KontrolFreek®, the inventor of Performance Gaming Gear™, has been acquired by gaming peripheral company SteelSeries. 

The acquisition will see the KontrolFreek brand continue to exist within the SteelSeries organisation, as a wholly owned subsidiary. 

For more than ten years, US-based KontrolFreek has made peripherals for PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo consoles, and its FreekNation gaming community now has over four million members. 

Denmark-based SteelSeries has been offering gaming peripherals to both pro and enthusiast gamers on PC and console for almost twenty years. 

Commenting on the news CEO of KontrolFreek, Ashish Mistry, said:

“After more than 10 years of building our own brand and products, and as we continue on our mission to enhance gaming globally, it made perfect sense to join forces with SteelSeries to take both brands to the next level.”

While CEO of SteelSeries, Ehtisham Rabbani, added:

“With the next-generation consoles at the forefront of the gaming industry’s mind, there’s never been a better time to maximize our ability to provide the best gaming experiences and products to console gamers.

“With KontrolFreek’s expertise and global popularity, we know they’ll open new opportunities to entertain, delight, and assist new gamers across the world.”

AYO.NEWS says:

The acquisition of KontrolFreek, and its loyal following of gamers around the world, puts SteelSeries in a formidable position in the gaming peripheral market, spanning consoles and PC – and we’re sure we’ll see plenty more involvement in the esports scene from both brands over the coming year. 

‘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.

ESL will be operating the official League of Legends: Wild Rift tournaments in Malaysia and Thailand through 2021, as official partner of Riot Games Southeast Asia. 

Open qualifiers for Riot’s first mobile-focused esports title will get underway in April, with local champions advancing to represent their country in a regional tournament. 

The collaboration will also see ESL host a Wild Rift collegiate tournament in Thailand, and further opportunities for competition will be provided by ESL through the hosting of Wild Rift Open Cups on its ESL Play platform. 

Discussing the news Senior Vice President of ESL Gaming Asia-Pacific Japan, Nick Vanzettii, said:

“The mobile esports market in Southeast Asia continues to grow at breakneck speed and we are excited to have Wild Rift in Malaysia and Thailand for 2021. We are proud to expand our partnership with Riot Games with more titles and build up the Wild Rift esports ecosystem together with them in Malaysia and Thailand.”

While Head of Esports for Riot Games Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macua, Chris Tran, added:

“We are delighted that League of Legends: Wild Rift players and teams in Thailand and Malaysia will have a chance to showcase their talents on the local and regional stage. In partnership with ESL, we look forward to bringing an exciting year of new legacies and team rivalries to passionate mobile MOBA esports audiences across these key markets.

“Our collegiate tournaments in Thailand will also set the scene for up and coming MOBA competitors, with community-focused gaming experiences that everyone can enjoy.”

AYO.NEWS says:

ESL has said that the Asia-Pacific region is one of its targets for expansion over the next few years, so we expect to see plenty more initiatives in the area. It’s also good to see Riot continuing to support the development of the Wild Rift esports ecosystem, and we’re sure ESL will help catalyse that further. 

‘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.

The International Esports Federation (IESF) now has 100 members, after seven new nations joined its ranks. 

Venezuela, Cambodia, Bahrain, Laos, Estonia, Hungary, and Wales, are the latest countries to join the IESF, which was founded in 2008 with just nine member nations. 

Commenting on the development, IESF Director of Memberships, Boban Totovski, said:

“Our family continues to grow globally and we reached almost a hundred members worldwide.

“A warm welcome and lots of good wishes on becoming part of our growing family on behalf of all the members. We promise to continuously cooperate and support our members for the betterment of esports.”

The IESF says it is committed to continuing to grow beyond 100 members, as it pursues its mission of strengthening the global esports ecosystem. 

AYO.NEWS says:

What a fantastic achievement for the IESF to round out 2020 with. We’re sure 2021 will see plenty more nations join the federation – maybe even some those conspicuous by their absence, like the rest of the UK, France, Spain, and Canada? 

‘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.

Spanish esports organisation Team Queso has entered a partnership with PC peripheral brand DIGIFAST. 

The 1-year agreement will see DIGIFAST branding featured on Team Queso’s live streams, official jersey, website, and social media channels. 

Team Queso is best known for their mobile esports exploits, especially in Clash Royale League (in which it took the 2020 world champions title), but the organisation also fields teams in PUBG Mobile, and PC titles League of Legends, Fortnite, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Additionally, in October the team announced the formation of a Rocket League squad. 

In addition to its latest partnership with DIGIFAST, Team Queso also has commercial deals with telepizza, elgato, and Lotto. 

DIGIFAST makes a range of gaming-focused PC products, including keyboards, headsets, and solid state drives (SSDs). 

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2020.

PSG Esports has launched its new Paris Saint-Germain Academy Esports training program. 

The new initiative will see professional, certified coaches teach students in accordance with a PSG ‘training methodology.’ The organisation, which is the esports arm of the top-tier French football club, says students will be evaluated on criteria including technical skills, pedagogical abilities, and their ability to share expertise with others.

Training sessions will be between one and two hours long, divided into five parts: briefing, demo or explanations based on exercise, supervised practice, role-playing, and a debriefing/evaluation.

Sessions are available 24/7 in both English and French, and titles supported at launch are FIFA 21 and Brawl Stars, though the organisation says it hopes to add League of Legends and Dota 2 at some point. 

Coaches featured on the Paris Saint-Germain Academy Esports website include Ciscinho (FIFA 21), Painter (FIFA 21), Orlandos (Brawl Stars), and Poacher (FIFA 21). 

AYO.NEWS says:

Though many top-tier football clubs are now involved in esports, PSG stands out as one of the most invested, and it’s great to see them taking things a step further with this academy program. We’re sure it won’t be long before more titles are supported. 

‘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.

New Brazilian esports, gaming, and geek culture TV channel Loading has descended into farce just a week after going on air.

As previously reported, the Grupo Kalunga-owned channel had acquired the former MTV Brasil broadcasting concession and moved into its old studios. Headed by CEO Thiago Garcia, it had put together an impressive team of local esports journalists and talent, including Bárbara Gutierrez (from IGN Brasil), and Chandy Teixeira (from Globo’s GE). 

However, according to the Esports Observer, which spoke to sources familiar with the channel on the condition of anonymity, the channel’s entire editorial staff has resigned.

Apparently, the launch of the channel has been plagued by issues, with employees never receiving their contracts or agreed benefits, including healthcare insurance, and the former MTV studios being about two decades out-of-date, equipped with obsolete technology. 

But, it seems that an investigative report into a possibly fraudulent fundraising campaign, fronted by an esports player on Twitch, by Teixeira, followed by a negative portrayal of Riot Games regarding Brazilian League of Legends Championship (CBLoL) coverage, was too much for the channel’s management, who just wanted entirely ‘happy content’, minus any controversy or realism.

As such, esports Editor-in-Chief Vicenzzo Mandetta was fired, and the journalist staff ordered to strictly follow a ‘positive agenda’ – extending even to the point where covering sexism or discrimination in esports woudl be banned. 

Reports suggest a rebellion followed, with staff attempting to make a stand to protect their integrity, but their demands fell on deaf ears, and the entire team resigned the next morning. 

Loading’s management have referred to the incident as a “misalignment between Loading’s positioning, focused on entertainment, and the Metagaming program’s editorial team.”

AYO.NEWS says:

While it’s very early days for Loading, this doesn’t bode well for the channel’s future. Quite apart from the ‘misalignment’ issues, the allegation that the channel’s owners haven’t even invested in the right equipment should ring alarm bells, and very strongly suggests those in charge have no idea of what is required to be relevant in 2021. 

Can Loading bring things back from the brink, and get back on track? Interesting times…

‘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.