eSports

TalentX Gaming (TXG) Names Amber Howard As Head of Talent Division

Published

4 years ago

June 25, 2020

George Miller

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Pioneer in esports and gaming talent management joins TalentX Gaming, a joint venture of ReKTGlobal and TalentX

Former Abrams Artists Agency talent agent Amber Howard has been named Head of Talent at TalentX Gaming (TXG), a talent management company specifically built for gaming and esports athletes and streamers. TXG is the brainchild of esports leader ReKTGlobal, the owner and operator of Team Rogue and Call of Duty League’s London Royal Ravens, and creator management phenom TalentX Entertainment, best known for its “creator-first” mentality and meteoric and unprecedented success with TikTok’s top creators. As leader of TalentX Gaming’s Talent division, Howard will serve as a driving force in attracting and growing a diverse, A-list roster of esports athletes and gaming influencers, creators and streamers, helping to develop talent and take their careers to new heights.

“TXG’s commitment to always put its creators first really struck a chord with me and made it an easy decision to join the company. Gamers have been underrepresented for too long even though the talent and esports industries are booming. We have an amazing opportunity to bring more visibility, monetization and growth to this community of creators,” Howard said. “My recruiting strategy has always been to keep it open and diverse, and to look for and work with creators and brands that break the mold. I envision a deep and balanced roster of creators who represent the diversity of the entire gaming community in gender, accessibility, and culture.”

Howard brings a stellar roster of diverse talent to TXG including Harris Heller of Alpha Gaming, P2istheName, and female powerhouses like Latina gamer Natalie “ZombiUnicorn” Casanova, pro ballerina turned gamer Mari “AtomicMari” Takahashi, and Soleil “Ewok” Wheeler, the inspiring 14-year-old deaf Fortnite pro gamer who Howard signed on as the first female gamer to join FaZe Clan.

Howard is also bringing GAMEMASTER, the ultimate gaming reality competition set to air on Prime Video and Twitch, to TXG. Created by an Emmy, Telly, Global Media and Addy award-winning production team, the show pits 12 amateur gamers, handpicked from thousands of applicants, against each other. The gamers live together in one house to compete for $100,000, a gaming contract and the title of the next gaming super star. The nine-episode Amazon Prime Video Series will stream in the U.S., UK, Austria, Germany and Japan.

At Abrams, Howard led the charge in expanding the agency’s focus on esports and gaming by creating its own dedicated department for talent. Prior to joining Abrams, Howard worked in the esports and gaming department at Warner Brother’s digital gaming arm, Machinima, where she brought the industry into more traditional verticals

of content branding and entertainment by overseeing talent development and engagement, while launching a variety of new gaming opportunities.

Howard is known for developing A-list client rosters and spearheading a slew of talent and brand partnership opportunities for branded content and digital-traditional crossover. Some of her most notable deals include traditional crossover projects like FOX’s Kicking & Screaming and casting for Machinima’s property Transformers: Combiner Wars, and brand deals with Apple, Epic Games, Paramount and HyperX’s Heroes ambassador program.

“We founded TalentX with a ‘Creator First’ philosophy, and as such, we work hard to ensure that each division is helmed by leaders with a long record of success in their respective fields,” said TalentX Co-Founder and CEO of TXG Jason Wilhelm. “We’re excited to have Amber on board to help take our creators – and TalentX Gaming – to

the next level.”

In May, digital-driven entertainment phenom TalentX Entertainment expanded into the gaming world when it partnered with esports leader ReKTGlobal to launch a new joint venture – TalentX Gaming. TXG combines the “creator first” talent development and social media monetization prowess of TalentX – a company that took the influencer management industry by storm by growing a roster of the top one percent of TikTokkers in just six months, including members of the company’s recently created Sway House, which racked up 1 million followers on their group TikTok account in the first month – with ReKTGlobal’s position as a global esports leader that bridges the gap between the multi-billion-dollar esports industry and the worlds of music, entertainment and traditional sports. The ReKTGlobal ownership team includes musical artists Steve Aoki, Imagine Dragons and Nicky Romero, pro athletes Rudy Gobert, Landon Collins and Taylor Fritz, and lead investor Nick Gross. As owner and operator of the championshipwinning esports powerhouse Team Rogue and the London Royal Ravens Call of Duty franchise, ReKTGlobal is a groundbreaker in esports, content creation and marketing.

eSports

North Star Network Acquires Um Dois Esportes

Published

3 days ago

April 26, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

north-star-network-acquires-um-dois-esportes

North Star Network has acquired Um Dois Esportes, a sports coverage and analysis site created from the merger of Gazeta Do Povo and Tribuna do Paraná in 2020.

Julien Josset, co-founder of North Star Network, said: “Thank you to the team at GRPCOM for their faith in us to take the brand forward. Um Dois Esportes is an established and renowned site in Paraná State, and we’re excited about the challenge of developing this asset.

“We’re happy to maintain the collaboration with the existing editorial team, and look forward to working with them, bringing our unique NSN approach, to take UDE forward.”

NSN’s signing of Um Dois Esportes is the media house’s fourth acquisition of 2024, following the recent deals to purchase UK-based SportsMole and MrFixitsTips, as well as Chilean site AlAireLibre, which was announced in March.

The latest addition to the North Star media portfolio joins existing assets including Top Mercato, Afrik-Foot, and Vringe. The Paris-based company already oversees a significant Brazilian operation, delivering over 6 million sessions per month, from the likes of Trivela, Premier League Brasil and Lakers Brasil.

NSN will retain Curitiba-based journalists from the Um Dois Esportes legacy team to maintain the asset’s unique tone and popular coverage of the Paraná sports scene across site and social.

Rafael Mello, Director of GRPCOM, said: “We were surprised by the interest, and initially had no intention of selling Um Dois, but as the conversations evolved, we realised this was a serious group with good intentions. We were very happy to see our project being valued by a large international group and going global, demonstrating the quality of the content we produced.

“We’re also proud that North Star inherited our journalists, who are truly responsible for the success of the product we offer readers every day.”

Alona Shevtsova

L&G esports team founded by Alona Shevtsova won the national Dragon EC Cup tournament

Published

5 days ago

April 24, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

l&g-esports-team-founded-by-alona-shevtsova-won-the-national-dragon-ec-cup-tournament

Ukrainian esports team L&G won the Dragon EC Cup tournament, held on the 20th of April by Dragon Esports Club. Four teams competed in the tournament’s final: Lazer Cats, L&G, which received a direct invitation to the final stage, EsportsBattle, and ThunderFlash, which had open qualifiers. During the Grand Final, the L&G team competed with Lazer Cats on Mirage, Anubis, and Vertigo maps.

“This victory is a testament to the exceptional talent and commitment of our players, as well as the collective effort of our coaching staff and support personnel,” said Alona Shevtsova, founder of L&G Esports. “We are immensely proud of their accomplishments and grateful for the unwavering support of our fans.”

L&G is among the top 5 Ukrainian teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It was founded in 2021. The previous name was Leogaming, and it was created on the initiative of the famous Alona Shevtsova from the fintech sector.

The team began competing in top tournaments and almost immediately made it to the Advanced division of the ESEA League Europe competition. The team also participated in and took prizes in European tournaments such as the SCL League, WhiteBit Crypto Open, Phoenix League, and local competitions. The team players are marat2k, r0ublE, kr1vda, kL1o, OneUn1que, rji (coach).

The winners received a 50,000 UAH prize. Dragon Esports Club also prepared a 15-skin giveaway for the broadcast’s viewers.

It is worth mentioning that the L&G team created its merch items, which are available for order worldwide. To get more information about the team, visit the L&G Instagram page, Twitch, or Telegram Channel.