Reading Time: 4 minutes

• eSportsONE will be available from November 3 in Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Slovakia via the M7 platforms TV Vlaanderen, CanalDigitaal and Skylink
• Central content partners for the launch are ESL, the NBA 2K League and Psyonix with the esports titles “Dota 2“, “Starcraft 2“, “Warcraft 3“, “NBA 2K“ and “Rocket League“
• Pan-European agreement with M7 for the distribution of eSportsONE via satellite and various M7 platforms
• Program structure with mix of live coverage of global top events and exclusive, self-produced analysis formats – all in English
• Olaf Schröder, CEO of Sport1 Medien AG and Chairman of the Management Board of Sport1 GmbH: “We continue our esports success story internationally and are launching a new ground-breaking project with eSportsONE as a pan-European esports broadcaster.“

Milestone through internationalization in the esports market: Sport1 GmbH launches a new, pan-European esports channel with eSportsONE. eSportsONE goes on-air on Tuesday, November 3, in several European countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Following the successful launch of the first linear TV channel for esports in the German-speaking region with eSPORTS1, this is the first time SPORT1 is implementing a pan-European channel project. The pay-TV channel eSportsONE will be distributed via the M7 platforms TV Vlaanderen, CanalDigitaal and Skylink at launch. Moreover, M7 serves as the central satellite distribution partner. Further platforms in numerous European markets will be added in the coming weeks. Central content partners are ESL, the NBA 2K League and Psyonix with the esports titles Dota 2, Starcraft 2, Warcraft 3, NBA 2K and Rocket League.

The 24/7 program of the pan-European channel comprises over 1,000 live hours per year of top-class international esports events as well as exclusive, self-produced analysis formats. The program content is prepared for the international target group by SPORT1‘s esports editorial team together with experts and influencers from the English-speaking esports community. All esports events are broadcast with English commentary, while individual highlights are commented by the SPORT1 esports editorial team and broadcast from an own studio.

The central content partner for the pan-European region is ESL, the world‘s largest esports company, with serial top competitions in Dota 2, the Warcraft 3 Pro Tour, the Starcraft 2 Pro Tour as well as numerous additional ESL competitions. In addition, other top esports properties will be featured, including the NBA 2K League and Psyonix‘s international Rocket League Championship Series. The NBA 2K League, a joint venture between the NBA and Take-Two Interactive, is a professional esports league featuring the best NBA 2K players in the world and the first official esports league operated by a U.S. professional sports league. SPORT1 thus also offers a versatile and comprehensive portfolio at the pan-European channel eSportsONE, thereby differentiating itself from existing international offerings.

The agreement with the M7 Group enables the channel to broadcast via satellite as well as via the M7 platforms TV Vlaanderen, CanalDigitaal and Skylink platforms. Further European markets will be added in the coming weeks through additional cooperations.

Olaf Schröder, CEO of Sport1 Medien AG and Chairman of the Management Board of Sport1 GmbH: “We are pioneers and trailblazers in the growth market esports with its great opportunities: At the beginning of 2019, we launched the first esports channel in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with eSPORTS1 – an important milestone with which we have further expanded our positioning as a leading medium in the German-speaking esports community. Now we continue our esports success story internationally and are launching a new ground-breaking project with eSportsONE as a pan-European esports broadcaster. Our goal: We want to make esports even bigger in Europe in the future beyond the young core target group and to anchor it even more sustainably in the society.“

Highlights for the channel start with current top events and analysis show “eSportsONE – Analytics“

In addition to current top events, the program schedule after the channel’s launch will include, the new exclusive, self-produced analysis show “eSportsONE – Analytics“, in which the key scenes of major esports events are examined. Three esports experts will analyze all facets of the tournament in the one-hour program and talk about high lights and low lights. After the launch of the channel, eSportsONE will also look back on the final of ESL One Germany. From October 5 until November 1, 16 of the best Dota 2 teams from Europe and the CIS region are competing against each other in this online tournament. Starting November 7, eSportsONE will also feature live broadcasts of the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS). In the following months the NBA 2K League will also be broadcast live on eSportsONE, amongst others.

Background: eSPORTS1 – the first linear TV channel for esports in the German-speaking region

On January 24, 2019, Sport1 GmbH had launched the first linear TV channel for esports in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with eSPORTS1. The 24/7 program of the pay-TV channel comprises at least 1,200 live hours per year of top-class international and national esports events as well as highlight programs and self-produced magazines. The program content is curated, edited and presented by the in-house esports editorial team together with experts and influencers from the esports community for the target group in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Numerous large esports events are commented on in German and sent from its own esports studio. eSPORTS1 illustrates thereby the most well-known esports titles like, amongst others, League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Overwatch, Hearthstone or FIFA 20 live.

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Reading Time: 4 minutes

• eSportsONE will be available from November 3 in Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Slovakia via the M7 platforms TV Vlaanderen, CanalDigitaal and Skylink
• Central content partners for the launch are ESL, the NBA 2K League and Psyonix with the esports titles “Dota 2“, “Starcraft 2“, “Warcraft 3“, “NBA 2K“ and “Rocket League“
• Pan-European agreement with M7 for the distribution of eSportsONE via satellite and various M7 platforms
• Program structure with mix of live coverage of global top events and exclusive, self-produced analysis formats – all in English
• Olaf Schröder, CEO of Sport1 Medien AG and Chairman of the Management Board of Sport1 GmbH: “We continue our esports success story internationally and are launching a new ground-breaking project with eSportsONE as a pan-European esports broadcaster.“

Milestone through internationalization in the esports market: Sport1 GmbH launches a new, pan-European esports channel with eSportsONE. eSportsONE goes on-air on Tuesday, November 3, in several European countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Following the successful launch of the first linear TV channel for esports in the German-speaking region with eSPORTS1, this is the first time SPORT1 is implementing a pan-European channel project. The pay-TV channel eSportsONE will be distributed via the M7 platforms TV Vlaanderen, CanalDigitaal and Skylink at launch. Moreover, M7 serves as the central satellite distribution partner. Further platforms in numerous European markets will be added in the coming weeks. Central content partners are ESL, the NBA 2K League and Psyonix with the esports titles Dota 2, Starcraft 2, Warcraft 3, NBA 2K and Rocket League.

The 24/7 program of the pan-European channel comprises over 1,000 live hours per year of top-class international esports events as well as exclusive, self-produced analysis formats. The program content is prepared for the international target group by SPORT1‘s esports editorial team together with experts and influencers from the English-speaking esports community. All esports events are broadcast with English commentary, while individual highlights are commented by the SPORT1 esports editorial team and broadcast from an own studio.

The central content partner for the pan-European region is ESL, the world‘s largest esports company, with serial top competitions in Dota 2, the Warcraft 3 Pro Tour, the Starcraft 2 Pro Tour as well as numerous additional ESL competitions. In addition, other top esports properties will be featured, including the NBA 2K League and Psyonix‘s international Rocket League Championship Series. The NBA 2K League, a joint venture between the NBA and Take-Two Interactive, is a professional esports league featuring the best NBA 2K players in the world and the first official esports league operated by a U.S. professional sports league. SPORT1 thus also offers a versatile and comprehensive portfolio at the pan-European channel eSportsONE, thereby differentiating itself from existing international offerings.

The agreement with the M7 Group enables the channel to broadcast via satellite as well as via the M7 platforms TV Vlaanderen, CanalDigitaal and Skylink platforms. Further European markets will be added in the coming weeks through additional cooperations.

Olaf Schröder, CEO of Sport1 Medien AG and Chairman of the Management Board of Sport1 GmbH: “We are pioneers and trailblazers in the growth market esports with its great opportunities: At the beginning of 2019, we launched the first esports channel in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with eSPORTS1 – an important milestone with which we have further expanded our positioning as a leading medium in the German-speaking esports community. Now we continue our esports success story internationally and are launching a new ground-breaking project with eSportsONE as a pan-European esports broadcaster. Our goal: We want to make esports even bigger in Europe in the future beyond the young core target group and to anchor it even more sustainably in the society.“

Highlights for the channel start with current top events and analysis show “eSportsONE – Analytics“

In addition to current top events, the program schedule after the channel’s launch will include, the new exclusive, self-produced analysis show “eSportsONE – Analytics“, in which the key scenes of major esports events are examined. Three esports experts will analyze all facets of the tournament in the one-hour program and talk about high lights and low lights. After the launch of the channel, eSportsONE will also look back on the final of ESL One Germany. From October 5 until November 1, 16 of the best Dota 2 teams from Europe and the CIS region are competing against each other in this online tournament. Starting November 7, eSportsONE will also feature live broadcasts of the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS). In the following months the NBA 2K League will also be broadcast live on eSportsONE, amongst others.

Background: eSPORTS1 – the first linear TV channel for esports in the German-speaking region

On January 24, 2019, Sport1 GmbH had launched the first linear TV channel for esports in Germany, Austria and Switzerland with eSPORTS1. The 24/7 program of the pay-TV channel comprises at least 1,200 live hours per year of top-class international and national esports events as well as highlight programs and self-produced magazines. The program content is curated, edited and presented by the in-house esports editorial team together with experts and influencers from the esports community for the target group in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Numerous large esports events are commented on in German and sent from its own esports studio. eSPORTS1 illustrates thereby the most well-known esports titles like, amongst others, League of Legends, Dota 2, Counter-Strike, Overwatch, Hearthstone or FIFA 20 live.

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

Swansea City football club has teamed up with gambling harm reduction charity The Big Step in a trailblazing new partnership.

The Big Step is a football-focused gambling education project and part of the Gambling with Lives charity.

The 18-month Gambling Harms Prevention programme will be delivered by Swans’ fan Nick Phillips, himself a recovering gambling addict.

In addition to the support of the club, the scheme has also been backed by the Swansea City Supporters Trust, Swansea City Community Trust and has been positively received by local MP Carolyn Harris.

“I would like to thank the club and the supporters trust in giving us the opportunity to talk about gambling and, in particular, the harms that are attached with it,” Nick said.

“As a lifelong fan of the club, I am excited about this education project and believe it will have a significant positive impact amongst the fans and the local community.”

James Grimes, senior programme manager at Gambling with Lives and Founder of The Big Step, added: “I am so proud to announce our partnership with Swansea City, whose community scheme is renowned for improving lives.

“As a recovering gambling addict, I am passionate about preventing young people going through the same thing that I did. During 12 years of addiction, football failed to provide adequate warnings or the help that I so desperately needed.

“This partnership will show how football can be a positive social vehicle in preventing and reducing gambling harms in its community through our education, awareness and signposting work.”

Swansea City’s head of commercial, Rebecca Edwards-Symmons, said: “We are delighted to be able to lend our full support to the fine work of The Big Step.

“At Swansea City, our supporters and their welfare are at the centre of our values, so we were quick to pledge our backing to this project, which can help the lives of not just individuals, but their families and friends too.

“Aside from backing The Big Step, this season we have moved away from having a gambling company as our main kit sponsor, which allows our junior Jacks to proudly wear the same shirts as their heroes.

“These are the big steps we are making to help strengthen the battle against gambling addiction.”

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With the introduction of the new Rocket League battle pass, players are eager to complete it before its conclusion on December 9. Since this battle pass officially marks season 1 of Rocket League, Psyonix decided to revamp the XP system completely. Not everyone is thrilled by the new XP system, however. It’s confusing, and many players have trouble figuring out which activities will give them the most XP. Here’s what you need to do every day to get the most out of your battle bass.

Season Challenges

The absolute best way to level up your battle pass is by completing season challenges, and you can access these by clicking ‘view challenges’ on the main menu. These challenges require you to perform specific tasks such as “Make it to the Quarter-Finals in 4 Psyonix scheduled Tournaments.” Each one of these challenges will give you a massive amount of XP, with the most demanding challenges giving you 20k XP. As a bonus, if you own the premium battle pass, you will unlock twice as many challenges to complete.

Weekly Challenges

On top of Season Challenges, you also have weekly challenges at your disposal. These also reward the player with a ton of XP. Many of these challenges will have you playing arcade modes or competing in tournaments, so be sure to have some variety in your gameplay to maximize your XP gain.

Daily Wins

The final essential way to quickly level up your battle pass is by completing your daily wins. Psyonix recently changed the weekly win XP bonus to a daily win XP bonus. This means each day, the first three games you win will give you 20k XP each. So be sure to log on every day and win at least three games.

If you consistently complete your seasonal challenges and get your three daily wins every day, you will get to battle pass level 100 in no time.

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FC Barcelona eSports announced that it does not intend to compete in Rocket League anymore. As a result, all players from the main roster have been released.

After a bit more than a year of competition, Barca eSports Rocket League didn’t perform within expectations. Even though the team performed pretty well with only a year of experience, it still wasn’t enough for one of the most successful football clubs on the planet.

FC Barcelona eSports

Just after entering the Rocket League esports scene, Barca eSports defeated Dignitas 3-1. However, for the second and third weeks of the Rocket League Championship Series 7, the team lost greatly at the hands of Team Vitality. They didn’t even score a single goal in that series. Two wins against PSG Esports and Triple Trouble allowed the organization to finish on a high note.

Our #RocketLeague team is taking its own road and no longer will be part of our club.

The good memories shared together will remain, and we can only wish them a career full of success.

Thank you @RonakyRL, @Deevo, @itachi_rl, @Seeb_RL and @RS_ElGeneral!

📰 Info coming soon! pic.twitter.com/ttMl0AhqAP

— Barça eSports (@FCBeSports) October 26, 2020

Still, Barca eSports secured a spot at the World Championship that year. Despite losing to Cloud9, the team still displayed good performances. For only a year of existence, their fans were pretty satisfied since there was room for improvement. However, it wasn’t enough and the upper management of FC Barcelona thought the same.

Upper Management

Image credits to FC Barcelona eSports

Barca eSports’ coach Germán “El General” Micciullo made a statement, saying that the branch responsible for the Rocket League team wasn’t planning on dismembering the team. They even fought in order to keep performing in Rocket League. But FC Barcelona decided that this adventure should come to an end.

“I want to reassure everyone that the esports section did everything they could to keep the team in the organization,” said El General. “As to the future, the boys will decide what to do between them.”

The coach will be heading back to Latin America to organize esports tournaments. Of all the players that have been released, only Amine “itachi” Benayachi is officially looking for another Rocket League.

Right now, Barca eSports will focus heavily on its Pro Evolution Soccer team, closer to its roots. It is not impossible to see the organization trying again in the near future, but the chances are still slim. The Rocket League team for FC Barcelona was heading in the right direction, which means that performances weren’t really the deciding factor here.

Written by Charles FUSTER

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With only a few days left until the United States Presidential election on Nov. 3, the campaign arrived at the front page of Twitch. This week, U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-NY) peak viewership was only surpassed by Riot Games’ broadcast of the League of Legends World Championship semifinals match between European champion G2 Esports and Korean champion DAMWON Gaming.

Twitch’s Top Channel – xQcOW

As the number of games played at the League of Legends World Championship was cut in half compared to the previous week, variety streamer and former professional Overwatch player Félix “xQc” Lengyel retook the position as the top viewed stream. The full-time streamer who is regularly occupying one of the top spots of this ranking kept a consistent viewership of 3.45M hours watched.

Riot Games led the Twitch channel ranking the last couple of weeks, but as the number of games decreased from four quarterfinals matchups in the week ending on Oct. 18 to only two semifinal matchups last week, the channel’s hours watched dropped from 5.47M to 3.31M. As the 2020 world champion will be crowned on the upcoming weekend in the tournaments’ last matchup, the channel’s hours watched will likely drop further. 

Rocket League’s 2.68M hours watched were primarily driven by its broadcast of several stages of the regionalized Rocket League Championship Series Season X. While the South American Fall Major was completed during the week, the North American Major and European Major staged their group phases.

Twitch’s Top Content – Just Chatting

Throughout the last 16 weeks, the Just Chatting category was the most-watched content category on Twitch in 15 weeks. Last week, it amassed more than 47M hours watched, which marks a slight increase from last week. Riot Games’ League of Legends was watched a cumulative 34.16M hours during the week claiming the second rank once again. The game’s viewership was primarily driven by the two semifinals of the League of Legends World Championship featuring the matches between G2 Esports and DAMWON Gaming with a peak viewership of more than 500K, and between Top Esports and Suning with a peak viewership of roughly 390K.

Among Us, a multiplayer social deduction game that was first released in 2018 and recently rose to fame, remained in third with total hours watched of 26.55M. The category’s biggest stream during the week happened on Tuesday evening when U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez streamed the game with a group of high-profile streamers and personalities while encouraging viewers to vote and raise awareness for voting in their social circles. Streamers and guests included Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Twitch streamer and political commentator Hasan “hasanabi” Piker, and popular streamer Imane “Pokimane” Anys. The three-hour stream, which was also Ocasio-Cortez’s debut on the platform as a channel owner, generated approximately 332K average viewers, 438K peak concurrent viewers, and had roughly 1.14M views with a total of 1.14M hours watched.

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Rocket League has announced the next stage of their professional competition series in the Rocket League Championship Series X Winter Split. Set to begin in early November, with the final event taking place in January, the RLCS X Winter Split will bring 24 teams to compete in a double-elimination format, which is slightly different to the Fall Series 32 team line-up.

For this event, the ten teams who qualified for the last set of Regionals will auto-qualify for this Series Regionals also. After that, the next two highest point earning teams will also be auto-qualified, with the remaining 12 slots left for open qualifiers to fill. Teams will then be seeded, with the tournament bracket to work as follows; win and move on, lose twice and you’re eliminated.

For Europe the Regionals will take place over these dates:
– Regional #1: November 7, 8, 14, 15
– Regional #2: December 3, 4, 5, 6
-Regional #3: January 9, 10, 16, 17

North America will likewise be on these dates:
– Regional #1: November 21, 22, 28, 29
– Regional #2: December 10, 11, 12, 13
– Regional #3: January 23, 24, 30, 31

You can check out the full event details here.

Will you be watching the RLCS X Winter Split?

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After more than a full year playing under Barça eSports, Aldin “Ronaky” Hodzic and the Rocket League roster have officially parted ways with the organization. 

According to the team’s coach, Germán “El General” Micciullo, this decision was not made by the players or Barça eSports, it was instead a move made by the organization’s main brand management with FC Barcelona, one of the largest soccer clubs in the world.

Barça eSports was consistently a solid squad, but the team never managed to break into the top tier of the European Rocket League scene. As of late, they put together some strong performances in the Rocket League Championship Series and The Grid before this announcement. 

El General revealed the Barça eSports division of FC Barcelona tried their best to keep the organization from making this decision but in the end, the club decided it was time to move on. 

“Many people will be asking ‘why’, this was a club decision, not Barça eSport’s,” El General said. “I want to reassure everyone that the esports section did everything they could to keep the team in the organization. As to the future, the boys will decide what to do between them. I will be heading back to Latin America and get my hands back in Rocket Street and TOing, doing what brought me into esports in the first place and what I love.”

While El General plans to get back to organizing tournaments now that he doesn’t have a team to work with, none of the other players have announced their plans. 

Only Amine “itachi” Benayachi has officially declared he is looking for an org, and it is unclear if he and the other three players plan to try and stick together moving forward. Every other player simply thanked the organization for supporting them over the last year.

The only team listed under esports for FC Barcelona now is for Pro Evolution Soccer.

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