UK-based esports organisation Rix.GG has signed Julia “MissRage” Kreuzer and Elliot “Pegsazeus” Sinclair as its first content creators and brand influencers. 

Known for her First Person Shooter (FPS) streaming and cooking segments, Julia “MissRage” Kreuzer is an Austrian Twitch partnered streamer, who is currently sponsored by Fritz!, Logitech G, Elgato, Blue Microphones, Hi-Tech for Games, and Monster Energy. 

Elliot “Pegsazues” Sinclair is a UK-based Twitch affiliate best known for his VALORANT streaming, and consistently ranking in the top 500 players in the EU. He was previously a content creator for BuzzKill. 

Discussing the signings CEO and founder of Rix.GG, Jamie Lewis, said:

“I am super excited to announce two awesome esports personalities to the Rix.GG family. Both sets of teams on each side worked really hard to put together mutually beneficial terms and I’m over the moon that we can finally make this announcement.”

While MissRage herself added:

“As of today I´m excited to announce that I´m part of Rix.GG. Working together with such talented, experienced and open-minded people gets me hyped for our future adventures.”

And Pegsazeus said:

“I am super happy to announce that I am a part of Rix.GG. This is a massive step in my streaming career and I can’t wait to see what Rix.GG and I can do together.”

Rix.GG was founded by Jamie Lewis and a team of investors in 2020, and launched with the signing of one of the UK’s best Valorant teams. The organisation says it now aims to add rosters in other titles, while supporting the wider esports scene with tournaments and events.

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Curacao-based bookmaker Pinnacle has teamed up with payment provider Trustly and Relog Media to launch a $100K USD CS:GO tournament, The Pinnacle Cup. 

The action will take place in March and April, and feature a number of top-tier Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams, including GODSENT, Nemiga, Winstrike, and HAVU. Out of the $100K prize pool, the winning team will get $80K, and second place will take home $20K. 

In terms of format, The Pinnacle Cup will feature three stages; a group stage, swiss stage, and playoffs. The group stage will see 16 teams do battle, and the top four go through to take on 12 invited organisations in the swiss stage. Four more invited teams, including Fun Plus Phoenix, will then battle it out in an 8-team play-off stage to determine the first ever Pinnacle Cup Champions.

Relog Media is a production partner for the tournament, while Trustly will be working with Pinnacle on content, including interviews with players and talent. The Pinnacle Cup will be broadcast by The Esports Bible (Relog Media’s production service and broadcast company) at its TEBTV Twitch channel. Meanwhile GRID will be serving as exclusive data partner for the competition.

Discussing the event Pinnacle’s CMO, Ben Cove, said:

“This is something the team have worked incredibly hard on for a while now, and it’s fantastic to be able to announce that The Pinnacle Cup has come to fruition. We hope it can be the start of something special. 

“At Pinnacle we truly have esports in our DNA, so while we’re intent on making this a commercial success for the organisation, we are also proud to continue blazing the trail for esports betting.

“We know Pinnacle delivers the best esports odds, now we want to show that we can contribute to exceptional events that create mass appeal – resonating with a wide global audience, from those who are new to the scene, through to the hard-core esports community.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Pinnacle has long been one of the few mainstream traditional online bookmakers to take esports seriously, so it’s no surprise to see something of this magnitude launched, and we’re sure it will result in plenty of entertaining action for CS:GO fans.

‘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, 2019-2021.

The BBC will be broadcasting EA Sports FIFA 21 Global Series competitive programming.

Electronic Arts Inc., and the BBC have announced that the EA SPORTS™ FIFA 21 Global Series* European Regional Qualifiers and Playoffs will air on the broadcaster’s digital platforms, BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website and app, in addition to the EA SPORTS FIFA Twitch and YouTube channels.

The partnership kicks off with the European Regional Qualifier #3 on Saturday, February 20, at 5 PM GMT.

Commenting on the news EA SPORTS FIFA Competitive Gaming Commissioner, Brent Koning, said:

“We see FIFA competitive gaming as an extension of football fandom, and BBC is the ideal partner as it will allow millions of UK fans the opportunity to watch one of the most popular games played at the highest level.”

BBC iPlayer will provide live coverage of each match from start to finish, broadcasting up to eight hours of premier FIFA esports competition per day. Football and esports fans alike will be able to follow along as top esports athletes, representing their favorite European football teams, clash against one another to secure a spot at the FIFAe World Cup. FIFA 21 Global Series content will also be available for 30 days following the live broadcasts on BBC iPlayer.

FIFA 21 Global Series competition is already well underway, pitting the top FIFA competitors from every corner of the world in an international tournament to vie for their share of the USD $3 million prize pool and FIFAe World Cup championship title. For more information on the FIFA 21 Global Series, please visit the FIFA Global Series Homepage. And be sure to stay tuned to the @EAFIFAesports Twitter accounts for all the latest news and updates.

FIFA 21 EU Regional Qualifiers and Playoffs Schedule: 

Saturday, February 20, and Sunday, February 21:

• FIFA 21 Global Series European Regional Qualifier #3

 Saturday, March 20, and Sunday, March 21:

• FIFA 21 Global Series European Regional Qualifier #4 

Saturday, April 24, and Sunday, April 25:

• FIFA 21 Global Series European Regional Qualifier #5 

To Be Announced at a Later Date:

• European Playoffs

*ELIGIBILITY RESTRICTIONS APPLY. FOR OFFICIAL RULES, SEE https://www.ea.com/en-us/games/fifa/compete/overview/official-rules 

AYO.NEWS says:

The COVID-19 crisis seems to have been the wakeup call the BBC needed to take esports seriously, and these broadcasts can only help attract new fans to FIFA 21 competitive gaming. In the last month we’ve also seen the BBC boost its esports offering with UKLC coverage and Rocket League programming.

‘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, 2019-2021.

eFuse, the gaming-focused social networking platform, has raised $6M USD in its latest funding round. 

The Columbus-based company, which aspires to be the “Linkedin for Gamers” says the round was led by the Ohio Innovation Fund, and attracted participation from various professional sports stars, influencers, and investors. 

Specific investors included Seth Curry (Philadelphia 76ers, NBA), Denzel Ward (Cleveland Browns, NFL), Ezekiel Elliott (Dallas Cowboys, NFL), and Chase Winovich (New England Patriots, NFL). 

eFuse, which has signed-up more than 500K since launching in January 2020, says it plans to use the new capital to drive growth, develop and launch new products, expand its eRene events, improve user acquisition, and expand its staff with key hires. 

Recently, the company appointed former CSL Esports CCO, Neil Duffy, as its chief revenue officer, and former director of partnerships for Houston Outlaws, Herb May, as director of partnerships. 

eFuse provides a platform enabling gamers to build a profile, showcase their highlights, share their passions and interests, and search and interact with more than 24,000 scholarships, internships, and job opportunities covering design, game development, business and marketing and other video game related fields. 

The latest funding round follows an initial one in November 2019, again led by the Ohio Innovation Fund, which raised $2.3M.

AYO.NEWS says:

eFuse does seem to have this field all to itself for now, with the stuff corporate-style of LinkedIn clearly not appealing to many in the gaming and esports ecosystem. Of course, like all social media and networking platforms, the absolute key is keeping growth high until the so-called “critical mass” is reached. This latest investment gives it a much better chance of achieving that. 

‘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, 2019-2021.

International betting tech company Parimatch has extended its partnership with CIS-based esports organisation Team Spirit. 

The one-year extension will see Parimatch remain as title partner of Team Spirit, with the company’s logo appearing on the front, back, and sleeves of the DOTA 2 and CS:GO team uniforms. Parimatch will also be authorised to use images of Team Spirit players in marketing communications. 

Parimatch originally partnered with Team Spirit in the summer of 2019, and since then the organisation has gone on to enjoy significant success, winning a number of CS:GO and DOTA 2 tournaments. This year also saw Team Spirit become the first Russian esports organisation to partner with iconic sports brand Nike. 

Discussing the partnership Head of Esports at Parimatch, Stepan Shulga, said:

“Team Spirit is a kind of mascot for us. Together with the club, we have been through a lot, including a complete change of Dota 2 rosters and constant but always successful CS:GO roster changes; the main thing we value is focusing on the result. For this team, sports achievements are more important than media success, and we respect this approach.”

While CEO of Team Spirit, Nikita Chukalin, added:

“For the last two years, Parimatch has been a reliable partner for us, and I am sincerely glad that we managed to extend our cooperation for the year of 2021. 

“We have significantly grown as a brand, and many of our endeavors would not have been possible without the support of the best bookmaker in the CIS. I am sure that this year, our cooperation will reach a new level and we will delight our audience with even more sports achievements and cool content. A big cheer for Team Spirit and Parimatch, doing it together in 2021!”

AYO.NEWS says:

Again we see Parimatch strengthen its position as perhaps the most esports-focused of all the traditional sports betting operators, even able to give esports-first operators like Luckbox and Unikrn a run for their money when it comes to authenticity, thanks to its heavy investment in the esports scene. 

Earlier this month, Parimatch signed Brazilian Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player, Marcelo Augusto David, better known as “Coldzera”, as a Global Esports Ambassador.

‘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, 2019-2021.

Esports Entertainment Group, Inc. (EEG) has closed its registered direct offering of common stock, raising aggregate gross proceeds of $30M USD. 

The offering saw EEG sell 2 million shares of common stock at $15 per share, priced at-the-market under NASDAQ rules. Maxim Group LLC and Joseph Gunnar & Co., LLC acted as co-placement agents for the offering.

EEG describes itself as a “licensed next generation online gambling company focused on esports,” and operates the VIE.gg esports betting site. It was the first online gambling company trading on an American stock exchange, and has recently been expanding into the wider iGaming and sports betting world through several acquisitions. In addition to the US, the company also maintains offices in the European gambling industry hub of Malta. 

Earlier this week, EEG filed its application for a gaming license with the New Jersey Division of Gaming Enforcement (NJDGE), while last week the company announced a partnership with NFL franchise Baltimore Ravens.

All original content featured on this site is © Pentagon Digital Limited, 2019-2021.