Expedia is making its debut in the world of esports as Official Travel Companion of the 2021 Esports Awards. 

The partnership will see Expedia work closely with the Esports Awards on creating a number of “epic moments” for attendees, viewers and fans showcasing the globality of the awards. Expedia says it will be organizing several co-streams for the night of the awards, featuring creators in different regions and dialects to create an “encompassing awards platform and an ultimate global celebration.”

This year will be the sixth edition of the Esports Awards, and will see the event make a return to the Esports Stadium Arlington, Texas on 20 November 2021. Over 37 awards will be presented throughout the evening, honouring all aspects of the esports industry. Expedia will be sponsoring the Esports Coach of the Year award.

Michael Ashford, CEO, Esports Awards, commented: “The travel industry has a natural synergy with esports like no other. Our audiences are happy to travel around the world for key gaming moments. The engagement potential for travel is second to none, from check in to check out you are able to connect with fans. That’s why we are extremely happy to be the first esports event to partner with a travel brand as prestigious and world-renowned as Expedia.” 

Mike Wolfe from Expedia Group, added: “We’re excited to announce this collaboration with the Esports Awards, an event as global as our travellers. We know the travel audience is a big part of the gaming family and we look forward to helping them, fans and followers unleash their travel greatness through the epic, in real life trips we all can’t wait to take again. As presenting sponsor of the Esports Coach of the Year Award, we’ll help celebrate the role a coach plays as their team’s ultimate companion and our partnership will feature one of the most celebrated coaches in the world on the big night on November 20th.”

Last year the Esports Awards were forced to go virtual due to the pandemic, but were still a great success, notching up a record-breaking 15.6 million viewers across the campaign, and seeing 5.1 million votes counted. 

Nominees for this year’s awards include some of the biggest names in the esports industry and beyond including FaZe Clan, League of Legends, 100 Thieves, CAA, BMW, and State Farm.

UK-based organisation Guild Esports has announced a partnership with Irish football club Finn Harps FC.

One of the lowest rated teams in EA Sports’ FIFA football franchise, Finn Harps has gained something of a cult status with esports fans. The collaboration with the club, which plays in the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division, is intended to raise the profile of Guild in the Republic of Ireland, and encourage local FIFA players to join Guild’s academy. 

In addition to a series of fan-led activations, Guild branding will feature on Finn Harp’s first and second replica kits and in FIFA 22, and the organisation will have a presence at Finn Park and on the club’s social media channels. 

Aidan Campbell, Marketing Officer at Finn Harps, said: “We would like to welcome everyone from Guild into the Finn Harps family. This partnership offers some genuinely exciting possibilities for Finn Harps and it began when we learned we had attracted a cult following on Guild’s FIFA show. This led to a series of meetings between our media/marketing team and Guild about the possibilities of working together on projects that could harness the huge crossover between live football and the Irish esports community.

“We’ve had alternative offers for shirt sponsorship, but we felt this represented an unprecedented opportunity to create initiatives that will engage a younger audience with the League of Ireland”.

Michelle Tierney, Chief Commercial Officer at Guild Esports, added: “We’re immensely proud of this unique partnership, and the opportunities it will offer for both Guild and Harps to create impact in Ireland’s growing Esports scene. We were drawn to Finn Harps because they are a fan owned club with a distinct identity, who seem to continually defy the odds. Harps are everyone’s second favourite team on FIFA, and we want to use this partnership to expand that reputation even further, and to position Guild as everyone’s favourite Esports team!”

Guild Esports is part-owned by legendary English footballer David Beckham, and has commercial partnerships with sandwich chain Subway, peripherals brand HyperX, and display brand Samsung Odyssey.

SteelSeries, the global gaming and peripherals brand, has been named as the official peripheral partner of The International Dota 2 Championships – the world’s biggest esports tournament. 

As official peripherals partner, SteelSeries will be providing its award-winning line of mice, keyboards, headsets, and accessories for players, and will be integrated into event activations. The brand will also have a physical presence at the event in Bucharest, Romania, giving fans the opportunity to interact with its products. 

In addition to delivering regular updates on Twitch.TV/SteelSeries, highlights on Instagram and Twitter, and weekly coverage on SteelSeries.com/blog, SteelSeries has also unveiled limited edition QcK Prism XL, which will be sold at and during the event. 

SteelSeries has been part of The International Dota 2 Championships since 2013, sponsoring teams and working with Valve to support the wider Dota community. For the 10th anniversary of the event, the brand is a returning partner of Red Bull OG, the two-time, back-to-back Champions of the The International Dota 2 Championships, and T1, one of the world’s most recognised esports teams.

Kinguin, the world’s first digital marketplace for gamers, is bringing Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) to its marketplace for the first time through a partnership with Bitcoin Vault (BTCV).

The partnership will see a selection of SkillzVault Ethereum NFTs available to purchase on Kinguin marketplace. 

Bitcoin Vault is a cryptocurrency trading platform that provides an extra level of security based on a three-private-key security software – mobile GoldWallet, desktop Electrum Vault and the Key Generator app. As well as featuring all the standard Bitcoin aspects, the extra layer of features provides users with extra transparency and freedom to purchase products using cryptocurrency.

SkillzVault is a gaming talent show created in partnership between Bitcoin Vault (BTCV) and ESE Entertainment. The gaming talent show is running from 28 July to 21 November in five countries: Brazil, China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam, with gamers taking part in one of the two fastest growing games in the industry – Peacekeepers Elite and PlayerUnknown Battleground Mobile (PUBGM). Viewers can also experience the excitement through SkillVaults’ Twitch profile and game.tv.

Kinguin users will be able to purchase three different types of static SkillzVault competition card NFTs exclusively through the Kinguin website using both cryptocurrency and fiat payment options. Each NFT represents one of the three heroes who feature in the SkillzVault gaming talent show, which includes a Japanese Samurai, a Brazilian footballer and a South Korean K-Pop star. Both Kinguin and Bitcoin Vault ensure each NFT sold is unchangeable and tamperproof.

Mateusz Mach, Director of NFT marketplace at Kinguin, said: “We’re really excited to partner with Bitcoin Vault, bringing our customers the opportunity to purchase an exclusive set of NFTs for the first time in our history. We’ve progressively been introducing more cryptocurrency payment solutions to our platform and for some time now, we’ve been working towards providing our customers with NFT offerings. We’re looking forward to continuing our roll out of NFTs on Kinguin marketplace and will soon be revealing even more exciting, exclusive NFT partnerships.”

Piotr Kozłowski, Chief Growth Officer at Bitcoin Vault, added: “Kinguin is a global marketplace that’s leading the way in its industry when it comes to integrating blockchain based solutions onto its platform, services that are becoming increasingly popular amongst the digitally native gaming community. Partnering with Kinguin’s marketplace will also provide gaming fans with the easiest, most convenient and safest way to purchase our SkillzVault NFTs.”

Media agency dentsu has announced the launch of dentsu gaming – an integrated solution bringing together the extensive gaming heritage and expertise of dentsu japan network with the global scale specialist capabilities within dentsu international. 

According to the company, dentsu gaming will be an enhanced gateway for gaming developers, platforms, and entertainment specialists to work with the world’s most iconic brands, or partner with dentsu on original IP development. 

The new solution is accessible through its production, creative CXM, and media agencies globally, including Carat, dentsu X, iProspect, Isobar, dentsumcgarrybowen, Merkle, and the Content Business Design Centre (CBDC), within dentsu Inc. 

Keiichi Yoshizaki, Executive Officer, Dentsu Inc., commented: “Our philosophy is that gaming is more than just advertising – it is about creating, amplifying and adding momentum to culture and the industry at large. With dentsu gaming we do this through our own in-house gaming studios, innovative business ventures, investing in gaming start-ups and through strategic partnerships at global scale and, this sets us apart from all others.

“Our unique gaming heritage in the Japanese market, coupled with the global scale of our international business ensures dentsu gaming is the ideal way in which we’re able to make authentic and meaningful progress for the betterment of the gaming community, our clients, our partners and of course our people and their passion for gaming.”

Peter Huijboom, Global CEO, Media and Global Clients, dentsu international, added: “We have a truly integrated and borderless business model at dentsu which ensures a seamless sharing of insights, deep-knowledge and specialisms to benefit our clients, regardless of their geography – dentsu gaming is a perfect example of this.

“Bringing together the exceptional talent and deep gaming expertise from across the group, this new global solution makes it easier for clients and partners to leverage the potential of gaming for business growth through local market dentsu agency brands they already know and trust.”

Ezekiel Elliot, the Dallas Cowboys running back, is the latest athlete to formally enter the world of esports, joining rapidly growing lifestyle gaming organisation XSET. 

Elliot has already been seen #ReppingTheSet during training camp, when he was sporting a variety of exclusive XSET merchandise, on this season of the HBO series Hard Knocks. 

As part of the XSET talent roster, Elliot will be streaming and playing titles including Call of Duty, Apex Legends, Madden, and NBA 2K, and the organisation says it will be announcing some exciting initiatives in the coming months. 

Regarding formally joining XSET, Elliot said: “I started gaming at the age of 8 or 9 and I think the gaming and esports industry is super dope. So many people from so many different places. I really admire the culture of the organization and what XSET stands for. Everyone’s passion and love of gaming and the family vibe. It’s a dope diverse community and XSET understands how to authentically connect to culture. It was a no-brainer for me.”

XSET CEO, Greg Selkoe, commented: “It is a massive honor to have Ezekiel as a part of the XSET family. He has a ton of great ideas that we are hyped about executing together. Not only is he a SET member, he is a significant investor in XSET as well.”

XSET Chief Business Development Officer, Clinton Sparks, added: “When I reached out to Zeke to discuss the gaming space and joining XSET, we both knew immediately that it was a no-brainer for him to come to REP THE SET. Zeke represents what we as an organization stand for: diversity, unity, family, and hard work. In addition to him being a world-class athlete, father, and friend, he is a legit gamer and we are excited to have him be a part of XSET.”

Staying with XSET, earlier this month, the organisation partnered with Roland, one of the world’s best-known electronic music equipment companies, for Drop The Bass, a clothing collaboration celebrating the cultural impact of the TR-808 drum machine.