eSports
Allied Esports Enters Latin American Market with TV Azteca for Debut of Live Original Event NATION VS NATION™
TV Azteca to Launch Azteca Gaming Platform and Partner with Allied Esports for Strategic Esports Development in Latin America
Allied Esports announced its first product launch as part of a strategic alliance and exclusive agreement signed this year with TV Azteca, a Grupo Salinas company and the top sports network in Mexico, to create and deliver live esports experiences and esports-related content for the Mexico market and throughout LatAm.
Titled NATION VS NATION™, Allied Esports’ first event and broadcast production in Latin America will feature a squad of four U.S. players as they battle a Mexican team of 40 total players, including featured and celebrity squads and 32 fan participants, in PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS with the inaugural NATION VS NATION trophy and cash prizes on the line.
“Latin America represents a massive and transformative opportunity for Allied Esports,” said Frank Ng, co-CEO of Ourgame Holdings International, owner of Allied Esports. “By combining our live events experience with TV Azteca’s unequalled reach as the number one sports network in Mexico, this crucial esports ecology partnership will be a major driver in building out the offline-online environment at the core of Allied Esports’ global strategy.”
The global debut of NATION VS NATION will also usher in TV Azteca’s latest platform, Azteca Gaming, joining the company’s leading news, sports and entertainment content across digital assets and more than 40 local broadcast and regional free-to-air stations reaching over 95 percent of the Mexican market. The event and broadcast will launch a new era in mass media esports content in the region.
“The transformation process of TV Azteca, to bring the best television, has led to set an eye in new markets, towards an audience that consumes esports,” said Benjamín Salinas, CEO of TV Azteca. “Sports are part of our strength, and now with esports, we find a way to connect with a growing market in Mexico.”
Led by captain Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel, one of most accomplished professional gamers in history and an inaugural member of the International Video Game Hall of Fame, the U.S. NATION VS NATION team will also include: professional gamer and streamer, Avori; professional player for Ghost Gaming and winner of the PGL-PUBG Spring Invitational 2018, Miccoy; and Ghost Gaming’s soon-to-be professional player, Vegas.
Team Mexico will be led by a featured squad of professional players and streamers – Alberto “QUERETAROCK” Oceguera, Nicol “NicolSteel” Toriz, Anthony “TMX5” Fernández and Isaac “Clumzy” Ramíres – as well as a number of surprise celebrities and guests.
The remaining Mexican team will be formed through two rounds of qualifying earlier in the day. Each qualifying heat will include two games in which players will be ranked by a point system based on kills and finish. The top 32 players will move on to the finals where they will join the featured and celebrity squads and compete against the U.S. team in a best-of-three competition.
Team USA will be designated as the winner of each game if they are the last squad standing, while a Team Mexico win will occur if the U.S. squad is eliminated. The first team to reach two wins will take home the inaugural NATION VS NATION trophy.
NATION VS NATION will air on TV Azteca platforms starting at 6 p.m. local time. The event will also be live streamed on TV Azteca’s digital properties. Allied Esports will offer a live English simulcast of the stream on twitch.tv/AlliedEsports.
This announcement follows news from March 2019 in which TV Azteca and the World Poker Tour® agreed to bring WPT’s poker content library, premier poker events and the development of social poker and exclusively customized gaming products to a growing Latin America audience.
As previously announced, Allied Esports and its sister company, the World Poker Tour, both currently owned by Ourgame Holdings International, will be acquired, subject to shareholder and regulatory approval and the satisfaction of other conditions to closing, by Black Ridge Acquisition Corp., to form Allied Esports Entertainment.
For additional information about NATION VS NATION and other Allied Esports initiatives, follow @AlliedEsports and visit AlliedEsports.gg.
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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