Agoracom Blog Home

Posts Tagged ‘egaming’

Enthusiast Gaming $EGLX.ca and J55 Capital Receive Final Order Approving Merger $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $WINR $TCEHF $ATVI $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 2:06 PM on Thursday, August 29th, 2019
  • Announced that they have obtained a final court order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approving the previously announced plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario).
  • J55 will acquire all of Enthusiast’s issued and outstanding common shares by way of a plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act

TORONTO and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Aug. 29, 2019 — Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSX-V: EGLX) (“Enthusiast”) and J55 Capital Corp. (TSX-V: FIVE.P) (“J55”) are pleased to  announce that they have obtained a final court order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice approving the previously announced plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario). J55 will acquire all of Enthusiast’s issued and outstanding common shares by way of a plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (the “Arrangement“).

Receipt of the final order follows the annual and special meeting of shareholders of Enthusiast (“Enthusiast Shareholders”) held on August 26, 2019, where Enthusiast Shareholders overwhelmingly approved the Arrangement by a special resolution, and the annual and special meeting of shareholders of J55 (“J55 Shareholders”) held on August 26, 2019, where J55 Shareholders unanimously approved the Arrangement by a special resolution.

Pursuant to the Arrangement, holders of common shares of Enthusiast will receive 4.22 post-First Consolidation (as defined in the joint management information circular of J55 and Enthusiast dated July 23, 2019) common shares of J55 for each common share of Enthusiast held.

Closing of the Arrangement remains subject to the satisfaction or waiver of other customary closing conditions, including final approval by the TSX Venture Exchange. Subject to satisfaction of these closing conditions, it is anticipated that the Arrangement will be completed in early September, 2019.

Enthusiast’s stock expects to be halted after markets today, Thursday August 29, 2019 pending the closing of the merger transactions. Enthusiast’s stock is not expected to resume trading as following the Arrangement, Enthusiast will become a subsidiary of J55 and be delisted.

For further information regarding J55, please contact:

John Veltheer
Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Director
Telephone: 604-562-6915
Email: [email protected]

For further information regarding Enthusiast, please contact:

Julia Becker
Head of Investor Relations & Marketing
Telephone: (604) 785-0850
Email: [email protected]

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of J55 or Enthusiast Gaming to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to: statements with respect to the completion of the Arrangement and the timing for its completion; the satisfaction of closing conditions which include, without limitation (i) certain termination rights available to the parties under the Arrangement Agreement, (ii) J55 obtaining the necessary approvals from the TSX-V for the listing of its common shares, (iii) Enthusiast Gaming receiving approval for the delisting of its shares on the TSX-V, and (iv) other closing conditions, including compliance by J55 and Enthusiast Gaming with various covenants contained in the Arrangement Agreement.  Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties.

Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date.

J55 and Enthusiast Gaming do not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf, except as required by applicable law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Primary Logo

Enthusiast Gaming $EGLX.ca – What Are the Most Popular Video Games for #Esports? $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $WINR $TCEHF $ATVI $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 5:52 PM on Wednesday, August 28th, 2019

SPONSOR: Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSX-V: EGLX) Uniting gaming communities with 80 owned and affiliated websites, currently reaching over 150 million monthly visitors. The company exceeded 2018 target with $11.0 million in revenue. Learn More

EGLX: TSX-V

What Are the Most Popular Video Games for Esports?

  • Esports, or electronic sports, compete with and sometimes even surpasses traditional sports when it comes to things like prize money and viewership.
  • This fast-growing industry is not just for kids either, as people from traditional sports, like Rick Fox, participate in the esports scene. These are the most popular games for esports and how they got so popular.

by Bryan Steele

Starcraft II

You can’t talk about esports history without mentioning South Korea, the home of esports. In the late ’90s and early 2000s, when Americans were just starting to use computers to surf the web, Korea invested heavily in becoming the best place in the world for gaming. People played Starcraft with each other as a hobby. Eventually, it became so competitive they started playing for money.

This quickly blossomed into what we now know as esports. Although Starcraft was replaced by its sequel, Starcraft II, the game remains a popular esport in Korea and other parts of the world. Currently, Starcraft II is past its prime, but it still has almost 2 million active players who’ve earned a total of nearly $31 million in prize money.

League of Legends

The story of esports then turned to League of Legends. Created in 2009, this game soon became the most played in the world, including in Korea. Its popularity exploded, especially in China, and eventually, League of Legends grew to have over 100 million players. 

That said, Riot Games, the creator of League of Legends, has kept the prize pools modest. Despite being one of the most-played games in the world, the total prize pool, as reported by EsportsEarnings, is just under $69 million.

Fortnite

Fortnite has taken the world by storm. With over 250 million players, its massive popularity translates into huge prize pools considering its relative newness on the esports scene.

Fortnite recently had its inaugural Fortnite World Cup, which had a prize pool of over $30 million. The winner, 16-year-old Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, went home with $3 million. Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, is investing a ton of money into the esports scene. So far, it’s already paid out almost $72 million in winnings to its athletes.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Valve, the creator of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, or CS: GO for short, approaches esports differently than others on this list. Valve funds and operates large tournaments, but it also allows other organizations to organize their own competitions. As a result, the CS: GO scene is far larger than how many people actually play the game. 

According to Statista, CS: GO averages less than a million players. Despite this, it has awarded over $80 million in prize money to competitors from around the world.

Defense of the Ancients

Valve also developed Defense of the Ancients, also called DotA. Like CS: GO, not many people play DotA, but its esports scene is absolutely massive. According to Statista, less than a million people play DotA 2. However, because of the game’s many tournaments around the world, as well as The Compendium, which essentially crowdsources the prize money for DotA’s big tournament, its esports scene is huge.

According to EsportsEarnings, the total prize money from DotA is almost $182 million. For a game with a fraction of the Fortnite or League of Legends’ players, DotA throws a lot of money around for its esports scene.

Source: https://www.sportscasting.com/what-are-the-most-popular-video-games-for-esports/

Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL – #Fortnite streaming star #Ninja lands partnership with #Adidas $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 10:59 AM on Wednesday, August 28th, 2019
SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment $GMBL Esports audience is 350M, growing to 590M, Esports wagering is projected at $23 BILLION by 2020. The company has launched VIE.gg esports betting platform and has accelerated affiliate marketing agreements with 190 Esports teams. Click here for more information
GMBL: OTCQB

———————–

‘Fortnite’ streaming star Ninja lands partnership with Adidas

By: Mike Snider, USA TODAY

“Fortnite” streaming superstar Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has joined another team: Adidas.

This is the second major move recently for the professional video gamer, who earlier this month left the Twitch streaming service for the Microsoft-owned streaming platform Mixer.

“Partnering with Adidas is a chance to join a family that celebrates fellow creators at the top of their game,” he said in a video posted on the Adidas website Tuesday.

There’s no specific Adidas gear sporting Ninja iconography, but that won’t likely be the case for long. “I can’t say specifically what is in the works with Adidas, but use your imagination,” Blevins said on his Mixer stream reported tech news site The Verge.

Esports at home: How to be an esports star without going pro, playing games like Solitaire and Madden NFL

Risks of esports: Injuries real for pros and at-home gamer, from finger sprains to collapsed lungs

When he left Twitch, Blevins had more than 14 million followers on Twitch – and more than 22 million subscribers on YouTube. Blevins helped instigate a pop culture moment in March 2018 when he played ‘Fortnite’ online with rapper Drake. Blevins now has nearly 2 million followers on Mixer.

Blevins, who gained notoriety for his prowess playing the video game “Halo,” is expanding his brand with a recently-released book “Ninja: Get Good: My Ultimate Guide to Gaming.” He also was reportedly paid $1 million by Electronic Arts to play the online game “Apex Legends,” according to Reuters.

Blevin’s moves are just the latest escalation in the video game streaming-esports arena. Nike and K-Swiss recently made deals with esports organizations, too, as CNBC reported recently.

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/talkingtech/2019/08/27/fortnite-star-ninja-signs-partnership-deal-adidas/2135304001/

CLIENT FEATURE: Enthusiast Gaming #EGLX.ca – $11M in annual revenue, 80 owned and affiliated websites, reaching over 150 million monthly visitors #Esports $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $WINR $TCEHF $ATVI $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:00 PM on Tuesday, August 27th, 2019
EGLX: TSX-V

Why Enthusiast Gaming?

  • The fastest-growing online community of video gamers
  • Exceeded 2018 target with $11.0 million in revenue
  • Cash flow positive and profitable
  • $180 Billion+ gaming industry / bigger than Hollywood and the music industry
  • Platform of 80+ gaming content websites and 150M active visitors every month
  • Owns largest gaming expo in Canada with attendance of +55,000 in 2018, supported by major corporate sponsors

EGLX EVENT

​The largest gaming expo in Canada and a wholly owned subsidiary of Enthusiast Gaming.

RECENT NEWS

INDUSTRY NEWS

FULL DISCLOSURE: Enthusiast Gaming is an advertising client of AGORA Internet Relations Corp.

Enthusiast Gaming $EGLX.ca and J55 Capital Receive Overwhelming Support for Merger During Annual and Special Meetings $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $WINR $TCEHF $ATVI $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 9:31 AM on Tuesday, August 27th, 2019
EGLX: TSX-V
  • Both companies received overwhelming votes in favour of the merger arrangement during the Annual and Special Meeting of Enthusiast held on August 26, 2019 and during the Annual and Special Meeting pf J55 also held on August 26, 2019

TORONTO and VANCOUVER, B.C., Aug. 27, 2019 — Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSX-V: EGLX) (“Enthusiast“) and J55 Capital Corp. (TSX-V: FIVE.P) (“J55”) are pleased to announce that both companies received overwhelming votes in favour of the merger arrangement during the Annual and Special Meeting of Enthusiast held on August 26, 2019 (the “Enthusiast Meeting”) and during the Annual and Special Meeting pf J55 also held on August 26, 2019 (the “J55 Meeting”). 

At the Enthusiast Meeting, Enthusiast shareholders (“Enthusiast Shareholders”) voted in favour of the arrangement resolution (the “Enthusiast Arrangement Resolution“) under which J55 will acquire all of Enthusiast’s issued and outstanding common shares by way of a plan of arrangement under the Business Corporations Act (Ontario) (the “Arrangement“). The Enthusiast Arrangement Resolution required approval of at least 66 2/3% of the votes cast by the Enthusiast Shareholders at the Enthusiast Meeting.

At the J55 Meeting, the J55 shareholders represented by proxy voted unanimously in favour of the resolution approving the Arrangement (the “J55 Arrangement Resolution”) and unanimously in favour of the resolution (the “J55 QT Resolution”) approving the three cornered amalgamation among J55, its wholly-owned subsidiary and Aquilini GameCo Inc. (“GameCo”) which will result in the acquisition of all of the issued and outstanding securities of GameCo by J55 (the “Amalgamation”) and serves as J55’s Qualifying Transaction (as defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSXV”). The J55 Arrangement Resolution required approval of more than 50% of the votes cast by shareholders of J55, and the J55 QT Resolution, since it is a Related Party Transaction as defined in TSXV policies, required approval of the majority of disinterested shareholders (with shares held by interested shareholders, namely Adrian Montgomery, Francesco Aquilini and Roberto Aquilini being excluded) pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 – Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions (“MI 61-101”) and by a majority of the minority shareholders (with shares held by non-arm’s length parties to J55 namely Adrian Montgomery, Francesco Aquilini, Roberto Aquilini, John Veltheer and Alex Helmel being excluded) pursuant to Policy 2.4 of the TSXV.

Closing of the Amalgamation and the Arrangement (collectively, the “Transactions”) remain subject to certain conditions including: final approval of the TSXV; for the Amalgamation, the completion of the acquisition by GameCo of Luminosity Gaming Inc. and Luminosity Gaming (USA), LLC (collectively, the “Luminosity Acquisition”) and completion of the First Consolidation; and for the Arrangement, final approval of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice (the “Court”). The application for the final order from the Court is scheduled for August 29, 2019. Assuming that the conditions to closing are satisfied or waived, it is expected that the Arrangement will be completed in early September, 2019. Following completion of the Arrangement, Enthusiast will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of J55, will cease to be a reporting issuer and its shares will be delisted from the TSXV and OTCQB.

First and Second Consolidations

J55 also announces that it has consolidated the issued and outstanding common shares of J55 (each, a “J55 Share”) on the basis of 1.25 pre-consolidation J55 Shares for 1 post-consolidation J55 Share (the “First Consolidation”). The First Consolidation is effective as of August 26, 2019, and the J55 Shares will be listed on the TSXV on a post-First Consolidation basis effective at the opening of the market on August 28, 2019, although the J55 Shares will remain halted pending completion of the Transactions. Prior to the First Consolidation, there were 19,000,000 J55 Shares issued and outstanding. Accordingly, upon the First Consolidation becoming effective, there will be a total of 15,200,000 J55 Shares outstanding subject to adjustments for rounding.

Following completion of the Transactions, J55 intends to complete a second consolidation (the “Second Consolidation”, and together with the First Consolidation the “Consolidations”) of its then issued and outstanding shares on the basis of 8 post-First Consolidation Shares for 1 post-Second Consolidation J55 Share and to change its name from “J55 Capital Corp.” to “Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc.” (the “Name Change”).  J55 is authorized to issue an unlimited number of common shares.

Letters of transmittal will not be sent to shareholders in connection with either the First Consolidation or the Second Consolidation. Share certificates and direct registration statements, as applicable, will be sent to registered shareholders following completion of the Second Consolidation and Name Change reflecting the adjustments to their shareholdings as a result of the Consolidations, as applicable.

Further information about the Transactions and Consolidations is set forth in the joint information circular of Enthusiast and J55 dated July 23, 2019 which was mailed to the shareholders of Enthusiast and J55, and which is available under their respective profiles on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

About Enthusiast Gaming

Founded in 2014, Enthusiast Gaming is the largest vertically integrated video game company and has the fastest-growing online community of video gamers. Through the Company’s organic and acquisition strategy, it has amassed a platform of over 150 million monthly visitors across its network of websites and YouTube channels. Enthusiast also owns and operates Canada’s largest gaming expo, Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo, EGLX, (eglx.ca) with approximately 55,000 people attending in 2018. For more information on the Company, visit www.enthusiastgaming.com.

For further information regarding J55, please contact:

John Veltheer
Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Director
Telephone: 604-562-6915
Email: [email protected]

For further information regarding Enthusiast, please contact:

Julia Becker
Head of Investor Relations & Marketing
Telephone: (604) 785-0850
Email: [email protected]

Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of J55 or Enthusiast Gaming to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to: statements with respect to the completion of the Transactions and Consolidation and the timing for their completion; the satisfaction of closing conditions which include, without limitation, certain termination rights available to the J55 and GameCo under the Amalgamation Agreement and receipt of final approval of the TSXV; completion of the Arrangement and the timing for its completion; the satisfaction of closing conditions which include, without limitation (i) necessary court approvals in connection with the plan of arrangement, (ii) certain termination rights available to the J55 and Enthusiast under the Arrangement Agreement, (iii) J55 obtaining the necessary approvals from the TSX-V for the listing of its common shares, (iv) Enthusiast Gaming receiving approval for the delisting of its shares on the TSX-V, and (v) other closing conditions, including compliance by J55 and Enthusiast Gaming with various covenants contained in the Arrangement Agreement.  Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects” or “does not expect”, “is expected”, “estimates”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release. Since forward-looking statements and information address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. J55 and Enthusiast Gaming do not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by us or on our behalf, except as required by applicable law.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Enthusiast Gaming $EGLX.ca – What Role Does (and Will) #Esports Play at #Gamescom ? $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $WINR $TCEHF $ATVI $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 4:13 PM on Monday, August 26th, 2019

SPONSOR: Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSX-V: EGLX) Uniting gaming communities with 80 owned and affiliated websites, currently reaching over 75 million monthly visitors. The company exceeded 2018 target with $11.0 million in revenue. Learn More

EGLX: TSX-V

What Role Does (and Will) Esports Play at Gamescom?

by Graham Ashton

  • In the early 2010s, gamescom was a reliable proving ground for esports tournament brands.
  • Dota 2’s inaugural edition of The International was held at the trade fair in 2011, with its $1.6M USD prize pool considered so large at the time that many wondered if it was a hoax.
  • The first-ever version of ESL One Cologne was held at gamescom 2014, before moving to the Lanxess Arena the following year, with that summer’s run of the tournament attracting a sold-out crowd of 15,000. 
  • Gamescom holds the opportunity for a large-scale event, based on the sheer volume of attendees (373,000 across the entirety of this year’s event).

The growth of esports necessitated bigger stages for these competitions, and in their place, gamescom now runs regional and showcase events on its expo floors. Multiple German national competitions including the ESL Meisterschaft and League of Legends Premier Tour finals, attract a decent amount of fanfare, while the highly niche Farming Simulator League rolled out its own live event. Although gamescom has larger arena space at its disposal, it seems unlikely that the crowd sizes will ever surpass the dozen or so rows of chairs.

“Germany has a lot of esports tournaments happening already,” said Alexander Müller, managing director of Cologne-based SK Gaming. “I believe that’s one of the reasons why someone like Riot Games, for example, or others, are hesitant to bring even more esports to Cologne. Why would you?” 

Gamescom holds the opportunity for a large-scale event, based on the sheer volume of attendees (373,000 across the entirety of this year’s event). Müller said that whether it was a “home game” for his League of Legends European Championship (LEC) team, or something based elsewhere in the city, there are many events concepts that could be developed.

Credit: The Esports Observer

In terms of the trade floor, SK Gaming is one of few team organizations to have had a presence, though this year it opted for a press and media offsite event, located at its player HQ. “It’s tough,” said Müller. “Running a booth at gamescom is a monster, and I’m not sure if it’s the right fit for a team like SK, because it takes a lot of your resources.” 

There was a mix of pure-esports companies and engaged sponsors to be found on the floor of this year’s gamescom. ESL brought gamers to its booths with campaigns built around its German partners, including McDonald’s, Vodafone, and Techiniker Krankenkasse (TK). Ford announced its entry into the esports space, and set up a booth allowing gamers to try out with a full racing simulation set. Airbus has operated a League of Legends team since late 2017, all of whom were onsite to challenge, while the aerospace company could also promote itself as a potential employer.

Endemic gaming brands, meanwhile, set up similar stages to what might be seen at a DreamHack or Intel Extreme Masters expo floor. While gamers bemoan the four hour waiting times to play new games, it’s considerably easier to try out a new piece of gaming hardware. Even if esports events are side attractions at gamescom, competitive gaming is embedded in the culture of the trade fair, with almost every major brand including Razer, Discord, and AOC International setting up amateur tournaments to build hype and excitement around their respective show floors.

Credit: The Esports Observer

“Gamescom is the most important event we have in the year,” said Juan Carlos Sánchez, product manager for AOC. “We have two scenarios here; professional people that work in the gaming environment, and customers. All together at one event, it’s perfect.” 

While exhibition space encompasses the majority of gamescom, there is also a separate business area, in which all attending companies (1,153 of which were registered for 2019) can arrange one-to-one product showcases. On the day he spoke to The Esports Observer, Alias had 14 additional interviews booked, amounting to around seven hours of conversation.

“For me, esports, means professionals,” said Alias, whose company runs two separate gaming brands; AOC Gaming for enthusiasts, and AGON for those earning money through their play. The company has active longterm industry partnerships with teams, including G2 Esports, and event companies, such as Red Bull. “Esports are influencing people to buy our monitors. Why? Because we promote esports tournaments, people see our brand, and we create this environment inside the company.” 

Credit: Esports Observer

On top of product showcases and demonstrations, gaming conventions are the prime time for announcements, and even in this regard, esports is a little light. On top of the aforementioned Ford announcement, Misfits Gaming’s CEO Ben Spoont “reintroduced” his company’s Alienware Center in Berlin at gamescom 2019. It’s not unthinkable that one day the fair could be the podium to announce a new franchise team, or new tournament brand.  

“I see esports everywhere when I walk around gamescom,” said Mark Subotnick, Intel’s director of business development for video games and esports. “It feels like every booth or hall has some aspect of esports in it. I feel esports is incredibly well represented. As a place to go and see a pinnacle event, definitely not.” 

Unlike many companies, Intel has also had experience running a large scale tournament at a gaming convention. “For us, IEM is so big, and when we put it in ChinaJoy [a gaming trade fair in Beijing, with similar attendance numbers to gamescom] it took over an entire hall. Which is awesome, but it also does more as its own thing.” 

Credit: The Esports Observer

While Intel itself did not have a booth at this year’s gamescom, Subotnick feels good about the presence esports has at the event. “It just needs to be top of mind for people. I don’t feel like we have to have a giant event. But you might disagree, and say ‘hey I want that back, I liked coming here and having that be part of the show.’”

Source: https://esportsobserver.com/esports-gamescom-2019/

Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL – REPORT: The Highest-Earning Athletes in #Esports $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 12:37 PM on Friday, August 23rd, 2019
SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment $GMBL Esports audience is 350M, growing to 590M, Esports wagering is projected at $23 BILLION by 2020. The company has launched VIE.gg esports betting platform and has accelerated affiliate marketing agreements with 190 Esports teams. Click here for more information
GMBL: OTCQB

———————–

REPORT: The Highest-Earning Athletes in eSports

By Brandon Suss

  • Three weeks ago, Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, a 16-year-old esports athlete, won the 2019 Fortnite World Cup, winning $3 million and cementing himself as the 10th wealthiest esports athlete of all time.
  • Also, recently, professional streamer and esports athlete Ninja signed a deal with Mixer, a Microsoft-owned livestreaming company, that paid him $50 million to stream exclusively on their site.

Esports have been the topic of a lot of public discussion lately, with new developments within the tournament scene of the popular video game “Fortnite.” Three weeks ago, Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, a 16-year-old esports athlete, won the 2019 Fortnite World Cup, winning $3 million and cementing himself as the 10th wealthiest esports athlete of all time. Also, recently, professional streamer and esports athlete Ninja signed a deal with Mixer, a Microsoft-owned livestreaming company, that paid him $50 million to stream exclusively on their site.

Until the past couple of years, there hasn’t been a lot of money in esports; many players had to grind at endless tournaments to achieve pro status, and climb the ranks to be the richest esports athlete of their respective game. While prize money payouts have been lower in previous years, due to the influx of competitors in modern esports, new players should also get the respect they deserve for doing well in their games.

Esports encompasses athletes from all different types of competitive video games, and there have been top players of almost every age, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. In fact, some of the wealthiest esports athletes have overcome adversity based on some of these aspects of their identities.

Here are some of the current richest esports athletes. (This list does not include income earned from streaming or sponsorship deals, and is only based on the players’ tournament placing.)

Kuro “KuroKy” Takhasomi

KuroKy is a professional “Dota 2” player from Germany and is the wealthiest esports athlete of all-time; he has made over $4.2 million from 103 tournaments. He is known as one of, if not the best “Dota 2” player ever to play the game. Team Liquid, a premier esports team, signed KuroKy in 2015. They were the 10th team to sponsor KuroKy, a testament to his skill and future legacy.

KuroKy has many impressive wins at major tournaments; however, his most impressive win is his first-place finish at The International 2017, the largest tournament series for “Dota 2.” He had never gotten a first-place finish at any previous International tournaments, and this victory netted him over $2.1 million, an amount that only the top esports athletes have obtained.

Sasha “Scarlett” Hostyn

Scarlett is the wealthiest female esports athlete and hails from Canada. She made her breakout performance at IPL 4, with an impressive open-bracket run, defeating many difficult opponents only to get knocked out in the fifth round of losers. She truly put her name on the map when she won the 2012 Starcraft II World Championship Series Canada tournament, making her the best Canadian “Starcraft II” player. She then won the 2012 Starcraft II World Championship Series North America tournament and became the best North American player.

Scarlett is an extremely well-known player in the “Starcraft II” community and inspires female gamers around the world. She’s also the richest transgender esports athlete. She is currently placed ninth on the WCS Circuit ranking, and 27th on the WCS Korea ranking. Scarlett most recently won the Intel Extreme Masters Season XII — PyeongChang SC2 tournament, earning $50,000

Amer “Miracle” Al-Barkawi

“Dota 2” is the esports game with the most money in it, by far. Forty-three of the top 50 richest esports athletes have made the majority of their earning playing “Dota 2.” It’s a team-based, Multiplayer Online Battle Arena (MOBA) video game, which means that competitions take place among teams — “Dota 2,” specifically, in teams of five. It wouldn’t be fair to the rest of Team Liquid not to include Miracle.

Miracle is the highest-earning esports athlete from Jordan, and the second-wealthiest esports athlete of all time. He accompanied KuroKy on Team Liquid for their first-place finish at The International 2017, and Miracle, along with their three other teammates GH, Matumbaman and MinD_ContRol, all won the same amount as KuroKy in that tournament. Miracle also has three other first-place finishes at tournaments that have earned him over $550,000. Given the fact that he is only 22 years old and has only been playing “Dota 2” competitively for five years, this young star’s potential is only beginning to grow.

Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth

Xyp9x is the wealthiest “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” player, and the third-richest esports athlete from Denmark. He has earned over $1.45 million from “CS:GO” and currently plays support, as a rifler for Astralis. He has come in first place at 43 tournaments and had his biggest win recently, at Intel Grand Slam Season 1, in which he earned $200,000. Before Xyp9x was even 18, he had already won over $5,000 in esports competitions, setting him up as one of the youngest athletes to look out for, and now that he is 23 years old, he has broken expectations and has built a legacy on continuing to break expectations to this day. 

Lee “Faker” Sang Hyeok

Faker is the No. 1 ranked “League of Legends” player and the richest esports athlete in South Korea. “League” is a popular MOBA game inspired by “DOTA” and “Warcraft III” and, like other popular esports games, “League” has a variety of players from all around the world; however, the most dedicated fanbase is in South Korea. “League” has always been one of the most-viewed games on Twitch.tv, and it has been that way since its release in 2009, when it really blew up.

To be the top player at a game like this proves Faker’s prowess. He has earned over $1.2 million from “League” competitions, and has made first-place finishes in major tournaments since 2013; his most notable win was at the League of Legends 2016 World Championship. While Faker might be an extremely talented player, like in “DOTA 2,” you play as a team, so his team, SK Telecom T1 K, deserves props too.

Damon “Karma” Barlow

Karma is the eighth highest-earning gamer from Canada and the richest “Call of Duty” player, having taken the prize money at tournaments for nine different games in the series. He has had consistent results in each “COD” game, with peak years in 2013, 2014 and 2017, but he has also done well within the past few months, earning over $65,000 in prize money.

For many people, “COD” was the first game through which they heard about esports and major-league gaming. The game inspired countless kids to compete in esports, so being the richest player in the game is quite a title. Karma has won 59 tournaments, winning the most from the 2017 Call of Duty World League Championship tournament as a member of OpTic Gaming.

Of course, there’s plenty of other wealthy esports athletes out there, and there are lots of top players to admire. Esports are still an emerging medium, and it is likely that the current wealthiest and best players will soon be dethroned. With new money flowing in and more public attention toward esports than ever, it is likely that future tournaments will be even bigger and more competitive.

Video game entertainment is a big market, and many competitors record and stream videos to supplement their incomes, which can sometimes earn them more money than actual tournament revenue. It’s clear that gaming has a lot to look forward to in the future.

Source: https://studybreaks.com/tvfilm/richest-esports-athletes/

#Luminosity Gaming Adds Three Popular #Fortnite Influencers With Reach of Almost 3M Followers #Esports Enthusiast Gaming $EGLX.ca $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $WINR $TCEHF $ATVI $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 8:32 AM on Thursday, August 22nd, 2019
  • Announced that Luminosity Gaming has signed international Fortnite influencers, “Spencer”, “Beaks”, and “Plu” to its roster of over 50 professional esports players and video gaming influencers. 
  • The three influencers will continue creating and sharing content around the popular video game, Fortnite, to their combined network of 2.7 million followers.

TORONTO, Aug. 22, 2019 – Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSXV: EGLX) (OTCQB: EGHIF), (“Enthusiast” or the “Company”), one of the largest vertically integrated video gaming media companies in North America, is excited to announce that Luminosity Gaming (“Luminosity”) has signed international Fortnite influencers, “Spencer”, “Beaks”, and “Plu” to its roster of over 50 professional esports players and video gaming influencers. 

The three influencers will continue creating and sharing content around the popular video game, Fortnite, to their combined network of 2.7 million followers. Luminosity continues to grow its combined reach of 60 million followers through signing new professional players and influencers and capitalizing on the 8 professional esports teams managed under the brand. 

On May 31, 2019, Enthusiast announced a merger with Luminosity and Aquilini GameCo. and the combined entity will consist of over 85 gaming websites, 900 YouTube Channels, 8 professional esports teams and over 50 influencers. The network reaches over 200 million viewers on a monthly basis and has become one of the leading networks for advertisers wanting to target the sought after gaming demographic. These signings allow Enthusiast to continue to build customized sponsorship and marketing programs for large brands across its website network, esports teams and players and live events business. 

Luminosity’s successful esports organization is an important component of the Enthusiast platform. One of the Company’s key growth priorities is Luminosity’s franchise appreciation through the growth of the talent roster and the continued development of content rich channels through players and influencers. Enthusiast will continue to leverage Luminosity’s leading industry presence, brand affinity, and growing roster of esports players and influencers to provide brands marketing and promotional strategies and partnerships. 

Menashe Kestenbaum, CEO of Enthusiast commented, “With the rapid growth of esports, we are thrilled to have such a strong team of content creators and esports professional athletes under the Luminosity brand. Between Enthusiast’s online gaming communities and live events and Luminosity’s dominance in esports, there are significant synergies for growth and cross promotion across the entire platform. We are building a powerful integrated video game and esports ecosystem and continue to provide our brand partners customized marketing programs to effectively reach these gaming communities.”

About Enthusiast Gaming

Enthusiast Gaming is one of the largest vertically integrated video game companies and has the fastest-growing online community of video gamers. Through the Company’s organic and acquisition strategy, it has amassed a platform of over 150 million monthly visitors across its network of websites and YouTube channels. Enthusiast also owns and operates Canada’s largest gaming expo, Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo, EGLX, (eglx.ca) with approximately 55,000 people attending in 2018. For more information on the Company, visit www.enthusiastgaming.com.

About Luminosity Gaming

Luminosity Gaming is one of the largest globally recognized esports organizations in the world, with over 50 professional esports players and influencers reaching 60 million collective followers. Luminosity has 8 world class esports teams competing across top games such as Fortnite, Apex, Rainbow Six: Seige, Counter Strike, Call of Duty, Madden, Smite, etc. For more information visit www.luminosity.gg

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Investor Relations: 
Julia Becker
Head of Investor Relations & Marketing
[email protected]
(604) 785.0850 

This news release contains certain statements that may constitute forward-looking information under applicable securities laws. All statements, other than those of historical fact, which address activities, events, outcomes, results, developments, performance or achievements that Enthusiast anticipates or expects may or will occur in the future (in whole or in part) should be considered forward-looking information. Such information may involve, but is not limited to, comments with respect to strategies, expectations, planned operations and future actions of the Company. Often, but not always, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as “plans”, “expects”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”, “estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates”, or “believes” or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or statements formed in the future tense or indicating that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might” or “will” (or other variations of the forgoing) be taken, occur, be achieved, or come to pass. Forward-looking information is based on currently available competitive, financial and economic data and operating plans, strategies or beliefs as of the date of this news release, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of Enthusiast to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. Such factors may be based on information currently available to Enthusiast, including information obtained from third-party industry analysts and other third-party sources, and are based on management’s current expectations or beliefs regarding future growth, results of operations, future capital (including the amount, nature and sources of funding thereof) and expenditures. Any and all forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

The securities of the Corporation have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirement. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.  

Esports Entertainment Group $GMBL – #Ford $F launches its own #Esports virtual racing teams $TECHF $ATVI $TTWO $GAME $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:01 AM on Tuesday, August 20th, 2019
SPONSOR: Esports Entertainment $GMBL Esports audience is 350M, growing to 590M, Esports wagering is projected at $23 BILLION by 2020. The company has launched VIE.gg esports betting platform and has accelerated affiliate marketing agreements with 190 Esports teams. Click here for more information
GMBL: OTCQB

———————–

Ford launches its own esports virtual racing teams

  • Ford plans to launch its own esports virtual racing teams. Under the name Fordzilla, the company will recruit top esports drivers for teams in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
  • The company will also invite star players to form a European team with select members from each national team.

By: Christine Fisher

The Fordzilla teams will compete in games like Forza Motorsport 7, developed by Microsoft Game Studios’ Turn 10 Studios. According to Ford, millions of people play Forza games each month, and one million players choose Ford vehicles.

Ford has partnered with Microsoft Game Studios before, and a few years ago, the top prize in the first-ever Forza Racing Championship was a 2017 Ford Focus RS. We don’t know what prizes Ford will offer to its driving teams, but recruitment begins at Gamescom in Germany this week.

Catch up on all the latest news from Gamescom 2019 here! In this article: av, business, drivers, driving, esports, europe, european, ford, fordzilla, forza, forza motorsport 7, gamescom2019, gaming, league, Microsoft Game Studios, Microsoft Studios, racing, team, teams, transportation, turn 10 studios, virtual racing  

Source: https://www.engadget.com/2019/08/19/ford-esports-fordzilla-virtual-racing-teams/

Enthusiast Gaming $EGLX.ca – Prize pot of $30 million at #Fortnite World Cup shows #Esports’ rapid growth $EPY.ca $FDM.ca $WINR $TCEHF $ATVI $TNA.ca

Posted by AGORACOM-JC at 11:45 AM on Monday, August 19th, 2019

SPONSOR: Enthusiast Gaming Holdings Inc. (TSX-V: EGLX) Uniting gaming communities with 80 owned and affiliated websites, currently reaching over 75 million monthly visitors. The company exceeded 2018 target with $11.0 million in revenue. Learn More

EGLX: TSX-V

Prize pot of $30 million at Fortnite World Cup shows eSports’ rapid growth

The recent Fortnite World Cup had a total prize pool of $33m and the top winners took away several million each.

By: Federico Winer, PhD researcher, Loughborough University

  • Kyle Giersdorf, or Bugha to give him his game name, is $3m better off after winning the 2019 Fortnite World Cup.
  • The American teenager took home the largest-ever payout for a single player in an eSports tournament.
  • His win reflects the growing popularity of the game and the power of the eSports market. British teenager Jaden Ashman shared $2.25m with his teammate as the runners-up in the doubles competition.

The finals, at the end of July, followed ten weeks of competition involving more than 40m competitors and a total prize pot of over $30m. The tournament packed out the 23,771-seat Arthur Ashe stadium at Flushing Meadows, New York’s largest tennis arenas.

Fortnite Battle Royale is emerging as one of the most popular computer games with an estimated 250m players around the world. Essentially, it is a First-Person Shooter game where players fight to survive in a battle against other human players. Unlike some other games in this genre, such as PUBG or Counter-Strike, its graphics are cartoonish, which means parents of teenage players are less likely to object to the content – it doesn’t look violent of feature excessive blood, bullets and bombs.

Fortnite is rising to prominence in an increasingly lucrative market. Out of 7.6 billion people on the planet, there are approximately 2.2 billion gamers. This includes social gaming, mobile gaming, as well as free-to-play and pay-to-play multiplayer gaming. Of these players, there are about 380m eSports viewer fans – 165m of them regular viewers and 215m occasionals.

Epic Games, publisher of Fortnite, attracts players by making the game itself free to play. But they also sell “V-Bucks” to the players, which cost US$9.99 per 1,000 and can be spent on a variety of customisation and enhancements for players’ characters.

Evolution of eSports titles’ popularity, breakdown by searches in Google, 2004-present. Google Trends, 2019b, Author provided

None of these influence the actual performance of the character in the battle – accuracy and pace still depend on the skill of the individual competitor. This is similar to most eSports titles. But according to research firm Superdata, between its release in July 2017 and May 2018 Fortnite netted US$1.2 billion in revenue.

Competitive edge

So what exactly are eSports? They are defined as competitive tournaments involving electronic games – especially among professionals. Players compete in leagues or play for an audience on a live-streaming service in exchange for payment, which can range to several million dollars for the most successful players.

Top players and teams are well remunerated. Forbes reported that the “average starting North America League of Legends Championship Series (NA LCS) player salary is now over US$320,000, with over 70% of the players performing on multi-year contracts”. An article in Business Insider in 2018 reveals that top teams such as Evil Geniuses earn more than US$10m a year in revenue. This is almost the same budget as a top second division team from La Liga, in Spain.

The recent Fortnite world cup had a total prize pool of $33m and, as we have heard, the top winners took away several million each. Even players who ranked as lowly as 65-108 took away $50,000 for their pains.

When it comes to training for competition, you could be forgiven for thinking that eSports players are not like traditional athletes, building strength and endurance over long hours in the gym or pounding the streets. But, as the growth in prize money means the potential rewards for success grow ever larger, a new generation of eSports professionals is finding that fitness aids concentration. Some of the more successful teams are even drafting in coaches from other sports.

I have connected with several teams and, even in those with low budgets, they are aware of the importance of their physical and mental well-being through nutrition and exercise to perform better in games.

What’s next?

ESports look to be here to stay, but the degree of success will depend on a variety of factors, including general entertainment trends, industry governance and the possibility of government censorship in certain regions. To help the various players in the market understand consumers better and react proactively to changes in the business environment, it is essential to highlight the critical value of eSports data – something that I have been researching for some time.

The huge and rapid growth of eSports – and the massive revenues this promises – are thought by many industry insiders to be indicative of a bubble. Commenting on headlines which implied that gaming tournaments were “bigger than the Superbowl”, Sebastian Park, vice-president of eSports with the Houston Rockets (which owns a majority stake in professional League of Legends team Clutch Gaming) said recently: “When I read a lot of these papers, I don’t know where they derive 50% of those numbers”.

For the health of the industry, it’s critical to be able to establish how different esports industry stakeholders are collecting data and information from the fans to understand their behaviour and consumer trends. There has been speculation that Nielsen, which has been collecting data on TV viewing since the 1950s, is working on a solution. This could be the next big step in establishing eSports credibility.

Source: https://scroll.in/field/933717/prize-pot-of-30-million-at-fortnite-world-cup-shows-esports-rapid-growth-but-is-it-sustainable