London-based esports tournament organiser Gfinity has partnered with Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management (ADMM) to create a new sim racing championship.

The five-year deal will see the creation of the jointly-owned Esports Racing Championship (ERC), which will feature a “unique format”, previously unseen in sim racing. 

The races will be hosted by Gfinity and the company’s proprietary technology, Race Control, will be used for in-race adjudication and data feeds, “delivering new levels of insight to fans about driver and car performance.”

There will be two ERC seasons per calendar year, with the first starting sometime this year, and ADMM’s marketing and social media teams will work together with the Gfinity Digital Media group to build new channels and a global community of gamer racing fans under the ERC brand. 

ERC will be supported by the 100% Arabic language site www.RealGaming101.me, which provides content for the more than 93 million gaming fans in the MENA region, and was created by Gfinity and YaLLa Esports in April this year.

Discussing the news CEO of Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management, Al Tareq Al Ameri, said:

“ADMM has a strategic focus to develop and invest in premium racing ventures and virtual racing is an important pillar in this vision. The Esports Racing Championship will welcome the very best teams and drivers from around the world to compete on a global stage at the highest level.

“Gfinity is the right partner for this championship with a shared passion and vision and has proven experience of executing world class esports programmes. We look forward to sharing more information about this and other esports initiatives that ADMM and Gfinity will be creating together.”

While CEO of Gfinity, John Clarke, added:

“Motorsports is a key pillar of our strategy and we are excited to be entering into a long-term partnership with Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management. We have a shared passion for the Esports Racing Championship and a desire to build a product that will sit alongside the biggest brands in motorsport. There are millions of gamers that love racing.

“We have created a format that will excite and draw them into the ERC, giving sponsors and advertisers the opportunity to engage with this typically hard to reach audience.”

Gfinity also hosts the F1 Esports Series since it launched in 2018, and recently extended its partnership with Formula 1 through 2022. The company has also hosted the Forza Racing Championship. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Considering the experience and calibre of both Gfinity and Abu Dhabi Motorsport Management, we’re expecting big things from the ERC, and we’re curious as to what the “unique format” will be. 

Out of all esports, sim racing has perhaps benefited most from the COVID-19 crisis, as it proved relatively easy to transition real-world events to the virtual world – with a similar, if not superior, viewing experience for fans, an existing highly accurate virtual world, and plenty of real-life drivers and teams willing to support it. 

Earlier this week we reported how real-world Formula 1 drivers Fernando Alonso and Rubens Barrichello will be racing for the new FA/RB Allinsports team in the Le Mans Virtual, while last week we revealed Lamborghini is entering esports through a partnership with Assetto Corsa Competizione by Kunos Simulazioni. 

‘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. 

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Malta-based gambling online operator Esports Entertainment Group (EEG) has set up a subsidiary in the United States. 

EEG says its new subsidiary, GMBL New Jersey Inc., will apply for its New Jersey license in the “near future”, and will then aim to secure gambling licenses across the United States. 

On 9 April this year, EEG was listed on the NASDAQ with an initial public offering that had generated around USD $2,750,000 in warrants and common stock as of 31 May 2020. 

Commenting on the news CEO of Esports Entertainment Group, Grant Johnson, said:

“Today’s announcement marks yet another significant milestone and provides the market with even greater insight as to our growth strategy,” said Grant Johnson, CEO of Esports Entertainment Group.  “The US market represents a very big opportunity for us and thanks to the continued support of our valued shareholders, we intend to aggressively pursue it in 2020 and beyond.”

EEG operates the VIE.gg online esports betting platform, which supports fantasy, pools, fixed odds betting and 18+ gaming, and can currently accept wagers in more than 149 jurisdictions globally, including Canada, Japan, and South Africa. 

Despite New Jersey having been one of the states driving post-PASPA gambling legislation progress, it has lagged far behind its arch rival, Nevada, when it comes to esports betting. 

As we’ve been reporting, recently, especially during the COVID-19 lockdowns, the Nevada Gaming Control Board has authorised wagering on a range of esports, including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Call of Duty, Dota 2, iRacing, and Overwatch.

AYO.NEWS says:

Staying with EEG, yesterday we reported the company had appointed former Wehype Global Sales Director, Magnus Leppäniemi, as new Vice President of Marketing and Head of Esports at VIE.gg. 

‘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. 

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The Singapore-based Global Esports Federation (GEF) has detailed the members of its Brand, Marketing, Commercial and Communication Commission.

The commission will be led by Lorenzo Giorgetti, GEF Board Member and Chief Commercial Officer of top-flight Italian football club A.C. Milan. 

Commenting on his appointment, Giorgetti said:

“The Global Esports Federation convenes the stakeholders in the world’s dynamic esports community from different backgrounds, geographies and business models.

“I look forward to engaging with the world’s commercial brands – established and those emerging – and the market at large to bring tremendous value to the GEF and our worldwide properties.”

Several other senior sports industry executives are also on the board, including:

• Jerry Ling, chief of staff, World Taekwondo
• Chris Overholt, president and CEO, OverActive Media Group (parent company of MAD Lions, Toronto Defiant, and Toronto Ultra)
• Peter Zeytoonjian, senior vice president, United States Olympic and Paralympic Properties
• Yasuhiro Nakamori, director, sport department, Japanese Olympic Committee
• Ali Kiremitcioglu, executive board member, National Olympic Committee of Turkey
• Anne Kelly Aikman, international sports marketer, former vice president in marketing at the International Olympic Committee
• Marco Nazzari, managing director, international, Nielsen Sports

Backed by Chinese conglomerate Tencent, the GEF launched last year to “convene the world’s esports ecosystem.” Reflecting its ambitious intentions, last month the GEF entered an exploratory partnership with the Commonwealth Games Federation. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Though the GEF undoubtedly has some extremely talented and influential people onboard, one has to question if allowing itself to be so dominated by Olympic and former Olympic executives is really the best thing. 

While Olympic athletes are widely respected, the International Olympic Committee, which has attracted persistent allegations of corruption and cronyism, doesn’t exactly have the best public image.

This, coupled with the GEF’s close connections to Tencent, could well cause much of the esports world to reject its attempts to build a cohesive, standardised global esports ecosystem. 

‘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. 

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Chinese live streaming platform DouYu has acquired the media rights to BLAST Premier. 

The agreement covers BLAST’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament for the rest of 2020, and gives DouYu exclusive Mandarin-language broadcast rights. 

Discussing the deal VP Distribution and Programming at BLAST, Alexander Lewin, said:

“Our partnership with streaming giant DouYu is further testament to the rapidly growing popularity of BLAST Premier in China. The Chinese market continues to play an integral role in the global esports world, and we are delighted to team up with DouYu to entertain millions of BLAST fans in China.”

According to DouYu, it had 163.6 million monthly active users last year. 

BLAST also has broadcasting rights agreements covering BLAST Premier in place with TyC Sports (Argentina), DAZN (Brazil), TV 2 Denmark, Winstrike (CIS), RTP, and ES1. 

Despite the COVID-19 crisis playing havoc with live esports events, and forcing the cancellation of planned LAN tournaments, BLAST has managed to continue expanding its offering, adding Dota 2 to its lineup, introducing new CS:GO events, and attracting €12.5m of investment. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Broadcast rights deals are playing an increasingly important role in BLAST’s business model, and helping to ensure the long-term viability of tournaments. It’s also ensuring that fans around the world are provided with high quality, localised content. 

‘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. 

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Esports Entertainment Group has appointed Magnus Leppäniemi new Vice President of Marketing and Head of Esports at betting platform VIE.gg.

Leppäniemi is a seasoned veteran of the esports and gaming industry, with more than two decades of sales and marketing experience. Since 1996, he has sold and managed global esports partnerships for major brands and partners including Intel, Ben! Zowie, Electronic Arts, ESL, and the NBA. 

Before joining Malta-based Esports Entertainment Group Leppäniemi was Global Sales Director for Wehype, and prior to that he served as Sales Director North America at DreamHack. 

Commenting on the appointment CEO of Esports Entertainment Group, Gran Johnson, said:

“Magnus is a proven marketing executive with invaluable knowledge of the gaming and esports industry. Over more than two decades in gaming, Magnus has built an extensive network of relationships that could provide tremendous value as we execute on our global growth strategy.”

While Leppäniemi himself added:

“I’m very excited to join the Esports Entertainment team. As the first online betting company to list on NASDAQ, the Company has a great pedigree that we can continue to build on. We want to build trust with the players, fans, teams, publishers, and the community and give them a unique esports experience. 

“Esports betting is here to stay, and we want to build the premier platform in the industry that benefits the gaming and esports communities. I look forward to accelerating our marketing efforts, refining our go-to-market models, and building out our esports initiatives.”

Staying with Esports Entertainment Group, a few weeks ago we reported the company had started onboarding new affiliate marketing partners for its relaunched VIE.gg esports betting platform. 

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Spanish esports organisation Vodafone Giants (Giants Gaming), has acquired fellow Spanish organisation x6tence. 

The acquisition follows last month’s successful funding round that saw Vodafone Giants raise €3 million. According to the organisation, it plans to integrate x6tence, including its managers and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster, into its existing structure. 

With the acquisition, Giants Gaming has grown to 90 employees – 70% of whom are players and coaching staff. While the organisation now claims more than 7,650,000 subscribers on YouTube, 3,565,000 on Twitch, nearly 3 million on Instagram, over 2,325,000 on Twitter, 2,693,000 on Facebook, 24,500 on Discord, and over 5,000 on TikTok. 

Discussing the acquisition CEO of Vodafone Giants, José Ramón Díaz, said:

“Giants Gaming has been consolidating an unprecedented market leadership position in recent years and we believe that it is time to make a change of pace and go a step further. With the acquisition of the X6tence brand and our incorporation into the project, we kick-start a new stage of hope where we will work like never before to reformulate the rules of esports.”

While former CEO of x6tence, Adrián Gómez, added:

“For us, it has been key to know that X6tence changes owners but maintains its three main pillars intact: respect for its history, passion for a shield and the Firm respect for our hobby. Now is the time to work and return the club to the place it deserves. We return to our origins, and with Counter-Strike for flag, we will not rest until the X6tence fan feels pride in these colours again.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Vodafone Giants didn’t waste much time splashing the cash, but with the global economy tanking in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, it makes sense for organisations to consolidate into more efficient operations, so they will be better placed to weather the coming storm. 

Staying with the Vodafone Giants, in April the organisation entered a sweet deal with local lollipop brand Chupa Chups. 

‘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.