Esports

SHAMEFUL: WAVERIDER & GALAXY RIDER CLAIM DUBAI IS “LEADING DESTINATION FOR CULTURE”

Published

5 years ago

September 6, 2021

Entertainment company Waverider and esports organisation Galaxy Rider (GXR) have teamed up to organise the inaugural edition of POPC Live! in Dubai – slated to be the Middle East’s biggest esports, comics, and YouTuber’s pop culture festival.

The five-day event will feature ‘groundbreaking experiences’ and unique activities, and is being supported by Brand Dubai, the creative arm of the Government of Dubai Media Office (GDMO). It is part of the effort to transform Dubai into a creative space and showcase for the city as a leading destination for culture, innovation, and talent.

Organisers say some of the world’s most prominent celebrities, developers, publishers, and organisations will be in attendance, and the event will feature an esports zone, tournaments, pop culture panels, workshops, conferences, and concerts.

Highlights will include PUBG Mobile, League of Legends, and DOTA 2 tournaments, will the esports zone will also host the GIRLGAMER World Finals, as well as several community tournaments hosted by Galaxy Racer.

Nehal Badri, Director of Brand Dubai, said: “The hosting of POPC Live! for the first time in the region in Dubai not only reinforces the city’s status as a leading destination for digital content development, but also highlights its role as a leader in creating exciting new opportunities for youth in the region. The partnership between Waverider and Galaxy Racer supports our efforts to encourage talent, creativity and entrepreneurship. The event will also contribute to further positioning Dubai as a major global venue for entertainment and sporting events.”

Arafaat Ali Khan, CEO of Waverider, said: “I am thrilled to once again get the opportunity to develop the biggest pop culture event in the region. Featuring prominent celebrities and brands from around the world, the festival is focused on creativity, a true sense of community and the best content. At Waverider, our focus is on new content and IP from the region to the region. POPC Live! will be one of many exciting content events planned in the coming months.”

Paul Roy, CEO of Galaxy Racer, said: “We are excited to be partnering with Waverider, one of the pioneers in pop culture events in the region, to organise POPC Live! in Dubai. This experience, coupled with our gaming and esports expertise, content creators and relationship with the global GIRLGAMER Esports Festival, means this event will be the biggest celebration of pop culture, gaming and esports the region has ever seen.”

AYO.NEWS says:

Here’s that collective cognitive dissonance and proof that “money talks” again. While it’s great to see investment in the esports space in the Middle East, Dubai’s appalling human rights record makes a mockery of the claim that the event will be a “showcase for the city as a leading destination for culture, innovation, and talent.”

Simply put, enough is enough. We cannot, on the one hand, espouse universal human rights, and on the other condone a jurisdiction where homosexuality is illegal, women are treated as second class citizens, foregin workers are routinely abused, and media censorship is widespread.

Companies are, of course, free to do what they want, but it is vomit-inducing when these companies and organisations preach about being welcoming to culture, innovation, and talent. Every single company and organisation investing in these jurisdictions should be ashamed – including Spain’s LaLiga football league, for partnering with Galaxy Racer for a content series recently. And, as for GIRLGAMER Esports Festival and its links with Dubai – well, words fail me.

Esports

LEXUS SUPPORTS ESPORTS AWARDS FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR

Published

5 years ago

October 29, 2021

AYO News Staff

Luxury carmaker Lexus is returning to support the Esports Awards for a third year running

As Official Auto Partner of the awards, the company will be working with the Esports Awards on a number of activations that incorporate their vehicles. Lexus will also sponsor both the Esports Organisation of the Year and Streamer of the Year awards.

Lexus made its esports debut with the Esports Awards in 2019, when it provided several supercars from blockbuster movies, which took centre stage at the Esports Stadium Arlington. Last year, the carmaker collaborated on exclusive content as part of the highly successful virtual ceremony.

“It’s an honour to be able to welcome Lexus as a partner for the third year in a row. After supporting us through a successful virtual ceremony last year, it speaks volumes that Lexus has once again committed to going all-in and driving the esports ecosystem forward. Both of our brands focus on prestige and excellence, and I look forward to showcases our joint values as we return to a physical event in November,” said Michael Ashford, Managing Director, Esports Awards.

Esports

REKTGLOBAL BRINGS TOP GAMING TALENT TO INFINITY FESTIVAL 2021

Published

5 years ago

October 29, 2021

AYO News Staff

ReKTGlobal, the digital entertainment and esports organization, has been named one of the official presenters of gaming content at the 2021 Infinity Festival.

On 3 November, superstar gaming creators Ally Battaggia (a.k.a TheGeekEntry) and Gabby Murray will join Stove’s Kitchen and Paul Shaw in a panel exploring the content creator economy. In addition, ReKTGlobal CCO Kevin Knocke will share his unique expertise in a panel on esports.

Battaggia, who has a growing following across social media, took on streaming during lockdown, joining the fan-favorite NoPIxel GTA RP server. Since then, she’s become a mainstay participant, even crafting a NFT/TCG collection from her beloved GTA RP character. With 9.6M social media followers, Murray has built a fanbase as a multi-talented lifestyle and gaming content creator, with a Discord community that is expanding by the day.

Top gaming creator Stove’s Kitchen (whose real name is Steven Cho), part of the Team RAR (Rare and Ridiculous) internet group, has a devout fan following on his YouTube channel, where he posts gaming and challenge videos. Meanwhile, Shaw oversees Special Projects at TalentX Entertainment, a subsidiary of ReKTGlobal. The four will join forces for Making a Living as a Content Creator: Much More Than Gaming — a panel that explores what sets livestream content monetization and strategy apart from pre-produced content.

Also on 3 November, Knocke will take part in an esports panel with Darin Kwilinski, Lead Content Producer at IGN Entertainment, and Amanda Solomon, CEO at Tyrus Talent Management. The panel, Esports or Esports? Does It Matter? will break down misconceptions about esports to separate the hype from actual substance.

Knocke, who has been competitively gaming since he was a kid, has years of involvement with high profile companies and events in the esports business – specifically Blizzard Entertainment, IGN, SiriusXM, Sony, South by Southwest, E3, PAX, and Ubisoft — giving him a broad perspective on the industry. Before joining IGN, Kwilinski, a lifelong gamer, was a senior editor for esports at ESPN, establishing its vision and voice. Solomon is an executive with a well of expertise in the strategic sales and partnerships realm, specializing in esports, gaming, and talent.

Now in its exciting fourth year, the forward-focused Infinity Festival is the place where Hollywood meets Silicon Valley. The multi-day annual event, held in Los Angeles, brings together Hollywood’s finest storytelling talent with the innovative creators of cutting-edge technology. For 2021, Infinity Festival will blend in-person and virtual events for a unique hybrid experience.

The in-person portion will be held in several adjacent Hollywood locations with most events happening at Goya Studios and the Dream Hotel; the online component will be presented through the easy-to-use FNvirtual event platform. The festival will continue its theme of “Story Enabled by Technology” with an entirely new slate of innovative programming, including industry-leading speakers, panel discussions, an exhibition hall, innovation labs, and a fine art gallery, each with an emerging-tech focus.

For tickets and additional information, visit infinityfestival.com.

Esports

TEAM SINGULARITY TO LAUNCH FAN TOKENS VIA BLOCKSPORT

Published

5 years ago

October 29, 2021

AYO News Staff

Danish esports organisation Team Singularity has extended its partnership with Swiss fan engagement platform Blocksport.

The multi-year agreement will see the launch of the $SNG Fan Token, giving holders access to unique opportunities to influence team-related decisions, enter the fast-track at SNG Academy, access exclusive content, train with professional esports athletes and more.

$SNG Fan Tokens are expected to launch in December 2021 with a supply of 3M, and will be priced at €1 each in the initial sale.

Commenting on the news, Atle S. Stehouwer, CEO and Founder of Team Singularity, said: “I am happy that our partnership with Blocksport is officially extended and we can finally announce the next step in our collaboration.”

Vladimir Liulka, CEO and Co-Founder of Blocksport, added: “We are happy to extend our exclusive partnership with Team Singularity and launch $SNG Fan Token for their fans. Singularity has a global and awesome fan community. The Token opens up a new world – an environment in which they have the chance to be very close to their favorites players and team”.

Team Singularity currently fields rosters in CS:GO, Fortnite, Rocket League, League of Legends, FIFA, Apex Legends, Rainbow Six, VALORANT, Free Fire, Teamfight Tactics, Hearthstone, Quake, League of Legends Wild Rift, Call of Duty, Call of Duty Mobile, Call of Duty Warzone, PUBG, PUBG Mobile, DOTA 2, Overwatch, Heroes of the Storm, Battalion 1944, H1Z1, Tekken7, Rogue Company, Brawlhalla, and Clash Royale. In addition to Blocksport, the organisation has commercial partnerships with PWC, Pluck GG, Raven, SCUF, KontrolFreek, Randers FC, Esportal, Challengermode, MYESPORTSCARD, and MYFUTCARD.

Staying with esports and Blocksport.io, just yesterday we reported the platform had partnered with Jordanian sim motorsports organisation Desert Fox Racing.