Good morning! This is your weekly Esports Brief.

Lifestyle gaming org XSET announced that multi-award-winning Puerto Rican singer/songwriter Ozuna cemented a “groundbreaking and wide-ranging new partnership, which includes making Ozuna a managing partner in XSET, becoming the first Latin artist esports team owner.” In the coming weeks and months, Ozuna and XSET will embark on several significant business initiatives, including gaming, content creation, NFT’s, and merch drops

“I’ve always loved gaming and with the worldwide explosion of gaming culture, it was important for me to be one of the first movers – both from an ownership perspective and on the talent side,” says Ozuna. “The mixture of music and gaming is only going to get bigger and together with XSET, I’m happy to be leading the way.”

“When we first started talking to Ozuna and his team, I was blown away by their incredible, multi-pronged approach to business. Beyond Ozuna’s incredible musical talent, his vitality, exuberance for life and desire to bring his love of gaming to global Latin culture makes him an ideal embodiment of XSET’s ethos,” says XSET CEO and co-founder, Greg Selkoe, “We are so honored and pleased Ozuna has chosen XSET as his team and gaming family.”

PUBG MOBILE revealed plans for the PUBG MOBILE Pro League 2021 schedule, which will see the addition of seven new regions that now include North America, Brazil, LATAM, CIS, Turkey, Arabia and Western Europe. The league will run through June with a World Class tournament taking place this summer which will see the top teams from across all regions go head-to-head with a total prize pool of $14 million, the highest in mobile esports history.

U.S. Soccer tapped the services of Esports Engine to serve as its official Production Provider for the eNational Team Closed Finals, taking place tomorrow. The top two finishers from the event will go on to represent U.S. Soccer in the FIFA eNations Online Qualifier 2021. This also marks Esports Engine’s first collaboration with a sports federation. “Esports programs are not one size fits all. That’s why we embrace the individuality of our partners and strive to create dynamic esports experiences that bring their brand to life in an authentic way,” said Adam Apicella, Co-founder & President, Esports Engine and Chief Experience Officer, Vindex. “As gaming and sports culture become more intertwined, we see events like the U.S. Soccer eNational Team Finals as unique opportunities to drive engagement amongst current fans, reach new audiences, and grow love of the sport.”

The FIA and developer Polyphony Digital announced that the Gran Turismo Championships 2021 Series will rev up starting April 21. This year will see two different series in the Nations Cup and the Manufacture Cup. The Nations Cup will see players compete for their respective countries, while the Manufacturer Cup sees players represent their chosen manufacturer. The season will conclude with the World Finals set from Dec. 3-5.

Blizzard is launching The Great Push, a new competitive event for World of Warcraft and running May 28-30. Instead of teams fighting to beat their opponent’s time, The Great Push will instead focus on teams pushing The top six teams from the qualifier will be invited to the main tournament, where they will compete across the different Shadowlands Dungeons to push their keystones as high as possible. The tournament will be broadcast live on YouTube and Twitch, and players will also be able to stream their perspectives during the tournament, including their time in the Proving Grounds. Meanwhile, the MDI Global Finals runs April 23-25 and will see teams will battle for $300,000 on YouTube.

Riot Games is bringing back its virtual heavy metal band PENTAKILL, and lined up a partnership with guitar manufacturer Jackson. PENTAKILL will perform live at LCS’s Mid-Season Showdown Opening Ceremonies Presented by Mastercard, marking the band’s first performance since 2017. The Mid-Season Showdown will take place on April 11 at the Los Angeles Greek Theatre.

G4 and WWE are tagging up for a video game competition series that will debut on G4 this fall. The program will be hosted by WWE Superstar Xavier Woods and will pit some of the biggest content creators in gaming against each other. “This partnership combines WWE’s sports-entertainment and G4’s competitive entertainment to bring a truly unique offering only these brands can offer,” said Brian Terwilliger, VP of Programming and Creative Strategy for G4. “The format of the show, along with WWE Superstar Xavier Woods AKA Austin Creed’s electric presence on-screen, will make it appealing for gamers, WWE fans, and those new to both as well.”

Time is running out to lay claim to your slot at the Esports Brand Activation, as companies such as ESL, The Game Awards, Twitch, 100 Thieves, Super League Gaming, RekTGlobal, Belong/Vindex, Subnation, and GCN showcase the newest opportunities for partnerships. Brands and media buyers are invited to attend this is a can’t miss event to reach the elusive demo! Request an exclusive invite to the Cynopsis Sports & Esports Brand Activation now.

CSL Esports revealed that Esports at LSU will serve as the virtual host for the upcoming 2021 CSL Grand Finals on CSL Esports’ Twitch channel on May 1 and 2. “In a normal year we would have competitors gathering at LSU for the culmination of the league season,” said Rob Johnson, CEO, CSL Esports. “While this year we won’t be able to have a live event, we will have some exciting matches that will feature some of the best collegiate esports talent in North America. “We look forward to working closely with Esports at LSU as our virtual host and providing a terrific experience for the competitors and our viewers on our Twitch channel.”

This week, Stream Hatchet released their Q1 2021 live streaming report. One of the biggest takeaways was the 80% year-over-year growth in combined hours watched from Twitch, YouTube Gaming, and Facebook Gaming. The jump was massive compared to the Q1 2019-2020 increase of about 36%. Twitch generated the largest portion of the combined 8.8B hours watched with about 6.3B of their own. The Amazon-owned live streaming platform widened the Q1 gap between itself and the other western platforms but YouTube Gaming and Facebook Gaming still saw impressive growth. YouTube Gaming increased by about 24% while Facebook Gaming surged with an 87% increase.

The large jump in live streaming viewership can partially be attributed to the new lifestyle under the COVID-19 pandemic. When other entertainment options like sports and nightlife shut down, many people turned to live streaming and video games. Because of this, the mass media adoption of live streaming was accelerated leading to increased viewership for the platforms. Twitch, being the leader in space, received a bulk of the new traffic resulting in 97% growth year-over-year.

To download Stream Hatchet’s report, please follow the link below:
https://bit.ly/3mq15B9

The NBA 2K League locked in a multiyear partnership with Sony Interactive Entertainment to make PlayStation 5 the official console of the NBA 2K League. Beginning this month, the 23 NBA 2K League teams and 138 players in the league will compete on PS5 during games and events. To tip off the partnership, PS5 will serve as the presenting partner of the upcoming “NBA 2KL Three for All Showdown,” which will take place April 9-10 at 8p. “NBA 2K League players are the best in the world at what they do, so it’s only fitting that they compete on the best gaming equipment in the world,” said NBA 2K League President Brendan Donohue. “PlayStation is a long-standing global leader in interactive entertainment, and we are thrilled to be able to leverage their gaming expertise and technology to create the optimal experience for NBA 2K League players and fans.”

Esports tournament organizer BLAST Premier inked a deal with MADMONQ – a health and performance gaming supplement. As part of the deal, MADMONQ will be named Official Health Supplement for the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown and Final.

BLAST Premier also announced a sponsorship with cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase to sponsor their Counter-Strike Spring Season. As part of the deal, Coinbase branding will feature prominently across the Spring Showdown (April 13-18) and Final (June 15-20), including branded content opportunities and fan-led activations. The cryptocurrency exchange platform will sponsor BLAST Premier’s ‘The Economy Play’ broadcast segment, which sees analysts dissect and discuss economy rounds in between key matches.

Herman Miller named its first global ambassador in Tim “TimtheTatman” Betar. As an ambassador, Timthetatman will actively share his experiences using Herman Miller products and serve as a touchpoint between the furniture company and the gaming community. “This is a massive milestone for our team,” said Jon Campbell, Director of Gaming at Herman Miller. “Since launching our first batch of gaming products in July, we have been incredibly humbled by the number of people who have chosen Herman Miller for their setups. We are thrilled to celebrate a partnership with one of the most influential and respected people in the gaming community, especially one that has been such a pioneer in this space.”

Evil Geniuses is aligning with cryptocurrency company Coinbase in a move that will see the company become a shirt sponsor for the org’s teams competing in CS:GO and Dota 2, in addition to its FGC players. The duo will look to educate esports fans about cryptocurrency. The deal will include a slate of custom videos produced to show in-game economy investments during matches of CS:GO and Dota 2.

Dignitas named Voodoo Ranger, the IPA family of the New Belgium Brewing company, as the Official Beer Partner of the esports organization. The partnership marks the first in esports for Voodoo Ranger, and features community-centric social, digital, and future on-location activations. In Voodoo Ranger Community Game Nights, streamed live on Twitch, Dignitas athletes and content creators will square-off in battles of bragging rights and brews. Dignitas will also hold a series of fan-focused Happy Hours and release original content.

Enthusiast Gaming, the largest gaming media platform in North America, signed an integrated and strategic partnership deal with ESPAT TV. ESPAT TV will leverage Enthusiast Gaming’s reach into the GenZ and Millennial demographics, utilizing the company’s integrated platform of fan communities to engage with a wider audience. “ESPAT TV is a strong producer of gaming and entertainment content across multiple distribution channels, and we are thrilled to enter into such a like-minded partnership that brings new storytelling possibilities to our platform of fan communities,” said Adrian Montgomery, CEO of Enthusiast Gaming. “With the unique advantage provided by this Creative Collective, we aim to further the production of premium gaming content across social-video and entertainment platforms.”

Finbold reports that Twitch drew a record 3.03 million viewers in April 2021, based on a monthly seven-day average. That would mark a rise of 22.17% between April 2020 and April 2021.

Big news from 100 Thieves, which announced yesterday that the team was naming famed content creators Valkyrae and CouRage as co-owners of the brand, noting that they “have been integral to our success as an organization these past few years” in the announcement. Valkyrae and CouRage are joining the ownership group currently composed of 100 Thieves CEO & Founder Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, Drake, media mogul Scooter Braun, and Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert. In their new positions, the duo will be more involved with 100 Thieves’ broader business strategy, helping identify and bring on new talent, building new programs and other initiatives. Valkyrae, who ranked as the top female gaming influencer in Q1 2021 with 12.2 million hours watched per Stream Hatchet, stated ““I’m so excited to be a co-owner of 100 Thieves and to help write the next chapter for our organization,” said Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter. “I was the first female content creator to join 100 Thieves, and I’m proud that I have been a key part of the brand since very early on. It feels natural to continue to work with Matt and Jack in this new capacity to have even more of an impact. We’re looking forward to growing our team and welcoming new creators that we know our fans will love.”

In addition, 100 Thieves announced on Tuesday that the team was dropping its first NFT collection. Half of the drop will be available to buy at auction, while the other half will go to fans. The 100 Thieves Enter Infinity NFT Collection is made up of eight one-of-a-kind electronic geometric animations, each themed around the 100 Thieves logo.

TSM launched collegiate initiative TSMU in a move to offer ‘quality mentorship, guidance, support, and community for those looking to learn and engage with the global esports industry’. TSMU will offer traditional events such as career panels, Q&As with top esports industry professionals, tournament watch parties, casual tournaments, and more.

The Houston Outlaws are partnering with Adamas Esports Performance & Training Ltd. Adamas will provide performance coaching and health & wellness expertise to Outlaws players and coaches as part of the partnership. Services will include sports psychology, coaching development workshops, and lifestyle coaching and recommendations delivered through online workshop sessions and one on one time with the athletes.

Boasting a flurry of deals in recent months that range from teams to a partnership with Ridley Scott Creative Group to yesterday’s announcement that it would be partnering with Enthusiast Gaming, ESPAT TV has been bolstering its plans amid the pandemic shutdown of live esports. The full-service collaborative production house was c-founded by Dante Simpson, Ed Brooks and Mario Prosperino and has built its reputation by moving “the creative needle” for gaming content. With the new announcement now public, Cynopsis Esports caught up with Simpson to talk about the direction of the company.

Simpson on moving his career into esports: I have been fortunate to work in high fashion, with The Gucci Group, where your look tells a story…I then worked for a major music company, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, where songs/music tell a story. My current role and company is a culmination of a career that embraced entertainment, storytelling and culture. ESPAT TV is all of the above, and so much more.

On pivoting during the pandemic: I believe, in business, the pandemic revealed flaws and it revealed strengths. The gaming coming, which thrived in the digital age, on digital formats was the entertainment best equipped to pivot during these challenging times. ESPN turned to gaming culture, music turned to the gaming industry, even politics decided to join the party. We embraced these new opportunities and we’re proud to be a part of it. With that said, we CANNOT wait for live events to come back. There’s nothing like the energy in an arena and capturing the energy, the joy of victory and the agony of defeat.

On working with teams: Our team partnerships are very specific…teams do an incredible job connecting with their fan base. They use Twitter, Twitch and others to naturally and authentically connect. It is our belief that industry growth will come from remaining true to your core audience, while connecting with new fans on platforms where they are. That’s where ESPAT TV steps in. We are creating premium content that will reside on non-gamer centric streaming platforms, but will create excitement and fandom that will ultimately lead back to their new favorite teams.

On the Enthusiast deal: With Enthusiast, we are embracing all forms of content. Whether its original content on social platforms, original programming on streaming platforms or emerging podcast networks, Enthusiast has a forward-thinking strategy to be a leader and we are happy to bring our expertise and jointly bring this vision to existence.

On the partnership with Ridley Scott Creative Group: Christian Lamb of RSA Films and the Creative Lead for ESPAT TV and Molly Bohas of Black Dog Films, both on behalf of Ridley Scott Creative Group will be an intrical part of the Enthusiast – ESPAT TV relationship. As Ridley Scott Creative Group identified the role gaming/esports will have in the future of produced and immersive content, that excitement led to the groundbreaking partnership between our organizations. To be aligned with directors and producers from such a legendary organization, who’s committed to bringing stories from the gaming community to the streaming screen and ultimately the silver screen, is a moment we will all celebrate.

The Electronic Software Association finally laid out its plans for this year’s digital-only E3, running June 12-15 with a lineup that includes Nintendo, Xbox, Capcom, Konami, Ubisoft, Take-Two Interactive, Warner Bros. Games, and more. The org stated that the event will feature live press conference and a four-day long video stream. “We are evolving this year’s E3 into a more inclusive event, but will still look to excite the fans with major reveals and insider opportunities that make this event the indispensable center stage for video games,” said ESA president Stanley Pierre-Louis.

3BLACKDOT, an entertainment studio with a focus on gaming, signed an exclusive, one-year partnership with gaming talent management company BavaMedia. Through the partnership 3BD will provide Bava’s talent with a suite of services designed to maximize the talent’s creative and revenue potential in the marketplace. Resources include: Original programming deals; Brand partnerships; and Ecommerce development and support.

ROSTER MOVES

Former Burger King CMO Fernando Machado is departing Restaurant Brands International to become CMO of Activision Blizzard. Activision Blizzard’s current CMO David Messinger is leaving the company, per Adweek, but will stay on to assist with the transition.

Engine Media Holdings named David Paschkes as Executive Vice President of Sports and eSports Partnerships. In his role, he will be responsible for developing and expanding relationships across the sports and esports marketplace to create additional revenue streams and opportunities for promotion and development of Engine Media.

KRAFTON, Inc. announced the appointment of four new members to the company’s Board of Directors, including: Kevin Lin, Co-founder and former Chief Operating Officer at Twitch.tv; Suekyung Lee, Senior Vice President at Procter & Gamble China; Eunjung Yeo, Professor at Chung-Ang University and a board member at KT, Corp.; and Yanghee Paik, Co-founder and CEO of Rael.

Ander Nickell is heading to UTA as a Brand Partnerships Executive in the esports division. Nickell brings over 15 years of experience working in marketing and business development where he will focus on building innovative brand partnerships for the company’s roster of nearly 100 world-ranked esports athletes, streamers and content creators. Most recently, Nickell served as the Head of Global Partnerships at Activision.

The Global Esports Federation named Paul J. Foster as Chief Executive Officer. Foster will assume the role as the org’s first CEO. Foster said, “The GEF offers a global, inclusive, and connected platform. When we began this journey, we had a framework for potential, a bunch of ideas. We simply said, everyone is welcome, a notion of radical inclusivity. We engaged constantly, guided only by a set of values. From that naturally came a spirit of boundless innovation. That drives our work.”