eSports

eSports gets official nod from Cal Rec Sports

Published

7 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

BETER launches its next-gen content with 10bet

Published

9 hours ago

October 14, 2024

George Miller

BETER launches its next-gen content with 10bet

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Provider’s premium esports products to engage operator’s players with non-stop fast-betting action across eFootball and eBasketball

BETER, the leading fast-betting content and data provider, has partnered with prominent UK operator 10bet in a deal to supply the latter with its fan-favorite ESportsBattle tournaments.

10bet is an online gambling company with over 20 years of experience in creating top-notch sports and casino betting products, with a significant presence in South Africa, the UK, and other regions.

The agreement has allowed 10bet to add BETER’s proprietary ESportsBattle tournaments to its offering, providing players with access to round-the-clock fast-betting action. Initially, the operator will launch with eFootball and eBasketball, with the option to add eHockey and CS2 at a later date.

The integration was done via Playtech which joined forces with BETER earlier this year to provide its operator partners with access to BETER’s full portfolio of content.

ESportsBattle tournaments set the benchmark for esports betting, offering more than 35,000 events per month with up to 50 markets per event. Live streaming is available 24/7/365 so that bettors can enjoy non-stop action with a 7.5%+ average margin for operators.

Gal Ehrlich, CEO at BETER, said: “10bet is a high calibre operator with strong presence in a range of key markets such as the UK and South Africa. These are highly competitive markets where sportsbooks must offer a top player experience to stand out from their rivals.

“This partnership allows 10bet to do just that by providing its players with access to our 24/7 fast-betting content, which is proven to enhance player engagement to the next level.

“Our esports products offer non-stop betting on popular disciplines such as eFootball and eBasketball, which the operator can now use to strengthen its content offering to players.”

Chuck Robinson, CRO at BETER, added: “BETER is on a roll in terms of signing deals with top-flight operators in core markets worldwide, with 10bet being the latest addition to our roster of partners.

“We have pioneered the fast-betting format, and our premium esports content provides the round-the-clock action the next generation of players seeks while ensuring a stable, industry-leading margin for our operator partners.

“We are thrilled to see our content live with 10bet and look forward to a fruitful cooperation.”

Yuval Klein, Spokesperson at 10bet, said: “We go to great lengths to offer our bettors the best online betting experience in the market, and the addition of BETER’s ESportsBattle tournaments is a testament to this. Bettors now demand fast-betting action, and BETER’s content successfully delivers this.”

eSports

We ran CS2 Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024 through a SuperComputer to predict the final stages — with Neymar’s FURIA team set to cause more massive shocks on home soil

Published

4 days ago

October 10, 2024

Peter Tolan

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Natus Vincere and Team Vitality are heavy favourites with a 29.7% and 23.5% chance of winning in Rio, respectively
However, FURIA — the hometown team backed by Brazil star Neymar — have been the tournament’s biggest overachievers in the group stage and are on set to cause an upset
G2 on the other hand are the biggest underachievers, crashing out in the group stage to hurt their chances of going into the Major season as top seeds
FURIA were given just an 20.9% chance of making the playoffs on home soil while G2 had been ranked as third favourites to win in Rio before the tournament with a 19.3% chance of glory

Natus Vincere (NaVi) remain the overall favourites to come on top at Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024 according to the CSDB.gg CS2 Tournament SuperComputer but FURIA, the Brazilian team co-owned by Neymar, are on course to threaten a serious upset on their home turf.

They have already stunned the competition by beating NaVi in a group to secure passage directly through to the semi-finals, with G2 Esports the biggest underachievers in the opening rounds.

G2 had been a team rated as the third favourites to seize glory in Rio before the tournament only to fail to even make the playoffs. Team Vitality are still second only to NaVi according to the SuperComputer’s rating of who can win but FURIA are backed to knock them out in the semifinals to go to the decider for a dramatic rematch with NaVi to decide who will end the tournament as champions.

A total of $250,000 in prize money and a spot at IEM Katowice 2025 are at stake for the winning side, and after NaVi’s loss to G2 Esports in the Blast Fall Final they will be gunning for a chance to bounce back in style. Vitality on the other hand will be chasing their first title since IEM Cologne.

FURIA, the hometown heroes, are in the mix to potentially upset the odds and after entering the tournament with only a 20.9% chance of even making the playoffs now find themselves third favourites to win the whole thing after their heroics in the group stage.

Intel Extreme Masters Rio 2024 predicted by the CSDB.gg CS2 Tournament SuperComputer

Final: Natus Vincere (29.7%) to beat FURIA (17.6%)
Semifinal 1: FURIA (41.0%) to beat Team Vitality (40.7%)
Semifinal 2: Natus Vincere (48.1%) to beat HEROIC (33.0%)
Quarterfinal 1: Team Vitality (63.8%) to beat MOUZ (36.2%)
Quarterfinal 2: Natus Vincere (67.0%) to beat Virtus.pro (33.0%)

Playoffs

Natus Vincere – 29.7% to become champion; 48.1% to make final; 67.0% to make semi-final
Team Vitality – 23.5% to become champion; 40.7% to make final; 63.8% to make semi-final
FURIA – 17.6% to become champion; 41.0% to make final
HEROIC – 11.3% to become champion; 33.0% to make final
Virtus Pro – 9.7% to become champion; 18.9% to make final; 33.0% to make semi-final
MOUZ – 8.2% to become champion; 18.3% to make final; 36.2% to make semi-final

It had been quite the run for NaVi prior to Rio despite their loss to G2 at the Blast Fall Final, with back to back grand finals in recent weeks.

Their momentum was immediately slowed by FURIA who got the home turf buff to shock them with a 2-0 in the Upper-Final to skip straight into the semis.

FURIA’s last appearance in a semi-final in front of a Brazilian crowd came at IEM Rio in 2022 where they lost 2-1 to Cadians Heroic after beating Navi in the quarters. They also lost to Heroic in the quarters of the same tournament in 2023 and will be hoping to get all the way to the final this year.

They are now third favourites to take the event with NaVi and Team Vitality still first and second favourites coming into the playoffs, even after slipping up against FURIA and Heroic, respectively.

Vitality have experience at recovering in this competition. They won IEM Rio 2023 from the quarters and will be looking to go back to back in Rio in 2024.

The MVP race is on too with Vitality’s ‘Zywoo’ currently on a 1.54 rating after five maps. He will be looking to take his career total to 21 tying the all-time record currently held by s1mple.

Another MVP would also be a massive step towards taking a record-breaking fourth HLTV number one award for the best player of the year for 2024.

FURIA could cause an upset here too though with home boy KSCERATO on a 1.56 rating after six maps.

The MVP award will almost always goes to the winning team’s best player and he could pick up his first career MVP on home soil should FURIA continue to confound expectations. Neymar would be proud!

How was the CSDB.gg CS2 Tournament SuperComputer created?

The CSDB.gg CS2 Tournament SuperComputer is a predictive model created using world ranking points, team quality ratings and performance trends. An element of randomness is also included in the model to avoid the best teams and players always winning, to reflect the fact that upsets can happen.

Every tournament is simulated 1,000 times with the results aggregated into a percentage rating of the chances teams or players have to achieve the predicted result.

CSDB.gg CS2 Tournament SuperComputer playoffs forecast in full

Elimination stage:

Asia

Top Gaming Creators join hands with Regional Influencers to Drive Record Engagement into College Rivals Season 2

Published

4 days ago

October 10, 2024

Adrienn Sarkany

Reading Time: 2 minutes

A diverse array of city-based influencers from across the country, in conjunction with an established roster of creators, has been driving exceptional engagement and transforming the grassroots esports and gaming scene at the College Rivals Season 2.

The Ampverse DMI owned, largest collegiate gaming talent hunt, College Rivals Season 2 has covered 5417 kilometres with its one of a kind cool gaming truck, visiting more than 11 cities. It has surpassed a record-breaking 100,000 plus registrations, engaging with students in both online and offline format, exceeding the total engagement numbers compared to the first edition in just over three months of the tournament.

Ashwin Haryani, Country Head of Ampverse DMI, India, highlighted the broader vision behind this collaboration: “Our partnership is built on the belief that nurturing esports and gaming talent requires more than just competition—it demands inclusivity, mentorship, and localized engagement. By bringing together creators across different tiers and regions, we’re not just amplifying visibility for emerging talent; we’re creating a sustainable pathway for them to transition from amateur to pro. College Rivals is evolving into a platform where every creator, regardless of their background or following, can find opportunities to grow, learn, interact and thrive in the esports and gaming ecosystem.”

Season 2 features prominent and popular creators like Payal Gaming and Ankkita C, two of India’s top female gamers; Snax, known for his informative gaming content with over a million YouTube subscribers; and popular names like Joker ki Haveli and Regaltos. Also, joining the lineup are Antaryami Gaming, AlphaClasher, Brightfox, Willy Gaming, SardarjiYT, Vadhiyaar, and Mazy, making it an exciting season for gaming enthusiasts.

“By collaborating with local influencers and deep diving into diverse audiences to create a more relatable gaming experience. This strategy not only enhances community interaction but also brings unique regional flavours to the game, making it more appealing to players from different backgrounds. It’s a smart move to leverage local voices and personalities, driving excitement and participation in the competition, said India’s top women gamer, Payal Gaming.

As per industry reports, nearly 55 million urban Indians actively engage with nano-influencers. This dynamic blend is revolutionizing the way to connect and energize the gaming community.

The College Rival Season 2 is being staged across 22 Indian cities, including Jaipur, Lucknow, Patna, Assam, Vizag, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Mangalore, Kochi, Goa, and Mumbai being part of it.

Adding to the excitement, the winners from the first two rounds of qualifiers for all three games, Valorant, BGMI and EA FC 24 have also been revealed. They will move on to the next stage, aiming for a spot in the Grand Finale scheduled for February 2025, wherein the winners will win a prize pool of up to INR 50 lakh and the chance to join a top gaming organization to compete professionally.