Riot
Company
Documents about Riot
Bleed Esports Counter-Strike 2 Players Revolt
Bleed Esports, a Singapore-based organization, is facing a public revolt from its Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) roster over significant financial grievances.
- Bleed Esports is facing a public revolt from its Counter-Strike 2 roster, with coach Aleksandar "Kassad" Trifunovic alleging the organization owes players and partners a total of $332,000 in unpaid salaries, prize money, and buyout fees.
- The outstanding debt includes $130,000 owed to Apeks, $42,000 to G2, $100,000 in unpaid prize money, and various individual player payments totaling over $60,000.
- While Bleed Esports claims that player salaries are paid through August with September payments in process, the roster has publicly disputed these claims, labeling the organization's management as dishonest.
Bleed Esports Removed From Valorant Champions Tour, VCT Pacific
Riot Games has officially removed the Southeast Asia-based organization Bleed Esports from the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) and VCT Pacific.
- Riot Games has removed Bleed Esports from the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) and VCT Pacific for failing to meet the requirements of the team participation agreement.
- Boom Esports has been selected to replace Bleed Esports in the VCT Pacific league.
- Bleed Esports has faced ongoing allegations of failing to pay players on time, with reports indicating that team members were notified of their removal only 30 minutes before the public announcement.
Huya Reduces League of Legends Esports License Fees
Huya Inc. has secured a significant reduction in its licensing fees for broadcasting League of Legends esports content in mainland China.
- Huya has renegotiated its League of Legends broadcasting license with TJ Sports, reducing the total fee for 2024–2025 from ¥300M ($42.8M) to ¥230M ($32.8M).
- The license fee reduction follows a significant decline in Huya's financial performance, with live-streaming revenues dropping 21.3% from ¥8.2B in 2022 to ¥6.5B in 2023.
- Under the terms of a January 2023 agreement, Huya’s broadcasting rights for League of Legends matches were downgraded from exclusive to non-exclusive, and the company lost its sub-licensing rights.
VSPO to Host its Esports Asian Champions League in China
Chinese esports operator VSPO has announced plans to host the Esports Asian Champions League (ACL) in China in 2025.
- Chinese esports operator VSPO announced it will host the Esports Asian Champions League (ACL) in China in 2025.
- The ACL will operate under a dedicated foundation, with VSPO co-founder Wang Xinyi serving as CEO and co-founder Xie Fan as president.
- The league is positioned as a partner to the Esports World Cup (EWC), with HRH Prince Faisal serving as honorary president and discussions underway regarding the ACL serving as an Asian qualifier for the EWC.
League of Legends Esports Global Power Rankings
Riot Games has introduced a new League of Legends Esports Global Power Rankings system, developed in collaboration with Amazon Web Services.
- Riot Games is launching a new League of Legends Esports Global Power Rankings system in partnership with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to debut during the Worlds 2024 tournament.
- The rankings engine uses a blended Elo metric, weighting individual team performance at 80% and the strength of their respective regional leagues at 20%.
- The system updates daily and incorporates game-based resolution, meaning rankings are recalculated after every individual game played within a series.
Riot Details Tier-1, Tier-2 Format for Americas League
Riot Games has unveiled the structural framework for the new Americas League, a consolidated professional League of Legends ecosystem launching in 2025.
- Riot Games is consolidating the LCS, CBLoL, and LLA into a single 'Americas League' starting in 2025, featuring a new structure of North and South conferences.
- The North Conference will consist of eight teams, comprising six existing LCS teams, one LLA team, and one guest spot for a Tier-2 team, with matches hosted at the Riot Studios in Los Angeles.
- The Tier-1 season will feature three splits, with the first split utilizing a 'Full Fearless Draft' format and the final split determining three slots for the Worlds tournament.
Patron Reveals $100M USD Fund II
Patron, an early-stage venture capital firm, has officially launched its second investment vehicle, Fund II, totaling $100 million USD.
- Venture capital firm Patron has raised $100 million for its second fund, aimed at supporting early-stage startups in the gaming and technology sectors.
- Patron has already deployed capital from the new fund into four undisclosed startups.
- The fund is backed by institutional investors, including sovereign wealth funds, university endowments, and family offices, alongside prominent individual investors such as Marc Andreessen and Garry Tan.
Riot Games Reveals Plans for Valorant Champions Tour in 2025
Riot Games has outlined its strategic roadmap for the 2025 Valorant Champions Tour (VCT), focusing on global expansion, structural adjustments to the competitive ecosystem, and a refined tournament calendar.
- The 2025 Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) will feature three major global events: Masters in Bangkok (February), Masters in Toronto (June), and the season-ending Champions tournament in Paris.
- International league rosters will expand from 11 to 12 teams in 2025, with winning teams from the tier-2 Ascension circuit required to defend their spots at the end of the season.
- The 2025 season will run from January to October and introduce a new Championship Points system to determine qualification for the year-end Champions event.
Riot Games Promotes John Needham to President of Publishing & Esports
Riot Games has initiated a strategic organizational restructuring to better integrate its gaming, esports, music, and storytelling divisions.
- Riot Games has promoted John Needham to the newly created role of President of Publishing & Esports, where he will oversee publishing, esports, international operations, platform technology, and music.
- The company is establishing dedicated internal studios for animation and live-action production to expand its intellectual property beyond the success of the animated series Arcane.
- Christian Linke has been appointed to lead the new animation studio, continuing his work on Arcane in collaboration with Fortiche Production.
G2 Esports Names Mathieu Lacrouts Head of Media House
G2 Esports has appointed Mathieu Lacrouts as the new head of its Media House division, a strategic move aimed at broadening the organization’s brand reach beyond traditional gaming and esports.
- G2 Esports has appointed Mathieu Lacrouts as the new Head of its Media House division to lead a strategic expansion beyond traditional gaming and esports.
- Lacrouts’ appointment coincides with the official closure of Hurrah, the gaming and esports marketing agency he founded in 2015.
- The Media House division operates as a work-for-hire entertainment unit, providing advertising services and content creation for blue-chip brands, rightsholders, and game publishers.
Esports in Germany: In a Global Context
The whitepaper titled "Esports in Germany – In a Global Context" serves as a comprehensive, 100-page examination of the German esports landscape.
- Berlin International Gaming (BIG) and PwC Germany have released a 100-page whitepaper titled 'Esports in Germany – In a Global Context' to analyze the current state and future of the German esports market.
- The publication provides an in-depth assessment of the industry, including market trends, expert opinions, and future scenarios for the German esports sector.
- The project was developed with contributions from industry stakeholders, including ESL FACEIT Group, Team Vitality, Riot Games, SPORTFIVE, and Shikenso Analytics.
David Meltzer Joins Global Gaming League Board
Global Gaming League has appointed David Meltzer, founder of Sports 1 Marketing and host of The Playbook podcast, to its board of directors.
- David Meltzer, founder of Sports 1 Marketing, has joined the board of directors for the Global Gaming League.
- Meltzer joins a board that includes chairman Jeff Hoffman (founder of Priceline.com) and record executive Jermaine Dupri.
- The Global Gaming League is a venture focused on the intersection of gaming, culture, and competition, led by CEO and founder Clinton Sparks.
