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Intel will host Rocket League and Street Fighter V tournaments at next year’s Tokyo Olympics, Nike unveils its first esports team uniforms, and new Call of Duty League franchises are confirmed for London, Chicago, and Seattle.
Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days!
The International Olympic Committee and worldwide sponsor Intel have teamed up for the Intel World Open, an esports competition that will take place in the run-up to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
The Intel World Open will feature Rocket League and Street Fighter V competitions in partnership with Psyonix/Epic Games and Capcom, respectively, with $250K USD awarded for each tournament for a grand total of $500K. Online qualifiers will allow anyone from the participating countries to compete for a chance to be named to his or her national team, with a live qualifying event to be held in Katowice, Poland, in June to determine which teams will ultimately compete in Tokyo. ESL will handle production for the World Open.
Global sportswear brand Nike unveiled 16 individual team uniforms for its sponsored League of Legends Pro League (LPL), the game’s top competition in China. FunPlus Phoenix (FPX), Royal Never Give Up (RNG), and Invictus Gaming (IG) will attend the League of Legends World Championship 2019 to represent the LPL, and will wear their uniforms during the 2019 League of Legends World Championship. The remaining teams will wear theirs during the 2020 LPL Spring Season.
It should be noted that the uniforms do not feature any of the teams’ sponsors. For one of the LPL teams, Team WE, there is a blank space on the left side of the chest, where the team’s logo should be.
Activision Blizzard has announced the sale of new Call of Duty league franchises for London (ReKTGlobal), Chicago (NRG Esports), and Seattle (Aquilini Group and Enthusiast Gaming). Out of the three, ReKTGlobal is the only company to not already own a team in Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League (OWL), in which Cloud9 runs a London-based franchise. NRG Esports and Aquilini Group each run the San Francisco Shock and Vancouver Titans, respectively, in the OWL.
Team SoloMid (TSM) has revealed new details and shown first concept renders for its previously-announced 25,000-square-foot headquarters and training facility in Los Angeles, California.
The facility—created by architects NxT Studios—will be the first newly-constructed esports training center built in Los Angeles, according to a release (Gen.G’s new L.A. HQ takes up part of an existing building). Construction is set to begin next week in Playa Vista, and The Los Angeles Times pegs a planned February 2020 opening at an estimated cost of $13M.
Sponsorships & Partnerships Round-Up
7Sports has announced a strategic partnership with League of Legends publisher Riot Games and esports agency Freaks 4U Gaming, centered on a new competition in the German, Austrian, and Swiss (DACH) market. A wholly owned brand of ProSiebenSat.1 Group, 7Sports will provide regular coverage of the competition on the company’s TV channels and digital platforms.
Gen.G Esports announced a “Player Wellness Campaign” in partnership with health club chain LA Fitness and guided meditation app Simple Habit. LA Fitness will share fitness tips targeted at gamers, while Simple Habit will feature lessons targeted towards players and streamers. Gen.G will also include financial responsibility content within the campaign.
The NFL’s Oakland Raiders are moving to Las Vegas for the 2020 season, and they’ll do so with streaming platform Twitch as a founding partner of the newly-constructed Allegiant Stadium. The partnership—which makes Twitch the official streaming platform of the Raiders and Allegiant Stadium—will encompass onsite activations including a Twitch-branded lounge with interactive elements, as well as plans to host events at the enclosed, 65,000-seat stadium.
