The Asian Electronic Sports Federation (AESF) has partnered with Coventry University in the UK. 

The partnership, which is intended to increase opportunities for students, will focus on the development of the university’s esports course, and involve extensive collaboration with AESF and its members. 

Discussing the partnership Director General of the Asian Electronic Sports Federation, Sebastian Lau, said:

“Coventry University’s expertise in sports management and business studies will help further support our member associations, players, and officials in developing content around the education of esports. 

“This collaboration not only signifies AESF’s continuous effort in supporting this industry, but it also reflects Coventry University’s dedication and commitment to adapting and keeping up with the times.”

While Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International Development) at Coventry University, Dr David Pilsbury, added:

“We are delighted to have reached this key milestone in developing this crucial partnership for the university. We understand the importance of esports globally and in Asia particularly and are delighted at the opportunity to work with the AESF to support the athletes, players, officials and associations who make up this vibrant community as it continues its rapid growth and innovation.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Though universities in the UK are starting to invest in esports facilities and courses, for example with Staffordshire University introducing the country’s first esports degree back in 2018, it seems the Brits still have a lot of catching up to do with their cousins across the pond in the US. 

Still, partnerships like this, will likely prove very valuable in accelerating the development of esports in Britain’s education sector, and we look forward to seeing what they get up to. 

Staying with university esports, last week we reported the University of Kentucky had signed a 13-year esports facility naming rights deal with UK Federal Credit Union.

‘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

Activision Blizzard’s Call of Duty League has announced the entire postseason will be held online, in response to the continuing COVID-19 crisis. 

After consultations with players and team owners, the league’s management concluded the playoff portion of the competition should be played entirely online.

Teams will play from remote locations, and are collaborating with the league on “additional competitive integrity measures.” This will include a universal camera setup, that will enable organisers to view the players, computers, monitors, and competition areas. 

The camera set-up will be provided to all competitors, and in-place prior to the start of the New York Subliners Home Series on 10 July. 

A pool of nine servers will be available for the competition, with three available for each series, and teams matched up with servers that are closest to each other in terms of latency. 

Organisers also say they will be bulking up the production, technical, and officiating staffing teams, so they are ready to handle any issues that might arise in the new online competition environment. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Despite many seeming to think the COVID-19 crisis is over, it is still very serious, with infection rates surging and lockdowns returning in many parts of the world, so it’s great to see Call of Duty League is being responsible and moving entirely online for now. 

‘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

Getty Images has partnered with all-female simulation racing competition W Series Esports League.

The agreement makes Getty Images the “exclusive official photographic partner” of the league, which was launched in response to the real-world W Series championship being postponed until at least 2021 due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Getty, which is well known for its involvement in traditional sports photography and media, will capture in-game images from the remaining races of the league. 

Discussing the deal Global Head of Content at Getty Images, Ken Mainardis, said:

“Ever since Getty Images was founded 25 years ago, our specialist operations team and industry-leading photographic talent have been at the forefront of creating innovative sports photography. 

“This partnership furthers the W Series aim in elevating female esports to a global audience and demonstrates how Getty Images leads the way in delivering cutting-edge content to our customers around the world.”

While CEO of W Series, Catherine Bond Muir, added:

“We at W Series are delighted to partner with Getty Images, whose expertise is unmatched across all sorts of photography and whose brand values in respect of diversity and inclusion are a great fit with those of W Series.

“But although the W Series Esports League provides great on-screen entertainment for fans and poses a stern sporting test for our drivers, there is a bigger purpose to it also: we hope that women and girls who perhaps have not engaged with esports or in particular sim racing, either as viewers or players, will be inspired by the exploits of our 20 female racers to embrace it in greater numbers than they have hitherto.”

It’s not Getty Images’ first foray into esports, as it already signed a similar partnership with the FIA-sanctioned Gran Turismo championships earlier this year. 

AYO.NEWS says:

This may be an “exciting” deal for W Series, but it’s hard to see how this can be successful. Getty’s pedigree in traditional sports, editorial and news photography is unquestioned, but its prices are also eye-watering, and its business model seems like something from another era. 

Will any users of esports content really be able to justify spending close on €500 for an editorial image from the W Series Esports League? It seems doubtful. And, the question has to be asked – sure, it can be argued that those prices are justifiable for events which involve photographers, with very expensive kit, going out into the field and taking images, but for computer generated in-game images from a video game? 

‘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

21st Century Fox-backed live streaming platform Caffeine has secured $113M USD in a Series D financing round. 

The round was led by Fox Corporation, Cox Enterprises, and Saudi Arabia-based Sanabil Investments, and also attracted participation from Silicon Valley VC firms Andreessen Horowitz, and Greylock Partners.

According to Bloomberg, Caffeine is now valued at over $600M, and will be aiming to “differentiate its programming” from its more established rivals like Twitch and YouTube. To this end, it will be investing in “new forms of real-time interactive entertainment.”

Caffeine claims to have signed up two million new users over the last twelve months. It has also entered some notable partnerships, including an exclusive one with Drake, that brought Ultimate Rap League (URL) to the platform. 

Other notable artists now streaming on Caffeine include Offset and Doja Cat, along with JuJu Smith-Schuster of the Pittsburgh Steelers, NBA stars Collin Sexton and Kyle Kuzma, and increasing numbers of gamers, including Crainer, Cartoonz, and Ohmwrecker, along with Ukraine-based esports organisation Natus Vincere. 

Caffeine also features content from major companies like Disney, Fox Sports, ESPN, DreamHack, and Riot Games. 

AYO.NEWS says:

The live streaming platform space is increasingly crowded, but Caffeine seems to be doing something right, and is still attracting content creators and financial backing. Of course, with the world plunging into an unprecedented economic crisis competition is set to intensify, and it remains to be seen if it can successfully innovate and differentiate itself enough to prosper in the long-term.

‘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

Simplicity Esports and Gaming Company has acquired PL Gaming Texas LLC, one of America’s most successful franchisee-owned esports gaming centres.

According to a statement from the company, the acquisition was a mixed cash-share type deal, and Simplicity has also executed a lease assignment and amendment that replaces fixed rent with a rate determined from a percentage of gross sales.

Discussing the acquisition President of Simplicity Esports, Roman Franklin, said:

“Our franchisee has done an excellent job building, staffing, and growing this location. The gaming center consists of over 30 gaming stations, gaming related merchandise and accessories for sale, and a quality staff that will remain in place after the acquisition to continue serving the center’s thousands of existing customers.

“The percentage rent lease structure gives us the necessary flexibility to navigate COVID-19 related impacts on customer traffic counts by reducing fixed costs. As previously announced, we continue to use the strength of our corporate guarantee to partner with landlords on percentage rent leases.

“Prior to this acquisition, Simplicity Esports only reported the royalty fees collected from the franchisee in its financial statements. However, because financial reporting for majority owned gaming centers is consolidated, as a result of this acquisition, 100% of this gaming center’s revenue will now be included in Simplicity Esports’ financial statements.”

Simplicity Esports and Gaming owns North American organisation Simplicity Esports, which currency fields teams in Apex Legends, League of Legends, Overwatch, and PUBG Mobile. The company also owns Brazil-based Flamengo Esports, and is a franchisor of over forty esports and gaming centres across America through its PLAYlive Nation business. 

Last month Simplicity announced it was in discussions to sign a Free Fire team for Flamengo Esports. According to mobilegamer.com, Garena’s Free Fire is the most popular mobile game in Brazil, and was the most downloaded mobile game in the world in 2019.

As we previously reported, in March 2020, Simplicity secured an investment from student-run funds manager Triton Funds. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Despite the COVID-19 crisis severely affecting the physical esports centre sector, especially in hard hit states like Texas, Simplicity is obviously looking at the long-term growth potential here. 

‘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

Aussie organisation Chiefs Esports Club has partnered with global skincare brand L’Oréal Paris Men Expert.

The deal makes the brand a major partner for the rest of 2020, and will cover activations including giveaways, special tournaments involving Chiefs Esports Club players, and likely content too. 

Discussing the partnership CEO of Chiefs Esports Club, Nick Bobir, said:

“We’ve all had late night gaming sessions and sacrificed how we feel the next morning to get one more game in. 

“L’Oréal Paris Men Expert is a perfect fit for gaming and esports culture to keep us going and feeling fresh. We’re excited to introduce such a prestigious brand to the industry and can’t wait to see the benefit for all our fans.”

While Marketing Director for L’Oréal Paris Australia, Raagjeet Garg, added:

“We are extremely excited to be partnering with The Chiefs in 2020 and introducing many of their fans to L’Oréal Paris Men Expert, a portfolio of skincare products designed to deliver an instant energy boost and set men up for success. Joining forces with The Chiefs is a testimony of building brands together & providing value for our fans and consumers.”

Chiefs Esports Club also has commercial partnerships in place with AOC, Bond University, HyperX, Marvel, Menulog, Mwave Australia, and Red Bull. 

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AYO.NEWS says:

Skincare isn’t exactly the first thing that springs to mind when it comes to esports teams, but L’Oreal Men Expert is no stranger to the sector, having previously sponsored China’s top League of Legends competition, the LPL – so it seems to be yet another brand that’s finding value in esports. 

‘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