Simona has an inspirational chat with Clinton Sparks – entrepreneur, investor, author, music producer, songwriter, multi-platinum DJ, and CBDO and Co-owner of Boston-based esports and gaming organisation XSET.

Grammy-nominated Sparks is responsible for selling over 75 million records, is owner of Get Familiar Radio, and Co-founder and owner of Bootē, a state of the art women’s athleisure line. He has worked with some music’s biggest stars including Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Rick Ross, Diddy, Pitbull, Ludacris, Big Sean, Akon, 2 Chainz, Eminem, Kanye West, Busta Rhymes, Tyga, and The Clipse, and has become a force in esports and gaming, first with FaZe Clan, and now with XSET.

Find out what makes XSET different from other esports and gaming organisations and where its going, get invaluable tips for success in business, and lots of real, no BS advice for winning big in life.

Discover more about XSET here, and get your FREE copy of How to Win Big in the Music Business here.

Staying with XSET, just last week the organisation welcomed esports, music, and culture star Erin Ashley Simon to its ownership team, and announced BMX pro Nigel Sylvester had joined the crew.

British competitive gaming culture brand EXCEL ESPORTS has extended its partnership with Belong Gaming Arenas. 

Belong Gaming Arenas is the official arena supplier for EXCEL’s League of Legends teams, and the extension will see both parties continue to work together to provide tools and content to help educate and bring gamers together. 

In addition to providing experiential opportunities and giveaways, enabling gamers to take their skills to the next level, EXCEL and Belong Gaming Arenas will also be collaborating to promote Belong’s Arena Clash events – a series of competitions providing players from across the UK with a platform to start their own path into esports. 

EXCEL and Belong Gaming Arenas originally teamed up in June 2019, and have since worked on several community events at Insomnia Gaming Festival and Belong Oxford Street, where EXCEL’s League of Legends players took part in meet-and-greets and 1v1s.

Discussing the extended partnership Chief Commercial Officer at EXCEL, Robin McCammon, said:

“We’re extremely pleased to extend our partnership with Belong Gaming Arenas, an important organisation within the UK gaming space that supports the growth and development of esports at a grassroots level. 

“As EXCEL continues to evolve, it’s important we work with partners that align with our vision. This partnership will help us continue to nurture and showcase the best UK talent the space has to offer and we look forward to future activations where we can bring both our communities together.”

While Head of Belong UK, Andy Dopson, added:

“We are delighted to renew our partnership with EXCEL. Partnering with the EXCEL team allows us to bring their fans and our community together across our gaming network. 

“We will continue to offer exciting new events and content alongside EXCEL as well as offering safe, inclusive community spaces across the UK where casual and competitive gamers can compete in organised grassroots esports tournaments and socialise with others who share their passion for gaming.”

EXCEL’s League of Legends teams compete across two leagues; the League of Legends European Championship (LEC), and the Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC). 2020 was a landmark year for EXCEL’s LEC team, who achieved their best results yet, and narrowly missed out on a spot in the playoffs. 

London-based EXCEL also competes in Fortnite, and is home to that title’s prodigy, Jaden “Wolfiez” Ashman, who hit the headlines as the youngest gamer to earn $1 million in esports. The organisation also has a multi-year partnership with telecoms giant BT, as the team’s Lead Partner. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Despite the name ‘EXCEL’ still conjuring up images of spreadsheets, the organisation definitely seems to have found a renewed energy, having just revealed a major brand update, complete with totally new visual identity and purposeful manifesto. Now, let’s hope the UK can just shake the curse of COVID, and live arena events can start rolling again. 

‘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.

Statespace, the parent company of Aim Lab, has secured $29M USD in a Series B funding round led by Khosla Ventures. 

The latest investment comes just six months after the gaming performance analytics company raised $15M in a Series A round, also led by Khosla Ventures and attracting participation from existing investors FirstMark Capital, Expa, and Lux Capital, and new investor June Fund.

Founded by a team of neuroscientists from New York University, Statespace launched its first product, Aim Lab, in 2017. Aim Lab is a first-person shooter practice tool, running on Steam, which uses cognitive science and artificial intelligence to help players improve. 

In May the training platform said it had 2 million registered users and 500K monthly active users, but that has now grown to some 5 million registered users and 1.5 million monthly active users. 

A new product, The Academy, is also planned for launch. This will allow users to pay for courses and tuition from top streamers and players including KingGeorge (Rainbow Six Siege), Drift0r (Call of Duty), Launders (Counter-Strike: Global Offensive), SypherPK (Fortnite), and Valkia (Overwatch).

AYO.NEWS says:

Although Statespace is notching up incredible growth, as the video gaming industry booms, such a large investment hot on the heels of its May funding round is quite surprising. However, when you consider that Statespace’s technology also has medical applications, with the company having applied for a grant to work with several universities to investigate its use for stroke and cerebral palsy rehabilitation, such a big investment makes more sense. 

‘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.

Daily fantasy sports operator PrizePicks has teamed up with US esports organisation Ghost Gaming. 

The partnership with Atlanta-based Ghost Gaming follows similar deals with MLB franchises Atlanta Braves and Miami Marlins earlier this year, and is part of PrizePick’s attempt to “establish a dominant hub of fantasy sports and esports in the southeast.”

PrizePicks and Ghost Gaming say they have a range of integrations planned, including competitions, digital content, and merchandise/apparel. 

Ghost Gaming is a newcomer to Georgia, having relocated from California following its recent acquisition by a group of investors which includes Todd Harris, former COO of SMITE developer Hi-Rez Studios and CEO of Skillshot Media. 

PrizePicks’ first excursion into the esports scene involved a partnership with the SMITE Pro League in spring 2019. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Fantasy esports seems to offer a lot of potential, but has yet to really find significant traction, so it will be interesting to see if this partnership can help catalyse things. However it pans out, it’s good to see Harris is already using his network to make things happen for the recently relocated Ghost Gaming.

‘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.

DDB Worldwide’s new dedicated esports and gaming network agency, DDB FTW, has announced a partnership with ESL. 

Prague-based DDB FTW was launched by New York-based advertising giant DDB last week, and billed as “the world’s first specialised esports and gaming network agency.” 

The partnership with MTG’s ESL is aimed at elevating and strengthening ESL and DreamHack’s commercial portfolio – including through offering opportunities to DBB’s existing clients. 

Discussing the collaboration Global SVP Brand Partnerships at ESL, Mark Cohen, said:

“For the past 20 years, we have been at the forefront of launching leading brands into the esports sphere, creating game-changing brand partnerships. Our cooperation with DDB FTW enables us to introduce their clients to our target audience and develop innovative brand strategies together for esports fans worldwide.”

While Global SVP Business Development, Bernhard Mogk, added:

“Gaming culture is deep, diverse, and nuanced. You cannot declare yourself a gamer and think you can speak their language.

“The FTW team has gaming in their DNA, several of them are accomplished esports competitors. This deep passion is the only way to forge meaningful innovation while respecting the integrity of the culture.”

And, DDB FTV CEO Global Esports & Gaming Lead, Darko Silajdžić, noted:

“We are entrusted with being the guardians of our client’s brands. So when we bring opportunities like ESL to them, they know there is a meaningful fit with their values and strategy.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Landing ESL, the world’s largest esports company, as one of its first clients is certainly a big coup for DDB FTW, and will put its claims to the test. ESL already has strong commercial relationships with many major brands, so it will be interesting to see if DDB FTW manages to pull in some new non-endemic names. 

‘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.

Clothing retailer H&M Netherlands will be supporting the official Dutch FIFA esports league, eDivisie, for two seasons.

The partnership will see the H&M brand gain exposure throughout the competition, both during and after games, and the fashion retailer will also create high-quality video content for fans. 

To celebrate the launch of the partnership, players Bob van Uden of FC Groningen, and Marc Groenland of Fortuna Sittard, played for fans at a specially kitted out H&M store on Leidseplein, Amsterdam.

Regarding collaboration Head of Marketing and Communication at H&M Netherlands, Laura Muscas, said:

“When you feel good, you perform better. A good outfit can definitely contribute to this. Partly for this reason, the eDivisie and H&M are a great match.

“The enormous reach of the digital football league makes the eDivisie an excellent partner for us to address a relevant group. We are very much looking forward to working with eDivisie to create appealing content that we can use to inspire young people.”

While Project Manager eSports at the Eredivisie CV, Arnoud Schonis, added:

“In any collaboration, it is essential for a partner to achieve the predetermined objectives. I am convinced that together with H&M we will offer our community fantastic content and activations and see positive results at the end of this season.”

The new season eDivisie kicks off on 17 November, with a prize pool of €100K – double that of last year. 

AYO.NEWS says:

With a significantly increased prize pool, and interest in FIFA esports surging around the world, the upcoming season should be the biggest yet for the eDivisie, so this should be a good call for H&M. 

Staying with FIFA in the Netherlands, last month Ajax launched its Gaming Academy mobile app, in partnership with cable network Ziggo, sportswear brand Adidas, and tech company Azerion.

‘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.