eSports
“The Godfather of Esports Racing” Takes Top Step at Millennial Esports
Darren Cox, Founder of Nissan’s famed GT Academy, now behind the wheel as CEO
Millennial Esports Corp. (“Millennial” or the “Company,” TSX VENTURE: GAME, OTCQB: MLLLF), has appointed Darren Cox as company CEO and President, effective immediately. The founder of Nissan and Sony’s GT Academy, Cox previously served as Nissan’s Head of Global Motorsport. Also the man behind World’s Fastest Gamer, Cox has spent more than two decades immersed in the automotive, motorsport, and gaming industries, earning the moniker “The Godfather of Esports Racing.”
“Darren has proven throughout his career and during his time with Millennial that he is an innovative thinker with an innate ability to get things done,” said Board member Peter Liabotis. “In appointing Darren as CEO, we have not only secured the best man for the job, we have also reaffirmed our commitment to esports racing and marketing data for the growing esports industry.”
Cox made his mark in the motorsport industry as Global Motorsport Director for Nissan and head of Global Sales and Marketing for the Nissan Motorsport Brand. During his time with Nissan, Cox was responsible for the ground-breaking GT Academy program between 2008 and 2015, which took PlayStation gamers and turned them into international racing drivers for the Japanese manufacturer.
Previously, during his 18-year tenure at the Renault Nissan Alliance, Cox held several senior positions including Digital Marketing Director for Europe where he was responsible for, amongst other areas, customer data for marketing. It was in this role that Cox first realized the incredible value of data collection and analysis.
“I have seen the potential of Millennial Esports from day one and am excited to shape the company’s future with the talented group of people we have assembled,” said Cox in welcoming his move from Global CMO and President to CEO and President.
“That future is an unwavering focus on esports racing and data provision for the esports industry as a whole. These are still white spaces with a huge upside in terms of revenue that we can exploit through a combination of my background and our assets, such as our in-house gaming studio Eden Games and our data experts at Stream Hatchet.”
Cox replaces hospitality and technology industry veteran Steve Shoemaker, who has successfully completed his work in restructuring the company. “Steve has done a tremendous job leading the company to focus on its core esports racing and data analytics assets while reducing its overhead cost structure and moving the company towards profitability. We would like to thank Steve for his efforts in positioning the company for its next phase of growth and wish him well in his next endeavour,” said Board member Bryan Reyhani.
About Millennial Esports Corp.
Millennial Esports Corp. (MEC) recently restructured its business and leadership team. MEC now focuses exclusively on two areas – esports racing and esports data provision. With publishing, IP, content, and data expertise in its portfolio, combined with a new board and management team, MEC is ready to lead the rush to profitability in the esports industry.
MEC aims to revolutionise esports racing and the racing gaming genre via its industry-leading gaming studio Eden Games (Lyon France) which focuses on mobile racing games and its unique motorsport IP, including World’s Fastest Gamer (created and managed by wholly-owned subsidiary IDEAS+CARS, Silverstone UK).
Building on the leading position of Stream Hatchet (a Barcelona, Spain-based wholly-owned subsidiary) MEC provides robust esports data and management information to brands, sponsors, and industry leaders. This data allows the esports industry to use this data to monetize the huge number of eyeballs in the gaming and esports space.
SOURCE Millennial Esports Corp.
eSports
Esoccer surges across Kambi network on Abios product upgrade
Kambi, the world’s trusted sports betting partner, has elevated its esports offering with the integration of Abios’ esoccer odds product into the Kambi sportsbook platform.
Utilising real-time data from leading rights holders and automated modelling overseen by an experienced trading team, Abios now powers esoccer betting for the Kambi network, with plans in place to expand Kambi partners’ access to Abios’ offering on events including ebasketball, Counter-Strike and League of Legends throughout 2024.
Covering more than 6,000 matches a month and rising, Abios’ esoccer product is delivered to partners via the same trading gateway as Tzeract’s AI-driven pricing and Inspired’s suite of virtual sports products, and is therefore also available as a modular service to operators outside the Kambi network.
Enabling a larger number of events to be offered and greatly enhancing the quality and depth of the offering, Abios’ product has already delivered strong revenue growth since launch with esoccer consistently among the top leagues by number of bets on the Kambi network.
Simon Noy, SVP of Trading at Kambi, said: “The integration of Abios’ esoccer odds product into the Kambi sportsbook platform marks an exciting advancement for our esports offering. Abios’ expertise in real-time data and automated modelling ensures that our network receives top-tier esoccer trading. As we continue the roll-out to ebasketball and titles such as Counter-Strike and League of Legends, we are confident that this will not only enhance the quality of our offerings but also drive further growth in the rapidly expanding esports betting market.”
Oskar Bonnevier Fröberg, CEO and Founder of Abios, said: “With our roots in esports data, we’re very happy to be able to provide the models and trading capabilities to power dozens of sportsbooks across the globe with a reliable and accurate esoccer odds feed. As Abios’ trading capabilities grow, we can increase uptime and bet offer availability to esports while offering innovative solutions such as same-game bet builders and player props, catering to the fast and expansive consumer habits of the digital generation.”
A Kambi Group company, Abios is the leading esports services provider to the betting and gaming industry, with over a decade of experience in providing operators with best-in-class data, odds and streaming capabilities.
For Kambi media enquiries, please contact:
eSports
Sony Group Becomes Founding Partner of Esports World Cup
Multi-year collaboration will produce the Anthem and original documentary series of Esports World Cup 2024
The Esports World Cup Foundation (“EWCF”) and Sony Group Corporation (“Sony”) have signed a multi-year partnership agreement to collaborate on initiatives for the Esports World Cup. The collaboration leverages Sony’s acclaimed gaming products and entertainment expertise alongside the EWC’s vision to unite the global gaming and esports communities across the most popular games, and underscores a shared ambition to broaden the appeal of gaming and esports to players and fans worldwide. The inaugural Esports World Cup 2024 is slated to take place this summer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
As part of this agreement, Sony Pictures Entertainment will create a behind-the-scenes documentary series showcasing the players and games of the Esports World Cup. Sony, together with Sony Interactive Entertainment, will also look to exploring additional opportunities to support promising creators and talent in the region. Sony Music Entertainment will produce the music Anthem of the Esports World Cup 2024
“Sony is the perfect partner for the Esports World Cup,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO, Esports World Cup Foundation. “Our goal is to establish a global platform for esports and gaming that sets new standards for live esports events. Sony’s experience in creating stunning visuals, engaging music, compelling storytelling, and state-of-the-art technology will be a game-changer for the Esports World Cup. The EWC aims to take esports to the next level, and we are thrilled to count on Sony’s world class expertise in this endeavor.”
“We’re excited to make the Esports World Cup more fun and engaging for fans globally by harnessing the creativity and technology from across our diverse businesses.” said Toshimoto Mitomo, Executive Deputy President and CSO, Sony Group Corporation. “Sony has been enhancing the esports experience especially with Sony Interactive Entertainment’s initiatives such as PlayStation Tournaments and the annual EVO fighting game series. We look forward to further catering to this growing, global community of players and fans with the Esports World Cup.”
With the Esports World Cup, EWCF has created an unprecedented celebration of competitive gaming and esports fandom. This summer, top esports organizations will face off in Riyadh, to compete in a unique cross-game structure for the largest prize pool in esports history. Recently, the EWC has announced the addition of ten popular titles – Dota 2, Counter-Strike 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Honor of Kings, PUBG, PUBG Mobile, Overwatch, Free Fire, Fortnite and Rainbow Six Siege – as participating games. More games will be announced soon.
eSports
NEW YORK ISLANDERS REPRESENTATIVE ERIK ‘EKI’ TAMMENPAA EARNS HIS SIXTH EUROPEAN TITLE AT THE EA SPORTS NHL 24 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP
In a rematch of last year’s European Championship, Erik ‘Eki’ Tammenpää, representing the New York Islanders, again prevailed over Teemu ‘Temppanen’ Karvonen representing the Anaheim Ducks to win the EA SPORTS NHL 24 European Championship title. The win marks Eki’s fourth-straight and sixth-overall European Championship title (2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024) and another $15,000 USD in earnings. Temppanen placed second in the competition that took place at the Copenhagen Media Facility in Copenhagen, Denmark on Sunday evening. For a second year straight, both players will represent Europe in the EA SPORTS NHL 24 World Championship taking place in April in New York.
Eki is a full-time YouTube and Twitch content creator and EA SPORTS™ NHL® 24 expert and 24-year-old native of Helsinki, Finland. He remains the most decorated esports player on the NHL competitive circuit and will try once again to capture the World title after capturing runner up at last year’s EA SPORTS NHL 23 World Final.
During the competition in Copenhagen today, Temppanen and Eki qualified for a spot in the World Final by competing in a semifinal best-of-three round. Both players split their first two games, with Temppanen ultimately overtaking NikkeDanglesin a tight competition and Eki defeating Eken45Jr with eight goals in a Game Three shutout.
The Championship series saw a rematch of last year’s EA SPORTS NHL 23 European Final with Temppanen and EKI facing off once again. While Temppanen took the lead with an early goal in Game One, Eki scored three quick goals in a three-minute span during the second period and a game-winning goal in the third period by Vincent Trocheck (New York Rangers). Eki continued his goal streak and dominated Game Two, ultimately scoring six unanswered goals, including tallies from Jaccob Slavin (Carolina Hurricanes), Bo Horvat(New York Islanders), and Cam Atkinson (Philadelphia Flyers). Eki’s
6-0 victory solidified his sixth European title and status as “the one to beat.”
EA SPORTS NHL 24 EUROPEAN FINAL STANDINGS
1st: Eki, New York Islanders
2nd: Temppanen, Anaheim Ducks
3rd: Eken45jr, Pittsburgh Penguins
4th: NikkeDangles, Washington Capitals
5th-8th: Alphaborje, Detroit Red Wings
5th-8th: Kibeeex, Toronto Maple Leafs
5th-8th: Launonexx, Tampa Bay Lightning
5th-8th: Teemuyy, Colorado Avalanche
The EA SPORTS NHL 24 North American Championship will be contested on March 24 at the NHL Flagship Store in New York beginning at 1 p.m. ET on the NHL’s Twitch channel. For more news, fans can visit www.nhl.com/NHL24 and follow the conversation on social using #NHL24WC.
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