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.
This week on ESI Digest, we cover Nerd Street Gamers’ new facilities, Martin ‘Deficio’ Lynge joining Misfits Gaming, DreamHack Sports Games’ new CEO, and Germany’s ruling on esports athletes entering the country.
Nerd Street Gamers and Five Below open three new facilities
Philadelphia-based Nerd Street Gamers and specialty discount store chain Five Below opened dedicated esports facilities in three new locations.
Two of the three facilities located in Georgetown, Texas, and Philadelphia are connected to Five Below stores as part of a pre-existing deal.
Esports athletes able to enter Germany despite COVID-19 restrictions
Esports-Bundes Deutschland (ESBD) revealed that esports athletes are able to enter Germany despite current COVID-19 travel bans that are in place.
The ruling from the ministry clarified esports athletes eligible to apply for the Gerrman esports visa, athletes taking part in a tournament, and a supervising person for esports athletes under the age of 18 would be able to enter Germany.
Current rulings state entrance into Germany is allowed for countries in the European Union alongside additional countries such as the United Kingdom and Switzerland.
Martin ‘Deficio’ Lynge joins Misfits Gaming Europe as Director
North American organisation Misfits Gaming Group (MGG) announced that Martin ‘Deficio’ Lynge has joined the organisation.
Lynge joins Misfits Gaming Group, which houses Misfits Gaming, Florida Mayhem, and Florida Mutineers, after serving as the general manager of Origen. Prior to his tenure at the Astralis Group-owned brand, he was a commentator for the European League of Legends Championship Series (LCS).
DreamHack Sports Games appoints Roger Lodewick as CEO
DreamHack Sports Games, a business unit of MTG that focuses of sports simulation titles, appointed Roger Lodewick as CEO.
He served as the Co-CEO of DreamHack until the recent shuffle took place, bringing DreamHack and ESL together under ESL Gaming. Lodewick’s experience prior to DreamHack saw him serve as CEO of Zoomin, CCO of Comosa, and a Senior Media Rights Sales Executive at TEAM Marketing where he was responsible for the sale of the UEFA Champions League and Europe League media rights.
ESI Digest is part of 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.
