Tag: Esports

Manila, Philippines – Dubai-based esports organisation Galaxy Racer has partnered with talent agency Tyronne Escalante Artist Management (TEAM), aimed at opening up new doors for talents, whilst paving the way for Galaxy Racer’s vision to become the largest content powerhouse in the Philippines. 

Through the partnership, TEAM and Galaxy Racer Philippines will mutually support their rosters of content creators to create a new breed of talents. TEAM will support Galaxy Racer’s efforts by providing expertise in acting and training sessions for the gaming content creators, while Galaxy Racer serves as TEAM’s esports and gaming arm to guide film and entertainment artists in expanding their digital presence into the online gaming space, venturing into live streaming games as a way to grow their influence to a wider audience, and solidifying their interaction with fans.

Moreover, Galaxy Racer Philippines is also looking into expanding to collegiate esports by producing grassroots leagues and programs that would support and develop student-athletes, and provide scholarship opportunities through esports.

Mitch Esguerra, Galaxy Racer’s CEO for SEA, noted that the Philippines is a key market for their growth in the region, driven by the explosive growth in the number of content creators and viewers in the market. 

“We are seeing the lines blur between lifestyle and gaming influencers with an increasing demand for live gaming content, where fans are able to engage directly with their favorite content creators. Our entryway into the Philippines is just the beginning of what we have planned for the market and the region and we are excited to contribute to the esports and gaming industry,” said Esguerra.

Meanwhile, Marcia Guillermo, Galaxy Racer’s country manager for the Philippines, said that they value the work that content creators put into their craft, which is why they are constantly seeking opportunities to invest in them in the region and grow their following reach.

“As the esports industry and ecosystem is continuously growing, we are more than excited to have partners that prioritise initiatives to develop talents and provide opportunities that would create a positive impact on all facets of the industry and the community including collegiate esports. This outlook and commitment would definitely position Galaxy Racer to lead for the coming years,” Guillermo added.

Galaxy Racer Philippines is also set to launch its merchandise GXR Limited and music record label GXR Records this year. GXR Limited will release a collaboration collection with Galaxy Racer’s exclusive content creators Kristine Satamena and Tukomi Twins, while GXR Records will kick off by collaborating with local producers to plan for the music release featuring other Galaxy Racer exclusive artists.

Singapore – Singapore-based telco MyRepublic has announced the comeback of its esports festival, Achievement Unlocked Season 3, which will happen from 25 April to 26 June 2022, with a new lineup of exciting games and weekly and seasonal challenges. 

First launched in 2020, Achievement Unlocked is a MyRepublic GAMER initiative that brings together gaming enthusiasts in Singapore across all demographics to celebrate their skill and dedication to their gameplay. For this year’s season, the festival will feature games namely Elden Ring, Valorant, and Genshin Impact, as well as Stardew Valley.

All gamers in Singapore can participate in Achievement Unlocked Season 3 from the comfort of their homes, using their own gaming rigs. They can simply play the games in their own time and be the first to complete a series of challenges, including the ’20-Season Achievements’, where each game will feature five-Season Achievements, and gamers must complete the challenges during the season to qualify for the prizes, as well as the ’24-Weekly Achievements’, where each game will run for two weeks, with three weekly achievements each week. Gamers who will unlock these achievements will be rewarded IRL with prizes worth over $3,000, including Elden Ring Collector’s Edition, branded gaming peripherals, and Grab vouchers.

Lawrence Chan, MyRepublic’s managing director for Singapore, said that there’s no better time to launch a new season of Achievement Unlocked to take their gaming to the next level and offer real-life rewards to complement their in-game accomplishments.

“This is only the beginning; we have more initiatives to engage gamers in the coming months, so stay tuned,” added Chan.

Singapore – Esports championship series ONE Esports has been tapped by gaming company to be its official media partner for the upcoming League of Legends: Wild Rift Championships SEA tournament, to be held from 23 April to 8 May 2022.

As part of the partnership, ONE Esports will produce a Wild Rift esports video series titled WCS x ONE Presents: Rift Week! which comprises a five-part episode about WCS that will delight fans. This hosted series will feature tournament highlights, player interviews, fan interactions, and more. ONE Esports will also publish a series of articles covering the WCS. All editorial content will be available in English, Bahasa Indonesia, Tagalog, Thai, and Vietnamese, and published on the ONE Esports website, oneesports.gg.

James Lu, chief editor at ONE Esports, said, “There is no question that Southeast Asia is at the forefront of the mobile esports boom. According to our research, 87% of gamers in Southeast Asia regularly engage in mobile gaming. Wild Rift, which brings the League of Legends experience to mobile, is set to become one of the hottest esports titles in the region, and we are proud to be selected as official media partner for the WCS. We look forward to deepening our relationship with one of the most renowned game developers in the world, and we hope that fans enjoy what we have in store for them.”

The WCS spans across competitive leagues in Asia Pacific, namely Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The four winning teams of the pan-regional WCS Finals will represent Asia Pacific in the Wild Rift Icons Global Championship taking place in Europe this summer, where participating teams will compete for a US$200k prize pool.

Meanwhile, Jem Loh, head of communications and channels for APAC at Riot Games, commented, “The WCS tournament this year has been characterized by some truly outstanding performances by local talent from around the Southeast Asia region. As the very best 11 teams come together to compete at the WCS Finals, we are thrilled to work with ONE Esports to bring specially curated WCS content to our passionate Southeast Asian fans. We look forward to bringing more meaningful ways for our fans to engage with the tournament and hope they enjoy the WCS x ONE Presents: Rift Week.”

ONE Esports has been ramping partnerships recently, including being tapped by Electronic Arts for the upcoming EACC 2022, as well as partnerships with brands such as HSBC, Samsung, and Marriott Bonvoy.

Bangkok, Thailand – South Korea’s game company and a subsidiary of game developer Krafton, PUBG Studios, has announced the return of its esports tournament, the PUBG Nations Cup 2022. This year’s event will happen in Bangkok, Thailand from 16 to 19 June.

The tournament will consist of a total of 15 matches with super point rule over three days and a whole day with a special event match.

The participating nations in the event include the USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and Australia. Korea, China, Japan, and Chinese Taipei will also be joining the event, as well as the United Kingdom, Finland, Germany, and Turkey. They will have the chance to take home the grand prize pool of $500,000 and crowdfunding.

More information on the PUBG Nations Cup will be revealed at later dates at PUBGEsports.com.

Singapore – Esports organisation RSG has partnered with gaming platform iGamie to raise the bar in engaging the gaming community and assisting esports teams.

This partnership aims to create new fan engagement opportunities to allow fans to interact with their favourite players and streamers. As part of the agreement, iGamie will also be supporting the premier Southeast Asian professional esports organisation’s roster of Mobile Legends Bang Bang professional players and streamers.

Moreover, the partnership with iGamie will pave the way for aspirants to interact and learn from RSG’s professional players and coaches, facilitating a platform for knowledge transfer and development of esports players from aspirants to professionals.

The grand finalist teams of iGamie Cup will stand a chance to play in a friendly exhibition match with players from RSG PH professional MPL team. RSG PH coaching staff, along with head coach Brian ‘Panda’ Lim will also provide advice and tips for the teams. In addition, RSG will scout and potentially pick up promising players from the amateur tournament to develop into professional players.

Vincent Yang, iGamie’s founder and CEO, said, “Our partnership with RSG represents a significant step towards bringing the esports community in the region closer together, and we look forward to building greater social interaction with partners and gamers alike.”

Meanwhile, Jayf Soh, RSG’s founder and CEO of RSG, shared that the partnership with iGamie is made possible through their shared vision of developing amateur players in Southeast Asia. 

“We are proud to be able to work together with such like-minded partners to continuously create opportunities for aspirants within the esports community through our partnership. We believe that this partnership is a crucial first step taken towards creating a more robust ecosystem in the region,” said Soh.

Singapore — Singapore-headquartered Esports company Ampverse has announced its US$12m Series A fundraise. The round was led by investment fund Falcon Capital and included follow-on investment from both Singaporean fund Vulpes and Gandel Invest, both of whom participated in prior Ampverse rounds.

The fresh funding will allow Ampverse to expand into the Indonesian and the Philippine markets, further esports team acquisitions and are earmarked to scale Ampverse’s play-to-earn business unit. This includes acquiring play-to-earn guilds as the esports company dynamically moves into the P2E space to complement its existing esports IP pillar.

New Series A investors join a list of distinguished strategic investors from the worlds of gaming, media, sports and esports. These include Rob Gilby, former Disney SEA MD, David NG, CEO GoGame, Michael Patent, CEO Culture Group, Marcus John, former VP Lagadere and Wolfpack Fund—founded by former IMG and Group M executives.

Wil Rondini, CEO of Falcon Capital, said, “Falcon is ecstatic to lead the Ampverse Series A round together with Vulpes and Gandel Invest and to join earlier leading investors from the esports, media and entertainment sectors. The growth that the Ampverse team have delivered in a short period is monumental. With their continued esports M&A strategy and play-to-earn vision, we know that the future is bright for Ampverse.”

Ferdinand Gutierrez, CEO of Ampverse, commented that Ampverse has witnessed tremendous growth over the last twelve months, with 125 per cent revenue growth and expansion into the Vietnamese and Indian markets, while also strengthening our esports assets portfolio.

“We will utilise these funds to move forward to solidify our position within Southeast Asia by continuing our expansion into Indonesia and the Philippines. We are also thrilled to continue scaling our esports and new play-to-earn business unit through further M&A,” Gutierrez said.

Philippines — PLDT wireless unit Smart Communications has struck an agreement with South Korea’s T1, one of the pioneering esports organizations in the world. Through the partnership, Smart will provide facilities that will assist T1’s expansion in the Philippines.

As part of its goal to boost the esports industry in the country, Smart will house the online MOBA game DOTA 2 Team of T1 and power its connectivity during their boot camp and tournaments. Three Filipino esports athletes are also part of T1’s roster: Carlo ‘Kuku’ Palad, Khim ‘Gabbi’ Villafuerte, and Karl Jayme.

Jude H. Turcuato, first vice president and head of sports at PLDT and Smart, said that they are more than delighted to help their former coach Kuku and welcome T1 to the Philippines. Turcuato added that this is part of Smart’s advocacy to help develop esports in the Philippines and empower Filipino esports athletes as they make their mark in the global arena.

“We just want to take this opportunity to thank Smart and Smart Omega for helping us with our boot camp. They have also helped us get professional IT support on standby, especially during official matches. The facilities are good, and the place is safe as well,” Palad said.

Smart Omega is the professional esports team backed by Smart.

T1, along with eight other squads in the region, is set to play in the Southeast Asia Dota Pro Circuit Division I this month. T1 won first place in the Dota Pro Circuit 2021 Season 2 – SEA Upper Division and ESL One Summer 2021; second place for DPC SEA 2021-2022 Tour 1 Regional Finals, and landing in the top 7-8 of The International 10 in 2021. Founded in 2003, T1 is also known for their three-time world championship title for League of Legends.

Queensland, Australia – Bond University has renewed its esports partnership with The Chiefs, an ANZ-centric esports club. Both parties have inked a deal in 2020, making the University the esports club’s education partner.

Through the renewed partnership, The Chiefs will provide internships for Bond students who aspire to work in the esports industry, will take part in research into esports, and work with Bond Sport and faculties to improve the health and wellbeing of esports players.

In addition, The Chiefs will also host esports tournaments from the Bond eSports Hub and collaborate on the development of an esports curriculum to prepare students to work in the industry. Said esports hub was opened by the University in 2019, with high-performance gaming machines and the ability to stream to a 500-seat theatre.

Nick Bobir, CEO at The Chiefs, said, “Bond University has been an amazing partner to work with and we’re thrilled to continue the relationship and expand on this further in the coming years.”

Meanwhile, Garry Nucifora, executive director of sport at Bond University, commented, “The Chiefs are a respected, international brand exhibiting a future-focus in everything they do. It is because of that approach, a Bond University esports partnership with The Chiefs makes absolute sense.”

Manila, Philippines – To celebrate the launch of Smart GIGA Arena, an online arcade and esports tournament platform, the Philippine-based telco hosted an exhibition match last 9 March 2022, which features some of the best Filipino esports players and content creators of mobile game Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (ML).

During the exhibition match, the pro esports team Smart Omega took on the Smart Dream Team, which was led by cosplayer and gamer Alodia Gosiengfiao, as well as included streamers and content creators Dexie Diaz, Ghostwrecker, Nix, and Pabbie Gaming.

After tying the match at one game apiece, the pros followed that up by proving their mettle and professional pedigree in the third game. It was a competitive bout that lasted almost 20 minutes, and Omega took it to the Dream Team’s base again.

On top of the amazingly competitive three games between Smart Omega and the Dream Team, some lucky viewers of the stream also came away with special Mobile Legends skins just by watching and registering to Smart GIGA Arena.

The telco said, “Smart subscribers who are also gamers and esports enthusiasts can enjoy the same kind of intense and exciting Mobile Legends action, as well as more of their favourite mobile games, on Smart’s GIGA Arena platform.”

On Smart GIGA Arena, subscribers can link up with their friends and play in tournaments to rank up and win cash prizes. They can also play arcade games, buy diamonds and other in-game currency, and watch footage and streams of events on the platform.

Thailand – Asia’s esports organisation Ampverse has partnered with gaming brand Razer, aimed at enabling its Thai Arena of Valor team, Bacon Time, to continue its growth under the Team Razer Banner – an assembly of world-class esports teams and athletes that empowers the best players in the world and giving them the edge in competition. 

As part of the partnership, Team Razer will be equipping Bacon Time’s pro players and brand ambassadors with the gaming products in order to boost their overall gaming and streaming experience. It will also allow Team Razer to access Bacon Time’s pool of pro players, brand ambassadors, and content creators, and an always-on branding presence throughout the team’s official social channels. 

Moreover, the two organisations will work on the co-creation and co-branding of Bacon Time-branded Razer products including the launch of gaming chairs, mousepads, earbuds, mobile cases, and keyboards, amongst others. 

Ferdinand Gutierrez, Ampverse’s CEO, commented that they are thrilled to partner with Team Razer, a global brand not only known for its distinct product quality, but also one which resonates with the gaming and esports community.

“What I’m most excited about is being able to use our creativity and co-create products that will elevate and bring the best out of both brands, connecting real-life consumers with highly relevant products to suit their lifestyle,” said Gutierrez.

Meanwhile, Flo Gutierrez, Razer’s director of global esports, shared that Bacon Time has impressed them with not just their skills in-game, but also their rapport with their fans and the overall gaming community. 

“With an increased focus placed on Razer’s mobile esports in the region, this partnership with Bacon Time comes at an opportune time as we deepen our connection with our Thai community,” he said.