eSports
Adrian “Hatchy” Widera joins Prodigy Agency as League of Legends (LoL) Agent in Europe
Prodigy Agency, a leading esports representation agency, has appointed Adrian “Hatchy” Widera, former coach in regional leagues and more recently Sports Director at Misfits Gaming in LEC and LFL, to the role of LoL Agent to expand its initiative to protect and support the players on the game.
Prodigy Agency, founded by industry leader Jérôme Coupez, represents some of the biggest stars in esports such as Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella (CSGO), Adil “ScreaM” Benrlitom and Tyson “TenZ” Ngo (VALORANT), Kacper “Inspired” Sloma and Rayan “General Sniper” Shoura (League of Legends), Alexandre “Kaydop” Courant and Axel “Vatira Touret (Rocket League), and Alexandre “Andilex” Christophe (Fortnite).
Prodigy Agency is already representing world-class LoL players such as Kacper “Inspired” Słoma (MVP LEC and LCS), Finn “Finn” Wiestål (LEC) and more, but also young and promising prodigies like Doğukan “113” Balci (LEC) or Shane “Kenvi” Espinoza (LCS), and intend to keep developing its support to this ecosystem.
Prior to joining Prodigy Agency, as a prominent figure in League of Legends, Adrian Widera served as a Sports Director for Misfits, spearheading their LEC and LFL operations. He was also deeply involved in the LoL ecosystem and development, being a coach from 2014 to 2021 in Poland, France and Turkey, and having created multiple Scouting Grounds and Academy projects that helped future top tier players get attention and spotlight.
With such an extensive experience and knowledge of the game; being known for promoting and recruiting young players to the starting rosters of the team, and for having amazing talents to scout future prodigies, Adrian is a perfect profile to understand the needs and to support the League of Legends’ players from all angles.
Using the constantly growing global resources of Prodigy Agency and joining a team of more than 35 collaborators around the world, he will be working on expanding its LoL operations and #PlayersFirst mindset all over Europe, with a focus on scouting and developing the prodigies of tomorrow.
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“Adrian has the perfect profile and skill set to become a prominent Agent and expand our initiatives on League Of Legends.
He has a massive experience and truly cares for the players as much as we all do at Prodigy Agency.
He will perfectly complement our current LoL department and allows us to develop more initiatives by pushing our Players First values forward.
I’m really proud that Adrian chose to join our family and I’m confident that we are building the absolute best team possible to protect and support the players!» -Jérôme Coupez, Founder & CEO – Prodigy Agency.
“After a successful time in Misfits as a Sports Director, I’ve been looking into other ways of helping and promoting players and coaches – this is what always gave me the most satisfaction in my competitive career. In my teams we often gave chances to young players, we ran academies and scouting grounds. And I know how difficult it is to get started without proper help or guidance when you’re still a very young player.
I want to take that experience from competitive League of Legends and make the best use of it for the sake of the players. Prodigy Agency was the best place to do so, with their motto of always putting the players first. Here we can count on a large amount of top-quality people who can help the talent not only with their professional career choices, but also marketing and day to day struggles.
If we can take some of the burdens that the players have to carry, we will allow them to focus more on performing and worry mostly about what is happening on the Rift. This is my goal, to be there for these young athletes’ day to day, to be someone they can always reach out to and talk to. And there was no better place to do it than the Prodigy Agency, with the largest number of experts on the market, ready to be there for the players every day.
Lastly, it is very important for me to continue looking for new talent, people who yet did not get a chance to shine on a professional vision. I am extremely happy that Prodigy Agency shares my views in that aspect, so you should expect us to come up with new projects to help the players get the spotlight and chance they have been waiting for!”
Adrian “Hatchy” Widera, LoL Agent – Prodigy Agency
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.
eSports
Supported by Access Abu Dhabi and Abu Dhabi Investment Office, KALM opens global headquarters in the emirate
KALM, the world’s first sports and esports consultancy focused on player development and performance, has launched its new global headquarters in Abu Dhabi. KALM aims to revolutionise the landscape by offering a blend of expertise from both traditional sports and esports, including innovations, technology and academic partnerships to develop first-in-class services for athletes.
Powered by Access Abu Dhabi, an initiative by Maven Global Access and supported by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), KALM will provide its services to organisations, global brands and individual athletes in and out of their sporting endeavours.
KALM utilises proprietary performance technology from Stanford University to identify key traits and talent of athletes by evaluating perceptive, physical and mental capabilities. It is focused on creating a best-in-class performance centre dedicated to optimising player health and recovery. KALM harnesses data science and AI applications to understand peak player performance and lifestyle factors affecting performance and develops methods to extend the longevity of an athlete’s career.
Massimo Falcioni, Chief Competitiveness Officer at ADIO, said: “Abu Dhabi is steadily emerging as a regional sports and esports centre, and KALM is joining a solid lineup of global players who are setting up their operations in the emirate. Boasting a positive investment environment, enabling regulations and cutting-edge infrastructure and connectivity, Abu Dhabi continues to be a destination of choice for innovators. We are confident that KALM will drive further growth for a key sector in the emirate, through offering unique and innovative services.
Dr Melita Moore, Managing Partner at KALM, said: “At KALM, our mission is to put the player at the centre. Esports athletes compete at the highest level and their physical, mental and overall wellbeing deserves the same level of care as traditional athletes. We chose Abu Dhabi as the location for our headquarters because of the incredible support and opportunities offered by this vibrant city. Access Abu Dhabi played a pivotal role in bringing us to the region initially. Abu Dhabi’s strategic location, world-class infrastructure, and unwavering commitment to innovation in the gaming industry made it the ideal choice for KALM to thrive.”
KALM has established an athlete-centric development model through education, brand-building and commercialisation focused on protecting, managing and leveraging athlete brands. Through its global headquarters, the company will engage with government, the private sector, federations, teams and key stakeholders to create, drive and deliver its athlete health and wellbeing strategy.
Dr Melita Moore, renowned in sports medicine, brings her global leadership from serving as team physician for NBA and WNBA, to a leading role at the Global Esports Federation as a Vice President. Dr Khizer Khaderi is a visionary in neuro-ophthalmic surgery and technology, contributes expertise in AI, VR and AR. Ali Al Ramahi, a leading sports scientist and performance coach, specialises in developing wellness programmes for esports athletes, while Luke Fedlam, a distinguished sports attorney, shapes the regulatory landscape of sports and esports and provides athlete development and education.
KALM’s initiative will elevate the Middle East’s presence in the global sports and esports arena, providing a platform for young aspirants to achieve international acclaim. The timing of the launch aligns with the region’s growing interest in digital sports and entertainment, marking a significant stride in the development of a robust esports ecosystem.
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