eSports
Le Mans Virtual Series, 500 Miles of Sebring– Post Race Report
- The 500 Miles of Sebring, the fourth of five rounds of the Le Mans Virtual Series, kicked off Saturday 18th December with 114 drivers across the LMP2 and GTE classes taking to the start line. Star drivers including the likes of ex-F1 and IndyCar star Felix Rosenqvist who battled against the bumps of the infamously challenging circuit as the last opportunity to display their skill, experience and knowledge ahead of the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual final in January.
- Conditions were clear in Florida, and all eyes on team strategy with the race being run to 500 miles instead of a set time on the Sebring International Raceway, with some cars including #966 Team Fordzilla pitting early after firing up the grid in the opening laps. James Baldwin in the #49 YAS Heat also pitted early to fit new soft compound tyres that largely paid off as the car continued to set purple sectors throughout and eventually recorded the race’s fastest lap time with Isaac Gillissen at the helm.
- In the LMP Classification, the race began with Erhan Jajovski in the #8 R8G Esports leading the grid in pole position, and initial skirmishes saw the pack leaders still largely intact, with the #22 GPX Rebellion Williams driven by Marcell Csincsik on the hunt in second. Drama occurred on lap 38, after the then-championship-leading #123 Team Redline received a drive-through penalty for causing a collision with the #888 TESLA R8G Esports GTE amid packed traffic, dropping the car down the rankings and away from the podium. With the Le Mans Virtual Series championship at stake, the team produced an impressive comeback performance to finish in sixth place and only drop to second in the championship rankings.
- The top three entered a tense battle going into the final third of the race, with tremendous driving from third-place Nikodem Wisniewski in the #1 Rebellion GPX Esports, who produced a quick double-overtake to assume the lead for the first time. Having dropped down to third, catastrophe struck #22 GPX Rebellion Williams driver David Pittard when he hit the barriers on lap 106 and lost the car’s rear wing to force an unexpected visit to the pits and plummet down the rankings. The #1 Rebellion GPX Esports car continued to extend its lead at the front of the pack, eventually taking its first win of the championship. The #8 R8G Esports crossed the line in second, with the #70 Realteam Hydrogen Redline rounding out the podium in third. The #10 MAHLE RACING TEAM quietly had a blistering race and soared up the rankings, securing fifth behind #4 Floyd ByKolles-Burst.
- Over in the LMGTE Classification, the #71 BMW Team Redline and driver Kevin Siggy took pole position on the grid, but was quickly overtaken by Joshua Rogers in the #92 Porsche Esports Team, with the other #91 Porsche Esports Team close behind as the three battled for first for most of the race. After the halfway mark on lap 83 the #51 FDA Esports Team’s Ferrari – which was surging up the standings – was at the centre of drama. Struck by #55 BMW Team GB, the Ferrari then spun out and made contact with the #65 Panis Racing LMP, triggering drive through penalties for both GTEs.
- In the end, the #71 BMW Team Redline’s unique fuel saving strategy worked to dramatic effect as the BMW M8 eventually secured a dominant win over its Porsche rivals, who were forced to refuel more. The #91 Porsche Esports Team finished some way off in second, while the #88 Proton Competition secured the final podium place place after a time penalty for Nestor Garcia – who had stayed in the car for too long – meant the #111 Red Bull Racing Esports car dropped from third to seventh.
- Isaac Gillissen for #49 YAS Heat recorded the fastest lap time in the LMP2 Classification, with a blistering 1:45.341 on the 132nd lap during a tense battle against Bono Huis in the #123 Team Redline. In the LMGTE Classification, Dayne Warren for Proton Competition secured the fastest lap, recording an impressive 1:57.835 in the 30th lap.
- Augustin Canapino from GPX Rebellion Williams said: “It was a great job from everyone on the team and I enjoyed every lap of the race. It was a great drive from Niko [Wisniewski] to finish so strongly and now the car is in a really good position to fight for the championship in the final round.
- Rudy van Buren from BMW Team Redline, said: “We felt our strategy was very sensible and thought others would adopt that to make it closer. It was a great race and our preparation paid off…This week we’ll get going at [the Le Mans 24], and set ourselves up to be as good as we can be for it.”
Sebring presented the final challenge to teams and drivers before the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual race, which will be held entirely online on January 15/16, 2022.
eSports
SuperGaming Reveals Nationwide Grassroots Indus Battle Royale Esports Tournament Series With Rs. 5,50,000 Prize Pool
Made-in-India battle royale Indus is hosting its first ever series of nationwide grassroots esports tournaments dubbed Indus Inferno. This is SuperGaming’s summer special of tournaments with prizes and bragging rights on the line — but most importantly: a chance for players to experience Indus at the highest skill level and be the best in India’s first new-generation battle royale.
Created by award-winning Pune-based developer SuperGaming, Indus is an Indo-Futuristic battle royale slated for mobile, PC, and consoles with pre-registrations live on Google Play for Android. Pre-registrations for the game have crossed 10 million already.
Indus Inferno kicked off with the Regional Scrims featuring a Rs. 50,000 prize pool this week. The scrims were met with immense excitement, with players hailing from multiple cities across India.
The Indus Inferno Finale scheduled to take place on 1st June will feature a lucrative prize pool of Rs. 5,00,000.
Player registration for the Open Qualifiers is now open and will end on 19th May. The Qualifiers are set to run from 20th May to 24th May. It is important to note that only the top 2,000 players from the Inferno in-game Leaderboard will be eligible to register for the qualifiers. The top 10 winning teams from the Open Qualifiers will earn coveted spots in the finale, joining the invited esports teams for an epic showdown.
The following teams have been invited for the Indus Inferno Finale:
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Team Moggers
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Team Redlock
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Team Pushpa
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Destruction of Game
In addition to this, teams of Indus content creators, community members, several esports organizations as well as winners of past playtests will be present for the tournament. There’s a total prize pool of Rs. 5,00,000 with the winners netting Rs. 2,50,000 and the runners-up, third-place, and fourth place getting Rs. 1,00,000, Rs. 75,000, and Rs. 50,000 respectively. The most valuable player will get Rs. 25,000.
More importantly, the finale will feature India’s top esports team owners so Indus’ best players can have face to face opportunities to be scouted for a career in esports playing Indus. These include:
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Godlike Esports
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Revenant Esports
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Orangutan
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Entity Gaming
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Reckoning Esports
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Carnival Gaming
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Chemin Esports
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True Rippers
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Enigma Gaming
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Team Tamilas
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Marcos Gaming
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TWOB
“With Indus Inferno and previous Indus esports tournaments that we’ve been running since last year such as the Indus Invitational and Indus Unchained, we want to lay the foundation for a sustainable esports ecosystem for our community and the nation at large,” says SuperGaming CEO and Co-Founder Roby John. “Having India’s best esports team owners at the finale is our small way of making that happen.”
SuperGaming is also going to have exclusive rewards, developer panels, and more, so head on over to the official Indus Discord server for all the details.
Players will be able to share their thoughts on various aspects of the game and impact the direction of how SuperGaming crafts its most ambitious title yet through this official esports tournament.
This is inline with how SuperGaming has crafted its biggest hits — MaskGun and Silly Royale. Popular multiplayer shooter MaskGun has amassed over 80 million players since its launch with a relentless focus on putting its players first leading to some of its biggest community members featuring in-game as well as celebrating India-specific events like Diwali.
The post SuperGaming Reveals Nationwide Grassroots Indus Battle Royale Esports Tournament Series With Rs. 5,50,000 Prize Pool appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Zenni Optical, the world’s leading online eyewear retailer, announced a partnership with ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the leading esports and video game entertainment company. Designed to integrate eye health education with innovative eyewear solutions for the esports community, the partnership will officially launch at DreamHack festival in Dallas, taking place from May 31 to June 2.
This collaboration will showcase a co-branded collection of lifestyle and competitive eyewear and accessories, highlighting Zenni Optical’s commitment to promoting overall eye health, particularly in addressing issues like eye fatigue and strain. Additionally, the initiative will incorporate essential eye health education across various DreamHack Festivals, in alignment with EFG’s broader mission to foster inclusive gaming worlds and engaged, supported communities.
“DreamHack and ESL represent some of the most community-centric and prestigious competitive events in the world. In their own unique ways, they embody esports for everyone. By partnering with these incredible brands across the gaming and esports spaces, we aim to create engaging experiences that combine eye-health education with innovative eyewear solutions for players and fans at all levels,” said Robb Chiarini, Head of Gaming, Sports, & Events at Zenni Optical.
“We are thrilled to partner with Zenni Optical as the Official Eyewear Partner of DreamHack and ESL. The genuine passion that Zenni has for the esports industry is a refreshing sight to see, and a major driving factor for the decision behind our partnership. Zenni’s ongoing commitment to provide eyewear for everyone mirrors our own drive to create worlds beyond gameplay for gamers everywhere,” Craig Levine, Co-CEO at EFG, said.
Anichess, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands and the progressive chess-based online strategy game developed in partnership with Chess.com and five-time World Chess Champion Magnus Carlsen, today announced a partnership with global esports brand Team Secret to further connect competitive gaming and Web3. John Yao, CEO of Team Secret, will join Anichess as an advisor.
Anichess is an innovative chess-based Web3 game developed in a collaboration between Animoca Brands and Chess.com, the renowned global online chess platform. Anichess provides a novel tactical twist on the classic game of chess by implementing spells that open up new strategies and gameplay, and that require players to rethink the rules of traditional chess as they uncover the expansive lore within the world of the gameboard. Anichess recently raised a funding round of US$1.8 million, led by Sfermion and Amber Group with participation from Fenbushi Capital, Aspen Digital, SNZ Capital, and others (see announcement of 25 April 2024).
Team Secret is a global esports brand dedicated to bringing together the best gamers to compete worldwide, while also delivering entertaining experiences to its fans. It offers advertising and promotional sponsorship, talent and team development, business management, coaching, and other forms of support to both professional and aspiring players in the esports arena.
The partnership between Anichess and Team Secret aims to solidify chess’s esports status by combining a new platform to play and learn on for an engaged audience of up-and-coming online chess masters. Ahead of the player-versus-player (PvP) mode launch later in Q2 2024, Anichess will receive input from Team Secret on its game design as well as support in bringing the spellbinding game to a dedicated community of esports players.
“Esports has always been a core pillar of Anichess’ modernization of chess’ legacy,” said Brian Chan, head of Anichess. “Anichess’s engaging visuals, tools to improve and thrilling spells make it an amazing platform for all competitors, regardless of chess experience. We look forward to those willing to take on the challenge when PvP arrives in-game soon.”
“For how ancient the game of chess is, its esports scene is a fresh, rising star in terms of viewership, player base and tournaments,” said John Yao, CEO of Team Secret. “Anichess is a promising twist on chess, with even more of what makes the original great: compelling tactics, broad recognition and rewards for players willing to think outside the box and surprise opponents. I’m looking forward to guiding Anichess into the realm of esports and integrating the new chess platform into our dedicated community.”
The post ANICHESS PARTNERS WITH ESPORTS LEADER TEAM SECRET AHEAD OF PVP LAUNCH appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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