SheIS, an initiative to promote and elevate women in sports, has entered esports through a partnership with Canadian organisation Lazarus.

The partnership will see female players from Lazarus’ League of Legends and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams appointed as athlete ambassadors.

Commenting on the news President of Tiidal Gaming, owner of Lazarus, David Brisson, said:

“We believe in progressing women in esports and are thrilled to partner with the SheIS Collective to help further that goal. Our Lazarus Esports’ female roster gives us the ability to align with like-minded organizations to build profile within the sports industry and shine a spotlight on female competitors.”

While Founder of SheIS, Brenda Andress, added:

“We are extremely excited to expand our SheIS Collective into the esports world and to welcome our newest leaders to sit among the SheIS Collective, further cross-pollinating our efforts and embracing the power within our leagues and with their amazing athletes. By strengthening this group, we are showing the sports world that we are ready to up our game and showing everyone that we can have a positive impact on women’s sports.”

SheIs currently works with several big-name sports brands includi

Female sporting initiative SheIS enters esports through partnership with Canadian esports organisation Lazarus.

ng adidas, National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL), Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL), and WWE.

AYO.NEWS says:

Though we have to applaud the work SheIS is doing in traditional sports, the fact that it has got involved in esports could backfire. Afterall, while it is understandable that in many traditional, more physical sports, where men are on average physically different, segregation is logical in terms of both fairness and safety, in esports things are different. It could be argued that, far from furthering equality, and albeit no doubt unintentionally, focusing on gender differences in a world that really doesn’t need segregation at all, might actually help create barriers in people’s minds that weren’t there to start with. Just something to be careful of.

Acer’s gaming brand, Predator, has been announced as North American esports organisation Team Envy’s official PC, laptop and monitor partner.

The partnership will see Team Envy’s headquarters equipped with Predator laptops, desktops and monitors, and the brand will be jersey sponsor for the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG).

Team Envy will also work with the brand to create video content and activations, including the ‘Predator After Party’ at the House of Blues, during PAX East, on 29^th March.

Commenting on the partnership President and COO of Envy Gaming, Geoff Moore, said:

“Acer’s early support of the competitive esports scene and Envy’s long success as a professional gaming organization make a perfect match. We’re excited to kick off a partnership with Acer at a time where our Envy PUBG team just finished top three in the first stage of their season and our business is firing on all cylinders.”

While Vice President of Marketing at Acer, Richard Black, explained:

“The Predator gaming line is designed to give players a competitive edge over opponents. With premium speed and graphics at their fingertips, Team Envy’s players will have industry-leading systems to best support their expert training. Sharing a mutual passion for esports and innovation, Team Envy is an ideal partner for Acer.

“As we push the boundaries of what’s possible with technology, Team Envy strives to move the needle in what can be achieved in gameplay. We’re excited to join forces to bring competitive esports and training to new levels in performance and entertainment.”

Yesterday AYO.NEWS reported that Team Envy, and its Overwatch League franchise Dallas Fuel, had partnered with the world’s largest video games retailer, Texas-based GameStop (read more).

Acer has previously sponsored major esports events, including the League of Legends Championship Series and CS:GO Intel Extreme Masters tournaments, though the Team Envy partnership marks the first time they have sponsored an American team.

Esports organisation Team Secret appoints former Chairman and CEO of UBS Investment Bank, John Costas, as Vice Chairman, Strategy & Finance.

European esports organisation Team Secret has demonstrated it means business by appointing former Chairman and CEO of UBS Investment Bank, John Costas, as Vice Chairman, Strategy & Finance.

According to Team Secret, Costas will bring his considerable experience to bear on the tasks of growing the business and reaching “new frontiers in the industry.”

Commenting on the appointment CEO of Team Secret, John Yao, said:

“John is someone that I respect tremendously – the addition of his passion, intelligence, and experience marks the next stage in Team Secret’s growth, and we look forward to an exciting future together.”

During his time with UBS, Costas oversaw the bank’s US investment banking franchise, and also spent time as Chairman and CEO of Dillon Read Capital Management, a trading unit of UBS. He is also the Managing Member of Costas Family Holdings, a private investment firm.

Team Secret currently competes in Dota 2, Fortnite, Rainbow Six Siege and Rocket League, has recently beefed up its Fortnite roster and has been actively seeking players for Apex Legends.

Commercial partners of the organisation currently include CORSAIR, Meta Threads, NVIDIA, Secretlab, Twitch and Uwin.

AYO.NEWS says:

The fact that an esports organisation has recruited the former chairman and CEO of a major investment bank serves to illustrate just what a serious commercial business esports has become. With Wall Street executives joining esports management teams and organisations being floated on stock exchanges, things sure escalate quickly!