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]]>Major betting operator Esports Entertainment Group recently announced a deal with AEG, the company behind two major Los Angeles sporting teams. Going forward, Esports Entertainment will be the official esports tournament organizer for the LA Kings and the LA Galaxy.
This agreement will allow the company to be the exclusive provider of NHL and MLS esports tournaments for these franchises. Any future events would be conducted through the firm’s own platform, the Esports Gaming League (EGL).
Company executives intend for the deal to help their North American strategy, boosting their tournaments’ profile. Meanwhile, the teams hope that this deal will bring more opportunities for fans to have experiences with the brands.
After a successful initial funding round, Talon Esports have managed to raise more than $2 million in capital. The money will be used as seed funding for Talon to continue to expand into new territories and events. Brand development is also a major priority.
Many partners invested in this funding round, with Hana Digital Transformation Fund leading the pack. Other investors include New Wave Esports, Widus Strategic Investments, and Animoca Brands. More than two dozen companies committed funds overall.
Sean Hung and United Esports’ Felix LaHaye also invested on an individual basis. Talon have grown much over the past three years, eventually finding their way to the League of Legends World Championship.
African sports betting sites and esports bookmakers are thriving. The continent is one of the world’s most growth-oriented markets when it comes to esports, yet almost all of the attention goes towards foreign-developed games and assets.
It’s understandable given the marketing efforts that studios undertake for AAA releases. Instead, most African developers are independent. This means working with shoestring marketing budgets and garnering little attention. That’s why the African Esports Championship is stepping in.
This year, the AEC will feature a dedicated showcase for African games. An open invitation was extended to developers from across the continent to submit their work for consideration. Winners will receive mentorship and assistance with distribution and publishing.
The group stage of PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Continental Series Europe has begun. A field of 24 teams will face off over six days of play, with the teams divided across three groups.
After the group stage is complete, eight teams will be cut. The remaining 16 will move on to the finals. A dozen teams were directly invited, including TSM, FaZe, shiftW, ENCE, and Team Liquid.
The other 12 teams made the tournament through the EU West, East, and MEA Qualifiers. Some to look out for include WinStreak15, 303 Esports, AfterAlt, and PinkPonY.
After the recent announcement of Valorant’s Act III, several noteworthy changes to the game were unveiled. These include new maps, new characters, changes to the spectator mode, and the deathmatch rules. Now, Latin American esports figures are reacting to the news.
Camila Park, a Valorant esports event organizer better known as “BoAx”, praised the Act III changes. She commented that the two-spectator mode was “horrendous” for watching tournaments. She also added that the new way will help coaches get a more global perspective.
Valorant podcaster Jose “KTN” Norambuena pointed out that multi-camera coverage is still challenging. He mentioned that the game could stand to benefit from a CS:GO-like GOTV and auto-directing feature.
The Tekken World Tour has finally arrived in Australia, with the seventh edition of the Tekken Online Challenge starting up. While the preliminary event has been ongoing since the middle of August, the main event only recently kicked off.
Players can still sign up to the open tournaments through the Tekken World Tour website. The event’s organizers have lined up many exciting exhibition matches featuring top fighting game talent from across the nation.
The Tekken Online Challenge is a series of open tournaments sponsored by Bandai Namco. They bring together the finest players in 10 global regions.
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]]>The post Latest esports & gaming news – Wednesday, October 14 appeared first on Esport Bet.
]]>A disastrous performance across the board for North American teams at the 2020 League of Legends World Championship has drawn both ridicule and criticism. With not a single NA team making the playoffs, the effectiveness of esports development strategies in the region has been called into question.
TeamSoloMid’s coach, Parth “Parth” Naidu, spoke up after his team’s crushing 0-6 run at the tournament. “I think one of the things that the NA region has constantly done is rely too much on their veterans and their leadership to carry them through their games,” he said in an exclusive interview with ONE Esports.
The coach added that “North America has to level up” when it comes to developing rookie talent. According to Parth, it’s the only way the region can remain competitive going forward.
The likes of Tencent Games, Esports Fight Club and Verasity Tech combined forces to stage the inaugural edition of the Ultimate Warrior Showdown. This 12-day tournament saw more than 1,000 Asian PUBG teams compete for US $15,000 in prizes.
Many of the most renowned international esports teams participated in the competition. That includes the likes of T1, Orange Esports, Team Secret, and FaZe Clan.
In the end, Onic Esports walked away with the first UWS title. Second place ended in a tie between TRX and Secret TH, followed by GF ID in third. T1 made the top 10, finishing ninth, while Orange Esports were 13th, and FaZe finished 15th.
After the Africa Esports Championship organization announced the game selection for the upcoming national league tournaments, many players were upset. The tournament was slated to include FIFA 20 and Street Fighter V, two choices that didn’t go over well with players.
Many fans spoke out, demanding that the newer FIFA 21 replace its older iteration in the roster. An equally loud contingent complained about Street Fighter V, a less popular title than fan-favorite Tekken 7. The AEC was listening, though.
As a result of the online feedback, the organizers have announced two modifications to the roster, conceding to both demands. This move speaks positively of the AEC and its willingness to work with its audience. It’s also expected to help increase esports betting interest online.
FaZe Clan recently dominated OG in the Grand Final of the Intel Extreme Masters New York 2020 Europe tournament. The news made the headlines across CS:GO betting sites and esports news trackers. What didn’t make the headlines at first, though, was the heated banter.
FaZe Clan’s Markus “Kjaerbye” Kj?rbye may be the clan’s newest member, but he proved he’s among the loudest. He and OG senior member Nathan “NBK-” Schmitt got into it on Twitter, both before and during the match.
Kjaerbye fired the first shot, tweeting to his 127,000 followers that OG would “choke” again in the Grand Final. NBK- shot back, posting a screencap of Kjaerbye’s three-month stats and calling out his performance.
During the match, Kjaerbye dominated the first map with 33 frags. He then took another potshot at NBK, tweeting for him to “join the server”. After FaZe’s victory, Kjaerbye doubled down, quoting the earlier stats and sarcastically quipping, “This aged well”.
As South American esports leagues continue to mature and seek commercial viability, key business interests are starting a dialogue. Market research firm Dataxis have organized a digital conference for stakeholders to discuss challenges and strategies in the region.
SporTV Series Latin America features more than 400 different executives, sports leagues, clubs, teams, rights owners, and broadcasters. The event will discuss current trends and future technological requirements of the nascent Latin American esports ecosystem.
Fan engagement will be another major topic in the conference, with marketing executives assessing different strategies for the region. The issues of piracy and broadcasting rights will also be focal points.
A dedicated panel will discuss broadcasting rights negotiation within the context of the pandemic. Monetization, attracting bookmaker and betting interest, and long-term sustainability are also key concerns for this South American esports conference.
The second season of Blizzard’s Overwatch Contenders Australia has come to an end. The matches are over, and the results are in: Ground Zero Gaming are the champions.
They beat Mindfreak, who overcame the losers’ bracket to reach the final. Ground Zero dominated the decider, dispatching Mindfreak with a comfortable 4-0 score to claim the US $20,500 grand prize.
Mindfreak didn’t go home empty-handed, pocketing $15,875 as the runners-up. Third-placed Dire Wolves won $26,562 all up, thanks to their first-place finish in the regular season.
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]]>The post Latest esports & gaming news – Tuesday, October 13 appeared first on Esport Bet.
]]>After the end of the group stages at the 2020 League of Legends World Championship, the utter dominance of Asian teams is sending a message. Chinese teams finished 17-8, while South Korean teams finished 14-4. That’s far better than Europe’s 9-10 and North America’s anaemic 6-12.
These disparities speak volumes about the different approaches to the nascent esports industry in these territories. Asian countries have been quick to invest resources and capital into esports, developing new talent every year.
The results of this year’s LoL Worlds 2020 group stage seem to validate this approach. Asian teams exhibit a quality, talent, and consistency that so thus far escapes other regions.
After a successful first season, the second edition of the Africa Esports Championship is just around the corner. The annual tournament spans more than 30 nations across the continent.
This year’s edition of the AEC will feature League of Legends, FIFA 21, Tekken 7, and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds Mobile. Registrations were open online through the dedicated AEC website until September 30.
National qualifiers are now set to start. The tournament will feature a national league stage followed by a knockout finals event. African sportsbooks are looking forward to this one as it creates a buzz across the continent.
After besting eight other elite teams, FaZe Clan have been crowned European champions of IEM New York 2020. The team prevailed over OG in the finals, while Team Vitality and Fnatic rounded out the top four.
FaZe take home a US $70,000 prize, half of IEM New York Europe’s $140,000 prize pool. The team originally finished Group B in second place with a 2-1 record, losing their Winners’ Match against OG 0-2. However, the tables turned in the playoffs, surprising CS:GO betting sites.
FaZe managed to beat Team Vitality 2-0, and then went on to face OG again in the IEM New York Europe Grand Final. This time, FaZe bested OG with a whopping 3-0 score.
The Movistar Liga Pro Gaming series had been going strong for over a dozen seasons until it was cancelled this year due to the COVID outbreak. Now, Valve Corporation – the titanic gaming company behind the likes of Steam, CS: GO, and Dota 2 – have given the league the financial backing it needs to relaunch.
The rebooted Movistar LPG is expected to launch sometime during early 2021, creating much interest among Dota 2 betting sites. The tournament features a total prize pool of US $45,000.
The final Oceanic Rocket League Championship Series X Regional Major Playoff bracket is finished. All the matches have been played out, and results are in. Mindfreak dominated the competition, managing a 4-1 victory over Ground Zero Gaming in the grand final.
Along the way, Mindfreak bested both Renegades (4-3) and Canberra Havoc (3-1). Meanwhile, Ground Zero had comfortable victories against Cringe Society (4-1) and Vort Central (3-0).
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