UK esports organisation, Rix.GG, has signed Callum “SeaPeeKay” Knight as a content creator.

Callum “SeaPeeKay” Knight is a family-friendly Twitch-partnered streamer from Doncaster, England who has amassed a large dedicated fanbase in Minecraft. He is best known for speedrunning and breaking world records within the game.

Jamie Lewis, founder, said: “Callum is one of the most exciting up and coming streamers in the UK right now – and we are incredibly excited to have him on board. We’ve got some genuinely groundbreaking ideas in the pipeline, and I can’t wait for Rix.GG’s fanbase to see!”

Callum “SeaPeeKay” Knight, content creator, said: “I’m really excited to be joining Rix.GG, it is a fantastic opportunity for me to make awesome content for a rising team in the sports scene! Rix will go on to do amazing things and I’m glad that I get to be a part of the journey.”

The signing of Knight follows just days after Julia “MissRage” Kreuzer and Elliot “Pegsazeus” Sinclair joined the organisation as its first content creators and brand influencers. Rix.GG was founded by Jamie Lewis and a team of investors in 2020, and launched with the signing of one of the UK’s best Valorant teams. The organisation says it now aims to add rosters in other titles, while supporting the wider esports scene with tournaments and events.

Esports betting company Luckbox has appointed Mike Bazzi as its new Affiliate Manager.

Bazzi, who previously held the position of Affiliate Manager at casino brand WINBET, will be responsible for managing and scaling the Luckbox’s affiliate marketing program.

The hire follows the appointment of Thomas Rosander as Chief Customer Officer last month as Luckbox continues to bolster its marketing team.

Rosander said: “Affiliates are a key pillar in our marketing strategy, and Mike brings demonstrable experience of scaling programs and working closely with partners to build high-performance channels.

“Mike also has a proven track record of working across different verticals, including sportsbook and casino, which will be relevant moving forward. His passion for esports, particularly League of Legends and CS:GO, means he understands our market and fits in with the Company’s esports-authentic ethos.”

Bazzi said: “As a lifelong gamer, Luckbox is the perfect opportunity to be in the gaming industry using my gambling and affiliate experience.

“I have seen both sides of the affiliate world, which has given me a strong understanding of both the needs of the operator and those of partners. I am looking forward to helping Luckbox grow with the support of our affiliates.”

Luckbox is targeting accelerated growth this year after its parent company Real Luck Group listed on the TSX Venture exchange under ticker TSXV: Luck.

Staying with Luckbox, last week the operator also announced the appointment of former Red Bull, Riot Games, and Fox lead, Nevzat Ucar, as its new Head of Content. 

Last month AYO.NEWS’ Simona Pinterova caught up with Real Luck Group CEO, Quentin Martin, to find out how things are going as a publicly-listed company, and what’s planned for the coming year.

Psyonix has detailed its plans for the North American Collegiate Rocket League (CRL) 2021 Spring Season.

Divided into Western and Eastern conferences, the league will feature ten teams from the United States and Canada in each division. 

Action is scheduled to get underway on 14 March with two days of open qualifiers per conference. The successful teams will move on to join four pre-seeded teams, with the double-round-robin league play starting on 31 March and running for five weeks. 

Regional playoffs will take place at the start of May, with the four leading teams from each division qualifying for Conference playoffs, and the best two from each playoff then progressing to the single-elimination Spring Championship on 6 May. 

The 2021 CRL Spring Season will boast a shared prize pool of $75K USD, which will be distributed among teams as scholarships ranging between $2K and $5.5K in value. 

In addition to the Collegiate League, Psyonix is also launching a new open competition on high school esports platform VS, featuring a $50K prize pool, again paid out in the form of Scholastic Awards.

2021 CRL Spring Season schedule:

• Open Qualifier East #1: March 14, 9 a.m. PDT (12 p.m. ET)
• Open Qualifier West #1: March 14, 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. ET)
• Open Qualifier East #2: March 21, 9 a.m. PDT (12 p.m. ET)
• Open Qualifier West #2: March 21, 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. ET)

• League Play, Week #1: March 31, April 1; 5 p.m. PDT (8 p.m. ET)
• League Play, Week #2: April 7 & 8, 5 p.m. PDT (8 p.m. ET)
• League Play, Week #3: April 14 & 15, 5 p.m. PDT (8 p.m. ET)
• League Play, Week #4: April 21 & 22, 5 p.m. PDT (8 p.m. ET)
• League Play, Week #5: April 28 & 29, 5 p.m. PDT (8 p.m. ET)
• Eastern Conference Playoff: May 4, 5 p.m. PDT (8 p.m. ET)
• Western Conference Playoff: May 5, 5 p.m. PDT (8 p.m. ET)
• Spring Championship: May 6, 5 p.m. PDT (8 p.m. ET)

All the action will be streamed on Rocket League’s Twitch channel. 

AYO.NEWS says:

As we’ve said many times, a healthy collegiate esports infrastructure is crucial for the long-term sustainability of the professional esports ecosystem, so it’s fantastic to see a major developer like Psyonix continue to invest in the space, and we’re sure the scholarships will be appreciated by many students.

Red Bull M.E.O., the global mobile competition where Teamfight Tactics (TFT), Hearthstone®, and PUBG MOBILE players across the globe have been battling for supremacy, comes to an exciting close in March 2021! 

In its third year, the mobile open will close out its most ambitious season to date with an extraordinary thirteen day world final beginning on March 17th, transporting fans to a virtual Istanbul. 

The event will see national winners from 28 countries compete on the world stage to identify the best players on the planet. Alongside the highest tier of competition, the world final will offer fans a digital festival celebrating one of the world’s most beautiful cities, including virtual tours, exciting live streams, interactive challenges, and much more.

Uniquely positioned on both the continents of Europe, and Asia, Istanbul is the perfect digital battleground for the global competition. The immersive playground will feature three areas dedicated to the Red Bull M.E.O. Season 3 games, with the tournaments taking place in iconic and historic locations of Istanbul. The Hearthstone competition will take place at Grand Bazaar, one the oldest and largest markets in the world, and TFT will take place at the vibrant Ortaköy Square.

The PUBG MOBILE finals will be split into two regional events to ensure the best possible experience for players, crowning Red Bull M.E.O. Season 3 Champions of East and West respectively, and will take place at the Haydarpaşa Train Station & Dock. Engaging events throughout the final will include an airdrop treasure hunt available in the PUBG MOBILE district. 

The finals will also offer virtual tours of some of the city’s most iconic locations including Sultanahmet Square and Galata Tower, video content and streams, interactive mini games, and more. Istanbul has already played host to the Red Bull M.E.O. National Finals for Turkey in July, a spectacular event which saw players compete from their cars on a moving ferry to ensure social distancing

The high-stakes competition kicks off on March 20th with the global final for the fast-paced strategy card game Hearthstone. Truly open to all, the exciting Red Bull M.E.O. Season 3 Finals stream will see players compete in Riot Games’ auto battler TFT on March 27th. 

The thirteen day festival will host two competitions to crown the best PUBG MOBILE players on March 22nd (East), and March 29th (West), and some of the biggest pro organisations in the world battle rising stars from every corner of the globe who have proven themselves in national competitions.

Red Bull M.E.O. Season 3 has been the most successful yet, with more players than ever before competing in national events in 28 countries. Season 3 began in May 2020, and has seen more than 22,000 players around the world register to compete.

Tune into the Red Bull M.E.O. Season 3 Finals virtual Istanbul celebration on twitch.tv/redbull:

• March 20th: Red Bull M.E.O. Season 3 Hearthstone World Final
• March 22nd: Red Bull M.E.O. Season 3 PUBG MOBILE World Final (East)
• March 27th Red Bull M.E.O. Season 3 Teamfight Tactics World Final
• March 29th: Red Bull M.E.O. Season 3 PUBG MOBILE World Final (West)

Leading Swedish esports platform Challengermode has announced it will be launching into the North American market. 

With a focus on building out existing and new partnerships, driving customer acquisition and expanding its international team, this move will help deliver against its mission to make esports accessible to everyone. 

The Challengermode platform serves as an esports ecosystem for key actors, including game developers, tournament organizers, content creators and brands. It provides a place where millions of esports fans and casual gamers can compete at any level of skill. 

For organizers it offers an automated and scalable tournament and league infrastructure, and flexible monetization tools.For years, Challengermode has been the home for various national, collegiate and corporate esports leagues throughout Europe, as well as a wide variety of official competitions for game publishers like Riot Games, EA Games and PUBG Corp (KRAFTON, Inc.) – with millions of competitions played on the platform yearly. 

Among its suite of fully automated game titles is the popular mobile game Gods of Boom that integrated with Challengermode’s platform in order to provide its community with accessible esports tournaments. 

CEO at Challengermode Robel Efrem said: “We’re incredibly excited to announce our official expansion into the US. Thanks to our established industry partners we are well positioned to bring grassroots esports the focus it deserves, giving players an all important place to compete and level up their skills – while simultaneously acting as a gateway for other stakeholders to participate in the esports economy. 

“Beyond creating a space for players and organizers, our presence in the US is also targeting further integration with game developers looking to build out the esports aspects of their games, allowing new esports titles to hit the ground running.”

Challengermode has been rapidly adopted by thousands of tournament organizers that use its infrastructure to scale up their esports competitions – even ahead of the official US launch.The esports infrastructure is made available through Challengermode Spaces, with which any gaming community, tournament organizer or game developer gets access to their own all-in-one esports arena. Spaces makes it possible and accessible to grow, engage and monetize an esports or game community.

Philip Hubner, Chief Business Development Officer at Challengermode: “North America is home to over 57 million esports viewers but, despite the scene’s exponential growth in the last decade, the vast majority of this audience has never had a chance to participate in esports in any capacity – this is especially true on consoles.

“The industry is still extremely top heavy, and built too much around sponsorship, broadcasting licenses and advertising revenue, rather than consumer revenue and participation. Challengermode is looking to turn the current industry model on its head – creating value for all esports stakeholders from the bottom up as well as the top down. Game Developers to us are a key part of what will drive this change, and so we’re excited to work more closely with developers across the Americas – and around the world.”

With recent funding from eWTP Innovation Fund, the global investment arm of the Alibaba Group, GP Bullhound, Telia Ventures and Swedish soccer player Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Challengermode has cemented its position as the fastest-growing grassroots esports platform.

The company has hosted millions of competitions with millions of players in Europe alone, and has partnered with some of the globe’s biggest names in esports, including FIFA, renowned esports team Fnatic and digital gaming festival DreamHack. The platform already supports some of the most popular esports titles in the world, including League of Legends, DotA 2, FIFA and PUBG with more being added all the time.

AYO.NEWS says:

Though Challengermode has already achieved significant success in Europe, cracking the massive and potentially extremely lucrative US market would take things to a whole new level, and put it on course for truly global growth. The platform has the financial resources, experience, talent, and drive, so we’re expecting it to make a splash.

XSET, the revolutionary gaming organization, and QC Holdings, the home of Quality Control Music, the legendary hip-hop record label, Quality Films, and QC Sports, have announced a significant and wide-ranging strategic partnership, including Quality Control’s investment in XSET.

QC and XSET are known for bringing fresh, creative approaches to their businesses, and now these two industry pioneers bring their shared unique vision together to usher in a new cultural space. XSET is built on a commitment to diversity and equity in gaming, which includes elevating representation of communities of color, women, and all gamers who have their own unique style and swagger. QC is equally committed to these values, continually demonstrating the same focus in business, making this alliance a natural fit.

In the coming months, Quality Control and XSET will embark on several significant initiatives, including the creation of various forms of content, including long form, short form, and recurring series. In addition, the two companies will work together on high-profile music collaborations, joint recruitment and management of new gaming talent, integration of existing QC talent into the XSET roster, activation of exclusive music, gaming and lifestyle events, exciting merchandise collaborations, music related licensing deals with gaming publishers, and much more. 

Since it burst onto the music scene in 2013, Atlanta-based Quality Control Music — better known as QC — has dominated the hip hop music space, while moving beyond the borders of genre or country into the realm of the global. Founded by industry veterans Kevin “Coach K” Lee and Pierre “Pee” Thomas, QC’s unique and proprietary star-making formula has launched the careers of such hip-hop luminaries as Lil Baby, Migos, Lil Yachty, City Girls, and Cardi B, to name but a few. QC now takes their proven expertise to the explosive pop gaming space with this exclusive partnership and investment into XSET, kicking off with the premiere of a short film featuring Atlanta native and pro Fortnite player Ashton “Astonish” Harris, who is joining QC Sports and XSET’s roster as a content creator and competitive gamer. 

“We are beyond hyped to join forces with Quality Control,” says XSET CEO and co-founder Greg Selkoe. “QC are visionaries and early identifiers of the hip hop and gaming revolution. We have enormous respect for them and are thrilled to be able to tap into QC’s incredible creative abilities and business acumen as we continue to grow together. QC meets their audience in the places where they discover music- and gaming is new music’s newest locale. This relationship crystallizes our existing synergies, and synthesizes a brand new creative and artistic medium.” 

“I’m extremely excited to work more closely with my brilliant and longtime friend Kevin Lee,” added Clinton Sparks, Chief Business Development Officer and co-founder of XSET. “The brains behind QC and XSET have been responsible for shaping and shifting culture for over 15 years, and have had a significant impact on building successful talent, businesses, brands, and blueprints for others to follow. Joining forces and combining our creativity and innovation creates a dominant force that intersects gaming and music, and continues to raise the bar on everything we do while pushing the culture forward.”

“We are passionate to help inner city kids to learn about gaming and other options for them in using their time now and careers in the future,” says QC founder and CEO Kevin “Coach K” Lee. “It’s about aligning the QC brand that we’ve built in rap with XSET in gaming to create movements for their future in gaming, to go from geeky to cool and open up that industry to black and brown communities.”

Only six months old, XSET has already established itself as a markedly different kind of gaming organization. The collective continues to grow at a breakneck pace, partnering with high-profile brands such as Ghost Lifestyle, HyperX, SCUF Gaming, Roots Canada and Wahlburgers, and attracting top-tier, world famous talent, including Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist Swae Lee, BMX legend Nigel Sylvester, 14-year-old female Olympic skateboarding phenom Minna Stess, Fortnite pro Thwifo, and pro athletes such as NFL star Kyle Van Noy of the Miami Dolphins. In addition, XSET fields top competitive esports teams, including the world’s best CS:GO team, which happens to be all-female. Sitting at the intersection of gaming and culture, XSET’s robust merchandise offerings are some of the most sought-after in the industry, featuring high-profile collaborations and exclusive pieces fans can’t find anywhere else.

Find out more about XSET, as AYO.NEWS’ Simona Pinterova catches up with Clinton Sparks.