eSports
Lexus returns to the Esports Awards as Steve Aoki and Xavier Woods are named as award presenters
The luxury automaker goes all-in as it returns as a sponsor for the Esports Awards for the second year in a row.
The Oscars of esports will take place on the 21st of November and play host to some of the biggest names in esports and beyond.
The Esports Awards, the most prestigious night in the esports calendar, is pleased to announce luxury automaker, Lexus, is returning as a sponsor for the second year in a row marking its commitment to supporting the competitive gaming generation. This year Lexus will be the title sponsor and sponsor two awards including Esports Personality of the Year which will be presented by superstar DJ Steve Aoki, and Streamer of the Year which will be handed out by WWE legend Xavier Woods.
Lexus and Esports Awards will also work together on exclusive content pieces which will be shown during the main ceremony. This year’s Esports Awards will be a unique and immersive virtual event going beyond what has been seen in the space. The Esports Awards partnership with Lexus began back in 2019 as the brand made its first steps in the esports space with a glamorous edge. Lexus provided a selection of supercars from the likes of Black Panther and Men in Black International films as well as the GS F10th Anniversary Edition which took center stage at the main ceremony at Esports Stadium Arlington.
“As competitive gaming continues to grow in popularity, Lexus is proud to return to the Esports Awards and go all-in as title sponsor,” said Lisa Materazzo, vice president of Lexus marketing. “This year’s virtual Esports Awards will be an extraordinary opportunity to come together and create memorable moments while celebrating the industry’s best.”
“2020 has been a challenging year for a number of businesses and events in particular. While we would have loved to produce a physical event to showcase the industry’s talent and celebrate a milestone year, we now have the opportunity to create something completely unique in the digital space in which we thrive. Our team has embraced the unique challenge and working with Live CGI, created a truly ground breaking show in the Unreal Engine. It’s great to have Lexus supporting the space and recognising the potential and significance of a digital event that can reach millions globally. It also speaks volumes to double down on esports after a successful 2019 activation at the Esports Awards 2019, at the Esports Stadium, in Arlington, Texas. The awards celebrate excellence and to us, Lexus represents excellence in luxury cars making them the perfect fit as a title sponsor,” said Michael Ashford, Managing Director, Esports Awards.
2020 marks a landmark year for the Esports Awards as it celebrates its fifth year of recognising and celebrating esports excellence. Regarded as the Oscars of esports, the ceremony plays hosts to some of the biggest and most coveted brands, teams, organizations, and personalities that the industry has to offer. This year’s event will be a truly unique virtual showcase that will incorporate all the usual prestige while providing an evening of unforgettable memories. With a total of 37 awards available across both the Esports Awards Prelude and Main Event, viewers will have access to more content than ever before. A recording-breaking 5.1 million votes were counted for this year’s event.
This year the Esports Awards has joined forces with Esports Insider to create the Esports Assemble, four days of best in class B2B content which will provide unparalleled insights from the biggest brands and industry thought-leaders. Esports Assemble will take place from the 18th-21st November and play host to ESI Digital Winter, Esports Awards Expo before concluding with the Esports Awards ceremony. Tickets for Esports Assemble are available now at Esports Awards and Esports Insider and start at £75.
The 2020 Esports Awards officially kicks off on live on Twitch on Friday 20th November with the Esports Awards Prelude at 9:00pm GMT / 10:00pm CET / 13:00pm PT and will culminate with the glamorous main event on Saturday 21st November at 9:00pm GMT / 10:00pm CET / 13:00pm PT.
eSports
CAPCOM’S STREET FIGHTERTM 6 GOING TO COLLEGE THIS FALL
- CSMG will create and operate College Street FighterTM Tour in North America for the 2024-25 academic year
- College conference Street Fighter 6 champions will punch their ticket to the national Collegiate Esports Commissioner’s Cup (CECC) & May Madness in 2025
eSports
R&D rethink needed for sportsbooks to harness esports’ power
Esports betting is still grappling with a perception problem amongst operators. Despite the leaps and bounds in product development made by suppliers – particularly in the last two years – esports hasn’t shaken off the image built in the late 2010s.
Our good friend, Oliver Niner, Head of Sales at PandaScore, has been kind to share the below article with us.
There’s scepticism around esports betting’s value, how well it can actually perform and what’s needed to make it appeal to bettors. A big part of that comes down to perception, which shapes the research and development (R&D) choices made by each operator.
Self-fulfilling prophecy?
Operators who have put the research and development (R&D) resources into esports are seeing excellent growth, while others are still treating it like part of a long tail. The lack of a uniform approach to esports often translates into hesitancy to be bullish and invest in esports.
Whereas in the United States, post-PASPA sports betting has exploded and operators are seeking to capture as much territory and market share as possible because in most cases, you switch the lights on and the money comes in. It’s, of course, good business sense to take opportunities like this – you can apply the same templates used elsewhere on an incredibly lucrative market.
This kind of approach has been attempted for esports and hasn’t found the same success. Granted, the legislation for betting on esports has been somewhat slower than that of sports betting and iGaming.
However, bullish operators have acknowledged the fact that esports hasn’t found the same success in regulated states and asked what can be done differently, while for others, esports has been thrown into the too-hard basket or relegated to the bargain bucket.
For the latter, the fate of the esports vertical becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy – especially if an operator already using a budget esports product that throttles its very growth.
It takes two to tango
When esports is discussed in broader betting circles, you’ll often hear different versions of the same talking point: the problem with esports is no one is doing it well, it doesn’t innovate.
This argument is a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Esports is a driver of innovation, and it is sportsbook R&D that is holding it back.
Multiple suppliers on the market are investing significant resources into R&D, and bullish operators are leveraging these product innovations to acquire new customers and create engagements made for the internet age.
There are understandable reasons why sports betting doesn’t innovate. It’s largely because operators focus on acquisition, entering new territories and spending money on data rights. But the actual R&D on sportsbook products is left lacking, with ever-increasing cost-per-acquisition (CPA) numbers a clear symptom of this.
It means that if an operator does decide to use or acquire an esports specialist supplier but does little to cater its product and attempts to just lay the sports betting template over the top, of course performance will be throttled.
It’s like putting a Ferrari engine in a Prius – no offence to Toyota or Prius owners.
The same problem exists on the platform supplier front. Platforms are understandably focused on compliance and getting customers live, not necessarily improving models or their products.
Even the idea that if you just acquire an innovative company the problem is solved or you have found the solution, doesn’t hold water. In many cases, the company is acquired and plenty of noise is made about it, but there’s little organisational investment in R&D afterwards.
It’s not just in esports
These problems extend to customer acquisition and marketing for most emerging markets, not just esports. There’s a rush to use the same old playbook in newer sectors because it’s easy.
The fantasy vs. house sector in the US is already experiencing an acquisition arms race. As analyst Dustin Gouker points out, deposit match bonuses for new users on fantasy vs house products have jumped from $100 to as high as $500 in some places.
This is the same race that played out in sports betting and despite the costs, there’s little effort from most operators to try something different. There’s less work when you just put the same acquisition template on an emerging sector and call it a day. This seems to be an accepted practice in the industry, for better or for worse.
Esports betting success requires ongoing dialogue
Rather than attempting to wedge esports into hegemonic sportsbook approaches, sportsbooks need to take a completely unique approach.
The fact is the betting sector has barely scratched the surface – communities of esports fans are still dormant. Canadian operator Rivalry has built a successful, esports-first business by embracing the ever-changing internet culture that esports inhabits. French esports organisation Karmine Corp recently sold out a 30,000-person stadium for an event with no prize money up for grabs.
Innovative products developed on the supplier side like microbetting and betbuilders are only half of the equation.
Maximising esports revenues requires institutional investment, ongoing R&D and collaboration between suppliers and operators to create products and experiences. This includes having staff on the operator side that can drive and push the product further, and crucially, rethinking current sportsbook strategies and practices.
Building experiences for betting’s greatest emerging market – one that caters to your future core audience – takes investment, innovation and a willingness to experiment. If the industry wants to make the most of the Millennial and Gen Z audience that will become its primary customers, investment into R&D and close collaboration between suppliers and operators is needed. Many hands makes light work.
eSports
North Star Network Acquires Um Dois Esportes
North Star Network has acquired Um Dois Esportes, a sports coverage and analysis site created from the merger of Gazeta Do Povo and Tribuna do Paraná in 2020.
Julien Josset, co-founder of North Star Network, said: “Thank you to the team at GRPCOM for their faith in us to take the brand forward. Um Dois Esportes is an established and renowned site in Paraná State, and we’re excited about the challenge of developing this asset.
“We’re happy to maintain the collaboration with the existing editorial team, and look forward to working with them, bringing our unique NSN approach, to take UDE forward.”
NSN’s signing of Um Dois Esportes is the media house’s fourth acquisition of 2024, following the recent deals to purchase UK-based SportsMole and MrFixitsTips, as well as Chilean site AlAireLibre, which was announced in March.
The latest addition to the North Star media portfolio joins existing assets including Top Mercato, Afrik-Foot, and Vringe. The Paris-based company already oversees a significant Brazilian operation, delivering over 6 million sessions per month, from the likes of Trivela, Premier League Brasil and Lakers Brasil.
NSN will retain Curitiba-based journalists from the Um Dois Esportes legacy team to maintain the asset’s unique tone and popular coverage of the Paraná sports scene across site and social.
Rafael Mello, Director of GRPCOM, said: “We were surprised by the interest, and initially had no intention of selling Um Dois, but as the conversations evolved, we realised this was a serious group with good intentions. We were very happy to see our project being valued by a large international group and going global, demonstrating the quality of the content we produced.
“We’re also proud that North Star inherited our journalists, who are truly responsible for the success of the product we offer readers every day.”
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