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Esports World Cup & Blockbuster Partners

The Esports World Cup officially kicked off this week on Tuesday July 2nd. With 21 games being played and over $60 million in prize money up for grabs over the 8-week long competition, the EWC is one of the largest esports events ever. You can find the Esports World Cup website and follow along HERE.

What may be even more impressive is the EWC’s lineup of brand partners. The event is not only bringing the gaming & esports world together but they’re bringing some of the biggest brands in the world along with them. From Unilever brands Axe Body Spray and CLEAR Men Shampoo, to KitKat and Pepsi, Sony and LG UltraGear, Mentos, adidas, and Mastercard, not to mention the plethora of major MENA brands such as STC, Qiddiya City, Aramco, and Barns.

In addition to the massive list of major brand partners, the EWC has also attracted attention from media outlets such DAZN and India’s Star Sports Network, who has secured broadcasting rights for eight of the 21 tournaments, bringing the action to viewers in English and Hindi.

The EWC is hosting competitions in practically all of the popular esports titles, including Call of Duty, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, Fortnite, League of Legends, and even mobile games like Free Fire and Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. This level of game variety is insane and the first in esports history at this scale.

One of the most interesting aspects of the EWC is the Club Championship, which aggregates points across all games to crown an overall Club champion. With a $20 million prize pool distributed among the top 16 clubs, the Club Championship adds a layer of to the event that to my knowledge, has never been possible in esports before.

Beyond the esports competitions, the EWC is hosting an after-show concert with Jack Harlow, Wiz Khalifa, and others, along with a variety of workshops, panels, and educational initiatives.

As the Esports World Cup unfolds over the next eight weeks, it will be interesting to see how the event viewership performs and how the event is ultimately received by the public.

EVO 2024: The Biggest Esports Event Ever

Dexerto recently released an article labelling EVO 2024 as the “world’s biggest esports event ever”. EVO, the biggest annual fighting game event, attracts thousands of players from around the globe to Las Vegas, Nevada every year.

Celebrated as the "Mecca" of fighting games, EVO continues to grow exponentially each year. This year, after outgrowing the Mandalay Bay and moving to the Las Vegas Convention Center, it has set a new benchmark in the esports world.

According to a press release on June 26, 2024, this year's EVO has become the largest open-bracket esports event in history, with 10,224 registered players from 63 countries.

EVO 2024 presented by Chipotle also boasts the largest tournament brackets ever for popular titles like TEKKEN 8, Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising, and Street Fighter III: 3rd Strike.

Rick Thiher, EVO’s General Manager, told Dexerto: “We are seeing more and more of the community exercising their competitive spirit with us in Las Vegas each year. The wonderful thing about fighting games is that while there are generations of players returning year after year, there is always a new generation greeting them at EVO and aspiring to make a name for themselves. What makes EVO special is not just watching who will cement their legacy across these generations, but seeing how these generations of players come together and connect as a community and culture.”

Last year, EVO 2023 set a record for the number of attendees—a record that will be surpassed in 2024. The previous event also earned its own holiday in Las Vegas, known as ‘EVO Day,’ and the founders, the Cannon brothers, were awarded the key to the city in recognition of their contributions.

EVO continues to break barriers and unite the fighting game community each year. We’ll be tuning in July 19-21, 2024 to catch what’s set to be one of the biggest events in esports history.

The Euros Are Underway… In Fortnite?

UEFA is bringing the excitement of its Euro 2024 tournament to the virtual world of Fortnite with the introduction of Festival Island EUROballer Battle.

UEFA’s UEFN game allows players to collect balls and engage in various mini-games, creating a unique and interactive experience. It’s worth noting, the game mode does not have any traditional weapons or shooting elements, which is definitely a deliberate choice to align with UEFA’s brand and the spirit of the event.

Official sponsors of the Euros, including BYD, Visit Qatar, Atos, Alipay, and Rexona, have their logos featured prominently on signs throughout the experience. However, some other official tournament sponsors like adidas, The Coca-Cola Company, and Hisense Group are not featured in the Fortnite experience.

While it is awesome to see UEFA promoting the Euros to gamers, we do have to acknowledge the performance (or lack thereof) of the activation. Though it doesn’t give us all of the data such as a playtime and player retention, Fortnite.gg does provide player statistics for the map.

According to Fortnite.gg, UEFA’s Euro Baller Battle, that launched over a month ago on May 31st, has only managed to reach a peak of 327 players and average 24 players concurrently. These are definitely disappointing numbers for the activation and make me question how the effectiveness of how the map was promoted.

In addition to Fortnite, UEFA has also collaborated with Toikido and Karta (Erik Londré) to create a promotional experience in Roblox. The group partnered with popular toy brand and existing Roblox world, Piñata Smashlings, to launch it’s limited time mode, UEFA EURO 2024 Piñata Smash Simulator.

100 Thieves Head To Pokémon GO Fest

Google Play is taking Pokémon GO Fest 2024 to the next level with exclusive perks, prizes with their Play Points membership, and a new three-way partnership with gaming & esports organization, 100 Thieves.

100 Thieves and Pokémon have actually worked together recently, with 100 Thieves collaborating with Pokémon for a limited-time line of apparel featuring Pokémon characters and theming.

The 100 Thieves x Google Play x Pokémon GO Fest partnership will see 100 Thieves co-owner, Valkyrae, attend the event along with a plethora of other 100 Thieves content creators. 100 Thieves is also giving away reprints of the 100 Thieves x Pokémon collection exclusively for Gold+ Google Play Points members.

We’re big fans of this partnership/activation. It’s a natural extension of the 100 Thieves x Pokémon apparel collaboration and a perfect way to promote both the festival and Google Play.

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Disclaimer: our views are ours and in no way represent those of our employers.