The League of Legends European Championship (LEC) has announced Erste Bank Group as its new Summer Finals Main Partner. 

The partnership will see Erste Bank Group produce various activations, social media content, and videos, aimed at bringing its #believeinyourself slogan to life for LEC fans.

Vienna-headquartered Erste Group is present in seven markets, and operates well-known brands like Sparkasse in Germany, and Caixa Bank in Spain.

Discussing the collaboration Head of Partnerships and Business Development EMEA for Riot Games, Alban Dechelotte, said:

“With Erste Group as the most innovative banking group in Austria and the CEE region, we have brought a great partner on board who wants to strengthen and anchor esports in the region together with us – not only through advertising, but also as a strong infrastructure partner.”

While Chief Retail Officer of Erste Group, Peter Bosek, added:

“We see esports as an ecosystem of a new generation and want to sustainably support its growth. Erste wants to encourage this young and growing community to believe in itself – and we want to do our part to help that community share its convictions and self-confidence with a broader public. 

“In doing so, we want to leverage esports’ supra-regional potential, assist its communities in networking even more closely across national borders especially in such challenging times, and help strengthen the framework in which this new movement can continue to grow.”

The partnership between Erste Group and Riot Games was originally intended to launch with the Spring Split of the LEC Playoffs, but the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a shift in sponsorship communications and activities.

AYO.NEWS says:

Esports’ stellar rise during the COVID-19 crisis is clearly making a whole lot of new businesses wake up to the sector’s potential to engage younger generations, but in this case it seems Erste Group had already decided esports was the future prior to the onset of the crisis. Its great to see the partnership can now finally see a proper launch. 

Staying with banks and League of Legends, in June we saw Taiwan-based CTBC Bank confirmed as an official partner of the Pacific Championship Series (PCS). 

‘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

Sony is doubling production of its upcoming PS5 console to meet an expected massive rise in demand triggered by the COVID-19 crisis. 

The company originally planned to manufacture around 5 million units ahead of its planned winter 2020 launch, but says it now intends to make 10 million.

Despite the anticipated huge increase in demand, with more countries and regions going back into lockdown and the pandemic worsening globally, Sony could well run into difficulties shipping PS5s. 

Bloomberg is reporting that Sony began full-scale production of its new console last month, and should have the first 5 million complete by the end of September, with the second batch of 5 million read by the end of December. 

The PS5 will be available in two versions, the standard PS5 and the PS5 Digital Edition (without a disc drive), and peripherals including a new haptic controller, HD camera, 3D wireless headset, media remote, and dual charging station have also been revealed. 

Sony has yet to announce the specific release date and pricing.

AYO.NEWS says:

It now looks almost certain that large parts of the world will be back in lockdown before winter, which will be very bad news for most of the economy, but could see the growth of video gaming and esports accelerate even further. 

Of course, if we do see the pandemic worsen and widespread lockdowns return in the autumn and winter, there is the real risk that the already severely weakened global economy and social fabric may start to completely collapse. In that case, we doubt people will be buying new consoles! 

‘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

Oceania-based esports organisation Dire Wolves has acquired N8 Esports and Sydney Drop Bears. 

The acquisition of two of the region’s best performing teams makes the previously League of Legends-only Dire Wolves a multi-discipline organisation, moving into FIFA, Overwatch and NBA 2K.

Sydney Drop Bears are back-to-back champions of the first three Overwatch Contender: Australia Seasons, and N8 Esports have been home to a number of top ten international esports stars in EA Sports FIFA on Xbox. 

Nate Patrick, founder of N8 Esports and well-known streamer and commentator will also become part of the Dire Wolves team. 

Commenting on the news Jason Spiller, owner of Dire Wolves, said:

“We have so many plans to take the organisation to the next level, beginning with our new management team, the new brand, and now our acquisition of these two fantastic ANZ teams. 

“We have huge ambitions for Dire Wolves and moving into new games, expanding the wolf pack and exposing new potential fans to the Dire Wolves brand is the foundation of this growth.”

The news is the latest in a string of announcements from Dire Wolves, which have included the appointment of a new management team, and a complete rebrand. 

AYO.NEWS says:

Dire Wolves is definitely going for broke on this one! In one go the organisation has gone from a single-discipline set-up to fielding players in four titles. Coupled with the drive and vision of the new management team, and the feel good boost from the rebrand, Dire Wolves seem ready for great things! 

‘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

Sports betting supplier BETBY has announced its sportsbook and Betby.Games esports offering is now live with iGaming solutions provider Advabet. 

The partnership will see Advabet’s white label and turnkey online casino solutions boosted by BETBY’s AI-driven sportsbook offering, which covers more than 50K sporting events per month, and over 80 different sports. 

Betby.Games, the supplier’s new esports offering, will also be available through Advabet’s solution. This covers popular titles like FIFA, NBA 2K, and Rocket League, with more events, including tennis and combat disciplines expected to be added soon.

Commenting on the news Chief Executive Officer at BETBY, Leonid Pertsovskiy, said:

“Advabet is an exciting, up and coming, innovative brand who we are proud to enter a commercial partnership with.

“Our Betby.Games offering continues to go from strength to strength and with the return of live sports we see more appetite than ever to have a multi-product solution which appeals to a wide range of players. We look forward to a long and successful relationship.”

While Chief Executive Officer at Advabet, Sergiu Cravcenco, added:

“BETBY’s innovative products and customer-centric attitude are things that stood out for us in our search for new offerings for our platform.

“We both share an exciting vision for the future and working together we will look to continue to grow at an exciting pace.”

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VaynerSports, the sports agency founded by brothers Gary and AJ Vaynerchuk, has launched VaynerGaming. 

The launch of the new esports athlete and gaming personality-focused division comes just a week after the New York and Los Angeles-based agency announced it was expanding into baseball. 

VaynerGaming’s first client is Fortnite World Cup champion Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, who signed with the agency after winning his title last summer. Recently, Bugha’s contract with North American esports organisation Sentinels was successfully renegotiated by the agency. 

Discussing the launch, Co-founder of VaynerSports, Gary Vaynerchuk, said:

“I have been quietly paying attention to the gaming industry for over a decade, building relationships and following the trends. One of the most exciting things about it, for me, is the gamers themselves. And when I look at the culture, the interest in the sector from other athletes, artists, celebrities – it is enormous. This is a very significant expansion for VaynerSports.”

While VanynerGaming’s lead, Darren Glover, added:

“While lucrative, the gaming industry is still the wild wild west and unlike other sports, relevancy is not necessarily tied strictly to performance or wins and losses. I don’t believe anyone has a better ‘secret sauce’ than what Gary and the Vayner ecosystem does for brands, talent, and professional athletes.

“I’m extremely excited to implement that strategy on behalf of esports athletes, gaming content creators, and VaynerSports athletes as we launch a first of its kind agency division.”

Gary Vaynerchuk is also an investor in the parent company of Call of Duty League team Minnesota RØKKR.

AYO.NEWS says:

With the Vaynerchuk brothers being veritable forces of nature, extremely well connected and business savvy, we’re sure it won’t be long before VaynorGaming emerges as a serious power in the esports agency field. 

‘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 has announced GG.Bet will be its official global betting partner for select Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 tournaments. 

The partnership with the Curacao-based esports bookmaker will cover all ESL One and Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) tournaments for the rest of the year, plus the ESL Pro League Seasons 11 and 12. 

In addition to providing odds for matches, GG.Bet will be running a prediction segment during broadcasts featuring stage talent discussing possible match outcomes, and analysing data from the bookmaker. 

Discussing the partnership SVP of Global Brand Partnerships EMEA at ESL, Stephan Schroeder, said:

“GG.Bet have been true supporters of major ESL tournaments and we are delighted to take our partnership to the next level. We are always looking for ways to further improve the tournament experience and our global partnership will open up new and exciting opportunities for esports fans.”

While CMO of GG.Bet, Richard Collins, added:

“We are proud to become ESL’s global betting partner for some of the world’s biggest esports tournaments. In partnership with ESL, we’ll be able to offer enhanced betting and predictive offerings to fans all around the world!”

AYO.NEWS says:

Given that GG.Bet previously supported March’s Season 11 of ESL Pro League Europe and North America, it seems the operator is happy with its return on investment – which was no doubt boosted by the COVID-19 lockdowns and subsequent boom in esports betting. And, with esports continuing to explode, we expect to see another successful partnership. 

Staying with ESL, a couple of weeks ago the tournament organiser announced the appointment of Patricia von Halle as Director of Consumer Marketing.

‘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