COMPETITION

The Call of Duty League’s 2022 Championship Weekend is now locked in to run Aug. 4-7 at the USC Galen Center in LA. The top eight teams from the CDL regular-season points standings will square off at the vent, with the grand prize winner of this season laying claim to the bulk of the prize pool. In addition, Championship Weekend will also host a Challengers Finals event with $250,000 in prizes on the line in a two-day, eight-team, double-elimination bracket.

Meanwhile, Riot Games’ second LCS roadshow of the year will take place in Chicago, running Sept. 10-11 to determine the LCS Championship at United Center. Through the event, the LCS will work with three Chicago-based Youth Outreach Partners for the 2022 LCS Championship: Youth Guidance, the Chicago Park District and I Play Games! in a move to “engage and promote the expansion of esports in Chicago by sharing resources and expertise with these local community organizations.”

Finally, Valorant will see its first-ever Game Changers Championship hit Berlin from Nov. 15-20. The event will see eight teams from around the world compete on LAN in a double elimination bracket. The regional allocation of teams will see two from North America, one from Brazil, one from Latin America, two from Europe, Middle East and Africa, one from East Asia and one from Asia Pacific.

Gamers8 released new info for the upcoming global esports and gaming event out of Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this summer. Play begins on July 14 with a $15 million prize pool as teams compete across: Rocket League, Dota 2, Fortnite, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, and PUBG MOBILE. Organized by the Saudi Esports Federation, Gamers8 will focus on four main pillars: Professional Esports, Festivals, Music and The Next World Summit.

The Global Esports Federation confirmed that Dubai will serve as the host city for the GEF’s flagship Global Esports Games 2025. “Congratulations Dubai and the people of the United Arab Emirates. The Global Esports Federation is delighted to confirm Dubai as the host of our global flagship property – the Global Esports Games – in December 2025. Once again, the eyes of the world, the energy, and passion of our #worldconnected community will light up Dubai, the UAE, and the region,” said Chris Chan, President of the GEF.

ESL PUBG Masters Americas returns this summer, with play starting July 6-7 and running through the Grand Final the weekend of July 29-31. ESL PUBG Masters Americas Phase 2 will be broken down into three stages: Open Qualifiers, Regional Playoffs, and the Grand Final.

UFC announced the MFAM Gauntlet: NICKMERCS vs TimtheTatman, a live esports competition featuring the two personalities that starts at 2p on July 1 as part of the UFC X fan experience at the Las Vegas Convention Center, and running on UFC’s official Twitch channel. NICKMERCS, co-owner of FaZe Clan, takes on TimTheTatman, co-owner of Complexity Gamin, in the virtual Octagon in EA SPORTS UFC 4 and will be coached in real-time by UFC athletes Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson and Adrian Yanez. The event will also feature a hotly contested Apex Legends matchup between some of the most talented players in the world. NICKMERCS and TimTheTatman will provide live commentary while their respective teams battle it out. FaZe Clan will be represented by FaZe Kalei, FaZe Nio, and Stable Ronaldo, while DiazBiffle, ClaraAtWork, and LuckyChamu will play for team Complexity Gaming.

Esports data and analytics company HUDstats announced its partnership with DreamHack Sports Games, enabling the company to implement its AVA technology and deliver non-delayed data, and will look to “fuel the tournaments with in-depth match statistics, provide precise non-delayed data, and deliver it with a staggering sub-second speed, which makes HUDstats the first and only to produce such a service.” ‘’It is great to have HUDstats working with us to provide top-notch data for our live graphics,’’ said Dennis Kristensen, Executive Producer at DreamHack Sports Games. “Their proven technology will have a great impact on the quality of our live broadcasts and season-long storytelling. Teaming up with HUDstats is an exciting journey for our company to join a new world of AI technology.”

Com2uS, creators of fantasy RPG franchise Summoners War, announced the return of its Summoners War. Top prize will be $100,000 with preliminary play beginning Aug. 5-6, and the world finals in Nov. 2022.

SPONSORSHIP & ACTIVATION

100 Thieves’ luxury automotive partner, Lexus, created a customized NX to commemorate the team’s recent championship. Titled, the THIEVES NX, the vehicle was unveiled in new video, and features the first generative artwork leveraging championship gameplay data. To create a graphic representation of 100 Thieves’ championship win, Lexus input the raw player data into a generative design tool created especially for the project. Player actions and movements from the team’s 11 winning playoff matches were represented by lines, nodes and curves. “We felt the best way to commemorate our partner’s tremendous championship win was to build a one-of-a-kind THIEVES NX which was inspired by the team’s winning journey,” said Vinay Shahani, vice president of Lexus marketing. “The intuitive and tech-forward features of the Lexus NX make it the perfect canvas and co-conspirator for this type of creative venture.”

BLAST Premier locked in new partnerships with OMEN, Magnum ice cream, MOCHE and Teleperformance ahead of this month’s Spring Final in Lisbon’s Altice Arena. As part of the deals, branding for each sponsor will now be featured in the Altice Arena during the event and across BLAST Premier’s digital and broadcast channels

G FUEL announced that Ninja Cotton Candy – the first G FUEL flavor inspired by Tyler “Ninja” Blevins – is now available at select Walmart stores nationwide. “Ninja is an entertainment powerhouse, so we needed a flavor that’s just as fun and exciting as he is. Ninja Cotton Candy fits the bill perfectly,” said G FUEL Founder and CEO Cliff Morgan. “We can’t wait for G FUEL fans to discover Ninja’s flavor at Walmart stores across the U.S. this summer.”

HyperX announced the signing of Kris “FaZe Swagg” Lamberson to its roster of names where he will serve as a brand ambassador and use HyperX headsets and microphones while streaming and gaming and will participate in marketing and social activities with HyperX. “As a beacon for others looking to embark on a career in streaming and gaming, we are thrilled to welcome FaZe Swagg to the HyperX family,” said Khoi Nguyen, influencer marketing manager, HyperX. “His love for the community shines through in his content and we look forward to seeing more HyperX gaming gear make an appearance as they provide him with award-winning sound and comfort while in-game and interacting with fans.”

Turtle Beach Corporation saw its ROCCAT PC gaming peripherals brand extend its partnership with Gen.G Esports, continuing as the official PC gaming peripherals partner of Gen.G’s professional League of Legends and PUBG teams based in Korea, as well as their affiliated streamers. In addition, the Turtle Beach console gaming accessories brand is now the official audio partner of Gen.G’s Overwatch League team, Seoul Dynasty. Additionally, both brands will be work directly with Gen.G’s players and streamers to create a slate of content for fans, as well as working with them to build their insights and competitive knowledge into future products.

DreamHack and Juniper Networks sealed new partnership for its DreamHack Dallas and DreamHack Atlanta gaming lifestyle festivals, as well as the DreamHack StarCraft II Masters: Valencia. As part of the new agreement, Juniper was appointed an Official Supplier for all three events. “We are excited to welcome Juniper Networks as they now come on board as official partners for a selection of our festivals and esportseSports products,” said Rodrigo Samwell, Chief Commercial Officer at ESL Gaming. “Juniper has already played an important role in the infrastructure of our festivals — and now festival-goers can appreciate this partnership even more as we launch unique activations together.”

PLATFORMS/METAVERSE

BLAST expanded its global broadcast reach courtesy of a media rights partnership with DAZN Group. The partnership is designed to amplify BLAST Premier, with the Counter-Strike series becoming available across over 100 of DAZN’s territories, live and on-demand, including United Kingdom, Japan and USA. As part of the deal, DAZN will broadcast BLAST Premier’s remaining five events of the year including the Spring, Fall and World Finals. DAZN will broadcast this week’s Spring Final, which will be hosted in Lisbon’s Altice Arena

Amazon announced the Amazon Prime Gaming Ultimate Showdown, bringing multiple titles together into a grand finale at TwitchCon this year and marking the company’s biggest esports event to date. The tournament will launch with four pre-qualifying rounds in Seattle, Amsterdam, Germany, and Japan.

TEAMS

XSET dropped pride merch, allowing fans to buy T-shirts to show their support for pride with the proceeds going to charity. The idea behind the T-shirts was conceptualized by merchandising manager Matthew Brunken and XSET co-owner Erin Ashley Simon, and the design of the shirt was done by design director Zachary Azzara.

In partnership with Riot Games, Immortals is launching Immortals Invasion in Detroit from June 23-26. With a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion, the event is free to the public and will take place at several minority-owned businesses throughout the city. “Riot Games is excited to be joining forces with Immortals to bring exciting activities to the passionate Detroit gaming community while supporting local BIPOC-owned businesses,” said Farah Sutton, Senior Manager of D&I Strategic Partnerships at Riot Games. “What makes gaming a thriving community are the players, fans, and creators who come from diverse backgrounds and cultures to celebrate and play together.”

Complexity Gaming announced that Lost Kings, the musical duo of Robert Abisi and Nick Shanholtz, are joining Complexity Stars as the program’s first musical artists. Complexity Stars will enable Lost Kings to expand their digital footprint and create new experiences for fans through gaming and esports competition. “Gaming and music continue to intersect in unexpected ways,” said Abisi of Lost Kings. “Complexity Stars presents an opportunity for us to engage deeper with our fans and showcase our music in a space that’s creatively limitless. We’re looking forward to working closely with Complexity and our fellow Stars athletes, who are just as committed to connecting with audiences through gaming as we are.”

ROSTER MOVES

Esports organization FlyQuest announced the promotion of Chief Operating Officer Michael Choi as the new CEO following the departure of Tricia Sugita. Choi first joined FlyQuest as a Senior Project Manager and Director of Operations before being named COO in April 2020. Since 2020, Michael has led and supported the marketing, product, operations, finance, and legal efforts for FlyQuest. “Tricia’s leadership and vision over the last few years grew FlyQuest to where we are today, and as the new CEO, these are very big shoes to fill. I have a strong grasp on where we need to go from here, and our team and players remain committed to the greater FlyQuest cause of Showcasing Greatness,” said Choi.

Meanwhile, former FlyQuest CEO Tricia Sugita is joining Cloud9 to serve as the chief marketing officer. In the blog post announcing her arrival, Cloud9 co-founder and CEO jack Etienne, stated that “Adding Tricia to our team wasn’t just a no-brainer, it’s a huge win. The future of Cloud9 looks even brighter with her leading the charge on our marketing efforts. Her experience in the industry runs the gamut. She’s been a COO, CEO, and now we’re proud to help her add CMO to her list of accomplishments.”

Paidia Gaming appointed Erin Ashley Simon to its strategic Advisory Board. Simon is a multi-media personality, host, producer, consultant, and part-owner of the new esports organization, XSET. “We are thrilled to welcome Erin to our Advisory Board, and I am excited to collaborate and learn from her industry expertise as we continue to grow and evolve our business,” said Jill Kenney, CEO of Paidia. “Erin’s mission of breaking down barriers and gender biases in gaming and entertainment is a perfect fit for Team Paidia, as we share a common goal of being disrupters and positive change agents.