eSports

eSports gets official nod from Cal Rec Sports

Published

6 years ago

November 6, 2017

eSports gets official nod from Cal Rec Sports

Reading Time: 4 minutes

eSports might not involve a ball, throwing, running or pushing physical limits. But, don’t tell competitive gamers they aren’t athletes. In fact, now it’s official.

By adding a team to its competitive program for the first time since incorporating golf in 2013, Berkeley Rec Sports has signaled that it agrees with the gamers’ position. But this time, they aren’t creating a new team, nor are they only adding a single team. Instead, they are merging with eSports@Berkeley to form the Cal eSports program.

In the past, eSports@Berkeley was a registered student organization that brought together passionate gamers to play in both casual and competitive settings. They hosted LAN parties — gatherings of people playing computer games and board games — and other special events throughout the year, as well as fielding teams for national tournaments.

“Previously, as eSports@Berkeley, we were recognizing ourselves as a group of Cal students who compete in tournaments,” said Kevin Ponn, the student president of the new Cal eSports program. “We weren’t claiming to be the official, main Cal eSports team, even though there were no other teams on this campus who we would be competing against.”

Although the club couldn’t officially compete as as a representative of Cal, it still managed to achieve enormous success. From 2009 until this season, eSports@Berkeley won eight national championships across a multitude of video game titles, such as “Overwatch,” “StarCraft II” and “Dota 2.” With that history of consistent success, an enthusiastic community and sustained interest from the student body, the Rec Sports department was drawn to the idea of forming an athletics program.

Talks between eSports@Berkeley and Berkeley Rec Sports initially began in February 2015, when the Pac-12 Conference contacted the student organization about the possibility of setting up a conference-wide esports league. Those talks didn’t come to fruition, because not every university in the conference had the available framework in place, but they paved the way for Ponn and eSports@Berkeley to begin their own dialogues.

“We saw it as a natural alignment of their ability to bring attention and awareness to what is a rising sport and of our ability to lend our administrative resources and support to the program,” said Andy Davis, the communications manager for Berkeley Rec Sports.

As of March this year, the partnership became official. But as both sides soon realized, this wouldn’t be the simplest of transitions.

“As we were going through the process of trying to get them as a sport club, we realized they won’t necessarily fit in the sport club parameters we currently have,” said Kirk Robles, the assistant director of marketing for Rec Sports.

In traditional sports, each type of sport has its own team because the sports they play are all unique. Most people don’t realize esports works in the same way. Each individual video game requires a different set of skills and is played in a different way. Adding a single esports team to represent the entire organization just wasn’t feasible.

“It was like trying to cram all of the athletics department under one team,” Ponn said.

To account for the differences, the Rec Sports department created a separate division that would encompass all of the esports teams and any new ones that would be created in the future, mirroring the current structure that the department has for traditional club sports.

As of now, the Cal eSports program is made up of nine competitive teams spread across titles including “League of Legends,” “Dota 2,” “Starcraft II,” “Hearthstone,” “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive,” “Overwatch” and “Heroes of the Storm.” Each of those teams is managed by a team captain and a competitive coordinator, who all come together to form the Cal eSports program.

The first visible imprint of the new Cal eSports program was at Caltopia, a club sports extravaganza prior to the start of the semester. In addition to the club sports that were tabling for new recruits, the RSF was packed with exhibitors who were considered as potential sponsors of the Cal eSports program. Through Caltopia, the esports program got to show local and national companies where the program currently is and what the vision is moving forward.

“Our next step is to fund these teams, whether that be a practice facility, sponsorship of team jerseys, travel costs and things like that,” Robles said.

The program has begun looking at Rec Sports facilities as well as other facilities on campus that might be considered viable training and competition locations. The intention of the space is not only for it to serve as a place for team members and managers to play together during scrimmages and matches, but also as a community center.

“The esports facility itself would be lowering barriers for students. For some people who can’t afford to have a good gaming computer to play ‘Overwatch’ as well as they can, the facility would be able to rectify that situation and level the playing field,” Ponn said.

The Rec Sports program prides itself on inclusivity and works to ensure accessibility for the student population. Therefore, their goal for the esports facility is for it to be an available to the entire student body, in the same way the Recreational Sports Facility or the Memorial Stadium Fitness Center are.

As for the goals of Cal eSports’ inaugural year, it’s not just all about winning. Ponn seeks to set a professional tone for the future of the program. The immediate focus is to lay the foundation and groundwork for growth and continued success. With that in place, Ponn hopes that the program will be able to offer increased opportunities for scholarships, career opportunities, and job-building experiences for its members.

But as is the mantra in every sport, it always helps to win.

eSports

North Star Network acquires Um Dois Esportes

Published

14 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Peter Tolan

Reading Time: 2 minutes

North Star Network are delighted to announce the acquisition of umdoisesportes.com.br, which becomes the latest addition to NSN’s global sports media portfolio.

Born from the GRPCOM merger of the editorial teams of Gazeta Do Povo and Tribuna do Paraná in 2020, Um Dois Esportes provides in-depth sports coverage and analysis for the Brazilian state of Paraná and beyond.

North Star Network co-founder Julien Josset said: “Thank you to the team at GRPCOM for their faith in us to take the brand forward. Um Dois Esportes is an established and renowned site in Paraná State, and we’re excited about the challenge of developing this asset.”

“We’re happy to maintain the collaboration with the existing editorial team, and look forward to working with them, bringing our unique NSN approach, to take UDE forward.” NSN’s signing of Um Dois Esportes is the media house’s fourth acquisition of 2024, following the recent deals to purchase UK-based SportsMole and MrFixitsTips, as well as Chilean site AlAireLibre, which was announced in March.

The latest addition to the North Star media portfolio joins existing assets including Top Mercato, Afrik-Foot, and Vringe. The Paris-based company already oversees a significant Brazilian operation, delivering over 6 million sessions per month, from the likes of Trivela, Premier League Brasil and Lakers Brasil.

NSN will retain Curitiba-based journalists from the Um Dois Esportes legacy team to maintain the asset’s unique tone and popular coverage of the Paraná sports scene across site and social.

“We were surprised by the interest, and initially had no intention of selling Um Dois, but as the conversations evolved, we realised this was a serious group with good intentions,” said GRPCOM Director Rafael Mello. “We were very happy to see our project being valued by a large international group and going global, demonstrating the quality of the content we produced.”

“We’re also proud that North Star inherited our journalists, who are truly responsible for the success of the product we offer readers every day.”

eSports

GIANTX Promotes LVP Superliga Toplaner Th3Antonio to the League of Legends EMEA Championship Roster

Published

16 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Today, GIANTX is excited to announce an update to its LEC competitive roster. Antonio”Th3Antonio” Espinosa Bejarano is recognised as one of the most successful LVP Superliga players in the history of GIANTX, and he has now reached a pivotal moment in his career to compete in the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC).

The LEC is the most important League of Legends competition in Europe and one of the most relevant in the international esports scene. The Barcelona-born ‘toplaner’ will be part of the lineup kicking off the LEC Summer split season in Berlin, which starts in June. As the community quotes; ‘Th3LEC’ is finally a reality.

Commenting on his new role, Th3Antonio said:

“This is the dream I’ve been working towards since I entered esports. I always wanted to compete at the highest level to face the best, and finally, I have this opportunity. I never stopped striving, and thanks to that and the work we’ve done together with all my teammates, we’ve achieved great things in Spain, but the LEC has always been my ultimate goal. Going to the LEC with my lifelong club, GIANTX, is a double dream. Everyone knows what GIANTX means to me”.

Sports Director at GIANTX, David Alonso, added:

“Th3Antonio deserves this opportunity, both in recognition of the level he’s at and all the work he has put in over the past few years. We are convinced of this decision and that he will give everything to succeed in the LEC. He has always been characterised by sacrificing himself for others, and lately, he has taken a step forward by leading in crucial moments, a clear sign of his maturity as a player”.

Having joined at a young age in 2017, Antonio ‘Th3Antonio’ Espinosa has become one of the most decorated players of the LVP Superliga and of GIANTX history. During his time with the team, he has won four Superliga titles, two Iberian Cups, one Copa, and has reached an EMEA Masters final, as well as other national competitions.

The decision to promote Th3Antonio reflects GIANTX’s need to implement changes following the results of the LEC Winter and Spring split seasons. In both splits, the team fell short in the first round of playoffs. The Summer split season is the main shot at Worlds for all teams, and the aim of the club was to make the necessary changes to achieve this goal. After a period of reflection and numerous trials, Th3Antonio has been chosen for the toplaner position.

eSports

L&G esports team founded by Alona Shevtsova won the national Dragon EC Cup tournament

Published

23 hours ago

April 24, 2024

Zoltan Tundik

Four teams competed in the tournament's final: Lazer Cats, L&G, which received a direct invitation to the final stage, EsportsBattle, and ThunderFlash, which had open qualifiers.

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Ukrainian esports team L&G won the Dragon EC Cup tournament, held on the 20th of April by Dragon Esports Club. Four teams competed in the tournament’s final: Lazer Cats, L&G, which received a direct invitation to the final stage, EsportsBattle, and ThunderFlash, which had open qualifiers. During the Grand Final, the L&G team competed with Lazer Cats on Mirage, Anubis, and Vertigo maps.

“This victory is a testament to the exceptional talent and commitment of our players, as well as the collective effort of our coaching staff and support personnel,” said Alona Shevtsova, founder of L&G Esports. “We are immensely proud of their accomplishments and grateful for the unwavering support of our fans.”

L&G is among the top 5 Ukrainian teams in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It was founded in 2021. The previous name was Leogaming, and it was created on the initiative of the famous Alona Shevtsova from the fintech sector.

The team began competing in top tournaments and almost immediately made it to the Advanced division of the ESEA League Europe competition. The team also participated in and took prizes in European tournaments such as the SCL League, WhiteBit Crypto Open, Phoenix League, and local competitions. The team players are marat2k, r0ublE, kr1vda, kL1o, OneUn1que, rji (coach).

The winners received a 50,000 UAH prize. Dragon Esports Club also prepared a 15-skin giveaway for the broadcast’s viewers.

It is worth mentioning that the L&G team created its merch items, which are available for order worldwide. To get more information about the team, visit the L&G Instagram page, Twitch, or Telegram Channel.