FanAI analyzed 271 different esports teams’ social followings and compared them to the followings of 35 different major auto brands to create an affinity index, showing how many of the teams’ fans follow each auto brand.
- Tesla has the highest affinity with esports teams and fans consistently, which is not due to sponsorship but rather due to their branding and market leading position.
- Mercedes Benz shows the next highest affinity in relation to all other auto brands, likely a result of their recent sponsorship efforts with ESL.
Source: FanAI.io
ESL and Mixer are forging alliances, announcing a new partnership that will bring over 15,000 hours of programming to the platform, including CS: GO, League of Legends, & Dota 2 with events that include ESL One Cologne and the ESL National Championships in Germany, Poland, Spain, the UK, Brazil, Italy, France, Austria and Turkey.
Online tournament platform StriveWire appears to have closed its doors, announcing that players would be unable to recover their funds. “We have applied for insolvency and have stopped the business. No payments can be made at present. Payouts will be resumed once insolvency process kicks in. This might take a few weeks or months,” the company posted. Dot Esports dove deeper into the situation at the site.
Overwatch League’s Boston Uprising named Twitch as the official and exclusive streaming service of the team and its players. The partnership with Twitch will provide a global means to foster the growth of the Uprising and its group of team partners, including the opportunity to brand the stream with additional partner logos. “We are excited for the opportunity to team up with an industry leader such as Twitch,” said Chris Loranger, President of Gaming for The Kraft Group. “As the popularity of esports continues to ascend, the importance of a quality streaming service cannot be understated. This deal will serve as an invitation for others around the globe to see more of what the Overwatch League has to offer.”
ReKTGlobal unlocked strategic investment in OverPowered Network, an esports company dedicated to promoting the growth of gaming and esports in the Gulf Cooperation Council and greater Middle East and North Africa region. In addition to the investment, ReKTGlobal will work closely with OPN founders and members of the Royal family, Ali Al Khalifa, Ahmed Al Khalifa and Abdulla Hamad Al Khalifa, open an office in the capital and recruit and sponsor MENA-based gamers for ReKTGlobal’s esports organization Team Rogue.
RIP to game critic and popular YouTuber John Bain, aka TotalBiscuit, who passed away following a long battle with cancer at the age of 33.
PUBG Corp. reportedly filed a lawsuit against Epic Games, claiming that Fortnite plagiarizes PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds. According to The Korea Times, the studio asked a court in South Korea to determine whether Epic Games copied its intellectual property. “We filed the suit to protect our copyright,” the company told the publication.
The ESA and E3 are once again teaming up with producer Geoff Keighley to bring the E3 Coliseum to this year’s festivities, taking place at The Novo at L.A. Live from June 12-14. Among the sessions lined up will the “Interactive Magic with Penn Jillette and Randy Pitchford,” “The Future of Narrative,” “Hideo Kojima in Conversation with Jordan Vogt-Roberts,” “Transference with Elijah Wood” and “Grim Fandango” on June 12. June 13 will include “Call of Duty: Black Ops 4,” “Worlds Collide,” and “Tomb Raider.” June 14 sees “Darren Aronofsky in Conversation,” and “Cuphead” so far.
