Canada

USA Basketball Set to Hold Trials for USA National Gaming Team

Published

6 years ago

November 6, 2020

Thirty of the top basketball 2K gamers have accepted invitations to the first trials for a USA Basketball E-National Team, set to be held virtually Nov. 7-8, 2020. The trials will be used to select a national team that will represent the United States at the FIBA Esports Open II in the North and Central American Conference on Dec. 19-20. The seven-member, mixed-gender USA squad will tip-off virtually against gaming teams from Canada, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Honduras and Puerto Rico for the right to be crowned conference champions.

“USA Basketball is excited to take this first step in becoming a part of the gaming community and the FIBA Esports Open,” said Jim Tooley, USA Basketball CEO. “The gaming world has seen rapid growth, evidenced by the large number of gamers and fans involved, and the timing and opportunities makes sense for USA Basketball to add an e-national team to compete in future international FIBA competitions. Just as USA Basketball does with its five-on-five and 3×3 national teams, we look forward to selecting high-character and gold medal competitive national teams for this and future FIBA esport competitions.”

In order to be eligible to compete, gamers must be a U.S. citizen who is at least 16 and have a minimum My Career Character rating of 95.

The 30 gamers who have accepted invitations include 23 men and seven women from across the country.

The invitees include ABPureblood20 (Amber Sammons/HeartCrushers); ALittleLady87 (Wendi Fleming/BallHerAlert); Arooks (Aaron Rookwood/Bucks Gaming); BearDaBeast (Michael Key/T-Wolves Gaming); CB13 (Charles Bostwick/Warriors Gaming Squad); Chiquitae126 (Chiquita Evans/BallHerAlert); Crush (Rafel Davis/Kings Guard Gaming); Dayfri (Ryan Conger/Wizards District Gaming); Dimez (Artreyo Boyd/Mavs Gaming); DjLayyy (Alaina Haney/HeartCrushers); FEAST (Mihad Feratovic/T-Wolves Gaming); G O O F Y 7 5 7 (Dayvon Curry/Grizz Gaming); Gradient (Samuel Salyers/Warriors Gaming Squad); HazelChildress4 (Hazel Childress/BallHerAlert); Hotshot (Juan Gonzalez/Heat Check Gaming); icygrl (Brianna Novin/BallHerAlert); iKilledZiah (Ziah Minor/HeartCrushers); JBM (John Mascone/Wizards District Gaming); Kenny Got Work (Kenneth Hailey/Raptors Uprising GC); Legit 973 (Jake Knapp/Raptors Uprising GC); Mama Im Dat Man (Nidal Nasser/Kings Guard Gaming); OneWildWalnut (Dayne Downey/Blazer5 Gaming); OriginalMalik (Malik Hobson/Knicks Gaming); Radiant (Ethan White/76ers GC); Ramo (Ramo Radoncic/Pistons GT); Regg (Reginald Nash Jr./Bucks Gaming); Ria (Spencer Wyman/Jazz Gaming); Sick One (Gerald Knapp/Raptors Uprising GC); Timelycook513 (Eric Donald/Raptors Uprising GC); and Zae (Zaeya Ishak/Hornets Venom GT).

Team selections will be made by the USA Basketball E-National Team Selection Panelists, featuring NBA 2K League community ambassador Graham Borden; Wizards District Gaming team manager Patrick Crossan; Utah Jazz Gaming coach Jelani Mitchell; Aerial Powers, a 2015 World University Games gold medalist and a forward with the WNBA Washington Mystics; and USA Basketball Youth & Sport Development assistant director Andrea Travelstead.

While this will be USA Basketball’s first foray into esports, the tournament will mark the second edition of the FIBA Esports Open, the first of which took place in June and included five conferences featuring 114 gamers from 17 national federations. The FIBA Esports Open II field has been expanded to 38 national teams in seven regional conference.

Each national team will consist of up to seven players, five on the court and two reserves. Games will be played remotely on NBA 2K21 using the Pro-AM mode and allowing for customization of gamer avatars and uniforms.

The North & Central Americas Conference games will stream live on FIBA’s YouTube, Twitch and Facebook channels.

The USA Basketball E-National Team trials will feature the 30 gamers split into six different teams for the first trials session, which will feature round-robin play. As is the case with all USA Basketball team trials, the USA Basketball E-National Team Selection Panelists will have the ability to make changes to teams in order to allow players to compete with and against a variety of other players in order to allow the panelists to select a competitive team to represent USA Basketball at the FIBA Esports Open.

Africa, Middle East and Southeast Asia conferences will be played Nov. 14-15, the Europe Conference is scheduled for Dec. 12-13 and the South America Conference will be held Dec. 19-20.

As was the case for the inaugural FIBA Esports Open, this entire series will be produced from the FIBA Esports Studio in Riga, Latvia, with 54 hours of live content being streamed on FIBA’s Facebook, Twitch and YouTube channels. Each game will be available online with live commentary in English, as well as a daily show featuring up to 12 games.

Canada

Tonybet pays first $15,000 CAD prize in World Cup Card Collection Canada promo

Published

20 hours ago

June 26, 2026

Wladimir P.

tonybet-pays-first-$15,000-cad-prize-in-world-cup-card-collection-canada-promo

Bronze card has been claimed during the group stage; silver and gold prizes remain available until 31 July.

Tonybet said it has paid out its first major prize in its World Cup Card Collection campaign for Canadian customers (excluding Ontario), after a player secured the promotion’s bronze card worth $15,000 CAD.

The operator said the World Cup Card Collection includes 51 cards to collect during the tournament: 48 digital cards tied to participating World Cup nations, plus three unique cards—gold, silver and bronze—linked to a $150,000 CAD total prize fund.

According to Tonybet, the bronze card has been available through the World Cup’s group stage and has now been claimed. The silver card is available during the knockout rounds up to the quarter-finals, while the gold card is held back for the closing semi-finals and final.

Tonybet Head of Product Kiryl Liudvikevich said: “With Canada co-hosting the World Cup for the first time, the tournament has felt closer to home than ever before for Canadians, and it has already delivered a moment most supporters could only dream about with the national team advancing to the knockout stages.

“For one lucky Canada supporter, it has now produced another story that will be worth retelling long after the final whistle has gone – with our lucky winner among the first Tonybet customers to win one of the unique cards in our World Cup Card Collection, taking home a cool $15,000 for managing to get his hands on bronze. Who will end up with silver and gold?”

Tonybet said the same three unique cards are also in circulation across its other markets, with varying outcomes so far. The World Cup Card Collection campaign runs until 31 July, with a $150,000 CAD prize pool for Canada and separate prize pools in other markets.

The post Tonybet pays first $15,000 CAD prize in World Cup Card Collection Canada promo appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Canada

Tonybet’s World Cup Card Collection campaign lands first $15k Bronze winner

Published

20 hours ago

June 26, 2026

GamingAmericas.com

tonybet’s-world-cup-card-collection-campaign-lands-first-$15k-bronze-winner

Tonybet’s World Cup Card Collection for Canadian customers has found its first major winner, with one lucky player taking home $15,000 CAD for securing the campaign’s prized bronze card.

There are 51 cards in total to collect during the tournament for Tonybet’s Canadian playerbase (excluding Ontario), including 48 digital cards – one for each participating World Cup nation – and three unique cards available in gold, silver and bronze – with a $150,000 CAD total prize fund on offer.

The three unique cards reward winners with prizes of $100,000 CAD for gold, $35,000 CAD for silver and $15,000 CAD for bronze – and the bronze card has now been discovered by a Tonybet customer, having been on on offer through the World Cup’s group stage.

The silver card comes into play during the knockout rounds up to the quarter-finals, with the gold card held back for the closing semi-finals and final.

The same three cards are in circulation across Tonybet’s other markets. In some, a bronze has already been claimed; in others, all three are still waiting to be found.

Tonybet’s World Cup Card Collection runs until 31 July, with a $150,000 CAD prize pool (and separate pools running across its other markets).

The post Tonybet’s World Cup Card Collection campaign lands first $15k Bronze winner appeared first on Americas iGaming & Sports Betting News.

Canada

Gaming Corps goes live with OLG iCasino in Ontario

Published

2 days ago

June 25, 2026

Wladimir P.

gaming-corps-goes-live-with-olg-icasino-in-ontario

Gaming Corps has launched its casino game portfolio with Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) in Ontario, bringing a selection of the Swedish studio’s titles to OLG’s digital casino audience.

The rollout includes football-themed games timed to the summer football calendar. Titles going live with OLG include Goals to Glory: Football Fever, Penalty Champion: Goals to Glory, and Goals to Glory: Instant Blitz, part of Gaming Corps’ Instant Blitz series.

OLG is a provincial crown agency that has operated in Ontario since 1975, with responsibilities spanning land-based gaming facilities, province-wide lottery games, internet gaming, bingo, and electronic gaming products at Charitable Gaming Centres.

Graham Greensmith, Chief Commercial Officer at Gaming Corps, said: “Launching with OLG gives Gaming Corps outstanding visibility in one of the most exciting regulated markets in North America. The timing could not be better. As global football moves into focus, we are bringing OLG a fantastic line-up that speaks directly to the moment, while also introducing some of our most recognisable titles, mechanics and characters.”

Ian Shelswell, Director, iCasino Product, Partnerships & Development at OLG, added: “OLG is always looking to bring high-quality content to our players, and Gaming Corps’ portfolio adds further variety to our iCasino offering at an exciting time in the sporting calendar. The combination of football-themed releases, instant win content, recognisable slot franchises and engaging game mechanics makes this a strong addition to our casino catalogue. We are pleased to welcome Gaming Corps to OLG and look forward to developing the partnership.”

The post Gaming Corps goes live with OLG iCasino in Ontario appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.