The Esports Advocate
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CrossFire Stars Grand Finals 2023: Chengdu
The CrossFire Stars (CFS) Grand Finals 2023, held in Chengdu, China, served as a focal point for the global expansion and professionalization of the long-running CrossFire esports ecosystem.
- The CrossFire Stars (CFS) 2023 Grand Finals in Chengdu, China, awarded $1.42 million in total prize money, with the winning team, BaiSha Gaming, receiving $500,000.
- Smilegate directly manages the CrossFire esports ecosystem in Brazil, Vietnam, and the Western region, while Tencent operates the franchised CrossFire Pro League (CFPL) in China.
- To maintain a competitive global ecosystem, Smilegate utilizes a 'Player Support Program' that provides direct salary-like payments to international professional players.
Riot Chooses GGTech for TFT Remix Rumble: North America
Riot Games has appointed GGTech Entertainment as the official tournament organizer and broadcast operator for the Teamfight Tactics (TFT) Remix Rumble set in North America.
- Riot Games has appointed GGTech Entertainment as the official tournament organizer and broadcast operator for the Teamfight Tactics (TFT) Remix Rumble season in North America.
- The tournament structure includes two cups, the K/DA Cup and the Heartsteel Cup, each featuring a $12,500 prize pool, followed by a Regional Finals event with a $35,000 prize pool.
- The Remix Rumble set, launched on November 21, 2023, marks a strategic shift for Riot Games toward a schedule of three TFT sets annually, with each set duration extended to four months.
Fortnite Pro Ceice Joins Outlaws Entertainment
Outlaws Entertainment, formerly known as Beasley Media Group, has officially signed professional Fortnite player Davis “Ceice” McClellan as its inaugural “creative athlete.”
- Outlaws Entertainment, formerly known as Beasley Media Group, has signed professional Fortnite player Davis “Ceice” McClellan as its first “creative athlete.”
- The organization has pivoted its business model toward content creation following its departure from the Overwatch League last month.
- Esports stadium and entertainment company Glytch has been named the presenting partner for Outlaws Entertainment, with its branding set to appear on player jerseys.
Industry Veterans Join Midwest Games
Midwest Games, a video game publisher based in Green Bay, Wisconsin, has strengthened its organizational structure by appointing three seasoned industry professionals to key leadership and advisory roles.
- Green Bay-based publisher Midwest Games has appointed three industry veterans to its leadership team to support company growth.
- Alyssa Walles, a 20-year industry veteran and current executive director of the IGDA Foundation, has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer.
- Gina Joseph, Chief Strategy Officer at VentureBeat and founder of VentureBeat Lab, has been appointed to the Midwest Games board of directors.
Giants Gaming, EXCEL Esports Merge
The esports industry saw a significant consolidation in December 2023 with the merger of UK-based EXCEL Esports and Spain-based Giants Gaming.
- UK-based EXCEL Esports and Spain-based Giants Gaming have merged to form a new entity named GiantX.
- The new organization will be led by co-CEOs Tim Reichert and Jose Diaz.
- GiantX will maintain a combined workforce of approximately 60 employees across offices in London, Malaga, and a performance center in Berlin.
Revenant Esports Partners With ViewSonic
The India-based esports organization Revenant Esports has entered into a strategic partnership with the global visual solutions company ViewSonic.
- India-based organization Revenant Esports has entered into a partnership with global visual solutions company ViewSonic.
- ViewSonic will serve as the official monitor partner for Revenant Esports, providing hardware for the organization's professional players.
- The collaboration includes the integration of ViewSonic branding on team jerseys, as well as on the organization's social media and streaming platforms.
Minneapolis Public Schools Partners With FITGMR
Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) has entered into a partnership with FITGMR, an esports performance company, to integrate structured health and wellness education into the district’s scholastic gaming programs.
- Minneapolis Public Schools has partnered with esports performance company FITGMR to integrate esports education initiatives into the district.
- The partnership utilizes FITGMR’s app and dashboard to track student progress across five health pillars: physical maintenance, mental conditioning, lifestyle, sleep, and nutrition.
- The collaboration includes the development of curated events that combine competitive gaming with educational programming.
Players Choose Recipients of Riot Games Social Impact Fund
Riot Games has finalized the distribution of $4.5 million in charitable funding for 2023, a process driven by direct player participation.
- Riot Games allocated $4.5 million to charitable organizations in 2023, funded by proceeds from in-game items and content sales.
- The Riot Games Social Impact Fund has surpassed $50 million in total funds raised since its inception in 2019.
- Players cast approximately 589,000 votes across 28 global regions to determine the distribution of the 2023 funds.
Riot Games Names Mark Zimmerman LCS Commissioner
Riot Games has appointed Mark “MarkZ” Zimmerman as the new commissioner of the League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) for the 2024 season.
- Riot Games has appointed Mark “MarkZ” Zimmerman as the new LCS Commissioner for the 2024 season, replacing Jackie Felling.
- The LCS will return to a weekend broadcast format for 2024, reversing the 2023 experiment that utilized a weekday schedule.
- The league is reducing its number of participating teams from 10 to eight for the 2024 season.
John DeHart Officially Announces Role at Allstar.gg
John DeHart has officially transitioned into the role of director of business development at Allstar.gg, a New York City-based cloud-based content creation platform.
- John DeHart has been appointed as the director of business development for the cloud-based content creation platform Allstar.gg, having served in the role in a stealth capacity since October 2023.
- Allstar.gg recently secured $12 million in a Series A funding round led by the venture capital firm Drive Capital.
- Since its inception in 2018, Allstar.gg has raised a total of $18 million from investors including Mark Cuban, Studio VC, J-Ventures, and Overwolf.
Allstar.gg Raises $12M USD From Drive Capital
Allstar.gg, a New York-based cloud-focused content creation platform, successfully secured $12 million in a Series A funding round led by the venture capital firm Drive Capital.
- Allstar.gg raised $12 million in a Series A funding round led by Drive Capital, bringing the company's total lifetime funding to $18 million.
- The cloud-based content creation platform currently serves 11.3 million users and has facilitated over 250 million views of shared gameplay clips.
- The company plans to use the new capital to accelerate product development and expand its technology to additional games and developer partnerships.
Gen.G Esports Partners With Crocs for Fortnite Content
Gen.G Esports and footwear brand Crocs have collaborated to expand the reach of the Crocs World gaming property by launching a custom experience within Fortnite.
- Gen.G Esports and Crocs have launched 'Crocs World Tycoon' in Fortnite, a custom experience built using the Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN).
- The project expands the 'Crocs World' property, which previously launched on Roblox in 2022 and has since reached over 5 million players.
- The launch includes a four-week 'Personalize Your Classics' campaign that challenges players to build beach-themed parks and complete in-game tasks.