WePlay! Esports and Epic Esports Events have announced a new $600K online Dota 2 tournament, OMEGA League.

Open Qualifiers will start on 20 July, and the action will culminate on 6 September. The league will include multiple competitive regions and divisions. English broadcasts will be handled by WePlay! Esports, while RuHub will take care of Russian content. 

According to the companies, the suspension of the WePlay! Pushka League Season 2, due to the COVID-19 crisis, has thrown the competitive scene into a “sort of twilight zone populated by an array of small tournaments making it very taxing on players, and hard for fans to engage emotionally.”

To remedy this situation, a coalition of organisations, including Alliance, Liquid, NAVI, Nigma, NIP, OG, Secret, and VP, has decided to build a “more sustainable competitive ecosystem” around Dota 2, with the first result being the new OMEGA League. 

Discussing the news Lead Esports Manager at WePlay! Esports, Vitaliy “Nexius” Bozhko, said:

“We are excited about the opportunity to work on interesting ideas and very curious about the reaction of the community. Our team and colleagues from Epic Esports Events are giving this event everything that we have. I really hope the audience will enjoy the results. The event takes place on the dates when we are used to seeing The International, and that impacts the level of responsibility we feel about OMEGA LEAGUE.”

While a representative of Epic Esports Events, Mark Averbukh, added:

“OMEGA League is a unique product. We are extremely thankful to the teams and our partners at WePlay! for working together on the vision of what an online event can and should be. We hope that this event will set the benchmark on the level of production and provide the fans many hours of premium content.”

AYO.NEWS says:

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, we did indeed see a flurry of smaller, hastily organised online tournaments launched for a variety of titles, but now that the crisis is dragging on, it’s good to see organisers and teams come together to create bigger, more structured events. 

Earlier today we reported that ESL and the Thai tourism and sports authorities have announced ESL One Thailand – an online Southeast Asian Dota 2 tournament for August.

‘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

Esports tournament organiser ESL has announced another Southeast Asian Dota 2 tournament, in the form of ESL One Thailand. 

The online tournament, which is being organised in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism & Sports (MoTS) and Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), will offer a total prize pool of $200,000 USD, and be divided into two divisions; Asia and America. 

ESL One Thailand is set to start on 8 August and run through to 6 September. 

Discussing the event Senior VP Product at ESL, Ulrich Schulze, said:

“We are very excited to bring some of the world’s best Dota 2 players together for this online competition, which will pave the way for live events in Thailand in the future. 

“By hosting the event online we are able to cross borders to unite players and fans even in those challenging times, and we are proud to have collaborated with the Ministry of Tourism & Sports and the Sports Authority of Thailand to provide local Thai players the chance to compete against some of Asia’s best pro Dota 2 teams.”

 While Minister of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, added:

“Bringing esports to Thailand does not only grow the local esports environment but will also attract more and more people to engage with sporting activities that this country offers for tourists worldwide in the future.”

Staying with ESL, earlier this week the company announced Curacao-based esports bookmaker GG.Bet will be official global betting partner for select Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 tournaments for the rest of the year.  

AYO.NEWS says:

With physical events still off the table for the foreseeable future due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, it’s great to see the Thai tourism and sports authorities are looking at the long-term and realising that even an online tournament like this is a good way to build a country’s esports profile. 

‘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

Yesterday saw the launch of XSET, a new gaming organisation founded by industry veterans, aiming to be a movement and force for change. 

XSET, founded by veteran esports executives including former FaZe Clan president Greg Selkoe, Wil Eddins, and Clinton Sparks, along with Framerate founder Marco Mereu, says it will be diving right into the centre of gaming lifestyle and culture, and create the “world’s most diverse, inclusive, culturally-relevant, and purpose-driven gaming and esports brand, embodying what it truly means to #reptheset.”

Discussing the new venture XSET COO and co-founder Marco Mereu, said:

“Gaming is the new pop culture. We are creating an entirely new gaming organization — one with integrity, creativity, and, most of all, the courage to build out an impressive and diverse roster of individual gamers who reflect the actual landscape of the new generation of America. 

“XSET means excellence and inclusion. We will set the standard and be the kind of role models the community of hundreds of millions of gaming fans deserve. The way I look at it, the future is set.”

While XSET Chief Business Officer and co-founder, Clinton Sparks, added:

“I am so excited to create an organization that highlights, supports, and reflects the actual make-up of the new generation of America – young men and women of diverse backgrounds and personalities.

“As an artist myself and someone who has shaped and shifted culture, I’m making it my mission to ensure that XSET leans heavily into the intersection of pop culture and gaming, especially in music. XSET will be the ultimate culture club. Get familiar.”

While XSET Chief Merchandising and Licensing Officer and co-founder, Wil Eddins, explained:

“When you #reptheset, it means something. When I looked around at other orgs in gaming, there weren’t a lot of people that looked like me, even though the global gaming community is extremely diverse. Gamers are from all walks of lifestyles and communities. 

“Gamers can now be considered the first adopters of culture since we all live in a digital and online world. They now have the ability to set trends in streetwear, sneakers, content, platforms, and music- and this reality isn’t reflected in today’s gaming organizations. It became clear to me that we had the perfect opportunity to do something different with XSET.”

Initially, XSET says it will field pro esports squads in Valorant, Call of Duty: War Zone, and Fortnite. 

AYO.NEWS says:

XSET certainly looks slick, and is aspiring to some pretty high ideals, so we’ve got high hopes for the organisation. 

Of course, there’s a nagging feeling that the project is just jumping on the misguided ‘woke’ and ‘cancel culture’ revolution that is ripping apart communities and destroying real liberal values, freedoms, and tolerance. 

But hey, that’s just us being cynical, right? Let’s see what happens 🙂

‘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

Golf’s original major, The Open Championship, has launched an online edition, presented by Mastercard. 

‘The e-Open’ launched on 13 July and is set to span three months, with qualifying events and knock-out rounds running through July and August, culminating in a Grand Final showdown in September. 

The virtual stroke play tournament is set at the iconic links of Royal St George’s, and uses Topgolf’s World Golf Tour free online gaming platform. 

According to organisers, 28 million users will get the opportunity to compete for the chance to win an exclusive trip to The 149th Open in 2021.

Though this is a first for The Open, Topgolf is no stranger to esports, having previously partnered with TCL to add esports lounges to six Topgolf venues, and teaming up with Super League Gaming to house amateur esports events in February 2019. 

Topgolf Media also worked with the European Tour and DreamHack Sports Games to launch the European eTour series – to run parallel with the scheduled European Tour events in 2020. 

The LPGA eTour Live, launched by The American Ladies Professional Gold Association (LPGA) also used Topgolf’s World Golf Tour platform. 

AYO.NEWS says:

While golf is a long way behind sports like football, basketball and motor sports when it comes to embracing esports, perhaps because of its older average fan base, the COVID-19 crisis (which is rapidly worsening globally, despite a reprieve in Europe) seems to have been the wake-up call it needed. 

The Open Championship organisers have also shown some more digital initiative, creating ‘The Open for the Ages’ – a virtual Championship created using film archive that spans a 50-year period to create something totally new. 

‘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

SIS (Sports Information Services) has massively increased the content for its esports betting product in response to strong customer demand. 

The multi-channel supplier of 24/7 betting products says it has doubled the output of content available through its SIS Competitive Gaming product. 

Developed specifically for sportsbooks, SIS Competitive Gaming will now carry more live head-to-head competitions, including the NBA 2K20 SIS Blitz League, which takes place Monday to Friday, from 4pm to 11pm. 

SIS says it’s esports product, which allows bettors to watch and bet on popular events, has been well-received by its existing operator customers, including British gambling giant bet365. 

A complete end-to-end solution, SIS Competitive Gaming features live streaming, commentary, on-screen graphics with betting triggers, data, and an extensive range of markets and prices. 

The company says it delivers a high-integrity, high-margin product with a strong emphasis on fairness and transparency – which includes the provision of a deditated Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC)-trained referee to monitor every match. 

Discussing the news Head of Product Proposition at SIS, Rohini Sardana, said:

“Following the successful launch of SIS Competitive Gaming, we’re delighted to announce that the service will include even more matches during peak times for bettors to enjoy, with a 7 hour broadcast of back-to-back matches offering multiple betting opportunities.

“These high-quality betting opportunities have proven to be a valuable addition for sportsbooks in recent months, outperforming similar competitor products due to the robust integrity which has been welcomed by operators and players. Interest in SIS Competitive Gaming is high, and we’re excited to be rolling out the product with more operators in the coming months.”

AYO.NEWS says:

What can we say? Many in the industry expected the surge in esports betting to be a temporary blip, driven solely by punters looking for alternatives to cancelled traditional sports, but even though many sports have now resumed, the esports betting boom shows no signs of slowing. 

‘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

UK-based esports organisation Demise has entered a three-year partnership with Italian sportswear brand Kappa. 

The deal makes Kappa the official kit supplier of London-based Demise, and an official range of branded products will be launched in August. 

Commenting on the partnership Founder and Co-Owner of Demise, Andy Manitara, said:

“Kappa have taken a huge step in supporting the UK esports scene and we’re very excited for them to be our official kit supplier. To be working with such a major sports brand is testament to how far Demise has come and we’re just getting started.”

While Sales Manager for Kappa UK, Dave Bandell, added:

“We are delighted to become the apparel partner for Demise. Having met the guys it was clear they share the same ambitions as us in the esport arena and we welcome them to our growing stable of teams. We look forward to a successful partnership.’’

In April Kappa also partnered with UK-based esports organisation Diabolus, and the brand also has commercial agreements with MAD Lions, Royal Never Give Up, and Vexed Gaming. 

Demise currently competes in League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Valorant, and FIFA. 

We are excited to reveal @Kappa_UK as our new Kit sponsor for the next 3 years! 🔥

We cannot wait to reveal our new jersey and range, but enjoy this little teaser 😏#FearTheReapers 💀 pic.twitter.com/wqzU1Pibue

— Demise (@DemiseGG) July 15, 2020

AYO.NEWS says:

Most major sportswear brands, from Nike and Adidas to Champion, are now heavily invested in esports, so it’s not surprising to see Kappa expand its esports portfolio. And, from Demise’s point of view, such a long deal has to be a big morale boost as it looks to build its commercial partnerships ahead of the new competitive season.

‘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