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 Dota 2’s The International being relocated; EXCEL, Endpoint, Fnatic, and more launching a UK esports committee; ESL Gaming’s Coinbase partnership; Tomas Lyckedal’s DreamHack departure; Nerd Street, NACE, CSL Esports and Mainline launching a collegiate league; plus Greg Kim joins CLG.
This edition of the ESI Digest is in partnership with Omnicoach.
EXCEL, Endpoint, Fnatic, and more officially launch UK esports committee
The UK Esports Team Committee (UKETC), a new independent committee formed by Endpoint, EXCEL ESPORTS, Fnatic, MNM Gaming, London Royal Ravens, London Spitfire and Vexed Gaming, has officially announced its launch today.
As well as being formed by a range of UK-based esports organisations, UKETC will also be supported by the British Esports Association.
Dota 2’s The International moved to Bucharest, Romania
Game publisher Valve has announced that Dota 2’s The International 10 (TI10) will be held in Bucharest, Romania in October.
The rescheduling comes after the Swedish Sports Federation voted not to accept esports into its federation, thus resulting in The International not being classified as an elite sporting event in the country. This meant that any visa applications would not be automatically approved for players outside of the EU.
ESL Gaming unveils partnership with Coinbase
Esports tournament organiser ESL Gaming has entered into a partnership with cryptocurrency platform Coinbase.
The deal will see the platform become the official crypto exchange partner for ‘key ESL events’ for the remainder of 2021 and 2022. The collaboration will see both entities work together on ‘unique integrations’ that will appear across social media, digital media, and a range of other content.
DreamHack’s Tomas Lyckedal departs company after 12 years
DreamHack’s Chief Strategy Officer Tomas Lyckedal has announced his departure from the company after 12 years of service.
Having joined DreamHack in 2009, Lyckedal oversaw the company’s expansion into new titles across multiple regions. Lyckedal joined DreamHack at the age of 23 initially as the company’s Head of Esports and Editor in Chief of DreamHack Magazine.
Nerd Street, NACE, CSL Esports and Mainline launch collegiate league
Collegiate esports tournament organiser CSL Esports has announced a multi-company partnership with the National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), esports infrastructure company Nerd Street and tournament software company Mainline.
The agreement will see the establishment of the NACE Starleague, a collegiate esports league claiming to become the largest in North America.
Former Evil Geniuses Director Greg Kim appointed Head of CLG
American holding company Madison Square Garden Sports Corp. (MSG Sports) has appointed Greg Kim, formerly of Evil Geniuses, as Head of CLG.
The appointment, which takes place effective immediately, sees Kim oversee all of CLG’s business operations. According to the release, this includes ‘maximising’ CLG’s business performance, launching growth initiatives, driving marketing partnerships, enhancing fan engagement, and ‘providing leadership in the evolving esports community’.
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ESI Digest, in partnership with Omnicoach, is part of the ESI Podcast 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.