Alban Dechelotte departs Riot, BLAST Premier partners with Coinbase | ESI Digest #36

Each week, ESI Digest breaks down the weekly happenings in the esports industry, making sense of things so you don’t have to. As well as being housed on YouTube, ESI Digest is available on all major podcast platforms and is also available in written form below.

On this week’s ESI Digest we cover, Alban Dechelotte’s Riot Games departure, Fnatic’s partnership with PCSpecialist, Coinbase’s deal with BLAST Premier, Animoca Brands investing in Veloce, plus PSG Esports’s Betway extension. 

This edition of the ESI Digest is in partnership with RocketReel, powered by Reely.ai. 

Alban Dechelotte announces Riot Games departure

Alban Dechelotte, Riot Games’ Head of Partnerships in EMEA (Europe, the Middle East and Africa), has announced his departure from the company.

Dechelotte is credited for overseeing a multitude of non-endemic brand agreements for the League of Legends European Championships (LEC). According to a statement posted on March 31st, Dechelotte left the publisher to join ‘another venture in esports’.

Fnatic extends partnership with PCSpecialist

Image credit: Fnatic

London-based esports organisation Fnatic has extended its existing partnership with PC manufacturer PCSpecialist.

Per the agreement, PCSpecialist will continue to provide Fnatic with custom gaming PCs for the organisation’s European-based teams, which includes its League of Legends, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Fortnite, and VALORANT rosters. The pair will additionally co-produce content featuring Fnatic’s professional players and creator talent.

BLAST Premier cashes in on Coinbase partnership

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) esports league BLAST Premier has announced cryptocurrency exchange platform Coinbase as its latest sponsor for the competition’s upcoming Spring Season.

According to the release, Coinbase will use the partnership to bring the world of esports closer to cryptocurrency through activations and player-led content.

Animoca Brands announces Veloce partnership and investment

Image credit: Veloce /

Racing esports organisation Veloce has announced a partnership with blockchain and NFT company Animoca Brands.

As a part of the agreement, Animoca Brands has invested into the organisation’s pre-IPO funding round using its branded motorsports utility token, REVV. The amount invested into Veloce has not been revealed.

PSG Esports extends Betway partnership

Photo credit: PSG.LGD

PSG Esports, the competitive gaming division of French football club Paris Saint-Germain, has extended and expanded its partnership with bookmaker Betway.

The agreement sees Betway named the official principal partner for PSG.LGD, a Dota 2 team co-operated by PSG Esports and Chinese organisation LGD Gaming. Moreover, the bookmaker will become PSG Esports’ official betting partner.

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ESI Digest, in partnership with RocketReel, powered by Reely.ai, is part of the ESI Network, a collection of podcasts encompassing the esports industry. For deep dives into the major areas of esports with subject matter experts, check out ESI Focus. For conversations with key personnel and major stakeholders in esports, ESI Insight is the series for you.