eSports
Esports could emerge as a way for the NHL to grow its audience in China
Patrik Laine, the Finnish professional ice hockey winger who ascended the ranks of youth hockey in Finland, disclosed that he came to learn about the NHL from video games.
“I learned probably just about the players.Nowadays it’s super realistic, and you can just pretty much see how everybody is playing and how good they are,” the Winnipeg Jets star added.
It is anticipated to get even more real with the NHL following the lead of the NBA, NFL, FIFA and other leagues, in making an imprint on the ever-proliferating esports market. The 2018 NHL Gaming World Championship, launched Friday, is an initiative towards a potential version of the season-long NBA 2K League that’s scheduled to begin in May or perhaps eMLS on FIFA 18.
NBC Sports Executive, Rob Simmelkjaer, who got his introduction to hockey from playing “NHL 94” on Sega Genesis said: “You’re really both tapping into and expanding the existing fanbase of the game. I think that’s something that the NHL can benefit from by putting esports front and centre in the way that they market their sport.”
Players will be able to match up 1-on-1 in EA Sports NHL 18 qualification rounds. That will be followed by regional finals in the United States, Canada and Europe on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and then the June 19 championship at Esports Arena Las Vegas during the NHL Awards with a prize pool of $100,000.
The hope is to land new fans and connect with current fans in a different way.
“This is really at its embryonic stage,” NHL Executive Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer, Keith Wachtel said: “This is the most basic way for our fans to play. We’re also going to explore in the future the opportunity, and we’re going to test this with some of the guys at the regional tournaments and the final, maybe a two-versus-two or a three-versus-three.”
WorldGaming and Collegiate StarLeague are already experimenting with gaming at movie theatres in Canada and are in the midst of the Snider Hockey Cup tournament on EA Sports NHL 18 with the finals taking place March 22 in Philadelphia, next to the Flyers’ arena.
“After the response, we got to this tournament, we worked closely with the NHL and Electronic Arts for this programme,” WorldGaming and Collegiate StarLeague CEO Wim Stocks said: “They are going to be in the marketplace with really cool esports programming in the very near future.”
Sports-based esports have a long way to go to catch up to fighting games like “Dota,” ”League of Legends” and “Counter-Strike,” but National Amusements programming and corporate development executive Kevin Mitchell doesn’t believe the NHL needs to worry.
“Console gaming is just now starting to take off,” said Mitchell, who also teaches esports at Emerson College in Boston. “I think it’s really just coming up with an ambidextrous strategy on finding ways to integrate with their traditional fan base and finding ways to create cross-over engagement for this new generation that has been primarily consuming content online.”
Mitchell thinks esports ventures are ways for leagues to make fans of young people who get their sports largely through their smartphones or computers. According to Newzoo’s 2016 Esports Consumer Insights, 28 percent of hockey fans are 21-35, while 49 percent of esports enthusiasts are in that age bracket.
“We have a very attractive fan base,” Wachtel said. “It’s young, it’s very tech-savvy, and millennials these days, which is really the gamer, are consuming sports in a much different way.”
For a sport grappling with challenges of getting kids interested in hockey in places where ice time and equipment can be expensive and difficult to come by, this is another possible route. Mitchell said about 50 U.S. colleges now offer esports scholarships and expects more development at youth levels as they become more popular.
NBC Sports in the U.S., Rogers Sportsnet in Canada and Viasat in Europe will promote the event, airing regional finals and the championship and putting highlights on TV around playoff games.
How it goes will help determine the NHL’s next steps.
“We don’t really have a statement on what the future holds other than we’re going to be active in one way, shape or form,” said Chris Golier, NHL vice president of business development. “We’re going to have a lot of involvement and conversation with a lot of the top gamers, as well, make sure that it’s fun, engaging, the content works and we’ll revise as we see fit going forward.”
Esports might be a way for the NHL to grow its audience in China, where it is already broadcasting regular-season games and hosting exhibitions ahead of the 2022 Olympics.
“China is a huge gaming population,” Stocks said. “What better way to help bring the game of hockey to China than through video gaming? I think the NHL has a great opportunity.”
Asia
Gujarat Titans’ Inaugural “Titans Rising” BGMI Tournament Crowns Champion, Sets Stage for Future Esports Initiatives
Gujarat Titans is thrilled to announce the successful conclusion of the first-ever “Titans Rising” BGMI tournament, held from October 6th to 27th, 2024. The tournament showcased the incredible talent and passion within the Indian BGMI community, culminating in a thrilling Grand Finale showdown on October 27th. The first ever Titans Rising champions were MOGO Esports.
In a unique gesture that bridged the gap between traditional sports and Esports, the selected players of the 2024 “Titans Rising” tournament will interact and play alongside Gujarat Titans cricket players in a special mixed-team event during the 2025 season. Marquee Esports athletes and gaming content creators like Tanmay “Sc0utOP” Singh, Deepak “Sensei” Negi and many others will be seen collaborating with Gujarat Titans for some exciting content projects in the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League. This initiative will not only provide a unique and rewarding experience for the winning team but also create exciting crossover content for fans of both cricket and Esports.
“Titans Rising” was designed to provide a platform for aspiring BGMI players across India to compete at the highest level. The tournament structure featured a tiered qualification system, starting with open qualifiers that were accessible to all. The overwhelming interest and reach of the tournament was evident with 2,048 teams registered for the open qualifiers. These teams battled it out with winners advancing through the pre-quarters, quarter-finals, and semi-finals. The pre-quarter finals saw the qualified teams pooled with 32 invited professional teams, raising the stakes and intensity of the competition.
Fans across the country had front-row seats to the action, as the entire tournament was broadcast live on the official Gujarat Titans YouTube channel. This broadcast generated impressive viewership metrics: 3.2 million views and 287,000 watched hours. Over 50 Million impressions and 2.1 Million engagements were recorded across GT’s YouTube and social media platforms during the tournament. These numbers underscore the significant reach and engagement of the tournament, solidifying Gujarat Titans’ prominent presence within the Esports community.
A substantial prize pool of ₹2,200,000 was up for grabs, rewarding the top-performing teams and players for their skill and dedication. Beyond the team prizes, individual awards such as “Most Valuable Titan,” “Man of the Maps,” and “Best IGL” recognized exceptional individual contributions and further fueled the competitive spirit. Apart from these gratifying accolades, the Titans Rising tournament honoured the hustle of young and aspiring e-athletes with awards like “Rising Titans” and “Rising Titans Squad” that aim to empower those who wish to rise in ranks within the world of Esports.
On the success of the first ever Esport tournament organized by any IPL Team, Col. Arvinder Singh, COO-Gujarat Titans said, “”We’re thrilled by the success of Titans Rising and the enthusiastic response of our fans. As the first IPL franchise to enter the Esports arena, Titans Rising created a unique experience that was enjoyed by a new set of fans while providing another avenue of engagement for our existing fan base. Gujarat Titans shall continue to explore new and contemporary avenues to further enhance engagement with our fans and supporters.”
Gujarat Titans is committed to nurturing the growth of the community and creating opportunities for aspiring players. “Titans Rising” is not just a one-off event but a cornerstone of Gujarat Titans’ long-term Esports strategy.
eSports
Th3Antonio announces retirement as a professional esports player
The toplaner, legend of GIANTX, will continue as the club’s ambassador
Antonio Espinosa Bejarano, known as Th3Antonio, is stepping down from professional competition in League of Legends. A prominent figure in Spanish esports and a legend of GIANTX, he ends his player career and begins a new phase as a content creator and ambassador for the club. His career has established him as one of the most celebrated players in the history of esports in Spain.
Born in Badalona in 1999, Th3Antonio shared his reasons in a video, where he explained that he explored options in the LEC but ultimately decided that retirement was the best choice. “I explored my options in the LEC, but nothing came up. I had options in the Superliga, but honestly, what are the chances of playing Superliga and then getting another shot in the LEC? I don’t think it’s likely. So I had two choices: either Superliga or retirement,” he said. He added, “I could play in Superliga, but it doesn’t motivate me. Competing is about reaching the top, and in Superliga, the highest goal is winning the EMEA Masters. That’s fine, but I wanted to play in the LEC.”
GIANTX will maintain its connection with Th3Antonio, who will now focus on streaming for the organization. With a community of over 700,000 followers, mainly from Spain and Latin America, Th3Antonio has also found success as a content creator. José Díaz, co-CEO of GIANTX, commented on his departure: “Antonio’s decision is understandably sad; he’s been with us for a long time. But I believe he needs to keep building his personal brand because he has a lot of potential. He’s someone who entertains people. There’s no doubt about that for me. I think this is a step he needs to take in his career, and we’re very happy he’s doing it and continuing with us.”
After competing in the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC), one of his main goals, Th3Antonio was a key player for GIANTX, helping to elevate the team’s performance and bringing them closer to the world stage. Starting in 2025, he will provide the official LEC co-stream from Berlin, offering commentary on competitions through his channels.
Nationally, Th3Antonio has won four Spanish championship titles and came close to winning a fifth Superliga. His achievements include two Iberian Cups, one Copa, and a runner-up title in the European Masters, along with several MVP awards. David Alonso, GIANTX’s sports director, highlighted Th3Antonio’s impact and explained the club’s strategic changes: “We want to scout players through data because we’re very good at it and have a system that sets us apart from other clubs in Europe. To become the next G2 or Fnatic, we need to recruit the next generation of stars like BrokenBlade, Yike, Caps. We focus on young talent and players who are very dedicated.”
Th3Antonio’s career began in his teens, debuting in the Superliga at age 16 with PAM. Shortly afterward, he joined GIANTX, then known as Giants, and has maintained a strong connection with the club since 2017. This collaboration has marked a milestone in Spanish esports, with Th3Antonio solidifying his place as the most successful player in the club’s history.
eSports
Intel commits to developing young talent in universities from the UK and Ireland through UNIVERSITY Esports
Video games are one of the fastest growing sectors of the global entertainment industry, with revenues exceeding those of music and film combined. In the UK, gaming has remarkable potential: it is a business with a growing turnover of more than £4.5 billion and employs more than 47,000 professionals in the country, with a forecast to grow to 60,000 workers by 2025, according to data in Knight Frank’s (RE) Play Report.
Ireland is also notable for the development of its gaming industry. IDA Ireland that the domestic video games sector has been growing steadily. In 2022, the Irish government launched the Digital Games Credit: a way to encourage studios to set up or expand their operations in the country through refundable tax breaks equal to 32% of the expenditure incurred in the design, production and testing of a digital game, up to a limit of €25 million per project.
University students, who are part of Generation Z, have an undeniable interest in gaming. Different international studies indicate that young people represent around a third of the world’s population and their influence on the industry is becoming significant. It is estimated that more than 3 billion people will be gamers by 2025 worldwide.
Working in the world of video games
UNIVERSITY Esports, a grassroots esports organiser in the UK and Ireland operated by GGTech Entertainment, is bringing video games to young British and Irish people so that they can discover the advantages and opportunities offered by the gaming sector for their future professional careers. In the last academic year, over 110 universities took part in the project across the British Isles.
Physiotherapists, psychologists, marketing professionals or nutritionists are some of the professional roles in demand in the esports competition sector. Within the video game creation ecosystem, developer/programmer, designer/illustrator, motion designer, sound/audio designer and video game tester are five professions to watch closely.
Intel is committed to the development of young talent through esports and video games, while giving their support so that students can enjoy the best gaming experience during their time at university. To this end, this brand has announced a partnership with UNIVERSITY Esports for its Winter 2024 season.
The new season of UNIVERSITY Esports
Young university students from the UK and Ireland can now take part in the new season of UNIVERSITY Esports, which returns with new tournaments and activities for students in this 2024/25 edition. Through competition, entertainment and educational experiences, participants can have fun and learn alongside friends and peers.
The aim of UNIVERSITY Esports is to provide young people with an educational and entertaining gaming environment. Before the end of 2024, the project will have an extensive presence with the UNIVERSITY Tour, through in-person events on selected UK campuses. These face-to-face experiences, among wider activities, are intended to engage with students about the benefits of participating in the esports community both professionally and to have fun.
Competition details
League of Legends, VALORANT and Overwatch 2 are the games available to UK and Irish participants this season 2024/25. The Winter 2024 tournament will conclude in the week commencing 25th November, with broadcasts produced by students from the studios at Confetti X in Nottingham.
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