The Esports Advocate
Esports business news: deals, legal, and governance.
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ESL Impact Season 4 Invited Teams Revealed
ESL FACEIT Group has announced the details for the fourth season of its ESL Impact competition series, a global initiative dedicated to professional women in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
- ESL FACEIT Group is hosting the ESL Impact Season 4, an all-women professional CS:GO tournament series featuring a $150,000 USD prize pool.
- The Season 4 Global Finals are scheduled to take place as a live event during DreamHack Valencia from December 8–10, 2023.
- Twenty-eight top all-women teams will compete starting September 13 to secure one of eight available spots in the Global Finals.
Exclusive: Belong Gaming Arenas Ceases U.S. Operations
Belong Gaming Arenas has officially suspended its operations within the United States, resulting in the layoff of a majority of its American workforce.
- Belong Gaming Arenas has officially suspended its U.S. operations and laid off the majority of its domestic staff.
- The company confirmed the shutdown on July 3, 2023, citing a thorough evaluation of its current business operations and strategic alternatives.
- Belong Gaming Arenas was excluded from the March 2023 acquisition of its parent company, Vindex, by the ESL FACEIT Group.
Gamers First Makes Strategic Staff Cuts
Gamers First, an Austin-based esports organization, implemented a series of strategic staff reductions in June 2023.
- Austin-based esports organization Gamers First (G1) executed staff layoffs in June 2023, impacting three roles: Executive Assistant/Manager Yasmin Schancer, Director of Event Operations Jackie Wolfram, and GM of Esports/Director of Optimization Marcus Lovejoy.
- CEO and founder Kenny Vaccaro stated the layoffs were a strategic move to facilitate the hiring of C-suite and VP-level personnel to lead individual business verticals under the G1 umbrella.
- Founded in December 2021 by Kenny Vaccaro, Hunter Swensson, and Cody Hendrix, G1 currently manages teams in Halo, Rocket League, and Trackmania, alongside various content creators.
Victoria Police Partner With Esports Integrity Commission
The Victoria Police in Australia have entered into a formal partnership with the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) to address and mitigate betting-related match-fixing within the esports industry.
- The Victoria Police and the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) have formed a partnership to combat betting-related match-fixing and suspicious wagering activity in esports.
- Under the agreement, the Victoria Police’s Sporting Integrity Intelligence Unit (SIIU) will receive real-time betting alerts from ESIC regarding suspicious match activity to facilitate rapid investigations.
- The collaboration, which began with a letter of agreement in February 2023, aims to treat esports match-fixing with the same level of legal scrutiny as traditional professional sports.
Global Esports Partners With Adamas for Valorant Roster
Global Esports, an India-based organization, has entered into a strategic partnership with the Vancouver-based performance and wellness company Adamas Esports.
- India-based organization Global Esports has partnered with Vancouver-based Adamas Esports to improve the 'out-of-game' performance of its Valorant roster.
- The partnership aims to enhance the mental strength, resilience, and overall consistency of players competing in the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) Asia-Pacific league.
- Global Esports will utilize Adamas resources to prepare its roster for the VCT Last Chance Qualifier, scheduled to take place from July 15 to July 23, 2023.
ESL Pro League Fines Astralis $100K USD for Conflict of Interest
The ESL Pro League, a division of the ESL FACEIT Group, has sanctioned the esports organization Astralis with a $100,000 USD fine for failing to disclose a conflict of interest.
- The ESL Pro League fined esports organization Astralis $100,000 USD for failing to disclose a conflict of interest.
- The sanction stems from unauthorized communications between former Heroic head coach Nicolai ‘HUNDEN’ Petersen and Astralis while Petersen was still under contract with Heroic in 2021.
- The fine was issued by the Executive Board of the Louvre Agreement, a legally binding covenant between ESL and its partner teams, following an independent investigation initiated in January 2023.
Qlan Raises $200K USD in a Pre-Seed Funding Round
Qlan, a Mumbai-based social networking platform dedicated to esports and gaming, has successfully secured $200,000 USD in a pre-seed funding round.
- Mumbai-based gaming and esports social platform Qlan raised $200,000 USD in its first-ever external funding round.
- The pre-seed round included participation from investors Marwah Sports, CIIE.CO, and Faad Network.
- Qlan reported over 100,000 total downloads and 50,000 active users across regions including India, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Americas, South Africa, and MENA.
François Ribeiro Leads European Division of Infinite Reality
Infinite Reality, the parent company of the London Royal Ravens and KOI, has appointed François Ribeiro as the CEO of its European division.
- Infinite Reality, owner of the London Royal Ravens and KOI, has appointed François Ribeiro as the CEO of its European division.
- Ribeiro brings over two decades of executive experience in sports and entertainment to the metaverse, Web3, and content company.
- Prior to this appointment, Ribeiro spent more than nine years at Discovery, serving as head of Eurosport events and SVP of Discovery Sports.
LCS Spring Finals: Economic Impact for Wake County
The 2023 League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) Spring Finals, held in Raleigh, North Carolina, served as a significant economic driver for Wake County.
- The 2023 League of Legends Championship Series (LCS) Spring Finals in Raleigh, North Carolina, generated $2.74 million in direct economic impact for Wake County.
- The event directly supported 1,178 jobs within the local economy.
- Primary spending categories included transportation ($655K), recreational activities ($548K), retail purchases ($532K), food and beverage ($501K), and lodging ($464K).
FIBA, NBA 2K League Work to Create National Esports Competitions
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA), 2K Games, and the NBA 2K League have entered into a multi-year partnership to formalize and expand international esports competition.
- FIBA, 2K Games, and the NBA 2K League have entered into a multi-year partnership to formalize and expand international esports competitions for National Federations.
- The agreement establishes a structured national team competition system that includes qualifiers, four regional finals (Africa, Asia/Oceania, Americas, and Europe), and an annual eFIBA World Finals.
- The partnership aims to create a talent pipeline by identifying regional players and providing them with opportunities to participate in NBA 2K League events or the NBA 2K League Draft.
Valve Abandons Battle Pass Model for The International
Valve has officially moved away from the traditional Battle Pass model for its flagship Dota 2 tournament, The International.
- Valve is abandoning the traditional Battle Pass model for its Dota 2 championship, The International, to shift development resources toward more consistent, year-round content updates.
- The company will replace the Battle Pass with a thematic update in September that contributes to the prize pool but excludes the large-scale cosmetic reward lines associated with previous iterations.
- The Battle Pass model previously funneled 25% of its sales directly into the tournament's prize pool, which reached a peak of over $40 million at TI10.
Audi Partners With China Gold to Reward Chinese Players at Road to Asian Games Opening Ceremony
The opening ceremony of the Road to Asian Games, held on June 17, 2023, served as a platform for a high-profile brand activation involving Audi and the China National Gold Group Corporation (GNGC).
- At the June 17, 2023, opening ceremony for the 'Road to Asian Games' competition, Audi served as the chief partner and honored five Chinese esports athletes with commemorative silver rings.
- The recipients included former Chinese national team members from the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games, specifically players and coaches from the League of Legends and Honor of Kings rosters.
- The awarded players were Ji “Abu” Xing, Shi “Ming” Senming, Su “Xiye” Hanwei, Zhang ”Laoshuai” Yuchen, and Wang “Alan” Tianlong.