Russia-based esports organisation Virtus.pro, and Animoca Brands subsidiary, Lympo, are launching collectible cards as NFTs. 

The cards will feature images of players from the club’s first Dota 2 and CS:GO rosters, and will be distributed on the Lympo minting platform. 

Sergey Glamazda, Virtus.pro CEO, said: “The tradition of collecting player cards goes back a hundred years. The idea behind it was simple: to release a card with an image of a baseball player on it. Years later it became popular and spread across a lot of different sports: people started collecting, trading, and bequeathing the cards of their idols, which led to a fully grown ecosystem. Today the price for some of the hundred-year-old cards could reach several million dollars.

“With the help of blockchain technologies, this ecosystem has now been incorporated into the digital world. It’s great to have this kind of tradition in esports as well and we are happy to be a part of it courtesy of our partners from Lympo.”

Staying with esports and non-fungible tokens, last week, CS:GO league Flashpoint announced a partnership with open digital currency platform Rally.io, that will see the launch of collectible NFT cards. 

eNASCAR and ASUS have renewed their partnership for the remainder of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series 2021 season.

The deal will see ASUS continue as the Official PC and Monitor of the series, with its Republic of Gamers (ROG) hardware featured during in-race broadcasts and on eNASCAR’s social media channels, while ASUS branding will also be included on the cars.

Nick Rend, Managing Director of Gaming and Esports at NASCAR, commented: “ASUS is a major supporter of the sim racing community and an expert in delivering top-tier products to PC gamers and sim racers around the globe. The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series features the most elite sim racers in the world and this partnership can deliver the equipment they need to compete at the highest level.”

Kelvin Jeon, Brand Marketing Manager at ASUS North America, added: “Following the success of the 11th season of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, we’re excited to continue our partnership with eNASCAR and bring sim racing to even greater heights at both in-person and virtual competitions. As the ongoing Official PC and Monitor of the eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series, ASUS is dedicated to providing both spectators and sim racers with world-class experiences on the track and beyond!”

ASUS, NASCAR, Coca-Cola, and iRacing, also collaborated to build four unique simulators for the Coca-Cola 600 NASCAR Cup Series race, which took place yesterday as part of the NASCAR Salutes initiative. The simulators are now being donated to United Service Organiszations Inc. (USO), and will be delivered to two bases for use by the military community and their families. 

The eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series will be back in action at 9:00PM ET on 22 June at virtual Pocono Raceway on eNASCAR.com/live.

KitKat is extending and expanding its partnership with the League of Legends European Championship, European Masters competition, and European Regional Leagues. 

KitKat originally partnered with the LEC for the LEC 2020 Spring Finals, and the extension means the brand will continue to be a Main Partner of the LEC and EU Masters through to 2023. 

The brand is also expanding its partnership to become a Main Partner for the League of Legends Continental League (LCL) and 12 ERLs for the 2021 Summer Season. 

Georg Fischer, Marketing Manager for KitKat Europe, commented: “It’s a pleasure to be working with a team that is truly passionate about esports. KitKat pursues a clear esports strategy in which the community is approached in a media-appropriate and authentic style on all relevant channels.”

Zeynep Gencaga, Senior Business Development Manager for Esports EMEA at Riot Games, added: “We are thrilled to extend our partnership with KitKat for LEC and welcome them on board to European Masters as one of our main partners through a multi-year deal. 

“After a creative entry into the scene through a pilot by supporting the LEC breaks, KitKat is now becoming one of the most important partners of esports in Europe. Following the extension of the partnership to European language broadcasts, this summer will showcase the partnership across 12 ERLs. It’s a pleasure to be working with the team over at KitKat, who are committed to creating meaningful moments and engaging content for our fans.”

The LEC will return on 11 June with KitKat as a Main Partner – visit lolesports.com to check out the action.

BMW has been named official automotive partner of LVL, the international esports venue and content brand operated by VERITAS Entertainment. 

The partnership will see BMW use LVL space, including its flagship Berlin venue which opened last year, for events, production, and content creation. BMW branding will also be featured in LVL content. 

Despite some delays due to the COVID-19 crisis, the Berlin LVL facility, which houses video gaming facilities, an esports arena, studio space, and full production capabilities, has been a great success, and VERITAS plans to expand the LVL brand internationally with more locations. 

We are joining forces with the best in the industry, so BMW is now the Official Automotive Partner of @lvlglobal, the most awesome #Esports venue in the galaxy.🌠

📣 It’s all happening at LVL in July when the #BerlinBrawl returns. We’ll keep you posted.🚨 pic.twitter.com/fbVkcN2Jyk

— BMW Esports (@BMWEsports) May 28, 2021

AYO.NEWS says:

In September last year, AYO.NEWS’ Simona Pinterova caught up with Dorian Gorr, MD, CMO & Co-Founder of VERITAS Entertainment, to find out more about the company’s vision for the future – catch it here.

Flashpoint, the team-owned Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) league, has teamed up with open digital currency platform Rally.io to launch collectible NFT cards. 

Each ethereum-based NFT is based on a player participating in the league, and will also come with a physical holo card. They are limited editions of 997, with the first editions going to players and the second to the artists. 

A presale is being offered in $FLASH coin, Flashpoint’s native cryptocurrency, with each NFT being priced at $100 USD. The presale will end with the conclusion of Flashpoint 3 on 30 May. 

50% of the proceeds from the sales will go towards supporting the Flashpoint tournament, and 50% will go directly to partnered teams. 

International online bookmaker Betway has partnered with Brazil-based esports organisation FURIA. 

The collaboration is set to cover content and activations on Betway’s streaming platform, BetwayTV, and will give FURIA access to the bookies’ local and international partners. 

Betway is also replacing Canada-based platform Rivalry as FURIA’s official betting partner.

Head of Esports at Betway, Adam Savinson, commented: “We are proud and excited to be announcing our partnership with FURIA. Continuing our growth in the Brazilian esports market, we’re committed to providing the dedicated fans the best content and partnerships possible.”

André Akkari, Co-CEO FURIA, added: “We are very proud to announce Betway as our new partner. They are a global leader in esports betting who promote safe and responsible gambling. It’s a very exciting time for both brands and we’re looking forward to working with them on some creative content campaigns for our loyal fan bases.”

Betway has long been a leader among traditional sports betting operators when it comes to embracing esports. Indeed, its esports partnership portfolio is very well established, with FURIA joining Ninjas in Pyjamas, MIBR, PSG Esports, and BIG Clan. 

FURIA é Betway!
Betway é FURIA!

Bem-vinda à família, @betwayesportsbr! 🙏

Welcome to the FURIA family, @betwayesports! ❤️#DIADEFURIA #FURIABetway pic.twitter.com/xCQD2boDq9

— FURIA (@FURIA) May 26, 2021