The Esports Advocate
Esports business news: deals, legal, and governance.
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Freaks 4U Gaming Secures Rights to Operate Prime League From Riot
Berlin-based esports firm Freaks 4U Gaming has secured a contract renewal from Riot Games to continue operating the League of Legends Prime League.
- Riot Games has renewed the operator license for the League of Legends Prime League with Berlin-based firm Freaks 4U Gaming for the 2025–2027 period.
- The agreement allows Freaks 4U Gaming to continue managing the regional league for Germany, Switzerland, and Austria (DACH), a role they have held since 2018.
- German health insurance provider Techniker Krankenkasse will remain the title partner for the Prime League throughout 2025.
John Knauss Joins GRID Esports as EVP of Gaming Solutions
GRID Esports has appointed John Knauss as its new Executive Vice President of Gaming Solutions.
- John Knauss, a former Riot Games executive with nearly a decade of experience, has joined GRID Esports as the new Executive Vice President of Gaming Solutions.
- In his new role, Knauss will lead GRID’s Gaming Data Solutions vertical, focusing on tournament management, data distribution, monetization, and integrity for game developers.
- During his tenure at Riot Games, Knauss served as Senior Manager of Technical Product Management, where he oversaw global sports data rights strategy and competitive data programs for League of Legends and Valorant.
Hotdrop Employees Caught in the Crossfire of Liquidation: Salary Refunds Demanded
London-based esports marketing firm Hotdrop Limited has initiated liquidation proceedings, resulting in the termination of its entire staff of approximately one dozen employees.
- London-based esports marketing firm Hotdrop Limited has entered liquidation and requested that recently terminated employees refund their October salaries.
- Management claims the October payroll was inaccurate because the company ceased operations on October 29, 2024, rather than October 31.
- The company stated that failure to return the funds would prevent the completion of necessary documentation for the government-run Redundancy Payments Service (RPS) allocation.
Worlds 2024 Grand Finals Hits Major Viewership Milestone
The League of Legends Worlds 2024 Grand Finals, held at the O2 Arena in London, established a new benchmark for global esports engagement.
- The League of Legends Worlds 2024 Grand Finals between T1 and Bilibili Gaming reached approximately 6.94 million peak viewers, marking it as the most popular esports match in history.
- This event is only the second esports tournament ever to surpass the 6 million peak viewership milestone.
- Vietnamese language broadcasts set a record for the event with 1.11 million peak concurrent viewers, becoming the tenth language to cross the 1 million mark in professional gaming.
Worlds 2024 Finals Estimated Economic Impact: London
The League of Legends World Championship Finals (Worlds 2024), held at London’s O2 Arena, generated an estimated economic impact of £12 million ($15.5 million USD) for the city.
- The League of Legends World Championship (Worlds 2024) finals at London's O2 Arena are estimated to generate an economic impact of £12 million ($15.5 million USD) for the city.
- The economic impact projection was provided by the investment firm London & Partners, based on confidential evaluations of previous League of Legends tournament data.
- The event features a sold-out crowd of approximately 14,500 attendees at the O2 Arena, though reports indicate significant secondary market activity and scalping.
League of Legends Championship of The Americas: 2025 Format and Teams
Riot Games has unveiled the structure and participating organizations for the 2025 League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA), a unified competitive ecosystem that replaces the previous LCS, LLA, and CBLoL leagues.
- Riot Games is consolidating the LCS, LLA, and CBLoL into the new League of Legends Championship of The Americas (LTA), split into North and South Conferences starting January 25, 2025.
- The LTA North Conference features eight teams, including six legacy LCS organizations (Cloud9, Dignitas, FlyQuest, Shopify Rebellion, Team Liquid Honda) and Lyon Gaming as the LATAM partner.
- The LTA South Conference includes seven partner teams: Fluxo, FURIA, LOUD, paiN Gaming, RED Canids, Vivo Keyd Stars, and Leviatán.
GRID Expands BLAST Partnership to Include Counter-Strike 2 Data
GRID Esports and tournament organizer BLAST have entered into an expanded, multi-year partnership to integrate Counter-Strike 2 tournament data into the GRID Data Platform.
- GRID Esports and tournament organizer BLAST have signed a multi-year, exclusive data partnership to integrate Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 tournament data into the GRID Data Platform.
- The expanded agreement, which officially commences in November 2024, grants GRID exclusive rights to distribute BLAST’s tournament data to its partners and provide data monetization services.
- Beyond data distribution, the partnership involves the joint development of data-driven products and the implementation of integrity solutions using advanced data technologies.
Quadrant Steps Back From Esports
The UK-based esports organization Quadrant, founded by Formula 1 driver Lando Norris, has announced its withdrawal from competitive esports, including the Halo Championship Series.
- Quadrant Esports, founded by F1 driver Lando Norris, is exiting all competitive esports, including the Halo Championship Series, to pivot toward content creation, apparel, and motorsport culture.
- The organization reported a loss of £598K ($777K USD) for the 2023 fiscal year.
- The decision to exit competitive gaming follows a seventh-place finish at the 2024 Halo World Championship in Arlington, Texas.
Challengermode Raises $2.53M USD in New Funding Round
Challengermode, a Sweden-based competitive gaming platform, has successfully secured SEK 27 million, equivalent to approximately $2.53 million USD, in a new funding round.
- Swedish competitive gaming platform Challengermode raised SEK 27M (approximately $2.53M USD) in a new funding round.
- The company plans to use the capital to pivot beyond esports by developing game-technology products specifically for game developers and AAA publishers.
- Challengermode reports an average revenue growth of 54% over the past three years, with annual growth rates of 42% in 2021/2022, 62% in 2022/2023, and 58% in 2023/2024.
Esports Marketing Firm Hotdrop Enters Liquidation, Releases Staff
London-based esports marketing agency Hotdrop Ltd. has entered liquidation, resulting in the immediate termination of its entire staff.
- London-based esports marketing agency Hotdrop Ltd. has entered liquidation and laid off its entire staff as of late October 2024.
- The closure appears sudden, as the agency was actively managing client activations at DreamHack Atlanta and supporting an ESL FACEIT Group and DHL project in Malta as recently as September 2024.
- Hotdrop was founded in December 2019 by Heather Dower, who served as the company's CEO and majority shareholder.
Riot Reveals Format Changes to League of Legends EMEA Championship in 2025
Riot Games has announced a significant restructuring of the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) for the 2025 season, moving to a three-split format designed to increase competitive stakes.
- The 2025 League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) season will transition to a three-split format (Winter, Spring, and Summer), replacing the previous Season Finals structure and eliminating Championship points.
- The Winter Split begins January 18, 2025, and will exclusively utilize the 'Fearless Draft' format throughout the competition.
- Spring and Summer splits will shift toward a best-of-three series structure during the regular season to increase competitive stakes.
Martin Dachselt Exits Bayes Esports
Martin Dachselt, a founding figure and long-time co-CEO and co-managing director of Bayes Esports, has announced his departure from the company after an eight-year tenure.
- Martin Dachselt has stepped down as co-CEO and co-managing director of Bayes Esports after eight years with the company.
- Dachselt will transition into a strategic advisor role for the company following his departure from the executive leadership team.
- Amir Mirzaee will assume full leadership as CEO and managing director of Bayes Esports, supported by CFO Christopher Bohlmann and CTO Dr.-Ing. Notger Heinz.