eSports
Team Nigma and Galaxy Racer Announce Merger
Team Nigma will head up the esports team division of Galaxy Racer, the fastest growing gaming and lifestyle organisation from MENA, to become Nigma Galaxy, which will house rosters across all major esports titles and will look to create better opportunities for players in the Middle East and become a globally recognised brand
Galaxy Racer, the biggest esports, content and lifestyle organisation, based in the Middle East, North Africa and South-East Asia, and Team Nigma, the biggest competitive gaming team in the MENA region, which was founded by The International 7 Champions, today announce they are merging to become Nigma Galaxy, a new esports powerhouse.
Based in Abu Dhabi, Team Nigma will become Nigma Galaxy, heading up the esports team division of Galaxy Racer which currently carries rosters across all major titles with over 60 players from over 20 countries. The merger will unite both brands, including their ambitions for the MENA region and international growth, while also allowing each to retain their visual identity.
Together the new organisation will look to build an authentic voice for the MENA region, establish itself as the #1 esports organisation in the world and give its players an international platform. Nigma Galaxy will look to become a household name for players of the region to be proud of, and with aspirations to become a global player it will also use existing resources from Galaxy Racer to expand further within Europe, South and North America, Southeast Asia and China.
Galaxy Racer launched in 2019 and has already become one of the biggest esports organisations globally, and the only entity in the MENA region with a significant international presence. The organisation prides itself on having five separate business offerings; Esports Teams, Content Creators, Tournaments Management, Merchandising and Lifestyle and GXR Records, a newly established record label that already carries two signed artists from MENA.
Within its first year of opening, Galaxy Racer onboarded some of the biggest content creators in the MENA and Asia regions and currently carries over 80 creators with a reach of over 370 million followers across all platforms. Its content creators roster includes some of the biggest YouTube channels with over 2 billion views across all platforms; Abo Flah, the biggest and fastest-growing gaming channel in the Arabic speaking world. Galaxy Racer also carries esports rosters across all major titles including League of Legends, VALORANT, CS:GO, Free Fire, PUBG MOBILE, BGMI and Fortnite.
Paul Roy, CEO and Founder of Galaxy Racer, commented: “We are excited to announce our merger with Team Nigma to transform our competitive esports division into Nigma Galaxy. Team Nigma’s leadership team carries vast experience as professional players, which we believe will be a great asset to building and supporting all the teams under the Nigma Galaxy banner.
“Celebrating and nurturing the untapped gaming community around the world is what Galaxy Racer was founded on. With this merger, we believe we will be able to truly unlock this potential and shape the future of esports on a global scale.”
Team Nigma, a professional Dota 2 esports organisation, was founded in 2019 by former Team Liquid members Mohamed Morad and Christoph Timm as well as four out of five of the champions of The International 2017, Miracle-, Gh, MinD_ContRoL and KuroKy. Within the space of a year, Team Nigma secured a landmark partnership with Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, becoming the first esports team to be sponsored by an airline. Based out of Abu Dhabi, Team Nigma also recently partnered with one of the largest telco providers, Etisalat, hosting the biggest Dota 2 tournament in the MENA region – ‘Rising Stars’.
The merger will see Team Nigma become Nigma Galaxy, the esports team division of Galaxy Racer which will be led by Team Nigma’s co-founders, Mohamed Morad, Christoph Timm and Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi. Leveraging Team Nigma’s vast experience, they will help to nurture the development of each roster with players from Nigma’s current Dota 2 roster also joining the new division.
Mohammed Morad, Co-Founder of Team Nigma commented: “We are thrilled to announce our merger with Galaxy Racer. Galaxy Racer has a brilliant understanding of the entertainment business and together we share a mutual passion for supporting and nurturing talent within the MENA region. There is also a lot of natural synergy between our brands with Nigma meaning “star” in Arabic. Before this merger, Nigma was a single star. By becoming Nigma Galaxy, we will have a Galaxy full of stars.”
Nigma Galaxy will operate as a standalone entity with its own budget, brand, direction and identity, retaining the current Team Nigma colours. While Galaxy Racer will also retain its brand identity and will be able to focus on developing its already-robust content creator structure and additional branches to the business. Nigma released its first apparel line last year and will be updating their merchandise in line with the brand update. The organisation will be sending free merchandise to all fans who purchased its first line.
Nigma Galaxy and Galaxy Racer share a common goal of creating better opportunities in the Middle East and Asia to support home-grown talent. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and MENA region is considered to be one of the fastest-growing gaming sectors globally, with 100 million gamers playing in 2020 alone.
According to a recent YouGov study, while familiarity with esports in the MENA was lower compared to Asian countries like China, the population had much higher engagement compared to Western countries like the United States and United Kingdom. The study went on to highlight that in the Middle East, Egypt has the highest gamer population (68%) followed by the UAE (65%), Saudi Arabia (61%) and Iraq (57%) – these four countries have bigger gaming populations than France, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.
However, without the infrastructure, funding and support within the region, most competitive gamers have been forced to forge their careers abroad. This merger will enable Nigma Galaxy to create a better support structure and provide upcoming talent with the resources needed for them to be able to pursue a career in the esports and gaming industry. This includes plans to create and develop the Nigma Galaxy Academy, which will help nurture young gamers’ talent within the region.
Nigma Galaxy will also join Abu Dhabi Gaming (AD Gaming), a new initiative that launched earlier this year. Pioneered by twofour54 Abu Dhabi, the initiative will champion the development of regional talent and bring a calendar of year-round gaming events to Abu Dhabi, and aggregates the emirate’s drive to build a thriving gaming and esports ecosystem.
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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.”
The post GRID Joins IBIA as an Associate Member, Strengthening Esports Integrity appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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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ComeOn Group and Astralis unite to drive esports engagement in the Nordics