UK-based esports organisation Fnatic has announced a partnership with Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky. 

The collaboration will involve various digital content campaigns, and see Kaspersky’s logo featured on the jerseys of the organisation’s League of Legends academy team, Fnatic Rising.

Sam Matthews, CEO of Fnatic, commented: “We’re delighted to work with Kaspersky to deliver such an important message to esports fans and gamers across the world. Their mission for fair play and fearless gaming aligns perfectly with Fnatic’s mission, and we can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on.”

Andrew Winton, Vice President of Global Marketing at Kaspersky, added: “In order to make gaming truly fearless you need to ensure it is thoroughly protected. We know that not only because we are a global cybersecurity company, but also because many Kaspersky employees are avid gamers. We understand gamers’ interests, needs and behavior, and aim to make sure they enjoy the best of what technology brings.

“We are pleased to cooperate with Fnatic and support one of the world’s premier esports teams achieve their ambitions, while at the same time, learn more from the professional esports community to further improve our products for a wider gaming audience.”

Kaspersky is no stranger to esports, having released a professional solution for esports tournament operators to counter cheating, and previously sponsored Spanish organisation Vodafone Giants.

Staying with Fnatic, last month Japan’s Marubeni Corporation led a US$17M funding round in the organisation.

Four of China’s biggest franchised esports leagues have signed the Tencent Esports Anti-Match-Fixing Convention. 

League of Legends Pro League (LPL), King Pro League (KPL), Peace Elite League (PEL), and CrossFire Pro League (CFPL), have joined Tencent Esports and nine other competitions, including Call of Duty: Mobile Major, Clash Royale Pro League, and QQ Speed S League, in signing the convention. 

At the core of the initiative is a Tencent developed blacklist. Any staff or players found involved in match-fixing will be listed on it and barred from all future esports competitions held by the convention’s signatories. An anti-doping process is also set to be adopted. 

Speaking at the Tencent Global Esports Summit, GM of Tencent Esports, Mars Hou, said: “Tencent Esports show “Zero Tolerance” on match-fixing. Tencent Esports will unite all Tencent internal competitions and leagues to build a ‘Blacklist database.’ No matter players or staff, if they match-fixed the game, they will not able to attend all Tencent-related competitions. We will set ourselves as an example to others, building a clean esports ecosystem.”

Yet another specialist esports betting site has gone live, in the form of Dragoni.gg.

Dragoni.gg (pronounced Dragon Eye) is operated by Eclectic Gaming Solutions, which holds a UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) license. 

Initially, the site is offering betting on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, and League of Legends, with more titles set to be added shortly. 

Dragoni Founder, Mark Cole, explained: “Traditional bookmakers have viewed eSports as ‘just another market’ like tennis or football but it is far more nuanced than that. Very few people bet without doing any research – even if they are supporters backing their own team. eSports bettors are no different and Dragoni’s offering will, as a result, be a more immersive experience than previous eSports-only bookmakers, most of whom have now diversified their business into other areas of the industry.

“eSports is growing in popularity almost exponentially and we feel very strongly that nobody has catered for the needs of the eSports bettor fully. I am also happy to talk with traditional bookmakers looking for a properly tailored eSports product as Dragoni is intended to be both a B2B and B2C product.”

Esports and gaming brand Envy Gaming has made a strategic investment in streamer tool provider Botisimo. 

Botisimo offers chatbot, live stream marketing, analytics, and audience activation tools compatible with streaming platforms including Twitch, YouTube, Facebook, Discord, and Trovo. 

Adam Rymer, Envy Gaming CEO, will also be joining the Botisimo board, and Envy Gaming will be adopting Botisimo’s technology for its players, streamers, and creators. 

Oscar Armstrong, CEO of Botisimo, commented: “To have such a respected esports organization like Envy Gaming invest in our company only continues to validate Botisimo as a leader in our industry. Through Envy Gaming’s strategic partnership, we look forward to rolling out new features that will continue to accelerate the growth of the esports and live streaming industry.”

Adam Rymer, Envy Gaming CEO, added: “Envy’s investment in Botisimo is an exciting and strategic alignment between two North Texas-based organisations pushing for important advances in entertainment technology. Envy’s investment in Botisimo is an exciting and strategic alignment between two North Texas-based organisations pushing for important advances in entertainment technology.”

In March, Envy Gaming raised US$40M in an investment round led by Gray Television. 

Envy Gaming joins Mason Bridge, LLC, as an investment partner in Botisimo. 

Tim Storer, managing director of Mason Bridge, said: “The live streaming industry has captured an overwhelming majority of the Millennial and Gen Z demographics and is on pace to be valued at nearly $185 billion by 2027. Esports organizations are among the early adopters taking notice and transforming into content producers that reach into all forms of entertainment beyond just gaming. Botisimo is well positioned as the first livestream marketing tool that serves organized live streaming at scale, and we are excited to welcome Envy Gaming as a strategic investor and partner.”

Denmark-based esports tournament organiser BLAST has announced its expansion into EA’s Apex Legends. 

Featuring a €40K prize pool, BLAST Titans will bring together 40 European Apex Legends teams. The action is set to run over two weekends, from 23-25 July, and from 31 July – 1 August. 

40 teams will take part in a double elimination battle royale on the first weekend, with the top 20 teams making it through to the second weekend. 

Confirmed teams for the event include Alliance, Aqualiz, Endeavour, Fight of Fancy, Fire Beavers, FlavorOfTheMonth, Forg Gang, Gambit, Magicians, NAVI, NEW Esports, Purge, SCARZ Europe, SoloQgoats, TD, Third Impact K1CK, Totem Esports, UNDERRATED, and Yapeers. 

Apex Legends is the second battle royale title BLAST has embraced, having announced a partnership with Epic Games for the Fortnite All-Star Showdown earlier this month. 

Staying with BLAST, earlier this week the tournament organiser teamed up with online bookmaker Betway to challenge the esports community to claim gold with four Olympic-themed challenges on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.

Raven, the esports apparel brand, and London-based shoe and apparel retailer Footpatrol, have teamed up to release a range of Call of Duty League (CDL) collections. 

Collections for Atlanta FaZe, London Royal Ravens, Los Angeles Thieves, and OpTic Chicago, will be available to buy at an exclusive pop-up in Soho, London, on 10 July. Despite Footpatrol being most famous for its sneakers, this collaboration is solely focusing on clothing. 

London Royal Ravens content creators Liam ‘Jukeyz’ Lunt and Angelika ‘Angelika’ Slon, along with custom controller brand SCUF Gaming, and audio brand ASTRO Gaming will also be present at the event.

Adam Cooper, Creative Director at Raven, commented: “It was a joy to collaborate with Footpatrol and get lost in the collections on detailed construction, all the way from the contrasting sherpa knit and polyester to the debossed coach jacket aglets. We’re incredibly proud to be leading the way for CDL merch in Europe and are very excited to see where the long-term partnership will take us.”

Sam Hodgkinson, Marketing and PR Manager at Footpatrol, added: “With our store being within the heart of Soho and having such a strong sense of community cemented within it, the last year has proven a real challenge so having this opportunity to immerse ourselves within the world of esports and work on this project with both Raven and CDL has been a great experience.

“We hope that with this collection, we can further cement the connection between the gaming community and the sneaker community! Launching the project locally in our neighbourhood of Soho, we can’t wait to see these two worlds collide, we look forward to seeing you all there!”

AYO.NEWS says:

Once again, we’re seeing the growing importance of apparel and merchandise to esports organisations. Launching with a pop-up like this might be a sign of things to come too, as the world recovers from COVID. 

#WelcomeToSoho

[PART 2/4]@ATLFaZe by Raven x @Footpatrol_ldn

Sold exclusively to UK fans on 10th July 2021 in Soho, London.

Pop-up details: https://t.co/KOtMzr88SM#ATLup

Ft.@ASTROGaming, @codleague, @ScufGaming pic.twitter.com/ZvdloUJ8yW

— Raven (@RavenGG) June 22, 2021