eSports
How the NBA is Making Waves in eSports
The National Basketball Association has just turned 73 years old and is one of the four major leagues for professional level sports in North America. Thanks to this age and prominence, it is often considered the world’s leading basketball league, with good reason. Whilst comprising of teams only from the United States and Canada, the NBA attracts many international players who join from every continent. In addition, the average NBA team is worth $1.9 billion, considerably more than teams in other leagues.
Expanding the Empire
The NBA is currently enacting a strategy to leverage its brand around the world, developing audiences in regions outside of the United States including the UK, Africa and China. As part of this it recently announced the launch of a NBA YouTube channel to stream games to sub-Saharan audiences. Next to this the NBA 2K League and YouTube announced that YouTube will stream live broadcasts of NBA 2K League games and distribute highlights on the official NBA 2K League YouTube Channel throughout the second season of the 21-team league.
YouTube will livestream all NBA 2K League games this season, including more than 230 regular-season, tournament and NBA 2K League Playoff and Finals games combined. All regular-season games take place at the NBA 2K League Studio Powered by Intel in Long Island City, N.Y.
The eSports Expansion
In 2017, the NBA and games developer Take-Two Interactive announced that 17 of the 30 NBA teams would be taking part in the inaugural NBA 2K eSports League. This list included big names like the New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers and the Toronto Raptors. The first of these eSports games took place in 2018, using the NBA 2K video games. Like real life games, NBA 2K eSports League games are contested between two teams of 5 players, making use of the “Pro-Am” mode found in the consumer version of NBA 2K 2018.
Just like in real life basketball, the eSports teams are generally made up of the following types of player:
- Point guard: generally taking the on court leadership role for the team, typically having the best ball handling and passing skills to assist in creating shots
- Shooting guard: typically the best shooter on the team, tasked with exploiting these skills, particularly when shooting from behind the three-point line
- Small forward: often considered the most versatile position of the five, the small forward often takes on the role of the shooting guard, but is more likely to score baskets from lay-ups or slam dunks in contrast to the shooting guard’s three-point shooting abilities
- Power forward: a versatile role, similar to the centre, which requires shooting and defence skills against all types of players
- Centre: typically the tallest players, defending against shots and collecting rebounds.
The “eSeason”
In the real world, the NBA Championship will be decided between the Toronto Raptors and the Golden State Warriors in mid June. Currently, odds comparison site Oddschecker is ranking the Raptors as favourites to take the crown. However, the NBA 2K eSports season begins in spring and finishes in summer. This timing allows the NBA to have its brand utilised for a larger portion of the year, beyond the end of the traditional basketball season.
First Mover Advantage
The NBA’s announcement in 2017 that it would be launching the NBA 2K eSports League meant that it was the first major sports brand in the United States to enter the world of eSports. In contrast, most other eSports leagues are organised by tech companies like Intel – or games companies like Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite. Therefore, if the NBA is successful it will have several years of development to build a loyal eSports fan base, before rivals such as the National Football League or Major League Baseball join the party.
Growing Already
After a successful first year, four additional real life NBA teams will be joining the NBA 2K eSports League lineup, bringing the total number to 21. These new teams are: the Atlanta Hawks, the Los Angeles Lakers, the Brooklyn Nets and the Minnesota Timberwolves.The growth provides mutual benefits, since the teams will bring with them their own existing supporters who are more likely to follow their team’s eSports team, than an unknown entrant. In addition, the fans of eSports are likely to also gain a stronger interest in the real life team, buying merchandise and visiting games.
Live Streaming
Just as traditional sports leagues like the NBA have sold rights to air games on TV, the NBA 2K eSports League has signed a deal to have its games streamed live over the internet. The deal with streaming platform Twitch sees all games shown live, available to its audience of 15 million daily active users. The multi year streaming deal also includes commentary and analysis, just like you would expect from traditional TV coverage of any other sport.
The NBA 2K eSports deal is not Twitch’s first with the NBA. In December 2017, the two companies signed a deal that enabled Twitch to live stream games from the NBA G League, the official minor league, with up to 6 matches each week being distributed on the platform.
Sponsorship
Just like traditional sports leagues, the NBA 2K eSports League has signed a number of major sponsorship deals with large companies. Games are played on computers provided by gaming PC brand Alienware, using powerful processing chipsets supplied by Intel. Players use HyperX sponsored headsets and Scuf Gaming branded controllers. Teams also have their own sponsors, with their logos displayed on the teams’ in-game uniforms, just like in real life.
Conclusion
The growth in eSports has been massive, with large sums of money now being invested in creating leagues with all of the hallmarks of a traditional sport. In its quest to become a global sports brand, the NBA has been able to leverage its existing assets to create a large following in eSports, almost overnight. By launching the league in 2018 with 17 existing NBA teams, the NBA 2K eSports League already had loyal fans of 17 established sports clubs who would want to support them. Thus, it has a pre-made fanbase, huge financial assets and an established brand to leverage sponsorship deals and to use in negotiations when selling streaming rights.
In addition, the NBA’s venture into eSports is a significant opportunity to expand the reach of its brand into new geographic regions, as well as to new demographics that had not previously been interested in basketball. Even if a player does not become an avid watcher of NBA games, sales of the NBA 2K video game titles are also likely to benefit from the exposure of the NBA 2K eSports League.
eSports
North Star Network acquires Um Dois Esportes
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
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
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.
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