporate Partnerships at Philadelphia Union, Jean-Paul Dardenne, added:

“Our team and Major League Soccer have been at the forefront of incorporating esports as a way to connect and further engage our fanbase. With this partnership, we are excited to continue to build on our success in esports and to provide another way for fans to connect to the team they love.”

EEG operates the VIE.gg esports betting platform and is listed in the United States, but also maintains offices in the European igaming hub of Malta. 

AYO.NEWS says:

It’s safe to say EEG is on a mission to grow its presence in the United States and beyond – just a few weeks ago the company also announced similar partnerships with MLS’ LA Galaxy, and the NHL’s LA Kings. And, just last week, EEG revealed plans to acquire venue company Helix eSports and B2B software provider ggCircuit, for a total of $43M USD. 

‘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.

Simona is joined by Julian Tan, Ph.D, Head of Digital Business Initiatives & Esports at Formula 1, to find out how the iconic racing organisation has expanded its esports offering this year, and what the future has in store.

The COVID-19 crisis has seen the popularity of sim racing explode, pulling in new fans from real-world motorsport and opening up compelling new opportunities for gamers, teams, and commercial partners alike. Now, AYO.NEWS’ Simona Pinterova gets the inside take on F1’s approach to harnessing esports as a way to connect with the fans of the future.

Find out more about F1 esports here.

Julian was recently on the panel for the Perfect Partners session (sponsored by Neosurf) at SBC Betting on Sports Europe – Digital, along with Steven Salz, Co-founder and CEO of PMML Corp – the parent company of leading esports and sports betting site Rivalry. Don’t miss Simona’s chat with Steven here.

Gaming peripheral brand Logitech G has agreed a multi-year exclusive League of Legends licensing deal with Riot Games.

The partnership will see Logitech G create a range of official League of Legends products, launching with a line inspired by Riot’s virtual girl group K/DA. 

Logitech G says the K/DA range will include the Logitech G733 gaming headset, G304/G305 gaming mouse, G840 gaming mousepad, and exclusive G333 League of Legends in-ear headset. 

The company says it will be using the licensing deal to focus especially on its Logitech G733 Lightspeed Wireless RGB Gaming Headset – billed the “most comfortable headsets Logitech G has ever designed.”

K/DA was created in 2018 and first performed at that year’s League of Legends World Championship Opening Ceremony. The virtual group is made up of five League of Legends characters – Ahri (voiced by Cho Mi-yeon), Akali (voiced by Jeon So-yeon), Evelynn (voiced by Madison Beer), Kai’Sa (voiced by Jaira Burns), and Seraphine (voiced by Lexie Liu).

AYO.NEWS says:

We often comment on the way video gaming and esports is now inextricably linked to pop culture, and nothing perhaps illustrates that as well as K/DA. Given the insane popularity of League of Legends, this deal is a pretty big coup for Logitech G. 

‘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.

Russian esports organisation Virtus.pro has partnered with Blocksport to launch a new fan engagement app called ‘Bearloga.’

The app, which will be available on both Android and iOS, is slated for launch this month, and will give users access to exclusive content, direct chats with players, and other “money can’t buy” benefits. 

Discussing the news CEO of Virtus.pro, Sergey Glamazda, said:

“We are proud of our fans and try to be closer to those who support us in and out of the game. Such fan apps are pretty common among sport clubs, but we decided to further its range of functions and added a lot of things you can’t find in any other app. From now on our fans will not only get access to exclusive content, but also to making decisions regarding the club’s future together with management.”

While CEO of Blocksport, Vladimir Luilka, added:

“Trying to build an app without in-depth software development experience is like trying to build a sports car from scratch. We have all this required expertise and we’re extremely pleased to see that also one of the Top 10 Esports team shares this view and identified the added value of our platform.”

Last month, former IBM Vice President, Heinrich Zetlmayer, joined Blocksport’s board of directors, to support the business as it looks to grab a bigger share of the burgeoning fan engagement market. 

Staying with Virtus.pro, in summer the organisation entered a major partnership with Chinese car brand Haval – part of the Great Wall Motors group. 

AYO.NEWS says:

As we’ve previously noted, the battle for the fan engagement space is heating up, with both esports and traditional sports organisations and clubs now able to choose from several compelling offerings. Competing with Blocksport are platforms like Socios.com, from Malta-based Chiliz, which also offers benefits like voting rights, along with platforms offering NFT-based collectibles and games, like Sorare. 

‘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.

Games and esports analytics provider Newzoo has announced a partnership with Southeast Asian organisation EVOS Esports.

By collaborating with EVOS Esports, which currently operates over 15 pro teams across five countries, Newzoo will benefit from valuable insights into the rapidly growing Southeast Asian market. These insights will help it improve estimates featured in its Global Esports Market Report and on the Newzoo Platform. 

In return, EVOS Esports will benefit from market insights to help the organisation benchmark, identify promising opportunities, and access strategic insights. 

Talking about the partnership Newzoo Co-founder and CEO, Peter Warman, said:

“Southeast Asia is currently the most exciting region for the overall future growth of esports and gaming, both from a business and consumer engagement perspective. EVOS Esports is right at the center of this.

“Partnering with an ambitious and forward-thinking esports organization like EVOS Esports supports us in keeping up with this huge esports region to further strengthen our view on the global and local esports ecosystems.”

While co-founder and CEO of EVOS Esports, Ivan Yeo, added:

“We are excited to be the first esports organisation in Southeast Asia to form this partnership with Newzoo. With Newzoo’s market intelligence and expertise, it will assist us in making actionable data-driven decisions as we scale our business verticals across the region. With access to the tools and insights provided by Newzoo, we look forward to achieving continued success, especially when discussing with commercial partners.”

Staying with EVOS Esports, last month its parent company, Attention Holdings Pte. Ltd., secured $12M USD in a Series B funding round. 

EVOS Esports currently manages 160 gaming influencers, exclusively partners with more than 200 esport talents, boasts a total YouTube following of over 64M, and has an Instagram following of more than 62M.

AYO.NEWS says:

Despite the impressive amount of money flowing into esports organisations right now, with commercial pressures increasing, it’s critical that resources are directed to the right places so that they can generate a healthy return for investors – access to insights like that provided by Newzoo is key to achieving this.

‘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 Global Esports Federation has confirmed the inaugural Global Esports Games (GEG), has been scheduled for December 2021. 

Set to be an annual flagship event, the GEG will feature multiple esports competitions, “world-class” opening and closing ceremonies, the GEFcon thought-leadership convention, and GEFestival celebration of inclusive esports culture, highlighting music, art, technology, fashion, food, and more.

Regarding plans, President of the Global Esports Federation, Chris Chan, said:

“The Global Esports Games serves as a platform to showcase the world’s best athletes, players, industry partners, brands, innovations and the responsible use of technology in esports.

“In parallel, the GEF will stage GEFcon – a multi-platform conferencing showcase for dialogue on responsible gaming, technological advancement and shared learning – bringing people together for the celebration of esports.”

While Co-Chair, Coordination Commission, Global Esports Federation, Angela Ruggiero, added:

“I look forward to ensuring that esports athletes have the optimal conditions to shine. I am particularly interested in the vast potential and diverse opportunities esports can offer the world.

“I believe esports is delivering in new ways, leveraging on technology that can appeal to younger audiences and fans across the world. The Global Esports Games will be an exciting new frontier for the convergence of esports and traditional sports.”

The GEF claims to have received an “unprecedented response” to its global call for expressions of interest to host the Global Esports Games (though, considering its the first such call, this is hardly surprising). 

In an official statement, the GEF said it was “positioned to reset the bar and offer a new level for athletes and players and the entire esports community,” and claims the GEF will be “elevating the credibility, legitimacy and prestige of esports.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Blah blah blah. The only thing unprecedented about the GEF is the amount of waffle it spews out. If it wants to be taken seriously it should cut its ties with the Saudi royal family before it preaches about diversity and inclusion. And, guess what? The esports and video game community likely couldn’t care less about your Olympic-style obsession with pretentious committees and ceremonies. 

‘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.