eSports
New Jersey Lawmakers Push for eSports Betting
Assemblyman Ralph Caputo has filed legislation to expand legal wagering beyond traditional sports. As the regular segment is already up and thriving, the fast-growing eSports betting market is now under the radar of the authorities.
“Esports is the next big thing when it comes to sporting events. With online sports betting now legal in our state and a rapidly expanding esports industry already in existence. The time is right for New Jersey to expand legal wagering beyond traditional sports,” Ralph Caputo said.
Esports betting could take advantage of “video game enthusiasts that are flocking to see expert players compete, whether they follow along online or in person, hundreds of millions of people watch esports each year— and that number is only growing,” Caputo added.
The 23 teams of NBA 2K League have selected 68 players and completed their rosters ahead of the league’s third season.
Wizards District Gaming selected John “JBM” Mascone with the first overall pick in the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft. Knicks Gaming selected Christopher “Duck” Charles with the second pick. With the third pick, Kings Guard Gaming chose Rafel “Crush” Davis.
There were five international players selected in the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft delivered by Panera Bread, including a historic pick in the fourth round when Hu “Luck_Yi_Wesley” Yi was chosen 56th overall by the Gen.G Tigers of Shanghai, becoming the first Chinese player drafted into the NBA 2K League. Rounding out the international players selected were Sten “SAV” Valge-Saar (Canada, 7th overall to Lakers Gaming), Jomar “Jomar-12PR” Varela-Escapa (Puerto Rico, 23rd overall to Pacers Gaming), Brock “NIKO” Nikolakakos (Canada, 36th overall to Knicks Gaming) and Destiny “JoshJay” Idugboe (Canada, 59th overall to Cavs Legion GC).
Teams used the four-round NBA 2K League Draft to complete their six-player rosters for the 2020 season. The 228 draft-eligible players consisted of 147 new players who were selected by the league through the NBA 2K League Combine, 21 players from the 11 team-hosted Pro-Am tournaments, five players from the league’s first European Invitational, five players from the league’s second Asia-Pacific (APAC) Invitational and 50 unretained players from the 2019 season.
Hawks Talon Gaming Club, the affiliate team of Atlanta Hawks, has selected four players in the 2020 NBA 2K League Draft. NBA legend Steve Smith announced the team’s first- and second-round selections.
The club selected Lee (Lee Lamb) in the first round and Kel (Mykel Wilson) in the second round. After that, followTHEGOD (Kwan Larry Niblack Jr) was chosen in the third round. Atlanta native Arkele (Derrion Elmore) was selected as the team’s fourth-round pick.
“We are thrilled with our selections from tonight’s draft. Going into this draft, we looked for players to complement the elite skillsets of both Bp and Stylez, and we are confident in our decisions. We look forward to these players helping us develop a winning culture this upcoming season,” Wesley Acuff, Head Coach and General Manager of Hawks Talon said.
The four draft picks join a roster that already includes both the third and fourth overall picks from last year’s NBA 2K League Draft. Bp (Michael Diaz), who was named one of five finalists for the 2019 Intel Performance NBA 2K League Most Valuable Player Award, was acquired in a trade with Kings Guard Gaming. MrStylez (Andrew Valle) was retained by Hawks Talon GC after being acquired in a mid-season trade with Pistons GT.
Team Nigma faced Team Secret in the Grand Finals.
The winners of the two most recent DPC events in Team Secret and Team Nigma clashed in the final Bo5 series. After five matches, Team Nigma won with a 2:3 score, becoming the champions of WePlay! Mad Moon.
Tournament MVPs:
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The best core: Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi (Team Nigma)
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The best support: Maroun “GH” Merhej (Team Nigma)
You can find WePlay! Mad Moon photos here.
According to analytical company Esports Charts, the event attracted 295 110 overall viewers during the series between Team Nigma vs, Virtus.pro. The official English-speaking broadcast peaked at 91 093 viewers.
The teams fought in front of a live audience at concert hall VDNG (9th pavilion).
#MadMoon, #WePlayDota2
Source: WePlay! Esports Press Office
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