Tag: Esports

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Following its partnership with short video platform TikTok to bring esports to a larger audience, esports entertainment platform FIGHT Esports has announced the launch of its regional FIGHT Campus League to establish a strong gaming community among colleges and universities. 

The tournament meets the demand of the current esports community as the pandemic hit students were forced indoors, resulting in the increase of gaming hours and time spent consuming content online.

Cheah Sheau Mei, user and content operations manager for TikTok Malaysia commented that their partnership with FIGHT Esports works well, considering the fact that their platform features a short-form format and unique content that is suitable for gamers to showcase their unique stories, connect with other gamers, and celebrate modern gaming culture.

“As the gaming community continues to grow on TikTok, we look forward to collaborating closely with like-minded organizations like FIGHT Esports to fuel the passions and originality of more gamers on our platform.” Mei stated.

Meanwhile, Ariff Abu, team lead at FIGHT Esports Malaysia, commented, “We’ve been looking into regional, multi-title tournaments for some time after organizing community level tournaments in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines for the past year and getting feedback from students asking for a dedicated tournament of their own.”

He added, “The FIGHT Campus League will pave a way for students to compete in selected top titles and demonstrate many different skill levels across several demographics.”

The regional tournaments will kick off in Malaysia with a PUBG Mobile tournament, and qualifiers will take place from 5 May to 11 June, ultimately leading to the grand finals on June 15 and 16. The streams will be also streamed on FIGHT Esports’ Facebook page and on Astro’s eGG Network, a Malaysia-based pay television network.

Included in the new slew of regional tournaments of FIGHT Esports is its Philippines’ equivalent, FIGHT Campus League Philippines’ Call of Duty: Mobile tournament. It will begin on 7 May to June 18 with a prize pool of PHP190M (RM16,172) as well as with its Indonesian counterpart FIGHT Campus Legend Indonesia which will be looking for the top Mobile Legends: Bang Bang teams from June to October with a prize pool of IDR50M (RM14,158).

Jakarta, Indonesia – To further strengthen the esports ecosystem in Indonesia, telecommunication company Telkomsel has launched the third edition of its national-level event Dunia Games League (DGL) this year. 

Following the previously successful editions of DGL, which attracted tens of thousands of gamers that participated, and captured millions of esports enthusiasts that streamed the event, this year’s event aims to reach more players and fans throughout the country.

The DGL 2021 will be bringing together PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile game enthusiasts from all over Indonesia, and will target thousands of professional and amateur teams to participate. 

Online registration will be from 16 April to 31 May. All participants will compete in the Qualifier and Play-Ins round between 5 June to 11 July, and thereafter, the best players will compete in the Grand Finals on 17 to 18 July for a total prize of more than US$40K. 

“Telkomsel, through Dunia Games, strives to create more opportunities for Indonesian online game enthusiasts to sharpen their skills and competitiveness. The return of DGL is one of the manifestations of our passion to enable gamers to share their interests, connect, and collaborate for a more holistic esports ecosystem in Indonesia,” said Rachel Goh, the marketing director of Telkomsel.

Meanwhile, Oliver Ye, the director of PUBG Mobile SEA, commented “We are proud to have PUBG Mobile in DGL these 2 years in a row with Telkomsel as the biggest telco operator in Indonesia. We were also happy to announce that the top 2 of DGL 2021 will be invited to our PUBG Mobile Indonesia National Championship 2021 Grand Final.” 

The whole event will be broadcasted live through the Dunia Games YouTube channel, MAXstream apps, and Dunia Games League website.

Mumbai, India – Team Vitality, French esports organization, has revealed its first-ever all-Indian ‘Call of Duty Mobile’ (CoDM) roster, as a part of its venture into mobile esports and expansion in India.

Team Vitality’s CoDM team is comprised of well-established esports players, namely Arav ‘MonK’ Narang – the team captain, Armaan ‘Moonscope’ Dharni, Priyank ‘DEATH’ Birajdar, and Akshan ‘Argon’ Madhani, as well as Samartha Ganesh ‘JOKOs’ Ghadge, and Samruddha ‘SAMS’ Ghadge. The team will be coached by veteran CoD player Harnoor ‘Toxy’ Mutneja, and will be managed by content creator Melson ‘mello’ Miranda.

Furthermore, the organization is also planning a ‘PAN-India Talent Hunt’ to find and train new talents across multiple rosters in the country.

Nicolas Maurer, the CEO of Team Vitality, commented that their aim in India is to start an esports team that would have its own unique identity while imbibing core Team Vitality values, saying that they are happy with the roster as they have the right skills, as well as the potential to be the number one team, and that the team members are eager to create their mark in a brand-new category. 

“The ‘Call of Duty Mobile’ team is the first step towards the expansion of our presence beyond Europe, and in line with our vision of conquering the esports world,” added Maurer.

Meanwhile, Amit Jain, the principal of the Rewired.gg, the venture fund that has invested €34M into Team Vitality, shared that they are delighted to have a team that consists of esports talent from diverse parts of the country.

“There’s still a huge untapped base of talent who we feel deserve the chance to showcase their skills and represent Team Vitality. So while I’m personally extremely excited for the team who I’m confident will take on the world and make India proud, we will continue to explore opportunities to find aspirational talent to help create life-changing opportunities for them,” said Jain.

Team Vitality’s new roster will be participating in regional and international CoDM tournaments in the coming months. CoDM fans can follow Team Vitality India’s Instagram for more updates regarding the new team.

Manila, Philippines – Philippine telecommunications company Smart Communications (Smart) has partnered anew with Moonton, a Chinese video game developer and publisher, to be its official telco associate for the upcoming season of Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League (MPL), which is the largest mobile esports league in the Philippines.

The MPL Season 7 will see 10 of the country’s top Mobile Legends esports teams compete, namely Aura PH, Onic PH, and Cignal Ultra, as well as Smart Omega Esports, and the defending champion Bren Esports, among others.

The teams will battle in a round-robin format for a chance to win the coveted championship title and a US$120K cash prize.

The telco company will stream the matches live on its Facebook page. Smart subscribers and esports fans are encouraged to watch the live stream for a chance to win exciting prizes, as well as receive exclusive updates, and freebies throughout the season.

Smart has previously partnered with Moonton, where the telco hosted events and gaming treats for Mobile Legends fans in 2017. Earlier this year, Smart has also supported Moonton’s M2 World Championship, where Filipino team Bren Esports won the top prize.

Manila, Philippines – The Philippine Pro Gaming League (PPGL) is hosting a virtual match on March 8, where 15 registrants will have the chance to play against select members of the Philippine idol group MNL48 on the popular mobile game League of Legends: Wild Rift.

PPGL is the largest multi-title esports league in the country, having hosted a total of five seasons since its initial match-off in 2019.

Through the upcoming event, the registrants will have a chance to virtually meet and compete with MNL48 members namely Cole Somera, Abby Trinidad, Sheki Arzaga, Gabb Skribikin, and Coleen Trinidad.

MNL48 is a Filipino idol group, originally established in 2018. Known to be a part of the larger J-pop genre scene based on its mother group AKB48. They have since released a total of six singles, including ‘Pag-Ibig Fortune Cookie’, ‘High Tension’, and more recently ‘River’.

MNL48 fans took to Twitter to express excitement for the upcoming virtual match.

One fan said that it is noticeable that some of the more popular members were included in the lineup.

The virtual match also came days after MNL48 recently concluded its Third General Elections, in which voting power from the fans through buying merchandise determined the lineup of the group’s upcoming single.

The PPGL x MNL48 match is organized by the Philippine arm of esports organization Mineski and Philippine telco Globe, where the event will be also available on its newest service Globe Virtual Hangouts.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Global esports organizer Forest Interactive Gaming Habitat Team (FIGHT) and video-sharing app TikTok have partnered to launch TikTok Gaming Ground PH (TikTok GGPH), an esports dedicated account, within the platform. This marks the start of a year-long partnership between TikTok Southeast Asia and FIGHT Esports, which is kicking off with TikTok Philippines.

Through TikTok Gaming Ground PH, the community of Filipino gamers on TikTok can expect a line of live gaming events and tournaments hosted by the official TikTok GGPH account, as well as even more gaming content, shared and compiled by the TikTok PH Gaming Community.

Gaming Operations Manager of TikTok PH, John Castro, commented that the app continues to pursue opportunities to inspire creativity and bring joy to all Filipinos.

“With gaming actively becoming a positive source for community building and enjoyment, we are happy to be doing our part in providing the growing gaming community with a platform for education, positive connections, and interaction,” said Castro.

To inaugurate their partnership, TikTok Philippines and FIGHT Esports are jointly hosting the first-ever #TikTokGGPH Creator Cup Tournament, which will be set within Valorant, a popular first-person shooter game developed by Riot Games. The Creator Cup Tournament will take place on 27- 28 February from 3 pm to 9 pm PST, to be live-streamed on TikTok via @tiktokggphofficial. To raise the stakes, TikTok Philippines is offering a $1,000 prize pool to be awarded to the champion, 1st runner up, and 2nd runner up of the tournament.

FIGHT is the esports arm of mobile platform Forest Interactives, which focuses on tournaments, showcases, and seminars that will help the gaming community. It has already hosted over 80 tournaments in seven countries, including Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Taiwan.

FIGHT’s Project Manager Chantal-Denise Ortega said that TikTok is fast becoming a place where people create, share, and enjoy a new type of experience. It really makes a lot of sense for them to leverage the digital entertainment platform to reach the gaming community and give them the opportunity to connect and share their passion with fellow gamers around the world.

“This will create a unique and innovative esports experience where they can follow and engage with their favorite gaming content creators, tune in to esports tournament live streams, as well as celebrate esports in ways that have never been done before,” Ortega added.

The TikTok app is also holding a video campaign for the official #TikTokGGPH launch, starting from 12 to 28 of February. Users may upload videos that capture their gaming style and must use the hashtag #TikTokGGPH. At the end of the campaign period, 20 creators will be selected to become part of TikTok’s community of gamers, based on the level of passion for gaming and creative potential seen in their videos.

London, United Kingdom – Market research company YouGov has announced upgrades to its online tool Global Fan Profiles, an insights service platform, which now includes tracking of fan sentiments regarding esports globally.

Initially, Global Fan Profiles is built upon more than 300,000 interviews per year collected on a continuous basis. It provides an instant view of the size, make-up, attitudes, and behaviors of fan bases in 32 key esports markets including the United States, China, India, Brazil, Germany, South Korea, and Malaysia.

Furthermore, the online tool is designed to help properties, sponsors, and rights holders identify the size of their fan bases, who their fans are, how fans consume content, and how they align with the thousands of brands and audience trends YouGov tracks on a daily basis.

According to the company, the enhanced Global Fan Profiles means shedding light on the nuisance marketers often face when dealing with the specifics and market base for the esports industry.

“It gives an instant view of fan bases around the world, providing comprehensive and precise data across 200 leagues, 50 events, 45+ game titles, and 2,000 teams in sport and esports. Subscribers can easily create side-by-side comparisons of individual game titles, leagues, events, tournaments, and team fan bases,” the company said in a statement.

YouGov Global Fan Profiles provides a much deeper dataset than just isolated esports and sports attitudes. Subscribers can connect data across sport and esports with core demographics, media consumption, brand preference, and interest, as well as following, viewing, and awareness.

Some of the benefits also include:

  • –Sponsorship: Develop compelling propositions using real data on the number of fans a title, league or team has, who they are, and how they align with potential sponsors 
  • –Esport properties: Create side-by-side comparisons of individual game titles, leagues, events, tournaments, and team fan bases 
  • –Marketing: Use media consumption data to more effectively and efficiently reach target consumers 
  • –Strategy: Assess international market differences in fan base size and make-up to inform strategic plans and decisions 
  • –Broadcast: Prove growth and composition of a fan base to support broadcast negotiations 
  • –Sponsor activation: Use fan profile data to create laser-focused activation strategies with real impact 
  • –Benchmark: Compare fan bases with key competitors for internal analysis or external validation 

For Nicole Pike, YouGov’s global sector head of esports and gaming, the Global Fan Profiles tool can aid in “moving the conversation away from generic ‘esports fans’ and toward a more nuanced view of the distinct fan bases within this growing space.”

“Esports is such a valuable and fast-developing industry that properties, partners, and rights holders deserve to have accurate and always-on data at their fingertips. Sponsors are getting more sophisticated about how and where they choose to invest in the space, and YouGov Global Fan Profiles is the most comprehensive, in-depth, and valuable dataset in the market,” Pike stated.

Sydney, Australia – Video game company Epic Games has announced that three of Australia’s known football leagues have teamed with the company in bringing the sport to life in the battle royale game ‘Fortnite’, alongside other 20 football teams around the world.

Melbourne City FC, Sydney FC, and Western Sydney Wanderers are the three Australian-based football teams participating in this endeavor, united under the A-League.

The partnership will see an upcoming feature on Fortnite, where players can choose from 10 different variants of new ‘Kickoff Set’ outfits to represent their favorite club in-game. The newest addition to the game include outfits based on the participating 23 global football teams, and game emotes, including a ‘Fancy Footwork’ dribbling emote and the iconic ‘Pel’és Air Punch’ based off the Brazilian footballer Pelé.

“The partnership between the A-League and Epic Games is an incredible opportunity to promote our clubs and League to millions of Fortnite players in Australia and around the world. It will put the A-League alongside some of the biggest international clubs such as Man City in the English Premier League, Santos in the Brasileirão and the MLS’ Seattle Sounders,” said Danny Townsend, commercial lead for the Australian Professional Leagues and CEO of Sydney FC.

He added, “There is a significant demographic overlap between the youth audience who love football and those who play Fortnite – this partnership takes us to where our fans are and create new opportunities to engage with the global game.”

Players can now join also in the upcoming Pelé Cup in Fortnite, where players can earn rewards, visit the Creative Hub for an immersive football experience throughout the week, and join select clubs around the world in hosted Fortnite tournaments.

“Football is consistently one of the top sports that our players tell us they want to see and experience in Fortnite. We’re excited to partner with Melbourne City FC, Sydney FC and Western Sydney Wanderers to bring ‘the beautiful game ’to Fortnite fans around the world as they face off in competitive tournaments, experience new creative modes of gameplay, and celebrate global football,” the head of global partnerships at Epic Games Nate Nanzer said. 

The feature will be available on Sunday, January 24 as the A-League will also host its own Fortnite tournament on January 27 with a mix of A-League players, fans, and Fortnite creators battling for exclusive Fortnite and A-League prize packs. 

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The Malaysian arm of streaming platform giant YouTube is hosting the Pesta Game 2021, a first ‘Hari Sukan’ or sport’s day hosted within a virtual platform. 

The event is a direct inspiration from last year’s status of the online gaming community, as the YouTube gaming community has garnered over 100 billion watch time hours clocked across a whopping 40 million active gaming channels worldwide.

Players will come from Malaysia’s YouTube top content creators and with participation from the YouTube audience, and will be supported by partnerships with esports portal MyGameOn and video game entertainment site IGN Southeast Asia. The event will feature games, including puzzle game ‘Keep Talking, Nobody Explodes’, multiplayer royale games ‘Valorant’ and ‘PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG)’, and soccer video game FIFA 2021.

“Gaming has always been an important part of the Malaysian YouTube community, and there’s certainly no better time to game than the present. Pesta Game allows us to get together safely from the comfort of our homes and be immersively entertained by countless gaming live streams featuring Malaysia’s favorite Creators on YouTube across mobile devices, desktops, and connected TVs,” said Ben Jern, head of YouTube Malaysia.

The event also sees a partnership with fast-food chain KFC and with Samsung A51 | A71.

“We are thrilled to be part of an event that celebrates the community of e-sports talents we have in Malaysia, while supporting the importance of gaming as a sport. We are committed to making an awesome gaming experience accessible while ensuring seamless connectivity and performance through the Galaxy A series, and with events such as this, can meaningful innovation be realized,” Edward Han, president of Samsung Malaysia Electronics commented.

A spokesperson for KFC said, “KFC is excited to partner with Google for Malaysia’s 1st virtual ‘Hari Sukan’. As the nation’s favorite fried chicken, KFC is happy to level up Pesta Game with freshly made and delicious KFC – perfect for this innovative, vibrant and energetic event! With all the happenings around the country, Pesta Game presents a perfect outlet for YouTube creators and audience to have fun, enjoy great food, and simultaneously connect with each other virtually and safely.”

The Pesta Games will be livestreamed January 30th and 31st and in Bahasa Malaysia across some of Malaysia’s biggest YouTube channels, from Media Prima’s Drama Sangat, NTV7, TV3, and TV9 channels, to individual channels of creators participating in the games: Athisha Khan, Dumpling Soda, Fuzz Channel, Isaac Osman, Syedot ASMR, and Wiser MY.

Singapore – Ampverse, an esports entertainment company, has announced new hires for its company in response to their expansion to Vietnam and Myanmar this year.

Top hires include director of revenue and customer success Jackie Tangngumvitayakul formerly of media company Starcom, head of client solutions Kate Siriwattanakul formerly of media investment company GroupM.

Other additions to the Ampverse team include strategic initiatives manager Athiti Sujarit formerly of esports event organizer Garena, and new team members across its sales, finance, human resources, creative solutions, and esports divisions. 

“We are really pleased to welcome this bunch of talented and bright individuals to Ampverse. As we prepare ourselves for the next phase of growth, I’m incredibly proud that Ampverse continues to attract talent of such high caliber. Reflected by their diverse interests, personalities, and knowledge, our new talent will support us in bringing forth wider creative solutions for our clients,” said Ferdinand Gutierrez, CEO of Ampverse.

He added, “Vietnam and Myanmar are among Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies, with both markets displaying a huge growth potential for gaming, boasting many promising players and a robust gaming community. As we settle into 2021, our goal is to extend our resources, talent, and experiences in places where we know there is a clear demand.”

Ampverse is currently operating with three esports teams and has worked with brands such as Samsung, KFC, Porsche, Electronic Arts, Lazada and Grab.