{"id":77170,"date":"2021-12-27T10:00:26","date_gmt":"2021-12-27T10:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/?p=77170"},"modified":"2025-01-30T19:03:25","modified_gmt":"2025-01-30T19:03:25","slug":"heat-map-esports-business-trends-2021","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/12\/heat-map-esports-business-trends-2021","title":{"rendered":"Heat Map: Hottest esports business trends of 2021"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_77172\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-77172\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-77172 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Heatmap_v2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Heatmap_v2.png 1200w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Heatmap_v2-300x150.png 300w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Heatmap_v2-1024x512.png 1024w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Heatmap_v2-768x384.png 768w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Heatmap_v2-696x348.png 696w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Heatmap_v2-1068x534.png 1068w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/Heatmap_v2-840x420.png 840w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-77172\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image credit: ESI<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\">We all thought we\u2019d get to physical events this year. The idea, the hope, helped us hold it together after the break-the-mold-type-year that was 2020. And while the esports industry accepted the novel challenge of approaching last year\u2019s difficulties one-handed \u2014 pivoting to online tournaments and events \u2014 the sector was ready to go back to what it was built for in 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Esports did manage to sneak a few physical events past the keeper. Esports Insider rekindled its flagship <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/11\/key-takeaways-esi-london\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ESI London<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> event again after two years on ice. The <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.halowaypoint.com\/news\/hcs-raleigh-2021\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Halo Championship Series Kickoff Major Raleigh 2021<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> debuted last week with hundreds in attendance. But, globally December has brought with it jingle bells, lockdowns, and a new-found global awareness of the 15th letter of the Greek alphabet: omicron.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To warm up the winter lockdown blues, we\u2019re introducing <\/span><b>Heat Map<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, a monthly feature serving up big-picture perspectives on the latest industry trends as observed by ESI, the go-to for esports business. Sign up for the accompanying <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/newsletters\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">newsletter<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and you\u2019ll never be caught in the cold.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"desports_esports_blockchain_and_beyond\">Desports \u2014 Esports, blockchain, and beyond<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\">There\u2019s always a new new that drops every quarter, promising to challenge the big dogs. That upcomer story, so popular with the youth, is reborn again and again. Less David vs Goliath, more \u201cStarted From The Bottom.\u201d This upcomer narrative is endemic in esports- and crypto-communities alike, but for every moon shot, there\u2019s a thousand duds. New crypto-coins, esports rosters, NFT projects, and tournament series are announced every day. The spaces seem to share a unique velocity to their fickleness, and in 2021 the two grew closer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2021, venture capital firms poured $30 billion into the crypto industry, according to private & public market data company Pitchbook, cited in a recent report by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2021-12-19\/ftx-moonpay-axie-lead-crypto-firms-attracting-record-30-billion-in-2021?sref=qpwbmgSU&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=socialflow-organic&utm_content=crypto\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bloomberg<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. This might inform this year\u2019s outright explosion of crypto partnerships in esports. ESI reported on over 25 esports cryptocurrency partnerships since January. Head over to <a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/12\/angels-and-unicorns-top-esports-investments-2021\/\">ESI Staff Writer Ivan \u0160imi\u0107\u2019s 2021 esports-focused investment review, Angels & Unicorns<\/a>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\">The industry\u2019s current, and perhaps legacy, model relies on brand partnerships, and the marketing and advertising of crypto is still very tightly regulated across markets. Crypto companies seemingly have money to burn and a will to invest wherever it can spread its message (not dissimilar to the gambling sector, honestly). Esports has a highly-engaged, very online fan base \u2013 a sizable portion of which is already equipped with a crypto wallet. And everyone loves memes.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_70926\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-70926\" style=\"width: 1915px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-70926\" src=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/BIG-x-Coinbase.png\" alt=\"BIG CSGO Roster\" width=\"1915\" height=\"1076\" srcset=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/BIG-x-Coinbase.png 1915w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/BIG-x-Coinbase-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/BIG-x-Coinbase-1024x575.png 1024w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/BIG-x-Coinbase-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/BIG-x-Coinbase-1536x863.png 1536w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/BIG-x-Coinbase-696x391.png 696w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/BIG-x-Coinbase-1068x600.png 1068w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/BIG-x-Coinbase-747x420.png 747w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1915px) 100vw, 1915px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-70926\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image credit: BIG \/ Coinbase.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The biggest player in esports this year was Coinbase \u2014 which received 68 separate investments in 2021, according to its official <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.coinbase.com\/coinbase-ventures-2021-q3-activity-and-takeaways-950e5ff70370\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Q3 blog<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and boasts a portfolio of over 200+ companies and projects. The crypto juggernaut partnered with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/11\/team-liquid-coinbase\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Team Liquid<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/08\/big-partners-with-coinbase\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BIG Esports<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/07\/esl-gaming-coinbase-partnership\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ESL Gaming<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/04\/evil-geniuses-coinbase\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Evil Geniuses<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/04\/blast-premier-cashes-in-on-coinbase-partnership\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BLAST Premier<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/04\/coinbase-cs-money-nubia-technology-blast-rising-partnership\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BLAST Rising<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> this year.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bybit took an org-focused approach, inking with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/08\/astralis-agrees-three-year-deal-with-cryptocurrency-platform-bybit\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Astralis and Alliance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/08\/navi-bybit-partnership\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NAVI<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/08\/vitus-pro-secures-bybit-agreement\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Virtus.pro<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Additionally, FTX infamously partnered with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/06\/tsm-secures-210m-naming-rights-deal-with-ftx\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TSM<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and later with the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/08\/ftx-lcs-crypto\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LCS<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, raising a few eyebrows given <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/dotesports.com\/news\/tsm-barred-from-using-new-ftx-sponsor-in-name-jerseys-on-league-of-legends-valorant-broadcasts\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Riot\u2019s barring of TSM\u2019s name change<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on its esports broadcasts. Crypto.com partnered with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/09\/fnatic-partnership-with-crypto-com\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Fnatic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/11\/twitch-rivals-crypto-com-partnership\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Twitch Rivals<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and both Crypto.com and FTX paid eye-watering sums to affix their names to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coindesk.com\/business\/2021\/11\/17\/ftx-cryptocom-and-the-stadium-curse\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">NBA stadiums<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Outside of big esports names, we received dozens of pitches in our inbox of shiny new orgs claiming to be built on the blockchain or operate exclusively with cryptocurrency. Do not get me started on the \u2018metaverse\u2019 pitches. I imagine next year, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Vaporware\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vapourware<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (not to be confused with vaporwave) will return to the modern lexicon, or a new TikTok-optimised term will emerge, I digress.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are still quite a few notable orgs and TOs without a crypto link. This hesitancy could come from existing partnerships with financial institutions\/payment providers or it could be that companies aren\u2019t yet sold on jumping on the rocket. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/04\/100-thieves-collaborates-with-cash-app-to-launch-cash-card\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">100T continued its Cash App<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> activation (which features Bitcoin integration), <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/06\/dignitas-announces-lcs-naming-rights-deal-with-qntmpay\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dignitas signed with QNTMPAY<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/05\/loud-esports-itau-bank\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LOUD linked with Itau Bank<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and LoL Esports staple <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/08\/mastercard-named-lec-playoffs-partner-for-2021-and-2022\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mastercard doubled down on the LEC<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_63657\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-63657\" style=\"width: 1682px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-63657 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100-Thieves-Cash-App-Card1.png\" alt=\"100T \/ CashApp card\" width=\"1682\" height=\"1200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100-Thieves-Cash-App-Card1.png 1682w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100-Thieves-Cash-App-Card1-300x214.png 300w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100-Thieves-Cash-App-Card1-1024x731.png 1024w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100-Thieves-Cash-App-Card1-768x548.png 768w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100-Thieves-Cash-App-Card1-1536x1096.png 1536w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100-Thieves-Cash-App-Card1-100x70.png 100w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100-Thieves-Cash-App-Card1-696x497.png 696w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100-Thieves-Cash-App-Card1-1068x762.png 1068w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/100-Thieves-Cash-App-Card1-589x420.png 589w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1682px) 100vw, 1682px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-63657\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image credit: 100T \/ CashApp<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400; font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\">The esports crowd was hella keen to engage with their fans and, well, monetise them, with this year\u2019s NFT craze. We saw fan tokens, one-off drops, and plenty of platform partnerships. I, personally, am glad we didn\u2019t see an esports generative art avatar project jumping-on-the-wagon. There were notable esports figures who drank the kool-aid and shelled out the $ETH for twitter clout, but to be fair, there\u2019s much to be said about twitter clout\u2019s role in the industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There were at least 15 NFT-focused partnerships as reported by ESI this year. Notable collaborations include: <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/12\/faze-clan-moonpay-crypto\/\" data-wplink-edit=\"true\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">FaZe Clan shooting for the Moonpay<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (the crypto company closed $555m in November <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a la<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Bloomberg and this partnership was signed in December). <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/11\/andbox-partners-with-nft-utility-platform-moonwalk\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Andbox tried to Moonwalk<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/06\/g2-esports-bondly-nft\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">G2 Esports inked with Bondly<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/04\/animoca-brands-announces-veloce-partnership-and-investment\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Veloce found a partner and investor in Animoca Brands<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/07\/talon-esports-teams-up-with-yieldly\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Talon Esports signed with Yieldly<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 the latter of which recently launched Yesports.gg, which has nothing to do with Kanye West, but is aiming to be an esports NFT marketplace\/metaverse. Alexa, play \u201cYikes.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">TO’s didn\u2019t want to miss out on all the fun. We saw <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/06\/weplay-esports-nft-binance\/\" data-wplink-edit=\"true\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">WePlay Esports launch c0ll3ct1bl3s with Binance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 back in my day, 1\u2019s were L\u2019s and 5\u2019s were S\u2019s, but whatever. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/10\/esl-gaming-and-immutable-x-announce-nft-partnership\/\" data-wplink-edit=\"true\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ESL Gaming inked with Immutable X<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/06\/blast-premier-and-bondly-launch-chicken-nfts\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BLAST Premiere started minting chickens with Bondly<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. For other non-blockchain related partnerships in 2021, check out <a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/12\/the-dotted-line-top-esports-sponsorships-commercial-deals-of-2021\/\">ESI Features Editor Jake Nordland\u2019s The Dotted Line<\/a> for a rundown of the year\u2019s biggest partnerships.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_66976\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-66976\" style=\"width: 1364px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-66976\" src=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/blast-bondly-chicken-collab-2021.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1364\" height=\"849\" srcset=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/blast-bondly-chicken-collab-2021.jpg 1364w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/blast-bondly-chicken-collab-2021-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/blast-bondly-chicken-collab-2021-1024x637.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/blast-bondly-chicken-collab-2021-768x478.jpg 768w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/blast-bondly-chicken-collab-2021-696x433.jpg 696w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/blast-bondly-chicken-collab-2021-1068x665.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/blast-bondly-chicken-collab-2021-675x420.jpg 675w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1364px) 100vw, 1364px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-66976\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image credit: BLAST Premier \/ Bondly<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not everyone has been sold on ye olde blockchain of promise. Discord had its <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2021\/11\/10\/discord-nfts-crypto-jason-citron\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">toe-in-the-water<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> NFT moment before walking back a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/jasoncitron\/status\/1457841222995693570?lang=en\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cprobably nothing\u201d tweet<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from CEO Jason Citron. Valve Corporation\u2019s game client Steam <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theverge.com\/2021\/10\/15\/22728425\/valve-steam-blockchain-nft-crypto-ban-games-age-of-rust\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">hard-nope\u2019d<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on the blockchain in October, reason being as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/SpacePirate_io\/status\/1448713807312801796\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">cited in a Twitter thread<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by blockchain game developer Space Pirate: \u201cSteam’s point of view is that items have value and they don’t allow items that can have real-world value on their platform.\u201d This is why we can\u2019t have nice immaterial things.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Hundred Thieves dropped a one-off <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/100thieves\/status\/1380234735847280643?lang=en\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Infinity NFT collection<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in tandem with its clothing line of the same name in April. Seemingly a flash in the pan as the org hasn\u2019t minted anything since, likely to avoid the being called 100NFT in the comments. OG Esports amassed a whopping $1m from its three NFT drops, as reported by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dexerto.com\/esports\/og-esports-rake-in-almost-1-million-with-just-three-nft-drops-1607916\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dexerto<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in July.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nearing the year\u2019s end, talk of metaverses and Web3.0 began dominating timelines. According to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/trends.google.com\/trends\/explore?q=metaverse\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Google Trends<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, its interest peaked, predictably, in the days following Facebook\u2019s name change. There was a 200% increase in metaverse pitches in our inboxes,\u00a0 complete with esoteric, amoebaos, and \u2026 liberal definitions of the word. It\u2019s likely that the trend follows the Battle Royal path into 2022 \u2014 in all likelihood, the metaversal blue ocean of Q1 will be a bloodbath in Q4.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_77181\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-77181\" style=\"width: 1126px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-77181 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/metaverse-google-trends-heatmap.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1126\" height=\"272\" srcset=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/metaverse-google-trends-heatmap.png 1126w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/metaverse-google-trends-heatmap-300x72.png 300w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/metaverse-google-trends-heatmap-1024x247.png 1024w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/metaverse-google-trends-heatmap-768x186.png 768w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/metaverse-google-trends-heatmap-696x168.png 696w, https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/metaverse-google-trends-heatmap-1068x258.png 1068w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1126px) 100vw, 1126px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-77181\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image credit: Google Trends<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In an <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/12\/yieldly-yesports-nft-marketplace\/\" data-wplink-edit=\"true\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Esports Insider interview with Yieldly CEO Seb Quinn<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it was hinted that unnamed esports orgs have already been spending months designing their metaverse presence under-the-radar. It\u2019s promising to hear that at least a few esports orgs, having enlisted the best gamers on the planet, are adequately preparing themselves for battle.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span id=\"athletes_go_digitalagain\">Athletes go digital…again<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Traditional sports athletes found a second wind in esports in 2021, with big names getting more involved than simply investing as we\u2019ve seen in previous years. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/12\/team-pacquiao-tpgg\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Manny Pacquiao<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> announced Team Pacquiao GG in December. Manchester United showed a strong effort in esports this year. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/08\/jesse-lingard-debuts-jlingz-esports\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jesse Lingard<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> founded JLINGZ esports and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/12\/david-de-gea-rebels-gaming\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">David de Gea<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> debuted Rebels Gaming. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/05\/harry-maguire-semper-fortis-esports-ambassador\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Harry Maguire<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> joined <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/05\/calvert-lewin-semper-fortis-esports\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dominic Calvert-Lewin<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as brand ambassador for Semper Fortis Esports and Man U\u2019s Manager <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/04\/ole-gunnar-solskjaer-and-jim-solbakken-become-ulti-agency-owners\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ole Gunnar Solskj\u00e6r<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> joined ownership of esports agency ULTI in April.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not to be out-flexed by the world\u2019s game, NFL athletes had a strong showing as well. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/04\/enthusiast-gaming-richard-sherman-board-of-directors\/\" data-wplink-edit=\"true\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Richard Sherman<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> joined Enthusiast Gaming\u2019s Board of Directors and quarterback <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/04\/faze-clan-signs-nfl-quarterback-kyler-murray\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kyler Murray<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> joined FaZe Clan. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/03\/subnation-media-marquez-valdes-scantling-esports-team\" data-wplink-edit=\"true\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marquez Valdes-Scantling<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> launched Trench Made Gaming (TMG) in May, followed by <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/07\/marco-wilson-xset\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marco Wilson<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> joining XSET in July. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/12\/kenny-vaccaro-co-founds-g1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kenny Vaccaro<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> launched his own org in Gamers First (G1) just this month.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n[primis_video widget=”5183″]\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Other notable entries include UFC fighter <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/10\/mma-fighter-marvin-vettori-invests-in-qlash\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marvin Vettori<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> investing in QLASH in October. The NBA\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/05\/jordan-clarkson-esports-technologies\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jordan Clarkson<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and Jack McClinton joined skateboarding legend <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/05\/tony-hawk-gamesquare-esports-advisor\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tony Hawk<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to ink with Esports Technologies. The WNBA\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/01\/aerial-powers-team-liquid-brand-ambassador\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ariel Powers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> joined Team Liquid in January and was recently <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/digiday.com\/marketing\/joining-a-consultive-team-to-the-leadership-why-a-leading-esports-organization-is-inviting-its-players-to-become-investors\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">invited into the company\u2019s ownership<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Betting\u2019s courtship was also alive and well in 2021. ESI Sub-editor <a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/12\/in-play-esports-betting-2021\">Tom Daniels\u2019s<\/a><\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/12\/in-play-esports-betting-2021\"> 2021 <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">esports betting review,<\/span> In Play<\/a>, <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">goes into details about those stories.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><span style=\"font-family: 'book antiqua', palatino;\">[maxbutton id=”11″ ]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Image credit: ESI We all thought we\u2019d get to physical events this year. The idea, the hope, helped us hold it together after the break-the-mold-type-year that was 2020. And while the esports industry accepted the novel challenge of approaching last year\u2019s difficulties one-handed \u2014 pivoting to online tournaments and events \u2014 the sector was ready … <a href=\"https:\/\/esportsinsider.com\/2021\/12\/heat-map-esports-business-trends-2021\">Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":77172,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","esi_template":"default","excluded":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[63,10142,8999,50,15024,8717,5283,237,8713],"tags":[11665,12141],"class_list":["post-77170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commercial","category-data","category-editors-picks","category-features","category-financial","category-insights","category-investments","category-news-by-region","category-partnerships-sponsorships","tag-blockchain-esports","tag-esports-crypto"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.1 (Yoast SEO v24.1) - 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