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08/11/22: EA & NFL go long on MCS; CDL steals gains; Multiversus’ big week


Medias First Morning Read
Thursday August 11, 2022

Good morning! It’s Thursday and this is your early morning Esports brief.
Electronic Arts and the NFL secured a new multi-year partnership renewal for the EA SPORTS Madden NFL Championship Series, following the series’ best season in history. This year’s slate will wrap up with the Ultimate Madden NFL 23 Bowl during the week of Super Bowl LVII, as $1.7 million in total prize money is up for grabs throughout the season. The NFL and EA will “partner on innovative new experiences to provide fans around the world with more ways to connect with the excitement of NFL football” with Campbell’s Chunky Soup on board as an MCS partner, receiving virtual naming rights to the uniquely created Campbell’s Chunky Stadium.

“Madden NFL esports continues to deepen the love of the game with fans, players, and viewers. It’s teaching viewers how to improve at the game, while deepening engagement with Madden’s most loyal fanbase,” said Brent Koning, VP of EA Esports. “Since the MCS started five years ago, it has helped showcase the game by elevating the greatest players in the world, while giving every single Madden NFL player the chance to go from couch to champion. We can’t wait to see how the MCS 23 season unfolds.”

COMPETITION

The culmination of the Call of Duty League season last weekend saw the Los Angeles Thieves’ journey to CDL champion average 104,621 viewers for the playoffs, peaking at 275,244 with over 3.2 million hours. According to Esports Charts, peak viewership swelled 42% over last year’s final, with average viewership up 17%.

Meanwhile, EVO 2022 made its big return after two years away from live play, with viewership peaking around 150K over the weekend, dipping 39% from 2019. In addition, the event announced that EVO Japan will return in Tokyo from March 31-April 2 of next year. Tournaments will include Guilty Gear -Strive-, The King of Fighters XV, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, and TEKKEN 7.

The ESL National Championship is getting a facelift, receiving a new state-of-the-art visual identity as ESL Gaming, a part of ESL FACEIT Group. According to the announcement, new graphic elements allow the ENC to be more coherent with the ESL Gaming brand, leaving enough space for each region to adjust the design to their local symbols.”

Ubisoft announced that the upcoming Six Berlin Major will begin on Aug. 15, as the top 16 teams across Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, and North America will battle it out for the title, prize money, and points in the Global Standings to qualify for the Six Invitational 2023. Play will be in front of a live audience at the Theater am Potsdamer Platz

The Saudi Esports Federation revealed plans to host a Saudi-only Tekken tournament that will offer competitors a million-dollar prize pool, the largest in the title’s history. The slate will take place Aug. 14-15.

This weekend’s Fortnite FNCS Chapter 3 Season 3 Finals sees $2 million on the line. Fans can watch across Twitch, YouTube, and in-game at Legends Landing, among other outlets.

The $3 million 2022 PUBG Mobile World Invitational launches today out of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as 18 teams compete for a share of a $2 million prize pool. In addition, the five top-ranked teams from the Main Tournament will become part of the 12-team field for the Afterparty Showdown, which runs from Aug. 18-20 and includes a $1 million prize pool.

EBS 2022

The legendary Congress of Team CEOs returns this year at EBS (Nov. 1-3), with this year’s esteemed crew set to include: Lee Trink, CEO of FaZe Clan; Arnold Hur, CEO of Gen.G; Joe Marsh, CEO of T1 Entertainment & Sports; Roberta Coelho, CEO of MIBR; Jason Lake, CEO of Complexity Gaming; and Adam Rymer, CEO of OpTic Gaming. Always one of our audience favorites, do NOT miss this year’s show!

Don’t Wait! The Tempest Awards bring together the entire esports ecosystem to celebrate cutting-edge innovation in the competitive gaming industry. Open to individuals and teams worldwide, find out more and enter by August 12th to save! ENTER NOW. Last calls for judges! Contact Carley ([email protected]) if interested.

STREAMHATCHET
More and more brands are advertising in esports and partnering with organizations as they expand their reach in the live streaming industry. Most esports teams have a combination of both professional esports players as well as content creators. This combination allows for teams to reach many different audience types, engaging core gamers watching competitive esports as well as the more casual viewer who prefers entertainment and personalities over competitive gaming.

Depending on a brand’s desired audience reach, working with certain organizations might be more beneficial than others. For example, brands with high-end headsets, keyboards, and other gaming accessory offerings might want to reach more of a core gaming audience.

· Brands with a less endemic product trying to reach viewers with broader interests might benefit more from partnering with an organization that has more content creation hours watched.
· For the month of July, Luminosity was the top esports organization with 22.8 million hours watched. 99% of those hours came from content creators, with xQc as their top streamer with 82% of the total watchtime, or 18 million hours.
· TSM, a US-based esports organization, had the second-highest viewership last month. Their most-watched game was Apex Legends in July with over 4.4 million hours watched on Twitch, a majority of which came from their performance in the ALGS Championship.

Read more on Stream Hatchet’s blog.

SPONSORSHIP & ACTIVATION

Nike inked an endorsement deal with League of Legends staple Rekkles as the brand’s latest brand ambassador. The arrangement sees a new featured Rekkles section in the Nike app, along with customized apparel recommendations as well as workout plans for esports fans.

Philips announced a partnership with the esports broadcaster Scott Cole. “Esports athletes have traditionally stayed behind the scenes, but as gaming’s popularity skyrockets, we’re seeing personalities like Scott Cole take center stage,” said Rafael Viestel da Silva, Philips Grooming and Beauty Marketing Director. “Scott is one of the most visible faces and influential voices in Esports. Philips Norelco is here to encourage his many fans and followers to show up looking and feeling their best, so they can keep their focus on the competition.”

2022 Model D + It List Awards

The biggest and best yet!

With more categories than ever before, the 2022 Model D + It List Awards is shaping up to be one of Cynopsis Media’s best events of the year, attracting top tier innovators and creators of the digital media world. Some new categories we are proud to introduce include “Best New Measurement Tool” and “Best VR Innovation.” Why wait — entries now open!

Enter Today

IT’S ALIVE: YouGov Living Data Insights
American esports fans favourite podcast genres

Four-fifths of US esports fans (82%) listen to podcasts compared to only half of all Americans (50%). So what are the genres that most interest them?

TEAMS

FlyQuest revealed the launch of their Summer 2022 Collection with products, from swimwear to dog bandanas, made from eco-friendly and recycled materials. Under the direction of Lead Designer, Phien Le, the beach and palm tree designs “are a nod to this season of TreeQuest, FQ’s premier Go-Green initiative, and includes fashion choices for our entire fanbase, showcasing FlyQuest’s focus on inclusivity and community driven activations

XSET and co-owner, Erin Ashley Simon announced the expansion of the Erin Ashley Simon Esports Internship Fund at the University of Kentucky, designed for students interested in a career in gaming and esports. The fund has grown to $5,000 with XSET and Simon focused on developing the fund in the coming years by attracting support from other companies and influencers.

Belong Gaming Arenas sealed a partnership with OpTic Gaming to host OpTic Day 2022, a “celebration of the organization’s legions of fans across the world” on Aug. 14. Then, Belong Gaming Arenas will transform its six U.S. locations into OpTic-branded clubhouses and host an array of activities for fans, including gaming tournaments, meet-and-greets with OpTic Gaming talent, and an exclusive merchandise drop developed in collaboration between the two brands.

PLATFORMS/METAVERSE

Epic Games celebrates the Rocket League World Championship through Fortnite, as the publisher launches Rocket League Live Worlds Island’ within the game. The interactive experience will see gameplay on the island affected depending on which RLCS team wins. In-game rewards are also available in both titles. The tournament will conclude this weekend, with $2 million on the line.

TITLES

Fresh off of its first appearance at EVO, Multiversus has landed over 10 million players, according to tracker.gg. The publisher announced that it would deliver the official Season 1 announcement date, which will include new characters such as Morty, soon.

Nintendo announced that Splatoon 3 will have an official tournament before its release date. The event, Enter the Splatlands Invitational 2022, will take place at PAX West in Seattle next month, featuring a slate of top Splatoon players.

Street Fighter 6 hit up EVO 2022 with multiple announcements, including reveals for new characters – Kimberly and Juri – as well as additional real-time commentators. Fighting game commentators Tasty Steve and James Chen will handle mic duties as additional real-time commentary talent.

Super League Gaming entered into a partnership with game developer Small World Games. As part of the multi-pronged deal, Anime Battlegrounds X, one of the highest rated games on Roblox with a 97% rating, is now a Super League title. This marks the company’s first as an original game publisher on the biggest metaverse gaming platform in the world.

ROSTER MOVES

Enthusiast Gaming Holdings updated its senior management team and Board of Directors, announcing that CEO Adrian Montgomery would remain in his role until a successor is named, at which point he will transition to Chair of the Board of Directors. In addition, Bill Karamouzis was appointed as President of Enthusiast Gaming and will oversee the day-to-day operations of the business while Bill Drolet was named Chief Revenue Officer.

Esports/digital talent management agency Icon announced that Alec Strasmore has joined the organization as head of talent.

READYUP WHAT TO WATCH

2022 THAT BIG TV CONFERENCE

Nexstar Digital takes a look at AI

BIG TV is proud to announce Nexstar Digital as one of the sponsors at this year’s conference, with Wil Danielson, Senior Vice President, Digital Sales of Nexstar joining the conference as a speaker for “AI-Powered Audience Solutions,” which will dive into how AI is transforming advertising. Visit our site to learn more and see why you should attend this event.

Learn more now

TRIVIA
What animal did you ride in the classic 80s video game Joust? (Email [email protected] with your answer and be sure to include your name, company and city).

Answer to Our Last Sports Trivia Question
Name just one of Daenerys’ dragons on Game of Thrones. Answer: Drogon, Rhaegal & Viserion. Kudos: Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; David Westberg-SAG•AFTRA Federal Credit Union/Burbank

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