Multi-Esports Organization WIN Partners With Southern California Marketing Agency
International esports organization WIN has unveiled a new partnership with Southern California marketing agency HypeLife Brands. This partnership will allow corporate brands to forge valuable relationships within professional esports and should help bridge the gap between brands and professional esports organizations.
HypeLife Brands has expertise in crafting effective funnels between new brands and millennial consumers. Meanwhile, WIN provides three different esports services through its digital platform. They include esports media platform Win.gg, with news, schedules, and scores.
The Winner’s League is WIN’s competitive esports arm, a full-blown competition service powered by FACEIT. Finally, Winners.net, the sports betting side of the organization, is an online sportsbook covering esports betting markets in the United States and abroad.
Asia
Fnatic’s Selfmade Weighs In On Suning vs TOP Esports LoL Worlds 2020 Semi-Final
This Sunday, Suning and TOP Esports will be facing off in an Asia-dominated League of Legends Worlds 2020 semi-final match, with the thrilling series expected to draw a massive streaming audience. This has prompted many in the industry to weigh in with their thoughts on the matchup.
Selfmade, jungler for European pro esports team Fnatic, recently restarted streaming on YouTube and, in his latest video, he discussed Worlds 2020 with Ranger, specifically touching upon the Suning vs TOP match.
According to the Polish player, Suning will easily dominate TOP as they are the strongest team in the competition according to Selfmade, who played them both in scrims and on-stage.
Many Asian betting sites seem to agree with this estimation, with Suning currently the bookie’s favorite to move on to the finals.
Africa
Africa E-sports Championship 2020 Announces Registration Deadline Extension
The Africa Esports Championship’s (AEC) official Twitter account announced an extension to their registration deadline which applies both to player signups and project submissions. Originally, registrations were open until October 21, but players and game developers now have until Friday 30th October to sign up or submit their projects.
The AEC brings together the best talent in the region in FIFA 21, League of Legends, Tekken 7, and PlayerUnknowns’ Battlegrounds (PUBG) Mobile . In addition, independent African game developers can submit their own projects and compete for cash prizes.
This is the second edition of the Africa Esports Championship. The tournament and game showcase serve as a platform for the development of esports in the region.
Europe
Askott Games Bringing Virtual Esports To European Bookmakers
Askott Entertainment has negotiated a deal that will place their unique RNG games in over 120 European operators. The arrangement allows Askott to market B2B and B2C gambling solutions in new markets.
The deal comes in the wake of Askott’s merger with FansUnite in June. After the merger, Askott have been aggressively pursuing new markets for its growing product portfolio which includes FansUnite’s exclusive Chameleon Gaming Platform, a turn-key B2B gaming product.
The company is also focused on developing new game types and formats that draw in millennial audiences. Its most interesting product to date is a selection of esports RNG games. Virtual esports is a relatively new and untapped market with considerable growth potential.
South America
Rainbow Six LATAM Regional Majors Schedule Revealed
Rainbow Six Esports LATAM, the official Latin American RB6 esports organization, has confirmed the schedule for this year’s Regional Majors. The Rainbow Six LATAM Major will take place between October 30 – November 1.
It will be the first of the three Rainbow Six Regional Majors that will be played across November. The European Major will take place between November 6-8, while the North American Major is slated for November 13-15.
The LATAM Major is the playoff phase of the Rainbow Six LATAM league which brings together Mexican, Brazilian, and South American teams. After a group stage, the two best teams move on to the semifinals. They will represent the region in the international Six Invitational.
Oceania
DreamHack SC2 Masters 2020 Winter Oceania Wraps Up Second Matchday
The DreamHack StarCraft 2 Masters 2020 Winter edition has come to Oceania. This Major-tier tournament started on Wednesday October 21st and will conclude on Sunday October 25th. After the second matchday, two playoff matches are already set.
EnDerr dominated Group A, followed by TeebuL, while Seither and RazerBlade topped Group B. Today, EnDerr faceRazerBlader in the semis, with Seither playing TeebuL on the other side of the draw. The victors will move onto the Winners’ Final, and then to the Grand Finals.
Meanwhile, remaining teams will compete for a spot in the Loser’s bracket tomorrow. The tournament has a modest $12,000 prize pool, with $3,500 earmarked for the eventual champions.
]]>Team Vitality ($2.49) have made a couple of changes to their roster in preparation for Season 11 and are now set to showcase their strength against one of the strongest teams in the league.
Vitality finished S10 at a disappointing fifth place and shortly after benched Jordan “Quaal” Leroy and later Martin “Spark” Eberhard. Vitality then signed Lucas “Hungry” Reich from PENTA and Daniel “Goga” Mazorra Romero from G2 Esports as their replacements.
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Goga is a highly talented player and a former world champion with vast experience under his belt. While he had a down season with G2 last year, Goga is still regarded as one of the best players in the league and should add some much-needed quality to Vitality.
Hungry might not be as experienced as Goga, but he still brings enough raw talent and flexibility to the team to boost their chances of making something happen this season. While Hungry suffered relegation with PENTA last season, he was the only player on the German team to have a positive KDA.
As we see it, Goga and Hungry are exactly what Vitality needed. But while we believe both arrivals will have a positive impact on the team, it’s tough to say whether it will be enough for Vitality to have a strong start of the season.
Vitality’s first real test will come this Monday when they lock horns with Team Empire ($1.45), who are one of the most feared teams in the Rainbow Six Siege esports scene.
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Empire boast five players who are all capable of performing to the highest level no matter the circumstances or the role they play, which is why we expect great things from them this season.
While they only finished in fourth place last season, Empire won the Raleigh Major in dominant fashion. They lost only one round en route to the title, and even that came in their 3-1 win over G2 in the grand finals.
Empire had performed well on the domestic stage in the lead-up to their win in Raleigh, but they fell off in the second half of the season. They put up several iffy displays in the run home, notably their stalemates against PENTA and GiFu in week eight and 10 respectively.
What exactly caused Empire to underperform is still a mystery, but we can speculate. Empire were undefeated before the Major, so it could be that other teams put all their time and energy into forging a plan to derail them.
SEE ALSO: ESPORTS LEAGUES & TOURNAMENTS
Empire’s biggest weapon last season was their unique playstyle, which left many teams baffled as they were unable to counter it, but with time, even Empire got figured out and the result of that is clearly seen.
The other thing which might have contributed to Empire’s weaker performances after Raleigh is that they locked up a spot at the Six Invitational, which is a much more prestigious event than the Pro League Finals, so it is understandable Empire had no motivation to keep on pushing for a top finish in the league.
With that in mind, we can’t criticise Empire too much for their poor results towards the end of the last season. There is no reason to believe they will be anything less than one of the strongest teams in S11.
Empire’s prime goal at the start of this season will be to get off to a flying start in order to get their wheels spinning prior to the Invitational. Even though Vitality look stronger than last season, they won’t have an easy time against Empire.
Prediction: Team Empire to win – $1.45 at GG Bet
]]>Here is our G2 Esports v BDS Esports betting predictions with odds courtesy of GG Bet.
G2 Esports vs BDS Esports predictions
Despite their best efforts, G2 Esports ($1.94) finished last season third in Europe, just barely missing out on securing a ticket for the season finals, which was a rather poor result for the most dominant franchise in the history of R6S.
MORE: TOP ESPORTS BETTING SITES
G2 are one of the teams that enter each season with huge expectations on their shoulders, simply due to their rich and successful history in the R6S scene. That being said, G2 are not as strong as they once were and their recent performances fail to inspire much hope they will be able to recapture their glory days anytime soon.
Looking back to 2019, G2 reached their peak when they won the Rainbow Six Invitational in February. Since then, however, G2 were on a steady decline, which culminated in a fifth-eighth place finish at OGA PIT S3 and fifth-sixth place finish at 2020 Six Invitational – European Qualifiers.
Their disastrous performance in both OGA PIT and EU qualifiers means G2’s only chance to participate at Six Invitational rests solely on being invited by the organisers and while there are arguments to be made the reigning champions should receive the invite, their recent results have not made the decision easy.
What exactly caused G2’s fall from grace is anyone’s guess, but we believe it’s fair to say that the departure of Daniel “Goga” Mazorra Romero to Team Vitality in November played a role in it. As Goga’s replacement, G2 signed former NaVi member Pascal “Cryn” Alouane, who is a solid player, but arguably a downgrade from Goga.
Based on their most recent results, it’s hard to see G2 being able to contest top spots in the league as it seems like their era of dominance is well behind them.
BDS Esports ($1.74) have earned themselves a ticket to the top-tier of R6S competition by defeating GiFu eSports in the relegation battle and are now set to return to their former glory.
Leading BDS is no other than Stéphane “Shaiiko” Lebleu who will seek revenge following his highly controversial ban in 2017 when he was accused of cheating which earned him a two-year-long break from the scene.
While we will never get a definitive answer as of whether Shaiiko was really cheating or was he simply too good as claimed by many professional players, one thing is for certain – he is back and he is better than ever.
Shortly after returning to the scene, Shaiiko quickly reminded us all why he is regarded as the best player that ever appeared in the R6S scene and despite the fact he was out of the competition for two years, he has shown there are only a few players in the world, who can match him in raw skill he brings to the table.
Suffice to say, Shaiiko will be the key player for BDS throughout the season and if his performance at European Six Invitational 2020 is anything to go by, BDS are set to leave a mark in S11. There are, however, some concerns whether BDS will be able to adapt to the Pro League quickly enough and while they have an experienced roster, which should make the process much faster, BDS still will need some time to get their wheels spinning.
As far as their clash with G2 is concerned, we firmly believe BDS should not be seen as a favourite. BDS while a very solid team have been unable to consistently find success over G2, which is why it’s reasonable to believe they won’t be able to impress here either.
Another thing worth considering is that BDS will look to avoid using their best strategies for the first part of the season, just so they don’t show too much ahead of the Invitational.
With that in mind, we see G2 vs BDS as a 50/50 match, which from a betting perspective means we have to side with the underdogs.
G2 Esports v BDS Esports prediction: G2 Esports to win, paying 1.94 with GG Bet.
]]>In this betting preview, we will cover the first fixture of the day featuring Natus Vincere and forZe and give our predictions alongside betting odds from ESB’s top-rated betting sites.
ForZe vs Natus Vincere tips
Natus Vincere ($1.53) are entering Season 11 as the reigning champions and it’s hard not to be optimistic when talking about what can this European roster achieve this season.
NaVi went from zero to hero last season when they took the R6S scene by storm and won the Pro League Grand Finals. If their performance in 2019 is anything to go by, they will be a force to be reckoned with, however with a new season come changes and new challenges, which will put Luke “Kendrew” Kendrew and his crew to a tough test.
Since NaVi acquired MnM Gaming roster in June, they have made no changes to their team with the sole exception being the departure of their coach Ellis “GiG” Hindle, who got replaced by team’s former analyst Cyril “jahk” Renoud.
Considering they have not made any massive changes, NaVi look to be in a decent position to finish this season strong and we can be sure their goal is nothing less than to finish on top of the pile once more. That being said, don’t expect their road to the summit of R6S to be as smooth as last season, simply because Europe as a region looks to be stronger than ever.
The player to watch in NaVi is no other than Ben “CTZN” McMillan, who has shown in S10 finals that when he’s on top of his game he is practically unstoppable, which is exactly what NaVi will expect to see from him in order to repeat their success in 2020.
CTZN finished the grand finals with 82 kills and +27 KDS, which only goes to show how dominant this 20-year-old prodigy can be, however, just like any player, even he has his flaws. While CTZN can be a force to be reckoned with, he is known for having “slow starts” and until he finds his rhythm, his performance is average at best. That is also our main concern here, considering NaVi’s clash with forZe will be a best-of-one (Bo1) fixture, where CTZN will have no time to heat up.
ForZe ($2.28) earned their spot in the Pro League by taking down PENTA (2-0) in the Relegation and are now set to make waves at the top tier of R6S esports scene.
The all-Russian team seems to have plenty of potential, yet they will have to make peace with the fact they will be playing in the shadow of their compatriots – Empire, who are the number one Russian team in R6S.
Last season forZe finished second overall in Challenger League, second in Russian League Group Stage and second in the Russian League Finals, which leads us to believe the team somehow finds a way to come up short every time. That, however, does not necessarily mean they are a bad team and considering they finished third-fourth at Raleigh Major in August, it goes to show they can compete with the best.
As we see it, forZe have a very bright future ahead, however, reaching for a top spot might be slightly out of reach for them, at least as far as this season is concerned and they are surely well aware of that. That, however means that there are no high expectations put on the team and with the removal of relegations in S11, forZe can at least play without any pressure, which is a massive plus in our eyes.
The difference in quality between NaVi and forZe is massive and we believe that will show this Monday. While there is always a room for an upset win in a Bo1 match, we would not feel comfortable betting against NaVi, especially considering how dominant they were last season.
Navi vs Forze Prediction: NaVi to win, paying 1.53 with GG Bet.
All national, international, amateur and professional Siege tournaments from 2018 to 2020 will follow a revamped structure, starting with the R6 Pro League, which will be split into two seasons running for six months each from June to November 2018 and December 2018 to May 2019.
Each season of Rainbow Six Pro League will gather the eight greatest teams for a larger-scale finals event, two from each region – Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and North America – who will battle it out for a share of the US$275,000 prize-pool.
This new six-month long season format comes after Pro League Season 7, which will act as a transition period and will have its finals take place in North America in mid-May.
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Challenger League will also change to a two-season per year event, starting in September and March and running for three months each. It will follow the transitional format of the upcoming Rainbow Six Pro League Season 7.
Ubisoft have also committed two Majors every year. The Six Invitational will continue to be held in February, but the new addition, the ‘Six Major’, will take place in Paris this August.
The Six Invitational and Six Major will offer up US $500,000 and $350,000 in prize money, respectively, and will host the top 16 international Rainbow Six Siege teams.
Finally, Rainbow Six Siege will have Weekly Online Tournaments, including Go4s, every Sunday on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, with community cups and local ladders organised throughout the year in different regions, such as the UK ESL Premiership, with further details and a calendar schedule promised to be released soon.
The massive shake-up from Ubisoft is intended to put the Rainbow Six esports scene in the limelight, and we can’t say we’re unhappy given how far Rainbow Six Siege has come since its original bare-bones release in 2015.
We can only hope the bigger investments can help it stand out from the crowd and we can finally start seeing some regular betting markets.
While we wait for the renewed esports launch, Year 2 of the Rainbow Six Pro League is ongoing, with teams from all regions facing off in the second $500,000 Six Invitational next month, running February 13 – 18.
If you want to learn more about the upcoming Rainbow Six Pro League tournament changes, you can watch the official announcement video embedded below.