Category: News

Three Esports Leagues Move to YouTube, Continuing the Livestream Wars

· Leave a comment ·

Wired: “Today, YouTube announced that it will exclusively stream three behemoth esports leagues—the Call of Duty League, the Overwatch League, and Hearthstone Esports, all controlled by Activision Blizzard—that had lived primarily on the game streaming platform Twitch. News of the defections rattled the esports world, especially as it came mere hours before the Call of Duty League’s inaugural match.”

“Twitch had held exclusive Overwatch League streaming rights since 2018, when it signed a reported $90 million deal. YouTube’s partnership spans several years as well; Google Cloud will also host Activision Blizzard’s entire library of games.”

“It’s the latest in a series of high-profile YouTube gaming poaches. Over the past several months, YouTube has plucked Twitch mainstays like Jack “CouRage” Dunlop, who boasted an average of more than 9,000 live viewers per stream. Just last week, YouTube announced exclusive deals with three gaming giants, Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter, Elliott “Muselk” Watkins, and Lannan “LazarBeam” Eacott. Nabbing Activision’s esports as well will be an enormous boon for the growing YouTube live gaming platform, which currently accounts for about 28 percent of livestreamed hours, to Twitch’s 61 percent, according to stream platform analytics firm StreamElements.”

100 Thieves Finishes Building Biggest Esports Facility

· Leave a comment ·

CNN: “Gaming company 100 Thieves has built the biggest esports facility in the United States. Located in Culver City, Los Angeles, the 15,000-square-foot compound may have an arcade and an outdoor basketball hoop, but it also has designated training rooms for playing video games professionally.”

“The new building has rooms dedicated to gaming including a “Fortnite” room, a “League of Legends” room and a “CS:GO” room. The rooms are decked with gaming chairs that retail for hundreds of dollars each and PC gaming rigs.”

Jay Ajayi, Former Eagles Running Back, Joins MLS Esports Team

· Leave a comment ·

Reuters: “Former National Football League player Jay Ajayi traded in his helmet for a video game controller as the London-born running back was named this week as the official esports player for Major League Soccer’s Philadelphia Union.”

“Ajayi, who won a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles in 2018, is the first NFL player to become a professional gamer and will represent the Union for the 2020 eMLS Cup campaign starting on Friday.”

Esports Revenue, Audience Continue Rapid Growth

· Leave a comment ·

Forbes: “Esports has continued its rapid global growth with revenues exceeding $1 billion and audiences of more than 443 million across the globe, according to research by Green Man Gaming.“

“That following is already greater than American Football and rugby combined—and is predicted to reach 645 million by 2020.”

“The numbers suggest that esports is fast on its way to becoming the most financially lucrative market on the planet, thanks to huge exposure and interest in major tournaments.”

New Hires for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment

· Leave a comment ·

ESPN: “Kroenke Sports & Entertainment has tapped former YouTube and Riot Games staffer Alex Rubens and ESPN senior editor Ryan Garfat to help lead esports operations for the Los Angeles Gladiators of the Overwatch League and the Los Angeles Guerrillas of the upcoming Call of Duty League, the group told ESPN on Thursday.”

“Rubens and Garfat are the first hires in the new front office for the Kroenkes’ esports ventures. Both were recruited by executives Josh Kroenke and Michael Neary. In addition to the teams, Rubens and Garfat will be involved operationally with a new 6,000-person venue adjacent to the Rams new home, SoFi Stadium, near Los Angeles International Airport in Inglewood.”

Dota 2’s T19 Prize Pool Makes History

· Leave a comment ·

Luckbox announces Dota 2’s The International 19 has passed $30 million in prize pool which makes it “the largest for any single tournament in esports history… It’s anyone’s guess but the next milestone is $35m and it would be no great surprise to see it reached.”

Dota 2 and their battle pass beat out Fortnite’s World Cup huge prize pool of $30 million. Luckbox claims Dota 2 couldn’t have done this without their great fan base who buys the battle pass and in return earn cosmetics and new game modes. 

James McMath, Media Manager at Luckbox, said, “Publishers Valve donating 25% of (battle pass) sales to the tournament prize pool.”