eSports

Esports Europe reaches 40 member countries

Published

2 years ago

December 15, 2021

Reading Time: 3 minutes

19 new nations joined the European Esports Federation (EEF – Esports Europe) bringing the total number of national members to 40; EEF Congress elects new leadership to further develop Esports in Europe

The European Esports Federation (EEF) now represents 41 European countries after 18 new countries joined the institution, making EEF the largest community-driven non-profit Esports movement in Europe and the largest continental Esports Federation in the world.

New Leadership Elected as Esports Europe’s 2022 Agenda Unfolds

The new leadership of EEF will solidify the vision of the institution in several areas but mostly at a grassroots level, kickstarting several educational projects and community outreach programs, as well as the establishment of internal institutions to activate those programs. Establishing the European Esports Championship as the main national team’s competition in Europe is also one of the biggest challenges and goals of EEF.

The EEF General Meeting was hosted by the Israeli Esports Association in the city of Eilat, Israel.

Mr. Ido Brosh, President of the Israeli Esports Association, was elected President of the European Esports Federation. Mr. Brosh (26) has years of experience in the Esports industry from a community and tournament organization perspective and had also served as a Board Member of the International Esports Federation (IESF).

“Esports Europe had seen a rocky start following the COVID-19 challenges we had to face since inception. Our current task is to restructure and rebuild the organization to fulfill our original purpose and vision: to further strengthen the growth of Esports in Europe, as well as Europe in the Esports World, and to provide the best possible services to the Esports communities and players from most professional to the amateur levels, and create a platform for pan-industrial collaboration models between publishers, professional clubs, amateur teams, small and large, tournament organizers, players, and governmental institutions,” said Ido Brosh.

Tiago Fernandes, current President of the Portuguese Esports Federation, was elected Vice President by the new Board of EEF, following his election as a Board Member. Fernandes has extensive experience in the gaming and tech space working with brands, players, clubs, and tournament organizers.

According to Tiago Fernandes, “the development of grassroots in Europe and closing the widening gap between it and the pro level will be one of the main focuses of the EEF. For that goal we will have to work closely with the publishers, government entities, and, especially, with the community – players, managers, organizations, and tournament organizers.”

The General Meeting had also elected Mr. Karol Cagan (Slovakia), Mr. Boban Totovski (North Macedonia), Mr. Ramil Aliyev (Azerbaijan), Mr. Giulio Cecilenny (Italy), and Mr. Ivan Danishevsky (Ukraine) to serve as members of the Board, while Mr. Konstantine Surkont (Russia, Chairman of the Advisory Committee), Mr. Eduard Anokhin (Ukraine), Mr. Chris Jonasson (Sweden), Mr. Jacopo Lerussi (Italy), and Mr. Balázs Bíró (Hungary) make up the EEF’s Advisory Committee, which serves to ensure all EEF institutions are working in full transparency and are compliant with all relevant laws and regulations.

A Unified Vision for European Esports

The European Esports Federation, commonly referred to as “Esports Europe”, was established by prominent national Esports movements in Europe, following two years of discussions and preparations.

The organization was first established in 2020 in Brussels, Belgium, in an inaugural meeting taking place in the European Parliament in Brussels, and hosted by the Belgian Esports Federation.

Esports Europe aims to present a unifying vision for Esports in Europe to unite and align all key stakeholders of Esports with specific attention to the underlying values of the European communities: transparency, fair play, sportsmanship, human values, and inclusiveness.

Notably, Esports Europe membership includes prominent Esports tournament organizers such as ESL and ESFORCE, alongside national Esports associations and federations in the European Neighbourhood, some of which are recognized by their local sporting authorities as to the official Esports body that administers Esports in their respective country.

Esports Europe represents the interest of European Esports communities in the institutions of the International Esports Federation (IESF).

eSports

Revolut unveiled as presenting partner for the BLAST Premier Spring Final at London’s OVO Arena Wembley

Published

2 hours ago

May 7, 2024

George Miller

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Esport entertainment company BLAST has revealed the global financial technology company Revolut as presenting partner for the BLAST Premier Spring Final, ahead of Counter-Strike’s long-awaited return to the United Kingdom in the summer.

The partnership with BLAST is Revolut’s first foray into esports – an industry known for its next-level global entertainment and world-class experiences. It is part of the fintech’s strategy to provide unique experiences to a global audience of tech-savvy gamers.

With more than 40 million customers worldwide in 38 countries, Revolut’s popular online banking platform aims to revolutionise the way people spend, send, save and interact with money.

Revolut comes on board as the Official Finance and Payments Partner of the BLAST Premier Spring Final, which is due to take place at London’s OVO Arena Wembley from 12-16 June. Revolut will feature heavily across the event, with both digital broadcast integration across BLAST.tv, Twitch and YouTube, with dedicated Revolut broadcast segments and physical branding and activations at the arena.

The Spring Final 2024 will be the biggest Counter-Strike event to take place in the United Kingdom since the London Major 2018, which took place in the OVO Arena Wembley and saw Danish organisation Astralis crowned champions.

Fans online will enjoy an economy focussed broadcast segment as well as a bespoke giveaway with fantastic prizes. Revolut will be kicking off the Spring Final action with an opening party on Friday, 14th June. A Revolut booth on-site will allow fans to sign up to exclusive discounts for Revolut customers and exclusive perks including queue skip for meet and greets with professional esports players.

Alexander Lewin, SVP, Commercial Revenue at BLAST said: “We’re thrilled to mark the historic return of CS arena events to the UK with a groundbreaking presenting partnership. Revolut has been at the forefront of digital banking and financial innovation for nearly a decade, and shares BLAST’s dedication to creating fantastic experiences for fans and customers. As presenting partner, Revolut will feature prominently across our entire broadcast and arena experience, and we look forward to incorporating their innovative digital-first approach. This partnership is testament to the value esports can bring to a leading global brand, and we are delighted Revolut has chosen BLAST for their first entry into competitive gaming.”

Deborah Wajsbrot, Head of Growth – Strategic Partnerships & Sponsorships at Revolut, said: “We’re delighted to be able to unveil Revolut’s marketing partnership with BLAST – our first in esports. BLAST is a world-class esports tournament and an iconic event for the gaming community. Just like Revolut, the gaming industry is at the forefront of innovation worldwide. This partnership is the beginning of our efforts to bring unique and unforgettable experiences to Revolut customers and gaming fans – not just at Wembley, but worldwide.”

The BLAST Premier Spring Final gets underway on Wednesday, 12th June, with eight of Counter-Strike’s best teams descending on the UK’s capital to battle for a total prize pool of $425,000. The winning team will qualify for the BLAST Premier World Final later this year.

Participating teams: Astralis, FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, Natus Vincere, SAW, Virtus.pro, Team Spirit and Team Vitality.

The post Revolut unveiled as presenting partner for the BLAST Premier Spring Final at London’s OVO Arena Wembley appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

eSports

Abios names co-founder Anton Janér as new Managing Director

Published

6 hours ago

May 7, 2024

George Miller

abios-names-co-founder-anton-janer-as-new-managing-director

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Abios, the esports subsidiary of Kambi Group plc, has appointed CTO Anton Janér as its new Managing Director, succeeding Abios’ long-term CEO Oskar Bonnevier Fröberg who has stepped down to pursue new endeavours.

Having co-founded the company alongside Fröberg in 2013, Janér assumed leadership of Abios as Managing Director effective from 1 May. He brings extensive experience in technology to his new role, as well as a deep understanding of the esports market, and as CTO was instrumental in the development of Abios’ market-leading esports solutions.

Spearheaded by Fröberg for more than 10 years, Abios has witnessed incredible growth since launch, expanding the company to reach millions of esports fans, power scores of businesses in esports, media, betting, and entertainment sectors, and employ roughly 70 people worldwide.

Furthermore, Fröberg successfully navigated Abios through its acquisition by Kambi Group, a leading sports betting technology company, in 2021. Bonnevier Fröberg played a pivotal role in ensuring a smooth integration within the Kambi Group, further solidifying Abios’ position within the esports betting landscape.

Janér said: “I am honored to take on the role of Managing Director and lead Abios into its next chapter. Oskar and I have had a lot of fun together throughout the years at Abios, building the company into the industry leader it is today. I am very excited about the future of Abios and eager to take the business to new heights alongside our excellent team.”

Fröberg added: “It is with mixed emotions that I have resigned as CEO of Abios. This decision has not been an easy one, as I have dedicated more than 10 years of my life to building and leading this organisation together with Anton. However, we could not have found a better home for Abios than Kambi nor could I have found a better successor than Anton, giving me every confidence that Abios will only flourish moving forward.”

The post Abios names co-founder Anton Janér as new Managing Director appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Angela Bernhard Thomas

CAPCOM’S STREET FIGHTERTM 6 GOING TO COLLEGE THIS FALL

Published

4 days ago

May 3, 2024

GamingAmericas.com

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CSMG will create and operate College Street FighterTM Tour in North America for the 2024-25 academic year
College conference Street Fighter 6 champions will punch their ticket to the national Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) & May Madness in 2025

Collegiate Sports Management Group (CSMG) announced today during the kick-off of its Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) Texas presented by McDonald’s that it has joined forces with Capcom to launch the College Street FighterTM Tour during its 2024-25 academic year with the finalists competing at CECC Texas in 2025 throughout its May Madness event. Street FighterTM 6 will join Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Overwatch 2®, Rocket League, and VALORANT as part of the official game titles for CECC.

“We are immensely excited to welcome Capcom into the CECC family and provide a path to glory for student athletes to showcase their skills in Street Fighter 6,” said Michael Schreck, Chief Executive Officer for CSMG. “In our fourth year of building May Madness, we continue to listen to our players, coaches and fans on how to make our event more inclusive, and the partnership with Street Fighter 6 is a resounding success.”

“The Street Fighter franchise is a multi-generational and global game series, so it’s important for us to continue to grow that fandom at the collegiate level,” said Michael Larson, Head of Esports at Capcom USA. “CECC continues to set the standard for competition and community, so it’s a natural format for expansion, and we’re eager for College Street Fighter Tour competitors across North America to show off their skills and join us in Texas next year.”

”The vision for the College Street Fighter Tour is a publisher backed esports series that integrates into the existing infrastructure of The Collegiate Esports Commissioners Cup, a bracket style event series that takes place every year and has been coined May Madness. The path to championship includes invitational bids to national and regional level conferences as well as official CECC qualifiers held regionally,” said Angela Bernhard Thomas, Chief Esports Officer for CSMG’s ESPORTSU.

Every college or university from a 2-year or 4-year institution can participate through their conference or through select qualifiers. Wim Stocks will serve as the Commissioner of the College Street Fighter Tour and bring his 20 years of experience in college esports to create a dynamic and engaging format of competitive gaming.

“Since the launch of Street Fighter 6 in June of ’23, it is clear the rich legacy of Street Fighter is stronger than ever and helping lift the fighting game community to still greater heights,” said Stocks. “Having a structure now for a national collegiate competitive series, league, and events, Capcom and ESPORTSU are building a phenomenal ecosystem and mechanism for developing up and coming Street Fighter 6 competitors.”

More details on the College Street Fighter Tour will be shared later this year.

CSMG welcomes 84 teams (up from 64 in 2023) this weekend from a record breaking 19 conference champions to the largest scholastic esports festival globally. They will compete at Esports Stadium Arlington on May 3-5 for the chance to hoist one of the coveted trophies. Fans can watch the CECC Texas on ESPORTSU’s Twitch channel at https://www.twitch.tv/esportsu.

CECC Texas 2023 was also recently awarded LAN Event of the Year during the inaugural Scholars Awards in Las Vegas, which are produced in partnership with the Esports Awards.