The Esports Observer Podcast

Evil Geniuses makes a grand return to both League of Legends and Counter-Strike, Gen.G will run a Shanghai team in the NBA 2K League, and Louis Vuitton will create the trophy case for the League of Legends World Championships. Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days! www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved

High school esports startup PlayVS brings its total funding to $96M, the longtime CEO of OpTic Gaming is now co-CEO of NRG Esports, and the League of Legends community is left frustrated by ticketing issues. Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days! www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved

ESL and DreamHack will consolidate their Counter-Strike events into one global circuit, the two company’s parent Modern Times Group partners with Huya, and the average minute audience for the Overwatch League 2019 season is released. Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days! www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved

100 Thieves is the latest organization to pass on the Call of Duty franchised league, Ninja inks an endorsement deal with Adidas, and the final season of HBO’s Ballers will focus on League of Legends. Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days! www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved

Dota 2’s The International will return to Europe next year, numerous Fortnite streamers quit during a tournament, and Mastercard sponsors the LCS. Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days! www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved

Ninja vents his frustrations after Twitch mistakenly promotes lewd content through his old channel, while Riot Games will now direct the sale of Echo Fox’s LCS slot. Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days! www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved

The TEO Podcast is an esports business discussion show. Every episode, we discuss the most game-changing developments, exciting opportunities, and pressing challenges facing the competitive video gaming ecosystem. This episode is an in-depth, extended discussion with the co-founder and CEO of NRG Esports, which competes across multiple games including Counter-Strike, Rocket League, and Apex Legends. The organization hit it big recently after the team’s Fortnite player EpikWhale placed third at the game’s World Cup, taking home $1.2M, and their Overwatch League franchise San Francisco Shock has had a monumental year competitively. The topics discussed include: - Ninja moving to Mixer - will drawing in a top influencer be enough to drive user engagement on the platform? - NRG was ahead of the game with its board of celebrity investors; Shaquille O’Neal, Alex Rodriguez, Jimmy Rolins, to name a few. What do these individuals actually bring to an organization beyond financial backing? - How has the esports industry grown, since the founding of NRG, to the introduction of franchise leagues? Our guest this time is: Any Miller, CEO and co-founder of NRG Esports. Andy is also chairman and co-owner of the Sacramento Kings, and was previously VP of mobile advertising for Apple. https://twitter.com/amiller Host: Graham Ashton, business journalist at The Esports Observer. twitter.com/Graham__Ashton Get your tickets to the Esports Forum at Leaders Week London 2019: https://leadersinsport.com/leaders-week-london/the-esports-forum/ You can email any questions or topic suggestions to podcast@esportsobserver.com Download the TEO News app: apple.co/2MfLhye Sign up for The Esports Observer newsletters: esportsobserver.com/teo-newsletter www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved Music: Chill Day by Lakey Inspired: Lakeyinspired – Chill-day Artist Soundcloud: @lakeyinspired License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Cold Funk - Funkorama by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100499 Artist: http://incompetech.com/

Honda signs as the automotive partner for North American League of Legends, NetEase plans to invest over ¥5B RMB ($710M USD) to build an “Esports Park” in Shanghai, and Bumble Teams with Gen.G for an all-women team. Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days! Details on Echo Fox financial situation: www.esportsobserver.com/rick-fox-lcs-interviews/ Download the TEO News app: apple.co/2MfLhye www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved

The TEO Podcast is an esports business discussion show. Every episode, we discuss the most game-changing developments, exciting opportunities, and pressing challenges facing the competitive video gaming ecosystem. Dignitas has competed in esports for the last 15 years, and was the first North American team organization to be acquired by a U.S. sports team; the Philadelphia 76ers. Today there are seven rosters signed under the Dignitas banner, including one of the most accomplished female Counter-Strike rosters in the game’s history. With Dignitas' senior management team, we'll be discussing: - What is the backstory on Dignitas? When was the organization started, and what have been some of the highlight moments in its run? - What led to the merger between Dignitas and League of Legends team Clutch Gaming? - What keeps Dignitas' parent company, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment, committed to esports? Our guests this time are: Heather Garozzo, VP of marketing for Dignitas, and a former CS:GO professional player. https://twitter.com/sapphiregg James Baker, manager of business development for Dignitas and a former professional Heroes of the Storm player. https://twitter.com/bakeryheroes Host: Graham Ashton, business journalist at The Esports Observer. twitter.com/Graham__Ashton Intro/Outro music: Chill Day by Lakey Inspired: Lakeyinspired – Chill-day Artist Soundcloud: @lakeyinspired License: creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ You can email any questions or topic suggestions to podcast@esportsobserver.com Download the TEO News app: apple.co/2MfLhye Sign up for The Esports Observer newsletters: esportsobserver.com/teo-newsletter www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved

The Call of Duty franchised league will go straight into home games next year, Blizzard Entertainment’s co-founder departs, and The International prize pool exceeds $30M. Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days! Download the TEO News app: apple.co/2MfLhye www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved

100 Thieves closes a $35M USD Series B funding round, DouYu’s U.S. IPO quadruples that of rival platform Huya, and the Overwatch League sets its home market plan for 2020. Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days! Download the TEO News app: apple.co/2MfLhye www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved

The League of Legends European Championship (LEC) Spring finals brought in over two million dollars in tourism, and Call of Duty appoints a former NFL executive as its esports commissioner. Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days! Download the TEO News app: apple.co/2MfLhye www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved

LA and Minnesota` spots are sold for the upcoming Call of Duty League, Twitch reveals a “subscriber only” stream feature, and The International prize pool exceeds $25M. Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days! Download the TEO News app: apple.co/2MfLhye www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved

Team Liquid partners with Marvel for merchandise and content, Chinese League of Legends opens bids for new franchise slots, and Anheuser-Busch files for “the official beer of esports.” Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days! Download the TEO News app: apple.co/2MfLhye www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved

Team Liquid will start streaming content in China, Blizzard’s global esports director departs, and Ninja signs his first book deal. Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days! Download the TEO News app: apple.co/2MfLhye www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved

Immortals Gaming Club acquires Infinite Esports & Entertainment in a $100M USD buyout, and Sterling.VC forms a new brand for New York esports. Missed any of the biggest esports business news last week? The TEO Monday Morning Briefing recaps the top headlines from the last seven days! Download the TEO News app: apple.co/2MfLhye www.esportsobserver.com www.facebook.com/esportsobserver/ twitter.com/esportsobserved