eSports
Ruud Gullit switched on by eSports
Ruud Gullit won soccer league titles in Italy and the Netherlands and his flowing dreadlocks, together with Marco van Basten’s wondergoal, were the abiding memories of the Dutch side that won the 1988 European Championship.
He also won the Ballon d’Or in 1989 and is regarded as one of the best midfielders of his generation, but these days most teenagers associate him first and foremost with EA Sports’ video game FIFA.
Gullit, 55, is listed as an ‘icon’ alongside Brazil great Pele and Argentina’s Diego Maradona in the latest version of the soccer simulator, FIFA 18, which has already sold 10 million copies worldwide.
In last year’s FIFA Interactive World Cup staged in London he was thrilled to see both finalists fielded computer-generated Gullits in their teams.
Witnessing that event opened his eyes to the sheer size of esports and is why Team Gullit – an Academy offering coaching and analysis for aspiring professional gamers – was launched in January.
“I actually played against myself because I was picked for both teams, it was fantastic. It’s funny to see yourself and recognise a goal celebration,” Amsterdam-born Gullit told Reuters at the ESports Insider Super Forum last week.
“When I meet kids these days they know me from Playstation, not from football. They say, ‘I want you but you cost a lot of money, how do I get you?’ I say, ‘You’ll have to ask my girlfriend’.
“It’s good that your legend continues.“
Like most people born pre-1970, Gullit has taken a while to get his head around the idea of professional esports players.
But having watched Britain’s Spencer ‘Gorilla’ Ealing beat Germany’s Kai Wollin and walk away with a US$200,000 cheque last August, Gullit realised esports had evolved from “geeky” kids fiddling with their controllers in “stinky” bedrooms.
“I realised how serious it was,” he said. “The players had a manager, a coach, they have everything. The amount of time they put in is unbelievable. And there were seven million players involved before that final. It’s huge.”
Source: Reuters
eSports
BETBY AGREES LONGTERM MULTI-MARKET CSGO EMPIRE PARTNERSHIP
BETBY, a top-tier sports betting provider, has announced a long-term partnership with Moonrail Limited B.V., a prominent online sports betting company, to support their flagship CSGOEmpire brand.
As part of this collaboration, Moonrail Limited will leverage BETBY’s award-winning sportsbook platform, along with Betby Games’ esports feed, and comprehensive trading and risk management services.
Under the terms of the agreement, BETBY’s technology and services will drive CSGOEmpire’s global multi-channel sportsbook operations.
Stefanos Karakidis, Head of Business Development at BETBY, stated: “We are thrilled to partner with Moonrail, a company recognized as a leading operator in both the sportsbook and esports sectors. We are eager to work closely with Moonrail to continue providing exceptional sports betting experiences to their players.”
Luke M., Head of Sportsbook at CSGOEmpire, commented: “At CSGOEmpire, our primary focus has always been to deliver the fairest experience possible for our users, coupled with the best odds in the market. We are excited about our partnership with BETBY, which will enhance the quality of our offerings and significantly improve the user experience. This collaboration will provide our community with an expanded selection of betting options and a seamless interface, further solidifying CSGOEmpire as a leader in the online betting space. We remain committed to prioritizing our users’ needs and look forward to the innovations this partnership will bring.
eSports
Record Number of Host City Applications for IESF’s Events
The International Esports Federation (IESF) is pleased to announce the conclusion of the bidding process for hosting the 2025 and 2026 IESF Events – the World Esports Championship and Regional Qualifiers. For the first time in our history, we have received a record number of applications, with over 30 cities from across all continents submitting their bids to host our signature Esports events.
The increased interest in hosting IESF events reflects the expansion of the Esports community and the impact these tournaments have had on the intern ational esports scene. From Europe to Asia & Oceania, Africa to the Americas, cities are making significant efforts to develop their local Esports ecosystems while also presenting their capability to host nations from around the world. The opportunity to serve as the home of Esports for a year is seen as a meaningful step forward, with long-lasting benefits in both the local and international growth of Esports.
“Over the last five years, IESF events have grown rapidly, and so has the excitement around hosting one of the world’s biggest esports events. IESF events are truly one-of-a-kind and bring huge value to our host nations – or as we like to call them, the “Esports capital of the world.’ It’s amazing to see this growing interest, and we can’t wait to continue bringing the global Esports community together through these incredible events.”- stated Boban Totovski, the General Secretary of IESF.
We are now thoroughly reviewing the applications to determine which cities meet our criteria and requirements and align with IESF’s core mission of developing Esports in a sustainable and inclusive manner.
IESF is dedicated to ensuring that every event we host leaves a meaningful and lasting impact. The upcoming selection of our host cities will shape the future of many Esports communities across the globe and redefine the Esports landscape by supporting new emerging regions and strengthening the existing ones.
eSports
The legends return! GG.BET is hosting a second long-awaited battle between NAVI and Team Vitality in Match of LeGGends: Double Down
On October 5, at 19:00 EEST, NAVI and Team Vitality will go head-to-head again in an epic Counter-Strike 2 show match organized by betting brand GG.BET. In Match of LeGGends: Double Down, viewers can expect unique showdown formats and a special bonus with promo code NAVITALITY.
The top two teams in the world will battle it out in this show match. Match of LeGGends: Double Down will see Team Vitality, who were IEM Cologne 2024 champions, and NAVI, who won gold this year at the PGL Major Copenhagen, EWC and ESL Pro League S20, go head-to-head. Viewers can also expect a nail-biting encounter between two rival MVPs — Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and Justinas “jL” Lekavičius.
The show match will begin in a classic Standard format: the teams will play МR12 on the de_tuscan map. The second random map will be played in Arms Race Mode: gameplay will switch to Deathmatch mode, where it’s every man for himself. The main objective here is to achieve kills using various types of weapons and finish the game with a knife kill. The third randomly selected map will be played in MR12 format in Hostage Rescue mode: Counter Terrorists will be tasked with rescuing hostages, and Terrorists will try to stop them.
The show match is being organized by GG.BET, the official betting partner of esports team NAVI and Team Vitality’s CS2 roster. GG.BET hosted the first Match of LeGGends in July 2023, and the match racked up over 1 million views.
To celebrate Match of LeGGends: Double Down, GG.BET is offering an exclusive sportsbook and gifting users a bonus: a freebet worth up to 100 USD with promo code NAVITALITY.
Match of LeGGends: Double Down will be streamed in two languages. Watch the English-language stream on NAVI and Team Vitality’s official Twitch channels, and watch in Ukrainian on the Maincast Twitch channel.
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