Esports Entertainment Group’s esports wagering platform, VIE.bet, has been named exclusive betting partner of CS:GO tournament cs_summit 8. 

VIE.bet will be offering live odds and special promotions for the eighth edition of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event, which is organised by California-based Beyond the Summit. 

The tournament will run online from 14-30 May, and will be broadcast live in both English and Portuguese. 

VIE.bet Director, Bux Syed, said: “The Summit, produced by BTS, has always been an event that is exciting and entertaining across all esports communities. Whether its CS:GO, Dota 2 or Smash Bros., the uniqueness of this event catches viewers from all over the world. My team and I are very excited to partner with BTS for this event.”

Over the last year, VIE.bet has entered partnerships with Dignitas, Movistar Liga Pro Gaming, and Infamous Gaming. Meanwhile, parent company EEG has forged a plethora of partnerships in the sports world, including with the Baltimore Ravens, Denver Broncos, LA Galaxy, LA Kings, New England Patriots, New England Revolution, Philadelphia Eagles, and Philadelphia Union. 

Staying with EEG and VIE.bet, earlier this month the operator announced a controversial partnership with esports encyclopedia, Liquipedia.  

Global bookmaker Pinnacle has revealed it is extending its Pinnacle Cup esports tournament to Dota 2 for its second edition. 

Featuring a $100,000 USD prize pool, the Pinnacle Cup is being run in collaboration with esports tournament organiser Relog Media, and will involve teams from Europe, Russia, and the CIS region. 

As with the previous CS:GO edition of the Pinnacle Cup, esports data platform GRID will be the event’s official data partner. Pinnacle says it will be offering a comprehensive selection of both pre-game and live in-play betting markets. 

The action kicks off on 5 May, and will comprise an initial 10-team round-robin stage, followed by a best-of-three double-elimination bracket. The qualifying teams will be joined by two invited Joining the qualifying teams in the playoff stage will be two invited teams. Semi-finals will follow, and then a best-of-give grand final will take place on 30 May. 

Teams confirmed for the tournament include Viking.gg, Spirit, Hellbear Smashers, and Extremum. 

Regarding the plans, Paris Smith, CEO of Pinnacle, commented: “After a fantastic start to the Pinnacle Cup, we are delighted to carry on this series with Relog Media, expanding further into the esports ecosystem. The heart of what we do at Pinnacle is engaging with the esports community, and with the introduction of The Pinnacle Cup – Dota we plan to deepen that connection with the wider esports audience. 

“There is no better way for us to continue this journey, than branching out into Dota 2, where we can continue offering fans the best connection to their favourite esports teams and players. We are ambitious and excited for what this tournament will bring and look forward to continuously setting the standard for these types of event.“

Milutin Pecic, Relog Media CEO, added: “As passionate Dota 2 players at Relog Media, we’re ecstatic about our next tournament series with Pinnacle. We hope this is just the start of our offerings to the competitive teams across the globe. Pinnacle’s track record and success in Esports so far made it an easy decision for us to go forwards with them. We also had a ton of fun in the CSGO edition of The Pinnacle Cup. A proud day for us all here at Relog Media.”

Ubisoft has named Aim Lab as the official FPS training partner for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege globally (excluding China), across all platforms. 

The goal of the partnership is to help new and existing players assess their gameplay, train core skills, overcome skill plateaus, and compete in Skills Challenges and Combines to unlock in-game rewards. 

Aim Lab was built as the ultimate training solution for players of first-person and third-person shooters, blending cutting-edge performance tracking and analytics with artificial intelligence and machine learning to make players better, faster. 

To maximize the way players train and learn new skills, Aim Lab has replicated Rainbow Six Siege physics including player movements, weapon recoil and game environments, beginning with graybox versions of the popular competitive maps Oregon and Clubhouse. 

Aim Lab will keep building new ways for players to take their skills to the next level and prepare for ranked matches, with new tasks and features that help teach specific skills like recoil control, entry fragging, and more advanced concepts beyond just aiming and shooting.

During the partnership, Aim Lab players will also have the opportunity to earn in-game rewards in Rainbow Six Siege, such as an exclusive Aim Lab skin, for completing specialized training programs. Integrations related to the partnership will be available for PC this summer, with console integrations coming later this year.

“Aim Lab is excited to develop the official training programs to help Rainbow Six Siege players of all levels master core skills and compete at the highest levels,” said Dr. Wayne Mackey, founder of Aim Lab. “Our goal is to deliver a fun and engaging experience while helping players win even more ranked matches.” 

“We are proud to work with Aim Lab on an ambitious partnership,” said the Rainbow Six Siege development team. “This is a great opportunity for players to grow with a tool recognized as the ultimate FPS/TPS training program for gamers of all levels and is a step forward in terms of players’ skills in-game. We are happy and excited by this new collaboration and we hope our players will enjoy it as well!”

Berlin International Gaming (BIG) has signed Brawl Stars and Clash Royale players, marking the organisation’s entry into the rapidly growing mobile esports sector. 

According to the organisation, mobile esports now make up some 51% of the total revenue of the global gaming industry, generating $77.2B over the past year, while the number of mobile gamers reaching 2.4 billion in 2020. 

BIG’s new Brawl Stars team consists of Lars “Lars” Mayer, Deen “NeeDeeN” Sahinovic, and Ruben “SugarSnort” van Schilfgaarde. Their work will be assisted by analyst and team manager Adrien “Shoto“ Desjardins. The organisation has also welcomed Clash Royale pro Luis “Schwarzen“ Keller.

Brawl Stars is currently one of the world’s most popular mobile games, with over 265M downloads so far. Both Clash Royale and Brawl Stars are part of the ESL esports ecosystem, which provides a consistent structure for the competitive aspect.

Commenting on the news, BIG CEO, Daniel Finkler, said: “I am excited to announce that BIG is now involved in mobile esports. This move is a major milestone in our history. The growth rates of the mobile gaming market significantly exceed the traditional gaming markets for years. Already today, the overall market volume exceeds the PC and console market, and the future looks undoubtedly very promising. 

“We believe strongly in the mobile community and have made a conscious decision to enter it. With professional players in Brawl Stars and Clash Royale, we now have an excellent starting point for our future mobile operations. Both games are very established and part of the ESL mobile esports ecosystem. I`m already excited to see our new athletes compete.”

Staying with BIG, last month the organisation renewed its partnership with international online betting and gaming company Betway. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Until recently, mobile esports was undoubtedly more prominent in Asia and Latin America than Europe and North America. However, mobile gaming has simply become too big to ignore for any major esports organisation, wherever they are. And, with mobile technology evolving at a breakneck pace, this is only going to accelerate. 

BallStreet Trading, the free peer-to-peer sports and entertainment prediction platform, has secured a multi-year partnership with Teamfight Tactics (TFT) North America esports.

The collaboration will see BallStreet create a first-of-its-kind competitive second screen experience for TFT fans, with the platform hosting free-to-play contests during official North American competitive TFT events, and serving as an official extension of the competitive TFT fan-viewing experience. 

Brand sponsors will gain the opportunity to create unique and compelling digital marketing channels and be part of live TFT events. BallStreet, TFT, and third-party brands will collaborate to create rewards and prizes for viewers who tune into TFT competitions.

Scott San Emeterio, BallStreet CEO, said: “We are elated for the opportunity to work with Riot Games and offer a real-time competitive experience to fans of North American TFT esports. Our focus will be on understanding the TFT audience and making sure we are enhancing their viewing experience. 

“Through BallStreet’s next-generation fantasy game, we hope to give competitive TFT fans an engaging platform where they can connect, compete, and win great prizes while watching live matches. We’re excited to help enhance the viewing experience of competitive TFT with a never-before-seen product in the space.”

Matt Archambault, Head of Esports Partnerships for NA & OCE at Riot Games, commented: “BallStreet Trading delivers games of calculated strategy and skill, which makes BallStreet an exciting complement to competitive TFT. We’ve seen how dynamic and engaging fantasy games can be in traditional sports and competitive League of Legends communities, and we cannot wait for competitive TFT fans to enjoy their first fantasy TFT experience through BallStreet.”

More information will be released in the coming weeks with regard to timing of details of the upcoming TFT set Reckoning tournament dates, BallStreet market types, and the start of the BallStreet markets.

Canadian esports entertainment and events company TGS Esports is set to acquire Even Matchup Gaming (EMG) for CAD$1.1M (approx. €730K euro). 

EMG’s assets include Canada’s biggest fighting game event, Get On My Level (GOML), and New York-based Super Smash Bros tournament Let’s Make Moves. In total the company has hosted and broadcast over 100 events in the last two years. 

Since 2019, EMG has enjoyed 100+ million social interactions, and interacted with 18+ million viewers, with 50+ million minutes of their content consumed.

Last year, the COVID-19 crisis forced events to move online, leading to a significant surge in popularity. In 2019, GOML attracted over 1,700 competitors and racked up 1.7M total live views, but in 2020 the number of competitors increased to an estimated 3,000, and over 10M total minutes were watched.

TGS says that the deal will enable EMG to leverage its team and technology to scale and enter new cities and countries, while reducing the costs of running events.

Joseph Cribari, CEO of Even Matchup Gaming, commented: “We have seen incredible growth over the last few years, and joining the TGS family will enable us to leverage the TGS team and infrastructure to offer more exciting events at a lower cost. With the backing of TGS, we are looking forward to expanding into new markets, developing key partnerships, and continuing to grow our player base.”

Spiro Khouri, CEO of TGS, added: “EMG is a property that is synonymous with esports. I have been a big fan for a long time and am excited to work with Joe and his team to help EMG get to the next level. TGS works with many brands that are always looking for additional value in this space. We can now open up EMG events to our partners which creates more value while also driving expanded revenue opportunities to TGS.”

Staying with TGS Esports, late last year the company also launched a dedicated esports and gaming talent management firm, Discover Management.