eSports – Page 19

Game Changers and Guild X broke records in Berlin

November 25, 2022 Published by EuropeanGaming.eu

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Guild Esports, a global esports team organisation, took sixth place overall with team Guild X in the inaugural VALORANT Game Changers Championship, held in Berlin (15-20 November).

Following a year of intense regional competition, the world’s most elite Game Changers squads went head-to-head in person, for the first time ever, to crown a global champion in Germany. Bringing together the best teams from North America, Brazil, EMEA, APAC, LATAM and East Asia, G2 Esports won the Grand Final to lift the coveted championship trophy.

Supporting women in gaming is a key part of Guild’s strategy within the sporting community, aligning with the aims of Game Changers to create new opportunities and exposure for women and other marginalised genders within VALORANT esports.

The tournament in Berlin, with over 150,000 viewers* tuning in, demonstrates how women in gaming and teams such as Guild X are not just changing the game but also breaking records. According to Esports Charts, Game Changers has become the most-watched tournament for women’s esports.

On Sunday, Guild also hosted a watch party at the Sky Guild Gaming Centre in Shoreditch with talent Elz the Witch, Iain Chambers plus other influencers such as Megsoundslikeegg and Geo Collins in attendance. Even though Guild X was not in the Grand Final, Guild, along with its supporting partners Sky and Subway, wanted to offer a safe space for VALORANT fans to watch the finale, especially women and marginalised gender fans.

Jasmine Skee, Chief Marketing Officer at Guild Esports, said: “Our vision at Guild is to lead the way in supporting the future of women in gaming, and we are committed to equal opportunities for our Guild X players. The Game Changers Championship in Berlin was a hugely successful event and we are extremely proud as an organisation to have been a part of it. Congratulations to all at G2 Esports on their victory in such a milestone event for the esports industry. With the announcement of the new Game Changers format, we’re excited to watch our Guild X team, and the wider women esports industry, grow.”

Guild X has been confirmed this week as automatic top-tier qualifiers for the VALORANT Game Changers EMEA 2023 competition, with relegation rules now being in place as part of the new format changes announced. The Game Changers tournament will continue to break down stereotypes, elevate women and allow them to further their careers in a dedicated safe space, and provide a platform for professional growth both in and outside of the game – all actions that are completely aligned with Guild’s strategy moving into 2023 and beyond.

Unsigned Group boosts esports offering as co-Founder of Excel Esports, Joel Holmes-Darby, joins as Head of Esports

November 24, 2022 Published by EuropeanGaming.eu

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Talent company Unsigned Group announced today it has hired
co-founder of Excel Esports, Joel Holmes-Darby as its Head of Esports, as it continues to
expand its offering in helping esports athletes build their brands, content and experiences for the
progressive digital and virtual worlds.

Unsigned’s Founder and CEO Gavin Myall said, “Joel is a fantastic addition to the Unsigned
team, his passion for the esports industry, insight and knowledge from all aspects is unrivaled
and this gives us a unique position in the representation of esports athletes.”

Founded by Myall and co-owned by Coldplay musician, Guy Berryman, Unsigned combines
aspects of a traditional talent management agency – such as PR, partnerships, collaborations
and commercial bookings – and a brand incubator where it helps talent build owned businesses.
It works with talent across the entire spectrum of popular culture and manages some of the
biggest names in entertainment, including legendary esports player Nicolai “DEV1CE” Reedtz.

Holmes-Darby commented, “I have been interested in developing a talent management
business for some time, seeing how players should be represented in an industry where
traditionally agents and managers have not been as involved in the players’ business trajectory
as perhaps they should be. Therefore, the opportunity to join Unsigned and continue to expand
their esports management offering was too good to turn down. Managing DEV1CE as one of my
first clients at Unsigned is something I’m really looking forward to – especially having the
opportunity to work with him on continuing to develop his approach to mental health and
personal fitness, which is something I have huge admiration for.”

Nicolai “DEV1CE” Reedtz said,“Joel is great, knows every aspect of esports and has
experienced it from the small beginnings to the big successes. I’m really looking forward to the
future of him being a part of the team at Unsigned.”

Five partners on board for the BLAST Premier Fall Final in Copenhagen’s iconic Royal Arena

November 24, 2022 Published by EuropeanGaming.eu

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BLAST Premier has teamed up with five partners for this month’s Fall Final in Copenhagen.

Doritos, Elgiganten, Magnum Ice Cream, OMEN and Netflix will all partner with BLAST Premier for their penultimate event of the year,

The partnerships will see branded content featured on BLAST Premier’s digital channels, bespoke activations in-arena to engage the attending fans and broadcast integrations reaching over 154 territories around the world.

Elgiganten, Magnum Ice Cream and OMEN have all teamed up with BLAST Premier for previous events while Doritos and Netflix are partnering with the tournament organiser for the first time. This week’s Fall Final will be the fourth consecutive year OMEN have partnered with BLAST.

Oliver Clarke, Commercial Director for BLAST Premier, said: “We are delighted to be back home in Denmark for our penultimate event of the year and are thrilled to be partnering with five leading brands. The show in 2021 saw us raise the bar in terms of production, entertainment and fan experience. We have some exciting plans to integrate our partners into the heart of the event for fans watching in-person and from home.”

The world’s best teams and talent will descend on Copenhagen to compete for a $425,000 prize pool and a place in December’s hotly-anticipated World Final.

The Fall Final (23-27 November) will be the fifth BLAST event to take place in the Royal Arena, following last year’s tournament that saw 25,000 fans attend the event over three days of CS:GO action.

Full list of partners for the BLAST Premier Fall Final: Betway, CS Money, EPOS and A.P. Moller – Maersk (Global Partners). Netflix, Doritos, Elgiganten, Magnum Ice Cream and OMEN (Event Partners).

Team Young Ninjas becomes the Champion of WePlay Academy League Season 6

November 23, 2022 Published by EuropeanGaming.eu

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The team earns a victory in the Grand Final with a 2:1 score, competing with Spirit Academy. For Young Ninjas, this is the first champion triumph in the WePlay Academy League.

On November 20, the WePlay Academy League Season 6, a regular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive circuit for up-and-coming esports players, finished. The season began on October 12, and during this time, 18 tournament days were held, and more than 90 matches were played.

This season, the players of the Young Ninjas team became the champions. In the Grand Final, the team put up a fight against Spirit Academy to win with a score of 2:1: 7-16 Dust2, 16-11 Vertigo, 16-8 Nuke. For Young Ninjas, this is the first victory at the WePlay Academy League – prior to this, the organization got its place in the WAL Playoffs twice.

Season 6 final prize pool breakdown:

1st place – $45,000 – Young Ninjas
2nd place – $20,000 – Spirit Academy
3rd place – $15,000 – NAVI Junior
4th place – $8,000 – MOUZ NXT
5th place – $4,000 – OG Academy
6th place – $4,000 – 00Prospects
7th place – $1,500 – Astralis Talents
8th place – $1,500 – fnatic Rising
9th place – $500 – FURIA Academy
10th place – $500 – BIG. OMEN Academy

EXCEL ESPORTS acquires assets from League of Legends e-learning platform Hitcap

November 20, 2022 Published by EuropeanGaming.eu

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British competitive gaming culture brand EXCEL ESPORTS is pleased to announce that it has acquired assets from League of Legends e-learning platform Hitcap. As a result of the deal, EXCEL now has ownership of Hitcap’s e-learning product, social media channels and content archives. The acquisition allows EXCEL to accelerate its growth with a focus on the League of Legends community.

The acquired social media accounts which include YouTube, TikTok and Instagram have a combined 570,000 followers. EXCEL will use these to bolster its social media presence and provide its players, partners, community and ambassadors with industry-leading educational content. As part of its content strategy, EXCEL will rebrand and transform the accounts into its own dedicated League of Legends channels that will produce useful and engaging content for its followers such as guides, pro tips, and vlogs. Additionally, EXCEL now owns a data-driven e-learning platform that features in-game evaluation through API integration with the game client.

League of Legends is a longstanding part of EXCEL’s legacy with the organisation being one of the ten founding partners of the League of Legends European Championship. With this acquisition, EXCEL has the tools to provide its community with next-level content and experiences.

“We very much take a community-focused approach at EXCEL ESPORTS. Whilst winning is our biggest ambition, we love to share our experiences and game knowledge with our fans and the League of Legends community,” said Wouter Sleijffers, CEO, EXCEL ESPORTS. “When first speaking with Hitcap, we immediately realised the potential of our combined forces. I’m very pleased that we can now further level up our community through the high quality content from Hitcap!”

Philipp Kuenstler, former CEO of Hitcap, said: “Hitcap combines high quality video content with a data-centric approach, tailored specifically to the individual playstyle. We were able to use our talented production team to build a strong community on social media on top of developing the platform. The acquisition by EXCEL enables us to utilize more opportunities and synergies than we could have by ourself and I’m looking forward to levelling up together!”

kru-esports-is-set-to-be-announced-as-the-next-team-to-compete-at-the-third-edition-of-red-bull-home-ground!

KRÜ Esports is set to be announced as the next team to compete at the third edition of Red Bull Home Ground!

November 19, 2022 Published by EuropeanGaming.eu

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The one-of-a-kind pro VALORANT tournament brings together some of the world’s most elite teams to battle it out for victory in a unique ‘Home and Away’ format from December 9th-11th. As an official part of the VCT Off-Season Tournaments, fans & players alike can expect VALORANT action at its highest level.

For the first time, Red Bull Home Ground has opened its doors to teams outside of Europe who are set to make waves going up against the EMEA’s best teams, taking their best shot at the $100,000 prize pool. These invitations promise fierce competition as Red Bull Home Ground will witness rivalries reignite for the first time outside the VALORANT Champions Tournament. Before, we’ve seen EMEA battle it out on the Red Bull Home Ground Stage, but now it’s time for the Americas teams to prove their skills.

Red Bull Home Ground will see eight of the best VALORANT teams go head-to-head in December, broadcast from Victoria Warehouse, Manchester.
South American team, KRÜ Esports, has been unveiled as the latest VALORANT team to compete in Red Bull Home Ground 2022.
The teams announced so far include 100 Thieves, Team Liquid, Team Vitality, FOKUS Clan, the Turkish Qualifier winners, and FUT Esports & EMEA Qualifier winner Team BIG.
Founded in 2020 by the world-famous striker and former Man-city player Sergio Agüero, the young team has made waves in the Latin American VALORANT Championship. Simultaneously, becoming the most successful team in the region and two-time semifinalists at the previous 2021 VCT Masters events. Recently, the Argentinian squad signed on xand, Daveeys, Melser and axeddy to bring new talent into its VALORANT roster.
Red Bull Home Ground fans will get the chance to witness KRÜ Esports battle it out on their founders’ former home ground for the Red Bull Home Ground Championship title and experience the team’s VALORANT roster ahead of the 2023 VCT for themselves.
Yinsu Collins returns to host the third iteration of Red Bull Home Ground alongside Mitch “Mitchman” McBride, Tom “Tombizz” Bissmire, Ryan “RyanCentral” Horton, Beatriz “kaquka” Alonso and Adam “Dinko” Hawthorne.
Tickets for Red Bull Home Ground are now sold! Don’t forget to tune in to the action which will be broadcasted live from Victoria Warehouse in Manchester on twitch and YouTube. The event will also be broadcast by various co-streamers in multiple languages, with details to be revealed soon.
AGON by AOC is the official Monitor Partner for the event, bringing exceptional visual clarity and ultra-high refresh rates to competitors. AMD joins Red Bull Home Ground as Technology Provider, ensuring the high-performance computing that will push the boundaries of the tournament. Supporting Red Bull Home Ground as a peripheral sponsor, HyperX ensures that players can reach their full potential on the stage.

Valorant India Invitational: Galaxy Racer partners with AMD for its USD 100,000-prize pool event

November 17, 2022 Published by EuropeanGaming.eu

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Valorant India Invitational, organised by Galaxy Racer, powered by Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), one of the world’s leading high-performance and adaptive computing providers, gears up for its first international Valorant tournament, scheduled to take place in Hyderabad from November 18 to 20.

Featuring a plethora of gaming talents from across the globe, Valorant India Invitational also boasts of a massive prize pool of USD 100,000. It is South Asia’s first-ever international valorant tournament and a partnership with AMD resonates with the magnitude of the event.

Built on natural synergy between two global brands, this association aligns perfectly with the ethos of Esports and will enhance the gaming experience of high-profile teams and gamers participating in the tournament.

“AMD is a brand well versed in the field of gaming and we are delighted to announce them as the title sponsor of the biggest valorant tournament in India. This partnership will ensure high-quality and fluid performance for the gamers competing against the best names in valorant and make Valorant India Invitational an immersive experience for everyone involved. We look forward to working together with AMD and witnessing the gripping action of the LAN finals,” said Siddharth Ravishankar, Chief Gaming Officer, Galaxy Racer.

AMD, a name rooted deeply within the gaming culture, has been innovating high-performance technologies to enrich the gaming ecosystem and transcend technical limitations. Being associated with various Esports organisations and prominent tournaments in the past, the brand has a strong portfolio of taking gaming to the next level.

Sharing his views on the association, Mukesh Bajpai, Marketing Head, AMD India said “Gaming has always been a key segment for AMD. Over the years AMD has been designing products that deliver the ultimate, immersive gaming experiences to professional e-sports athletes and gamers. We are thrilled to partner with Galaxy Racer to organize South Asia’s first Valorant India Invitational tournament. This is an exciting opportunity for our brand to demonstrate AMD’s value proposition to India’s top e-sports athletes and enthusiasts. We are looking forward to this collaboration with Galaxy Racer and supporting India’s next generation of gamers.”

Brand integration has become a vital part of the ever-growing Esports space as the ‘Tuning into Consumer’ report from FICCI-EY states that the number of brands investing in the industry is expected to reach 100 this year from 72 brands in 2021.

Besides AMD, Galaxy Racer has also partnered with Glance Gaming to live stream the event.

The action-packed LAN event of Valorant India Invitational will take place at the GMR Arena in Hyderabad with eight teams, namely, Team Heretics Paper Rex, Team Secret, Rex Regum Qeon, Boom Esports, Bleed Esports, Enigma Gaming and GodSquad, fighting for the grand prize.

International Pro Mixwell to Come to India to compete in the USD 100,000 Valorant India Invitational; Top Teams to battle it out in LAN Global Finals

November 14, 2022 Published by EuropeanGaming.eu

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The Valorant India Invitational organised by Galaxy Racer is going to feature eight teams in its LAN event. All eight teams boast of top-notch talent and will challenge for the elusive trophy and grab a lion’s share of the USD 100,000 prize pool.

Former G2 Esports player, Mixwell was recently announced by Team Heretic and he will lead the team in India. The tournament will also feature APAC kings Paper Rex, Team Secret, Rex Regum Qeon, Boom Esports and Bleed Esports. These six teams will be joined by Enigma Gaming and GodSquad, the two Indian teams in the LAN event.

“With the quality of teams participating, Valorant India Invitational is going to set a benchmark for the upcoming valorant tournaments in the country. This is going to be the first time when we will see some of the franchisee rosters in action before the VCT season kicks off. We are excited to have these teams in India and we are confident of providing a spectacle for the audience.” said Siddharth Ravishankar, Chief Gaming Officer, Galaxy Racer.

Team Heretics, a Spanish Esports organization, has been known for its consistent triumphs in the past two years. Led by the experienced Mixwell, he will surely be someone to watch out for.

Enigma Gaming and GodSquad have secured their berths by winning the Indian qualifiers. Recently, GodSquad became the sole Indian team to get a slot at the Valorant Champions Tour 2023-24.

Teams from Singapore, Paper Rex and Bleed Esports, are other big names taking part in the tournament. While Paper Rex has represented the APAC region in every major international tournament this year, Bleed Esports sealed their spot in the final through SEA Qualifiers. Team Secret from the Philippines and Indonesian outfits Boom Esports and Rex Regum Qeon, will also be looking to make their mark at this prestigious event.

While the gaming arena will be witnessing top-notch competitions from these best Valorant teams, the invitational final will culminate with India’s premier music festival Sunburn, featuring the headline act of DJ Snake.

Rosters of the competing Teams at a Glance:

Team Heretics: Heretics-Mixwell, Heretics-zeek, Heretics-Boo, Heretics-AvovA, Heretics-keloqz
Paper Rex: PRX Benkai, PRX d4v41, PRX mindfreak, PRX f0rsakeN, PRX Jinggg
Team Secret: Secret Invy, Secret Jremy, Secret DubsteP, Secret Vash, Secret BORKUM
Rex Regum Qeon: RRQ Ejay, RRQ tehbotol, RRQ fl1pzjder, RRQ 2GE, RRQ Lmemore
Boom Esports: BME Berserx, BME Shiro, BME blaZek1ng, BME famouz, BME Severine
Bleed Esports: Bleed-Retla, Bleed-Juicy, Bleed-Deryeon, Bleed-Crazyguy, Bleed-sScary
Enigma Gaming: ENGM Antidote, ENGM Rawfiul, ENGM Tesseract, ENGM Excali, ENGM RvK
GodSquad: GE Hellranger, GE Lightningfast, GE skrossi, GE kappa, GE skillz

SPORTFIVE places its own creator collective with SQVAD

November 9, 2022 Published by EuropeanGaming.eu

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One community, diverse interests, wide-reaching creators and authentic content: with SQVAD, SPORTFIVE has launched its own creator collective. As an organically growing platform, SQVAD uses the interests and channels of Gen-Y and Gen-Z to implement content ideas and tell authentic stories. SQVAD’s lineup initially formed from three experienced and wide-reaching creators who have been friends for years: Wakez, Nheisen and Proownez. The three creators are also united by the same roots – the city of Hamburg.

SQVAD was already established in spring 2022 as a standalone brand deliberately in young target groups as a brand that combines lifestyle themes such as Esports and gaming, but also fashion and music. SPORTFIVE will initially make the brand accessible only to a German-speaking audience, but it will be scaled to a global level in the long term.

Eike Gyllensvärd, President Global Esports and Gaming at SPORTFIVE, says: “After an initial test phase, we have further developed SQVAD so that we can officially place the platform as a SPORTFIVE brand in German-speaking countries and make it commercially viable. Our mission is to serve a previously non-existent sweet spot. Gen-Y and Gen-Z follow content that creates added value in an entertaining way. Our collective offers the opportunity to bring diverse interests to life and unite them within one platform.”

SQVAD and its members already reach a total of over three million followers, with YouTube (2.1 million), Instagram (522 thousand) and TikTok (312 thousand) among the strongest platforms. Event-related as well as daily content formats are produced on these platforms, as well as on Twitch, Twitter and Facebook. The synergies that SPORTFIVE can offer with its broad portfolio provide Creators with an attractive home for development.

Creators Wakez, Nheisen and Proownez are active as an ambivalent collective in all FIFA titles, but also generate strong reach from their interest in lifestyle, fashion and music. SQVAD thus offers attractive partnership opportunities for diverse fields of interest.

SPORTFIVE provides full-service support for brands interested in SQVAD, ranging from planning and conception of the partnership to production of creative content and evaluation. The goal is to expand the community and build new partnerships that authentically feed into SQVAD’s thematic areas.

EA Licensed Esports Platform Realm Launches in Apex Legends

November 8, 2022 Published by EuropeanGaming.eu

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A new competition has arrived in Apex Legends. Today, Realm, a new automated esports platform from Eric Faust (Co Founder of Realm) and, Laura Wilson (Co Founder of Realm), John Chase (Ex-Amazon, Abe Books) Carter Smith (Former Circus, acquired by Realm) and Ken McGaffey (Former owner of Third Impact Esports, Ex DARPA and Meta) is launching in Apex Legends, with over $150,000 in prize money offered in its first season. Realm will kick off its inaugural season in the EMEA region this month, expanding to North America in Season 2, which kicks off in February 2023. Realm is one of the first platforms where pro and semi-pro players alike can engage in a competitive experience. “Right now, esports is essentially focused on the top .01% of players. Players of lower skill levels don’t get a chance to experience competitive tournaments or places where they can compete to improve their skill. We want to change that,” says Eric Faust, CEO. The biggest prizes will still be awarded at the pro level, but there will be multiple other tiers for players of different skill levels to compete in. Aspiring players will also get the chance to continually level up to get to those upper echelons through Realms rating system. Imagine a ranked service where instead of earning badges, you’re competing for cash”

Realm empowers aspiring professional players to get discovered. Professional gamers are able to showcase their skills in hopes of getting signed to a professional esport team. Realm is built on the Hedera public distributed ledger, and leverages the Hedera Consensus Service (HCS) to keep immutable records of events. For professional esports players, this provides a verifiable profile full of deep data insights from every match they play in, enabling prospective teams and coaches to get a full picture of the players skill set. Realm makes this data queryable so teams, coaches, and fans can use it to create statistical models. Players have the option to make their esports data shown publicly on their profile, or hide it so it’s not publicly accessible.

Realm isn’t a tournament, but rather a platform where players can queue up at any time (outside of when ALGS is live) in private competitive matches. Modeled after similar systems in Counter Strike like ESEA. Players get a rating based on the matches they compete in. That rating is used for players to compete against players of similar skill level. At the end of each season, players are then seeded into a ranked division based on their rating where they compete in a tournament setting to earn prizing.

“Hedera makes it possible, for the first time, for players to demonstrate, verify, and share at their choosing their gaming accomplishments,” said Shayne Higdon, CEO of the HBAR Foundation, helping to drive the Hedera ecosystem. “Realm’s new offering for EA’s Apex Legends is the beginning of a transformation. Running on the Hedera public ledger will enable gamers to showcase, verify, and capitalize on their skills as never before.”

Tag: eSports

Game Changers and Guild X broke records in Berlin

Unsigned Group boosts esports offering as co-Founder of Excel Esports, Joel Holmes-Darby, joins as Head of Esports

Five partners on board for the BLAST Premier Fall Final in Copenhagen’s iconic Royal Arena

Team Young Ninjas becomes the Champion of WePlay Academy League Season 6

Season 6 final prize pool breakdown:

EXCEL ESPORTS acquires assets from League of Legends e-learning platform Hitcap

KRÜ Esports is set to be announced as the next team to compete at the third edition of Red Bull Home Ground!

Valorant India Invitational: Galaxy Racer partners with AMD for its USD 100,000-prize pool event

International Pro Mixwell to Come to India to compete in the USD 100,000 Valorant India Invitational; Top Teams to battle it out in LAN Global Finals

SPORTFIVE places its own creator collective with SQVAD

EA Licensed Esports Platform Realm Launches in Apex Legends

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