eSports
One year later: YAS HEAT ESPORTS celebrates first anniversary following significant strides in just 12 months
Yas Marina Circuit-based esports squad looks back over a hugely impressive 12 months
YAS HEAT ESPORTS celebrates an important milestone this month, as August 2021 signals the first anniversary of the team’s conception, when a new era for esports in the Middle East began.
One year on, and the Yas Marina Circuit-based team continues to raise eyebrows and turn heads on the global esports stage across multiple platforms and gaming titles. In just 12 short months and a total of 1168 races, YAS HEAT has achieved 786 podiums (67%), 493 victories (42%) and nine championships.
In addition, YAS HEAT has participated in some of the esports calendar’s most prestigious events, including a seventh-place finish in the Virtual Olympics for Angel Inostroza and a Red Bull, Fordzilla and R8G-beating V10 R League campaign.
A number of high-profile partnerships have also emerged during this period. A collaboration with Microsoft resulted in the immensely popular Microsoft GP – featuring high-profile competitors such as Jamie Chadwick, MaximeMXM and Ramez Azzam – while Pirelli and Richard Mille also came on board with their own special edition eye-catching liveries.
The YAS HEAT Academy has also seen unprecedented success in its first year, discovering regional talent and offering aspiring virtual racers an opportunity to prove their worth at the highest level. The young hopefuls also received expert knowledge on what it takes to be a professional sports person from the academy’s specialist lecturer and ex-England Rugby player Tom May.
While these achievements certainly highlight YAS HEAT as one of the world’s most competitive esports teams and a force to be reckoned with, the squad shows no signs of slowing down with the Le Mans Virtual Series and many other championships on the horizon.
Saif Al-Noaimi, Team Principal, YAS HEAT said: “What YAS HEAT has achieved in just one year is nothing short of spectacular. We’re going up against established teams in the esports industry and we have won 493 races and nine championships – it’s just incredible.
“We’re not stopping here though. We have grand plans for the next 12 months of YAS HEAT and we’re going to be pushing to be better than ever, continuing our academy programme as well as entering into more and more championships – we can’t wait!
“Of course, we have to mention all of our hard-working drivers, dedicated sponsors and all those behind the scenes who keep our operation running smoothly. Without them, the success we’ve achieved and the reputation we have built would not be possible.”
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Zenni Optical, the world’s leading online eyewear retailer, announced a partnership with ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the leading esports and video game entertainment company. Designed to integrate eye health education with innovative eyewear solutions for the esports community, the partnership will officially launch at DreamHack festival in Dallas, taking place from May 31 to June 2.
This collaboration will showcase a co-branded collection of lifestyle and competitive eyewear and accessories, highlighting Zenni Optical’s commitment to promoting overall eye health, particularly in addressing issues like eye fatigue and strain. Additionally, the initiative will incorporate essential eye health education across various DreamHack Festivals, in alignment with EFG’s broader mission to foster inclusive gaming worlds and engaged, supported communities.
“DreamHack and ESL represent some of the most community-centric and prestigious competitive events in the world. In their own unique ways, they embody esports for everyone. By partnering with these incredible brands across the gaming and esports spaces, we aim to create engaging experiences that combine eye-health education with innovative eyewear solutions for players and fans at all levels,” said Robb Chiarini, Head of Gaming, Sports, & Events at Zenni Optical.
“We are thrilled to partner with Zenni Optical as the Official Eyewear Partner of DreamHack and ESL. The genuine passion that Zenni has for the esports industry is a refreshing sight to see, and a major driving factor for the decision behind our partnership. Zenni’s ongoing commitment to provide eyewear for everyone mirrors our own drive to create worlds beyond gameplay for gamers everywhere,” Craig Levine, Co-CEO at EFG, said.
Bucks Gaming’s Cream City Convergence Esports Tournament has been selected as a Capcom Pro Tour event, becoming one of just three tournaments in North America chosen to be a qualifier for the prestigious Capcom Cup.
The Capcom Cup is an annual Street Fighter 6 competition, hosted by video game developer and esports organizer Capcom, with a $1 million first place prize. Each year, Capcom selects a small number of tournaments worldwide to serve as Capcom Pro Tour events, with the winning players from each event qualifying for the Capcom Cup. As one of the tournaments selected by Capcom for the honor this year, Cream City Convergence will become the first esports event run by an NBA team to work with a major esports organizer.
Top-ranked Street Fighter 6 players will compete at Cream City Convergence when it returns for its second year on Saturday, Aug. 24, at Baird Center. In addition to Street Fighter 6, this year’s tournament will also have brackets for Tekken 8; Super Smash Bros Ultimate; Super Smash Bros Melee; and Guilty Gear: Strive.
The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has announced Kambi and Abios, its esports data subsidiary, as new ESIC Anti-Corruption Supporters. This partnership signals the alignment of Kambi’s longstanding commitment to corporate probity and sports integrity with ESIC’s ongoing battle against match-fixing and corruption in esports.
Kambi and Abios join a distinguished class of other Anti-Corruption Supporter stakeholders who have historically worked with ESIC to ensure that attacks against the competitive integrity of esports competition are appropriately reported and dealt with. Anti-Corruption Supporters assist ESIC in investigating suspicious betting activity, supporting ESIC’s broader mission to combat cheating and betting fraud in the esports industry. Kambi and Abios’ entrance into the Anti-Corruption Supporter class will see the entities actively work with ESIC to assist in ESIC’s mission to disrupt, prevent, investigate and prosecute all attempts to compromise competitive integrity in esport competition.
Abios’ Managing Director and Founder, Anton Janér, commented: “Our mission at Abios has always been to enable the sustainable growth of esports. As such, we’re incredibly excited to join ESIC in their mission to future-proof esports through combatting match-fixing and other integrity-related malpractices. Fair play is a crucial component in ensuring the viability of esports as a long-term community and investment and we hope to be able to support the industry together with ESIC going forward.”
Stephen Hanna, ESIC’s Chief Executive Officer, commented: “We are pleased to welcome Kambi and Abios as Anti-Corruption Supporters. Kambi and Abios are well trusted and recognised operators in their respective industries, and their entrance into the Anti-Corruption Supporter class of ESIC membership emphasises their shared commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity and fair play within the esports industry.”
The post Kambi and Abios Join ESIC as Anti-Corruption Supporters appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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