eSports
Expansion of broadcast rights with Activision Blizzard: SPORT1 acquires extensive rights to leading esports titles for the German-speaking and pan-European regions
Overwatch League, Hearthstone Masters Tour and Grandmasters as well as World of Warcraft with Arena World Championship and Mythic Dungeon International live and in highlights on both channels eSPORTS1 and eSportsONE
Activision Blizzard is expanding its distribution rights with SPORT1‘s pan-European channel project, following the conclusion of their initial two-year deal signed with the launch of eSPORTS1 in 2019. The multi-year agreement renews the TV-exclusive rights to the Overwatch League from the start of the season on April 16 across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. The deal also extends the rights to the Hearthstone Masters Tour and Grandmasters for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, along with eSportsONE in the European region. New in the program portfolio is World of Warcraft with the events Arena World Championship and Mythic Dungeon International, with their respective Season 1 finals taking place April 23-25 and May 1-2.
Brandon Snow, Chief Revenue Officer – Leagues: “SPORT1 has been key in introducing new fans to Overwatch League and Hearthstone throughout Europe and the German speaking region. We are thrilled to continue bringing these epic competitions to all of our fans in the region, while expanding this deal with World of Warcraft’s premier programs.“
Daniel von Busse, COO TV and Member of the Management of Sport1 GmbH: “By extending our partnership with Activision Blizzard to the pan-European region, we gain another central content partner for our first international channel project. The extension of our cooperation with one of the most important global players strengthens the portfolio of our two pay channels for the coming years and, together with our other partners, forms a strong basis for further growth in the esports area.“
Overwatch League has started new season on April 16
The Overwatch League is the first global esports league with teams from numerous world cities in Asia, Europe and North America. On April 16, 2021, the Overwatch League started its fourth season – divided into an East Region with eight teams and a West Region with twelve teams. The four tournament series are spread throughout the year and end with the competitions “May Melee“, “June Joust“, “Summer Showdown“ and “Countdown Cup“. The top four teams in the East and the top six in the West then compete against each other in a knockout format, with the crowning glory being the top two teams from each region playing each other in the grand tournament final. The prize money totals 4.25 million USD.
Hearthstone Masters Tour and Grandmasters are in full-swing
Hearthstone is the world‘s most popular digital competitive card game. In 2021, six Masters Tour events will take place, all of which will be played online. The season kicked off last month with the Masters Tour Eisenschmiede. Masters Tour tournaments award points toward qualifying for the Hearthstone Grandmasters. Each Masters Tour event has a prize pool of 250,000 USD. In the Hearthstone Grandmasters, which began April 9, players compete in weekly tournaments for the first seven weeks of the season. After the seventh week, playoff participation will be decided based on total points. The champions from all three regions will be up for a spot in the 2021 World Championship later this year.
World of Warcraft (WoW) new in the portfolio of eSPORTS1 and eSportsONE
Starting this year, the two channels will also show World of Warcraft (WoW) for the first time: The Arena World Championship (AWC) has been divided into two different seasons for its 14th edition. In the Circuit, the top 8 teams compete for a prize pool of 160,000 USD in March and April. The top four teams will play in the finals of Season 1 for 200,000 USD on May 1-2. Season 2 will then start directly at the Circuit in July and August – with the fight for the four slots in the Grand Finals and the championship title of the AWC: Shadowlands Champions 2021. The Mythic Dungeon International (MDI) also includes two Seasons in 2021 – with a total prize pool of 750,000 USD. There will be four cups per season – the first season Global Finals took place April 23-25.
24/7 program for the esports community: What eSPORTS1 and eSportsONE offer
eSPORTS1 started in January 2019 as the first linear TV channel for esports in the German-speaking region. The program includes at least 1,200 live hours of top-class international and national esports events as well as highlight shows and in-house produced magazines. eSPORTS1 is currently distributed in Germany, Austria and Switzerland via the pay-TV platforms of Vodafone, Unitymedia, Deutsche Telekom, 1&1, T-Mobile Austria, A1 Telekom, UPC Switzerland, Swisscom blue TV, Amazon Channels, Zattoo and Waipu.tv. On each of these platforms, the channel is offered in selected program packages. In addition, eSPORTS1 can also be booked as a live stream in the eSPORTS1 app.
After the successful launch of eSPORTS1, Sport1 GmbH implemented a pan-European channel project for the first time with the start of eSportsONE. The 24/7 program of eSportsONE comprises over 1,000 live hours per year of top-class international esports events as well as exclusive, self-produced analysis formats. eSportsONE is currently offered in Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, as well as in Norway and Sweden via M7’s pay-TV platforms – TV Vlaanderen, CanalDigitaal and Skylink – and Telenor.
Central content partners of Sport1 GmbH besides Activision Blizzard are ESL, NBA 2K League and Psyonix with the esports titles Dota 2, Starcraft 2, Warcraft 3, NBA 2K and Rocket League.
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eSports
GIANTX unveils its team for the Spanish Superliga of League of Legends
The global esports organization GIANTX has officially presented the roster for its League of Legends Superliga team, the most prestigious esports competition in Spain, organized by the LVP. The roster includes Feisty (midlaner) and Aetinoth (ADC), who continue for another year after establishing themselves as key players for the organization, and newcomers Badlulu (toplaner), Ferret (jungler), and Lospa (support).
The team, known as GIANTX Pride, will be led by Fearless, a veteran coach who has already won three Superliga titles with GIANTX. After previous stints with teams like Guasones and Rebels, Fearless returns to lead this young and promising roster as they pursue the organization’s long-awaited eighth Superliga trophy, with the season set to begin in January 2025.
The roster was revealed during an event at the Home of GIANTX in Málaga, attended by over 150 fans and supported by Opel, the team’s main partner in the Superliga. The event featured activities, giveaways, and a showmatch against Barça Esports, where fans got a first glimpse of the team in action.
Feisty (South Korea, 2003) and Aetinoth (Turkey, 2005) return for another year, having gained recognition as rising talents with potential for the LEC, Europe’s premier competition in which GIANTX also competes. Badlulu (France, 2002), with prior experience in the Superliga at CASE Esports, joins as the toplaner. Ferret (Turkey, 2001), a promising jungler from the Turkish scene, comes from FUT, while Lospa (South Korea, 2002), a former Iberian Cup champion, joins as support after training in Gen.G Academy.
GIANTX Pride is the most decorated organization in Superliga LVP history, with seven titles to its name. The last victory came in the summer of 2021, and the team is determined to add the elusive eighth trophy to its collection. The Superliga for 2025 will feature ten teams, including Barça Esports, Guasones, Los Heretics, LUA Gaming, Movistar KOI, Ramboot Club, UCAM Esports, VENI VIDI VICI, and ZETA, competing across three splits—winter, spring, and summer.
The LVP, part of Grupo Mediapro, has introduced changes to the Superliga’s format for 2025. The updated calendar will be released soon, setting the stage for another thrilling season.
The post GIANTX unveils its team for the Spanish Superliga of League of Legends appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
eSports
GRID Joins IBIA as an Associate Member, Strengthening Esports Integrity
GRID, an esports data platform, has officially joined the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) as a first esports-focused Associate Member. This collaboration signifies a pivotal moment for esports integrity, aligning GRID with IBIA and its globally recognized integrity-focused members, who monitor over $300bn in sports bets per annum and have a growing focus on esports betting.
With this partnership, GRID and IBIA are committed to collaboratively addressing any integrity issues in esports, fostering trust across stakeholders, and setting a benchmark for excellence in the ecosystem. GRID has been a certified member of IBIA’s Data Standards program since 2022, actively contributing to the development of tailored esports integrity protocols. This membership further underscores GRID’s dedication to transparency and collaboration in combating betting-related corruption within esports.
Since 2018, GRID has operated an internal integrity department pioneering official data-driven solutions for esports. This makes GRID one of the first companies to monitor tournament and data integrity in the competitive sports sector and actively flag and report suspicious behavior, enabling it to collect a large database of integrity reports and insights.
IBIA is a not-for-profit body that protects regulated sports betting markets from match-fixing. It represents over 50 of the world’s leading betting companies which operate over 125 sports betting brands. IBIA’s global monitoring network is a highly effective anti-corruption tool, detecting and reporting suspicious activity in regulated betting markets using transactional activity linked to individual customer accounts.
Under the partnership, GRID and IBIA will share information relating to suspicious esports betting and potential match manipulation from their respective monitoring and intelligence platforms. IBIA members will also benefit from free access to wider integrity-focused resources supplied by GRID.
Moritz Maurer, CEO of GRID, commented: “Integrity is at the heart of GRID’s mission. By joining IBIA as an Associate Member, we are taking a definitive step toward establishing esports as a trusted and credible industry. This partnership enables us to further our efforts in promoting transparency, reducing risks associated with esports betting, and strengthening operational practices across the ecosystem.’’
Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “We are delighted to welcome GRID as an Associate Member of IBIA. This partnership is a landmark for the esports sector and reflects our commitment to expanding our integrity initiatives into new markets. GRID’s expertise in esports data monitoring and integrity standards is an invaluable asset in our shared mission to combat betting corruption globally.”
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eSports
ComeOn Group and Astralis unite to drive esports engagement in the Nordics
ComeOn Group announced a sponsorship partnership between its flagship brand ComeOn! and Denmark based Astralis, one of the most esteemed esports organisations globally. As a global leader in esports, Astralis is providing a vibrant and engaging esports experience that is aligned with ComeOn!’s brand experience and is further enhanced by its focus in providing a leading esports betting destination.
As the official sponsor of Astralis, ComeOn! will be prominently featured across all of their platforms, including social media, team events, and competitive gaming content, boosting their brand exposure in key global markets with a focus on the Nordics. ComeOn! is already known as a vibrant brand in the Nordics and with the increased brand visibility it will be put at the heart of the fast-growing esports scene.
ComeOn Group continues to invest in its Sportsbook product experience that is powered by its proprietary sportsbook platform, where esports holds an important strategic market opportunity with its ever growing demand.
Juergen Reutter, Chief Executive Officer at ComeOn Group, said: “We are very excited to team up with Astralis as this collaboration not only allows us to showcase our innovative Sportsbook platform but also strengthens our ties to the esports community. This partnership is very much in the heart of one of the fastest growing betting markets globally. Esports has seen great demand by our audiences, and we want to provide the best betting experience for our customers. This partnership is also a testament to our localisation and personalisation focus and by working together with Astralis, we can deliver unique experiences that resonate with our players and elevate the entertainment experience around competitive gaming.”
Mads Rasmussen, Commercial Director at Astralis, said: ”We are proud to present ComeOn Group as our new global partner. This partnership holds great significance for Astralis both as an organization and as a business, and we look forward to bringing the agreement to life, benefiting the vast majority of our fanbase – who are adults. We have undergone a long and very positive process with ComeOn, and the fact that they are European-based with licenses in all our key markets, including Denmark, has been a decisive factor in our decision. Astralis fans, both in Denmark and internationally, can look forward to an innovative new digital activation, which promises to deliver an exciting and engaging experience.”
The post ComeOn Group and Astralis unite to drive esports engagement in the Nordics appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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