eSports
AyoRichie emerges victorious at Red Bull Golden Letters after incredible upsets against Tekken’s biggest stars
Richie “AyoRichie” Olusanya has been crowned Red Bull Golden Letters champion, overcoming Joey Fury in the Grand Final after a weekend of tense Tekken 7 action at the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London.
AyoRichie won out at the new Tekken 7 LAN event, which was broadcast live from the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London, staking a claim as one of the UK’s rising stars in Tekken as a series of outstanding performances saw them rise to the top of 100 aspiring and professional players.
The Brit proved a force to be reckoned with throughout the weekend, pulling off an unbelievable series of upsets over some of Tekken’s biggest stars to set up a tense Grand Final against Loser’s Bracket winner Joey Fury.
The Grand Final started as a tense affair where Joey Fury’s experience could stand out, as the American pulled off a clean sweep to take the first game and, despite signs of a recovering AyoRichie, shortly after took home the second, scoring a ‘Perfect’ in the process. The third was a closer affair but a confident Joey Fury capitalised to pull off a clean sweep in the set and confirm a Grand Final Reset with everything to play for.
In the second set, AyoRichie immediately took the advantage and displayed the incredible form he’d shown throughout the tournament, scoring a clutch ‘Great’ score that saw him gain enough momentum to take game one. The second game went all the way as the pair traded blows, and while AyoRichie’s momentum scooped him game two to put him within reach of the Championship, Joey Fury proved clutch in game three to take it to a pulse-racing fourth game.
With another game ramping up the tension, AyoRichie pressed his advantage in a brilliant display, securing a clean sweep to win the set and the Red Bull Golden Letters trophy.
The Championship Sunday played host to a series of epic matchups, after the Saturday had whittled down the field of 96 players to the four best players and saw Tekken 7 stars including Anakin, Super Akouma, Joey Fury & Chickenmaru entering the fray.
Despite the star-studded field of competitors, AyoRichie was the story of the tournament, battling through from Open Qualifiers with some excellent performances to reach the top eight. He reached another level on Championship Sunday as the Rize Gaming player pulled off surprise upsets against Super Akouma, Joey Fury and home-favourite Anakin to set up a Grand Final against Loser’s Bracket winner Joey Fury.
Following his amazing performance in the Grand Final, newly-crowned Red Bull Golden Letters Champion Richie “AyoRichie” Olusanya said: “I can’t describe the feeling of coming away with the win, I’ve been working so hard at the game and it’s finally paid off so I’m just excited to see what’s going to happen next.
“The [Golden Letters] format brings so much hype to it, the scoring can work against you but it’s sick and so great to watch and play in. It was unbelievable playing here in front of a live audience – with people cheering you on there’s nothing like it at all and that atmosphere definitely inspired some of the performances today.”
Red Bull Golden Letters pioneers a unique format that offers a fresh and scintillating twist to the classic Tekken 7 formula. In best of five sets, players who can carry out dominant wins or clutch plays and earn ‘Perfect’ or ‘Great’ scores – Tekken’s iconic golden letters – will reap the rewards with automatic wins.
The format helped inspire some unforgettable matches and mouth-watering moments as some of the best Tekken 7 pros showed off their poise under pressure, with a total of 14 Golden Letters victories throughout the competition..
Red Bull Golden Letters host Hassan “Spag” Farooq, commented after the Grand Final: “It’s great to see a UK player put in this kind of amazing performance on home turf at Red Bull Golden Letters. When he started out during the pandemic everyone in the UK could see he had potential for greatness but he’s proved it now with a huge breakout performance.
“Nothing like the Golden Letters format had been done before and it’s been a huge success, genuinely adding to the viewing experience and building up the hype even more for fans with some unforgettable moments, and we’re already hearing people want another one.”
As the Official Hardware Partner The ‘Legion by Lenovo: Beat the Pro’ challenge saw players compete against the best of the best for a chance to win exclusive Legion by Lenovo prizes, with five challengers taking a win against Tekken stars Anakin, Super Akouma, Joey Fury and Chickenmaru to take home exclusive Lenovo headsets. Tekken fans were also treated to additional mouth-watering clashes ahead of the Grand Final as continents collided in UK vs EU and UK vs The World special exhibition matches.
Tekken icon Hassan “Spag” Farooq was front and centre of yet another blockbuster Tekken event as the live broadcast host, supported by an all-star casting team of Rasheed “Bubsy” Jenkins, Hussain “Gosain” Shah and Kobi “K-Wiss” Scarlett. As one of the first major Tekken 7 LAN events of the year, the broadcast garnered over 18,000 concurrent viewers across all channels.
Red Bull Golden Letters was delivered in partnership with Lenovo Legion, official hardware partner of The Red Bull Gaming Sphere.
eSports
Emmy-Winning Director R.J. Cutler’s Docuseries Esports World Cup: Level Up Premieres June 6 on Prime Video
Prime Video, one of the leading entertainment destinations, will premiere the five-part documentary Esports World Cup: Level Up on June 6, with new episodes released weekly. Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler (Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, Elton John: Never Too Late and Martha), the series goes behind-the-scenes of the inaugural Esports World Cup (EWC) in 2024 — a defining moment in global esports, where over $60 million in prize money ignited a high-stakes, multinational battle to crown the world’s top esports Club.
The series is produced by This Machine (a part of Sony Pictures Television), with R.J. Cutler directing, John Dorsey serving as showrunner, and Jane Cha Cutler, Trevor Smith, Elise Pearlstein and Mark Blatty executive producing. Level Up will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Esports World Cup: Level Up offers a rare look inside a global competition that’s redefining what it means to be a champion for a new generation of athletes and fans. R.J. Cutler and his team of expert storytellers embedded themselves within the eight-week tournament – watched by over 500 million fans globally – to uncover the personal sacrifices, rivalries and stakes driving the action.
Shot in verité style, the series combines intimate home visits from around the world and on-the-ground coverage from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It follows a wide cast of characters – from Club CEOs orchestrating million-dollar strategies to rising stars chasing life-changing wins – while capturing the pulse of elite esports competition.
“What drew me to the Esports World Cup was the compelling human stories unfolding within this high-stakes arena. Level Up isn’t just about the incredible competition and prize money; it’s about the dedication, the passion, and the sheer will of these athletes and teams pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Under high pressure, we discover the true character of the competitors who vie for $60 million, but who also expose their humanity in the process,” said Cutler.
At the heart of Level Up is the “EWC Club Championship,” an unprecedented, multi-title tournament format where Clubs compete across more than 20 games, earning points toward a single leaderboard. Every match, every point, reshapes the race for global dominance. With the highest prize pool in esports history on the line, the EWC is not just a tournament – it’s a proving ground for the next generation of sports icons.
“A win might make the headlines — but the real story is the people behind it. Level Up dives into the human side of esports: the pressure, the ambition, the sacrifices. It’s about what it really takes to compete at the highest level — and why it matters. R.J. is the best at bringing those stories to life, and this one captures the heart of what we’re building,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation.
The post Emmy-Winning Director R.J. Cutler’s Docuseries Esports World Cup: Level Up Premieres June 6 on Prime Video appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Esports betting pioneer adds daily fantasy esports offering to its growing range of products, with its sights set on the US market
PandaScore, the award-winning provider of esports odds, data and betting products, has continued to push boundaries with the launch of Daily Fantasy eSports, a truly groundbreaking product for operators and players.
Daily Fantasy eSports has been developed for the US market but will have global appeal with players drawn in by the chance to create virtual teams of real-life players and earn points based on their actual game performances.
Contests range from daily matchups to season-long leagues, with plenty of prizes up for grabs.
PandaScore’s Daily Fantasy eSports is backed by an expert-led esports trading team to deliver fast, accurate settlement data across unique, player-focused markets driven by the provider’s established and proven betting models.
An Interactive Player Widget serves up rich player stats and profiles, with PandaScore’s powerful BetBuilder enabling same-game parlays.
But that’s not all. PandaScore has more than 17,000 players in its esports player age and info database, the largest in the market.
It also offers dedicated helper codes and documentation to ensure smooth and seamless operator integration. It really is as easy as 1-2-3.
1 – There is a kick-off call to align on goals, timelines and fantasy formats.
2 – The operator accesses PandaScore’s dedicated fantasy-focused API to accelerate the build
3 – The dedicated integration manager ensures effortless onboarding and a successful launch
By leveraging PandaScore’s odds and data, alongside its team of experts and specialists, online sportsbook and daily fantasy sports operators can launch faster, ensure accuracy and scale their Daily Fantasy eSports offering with confidence.
Oliver Niner, Head of B2B at PandaScore, said: “Daily Fantasy eSports is a pioneering product from PandaScore that will really hit the mark with operators across North America, as well as other global markets.
“It allows operators to engage esports fans and bettors with a compelling product and proposition, but without the degree of risk that comes with standard betting as the payouts are controlled.
“Daily Fantasy eSports is already live with Dabble and is performing incredibly well, so we look forward to going live with more operators in the coming months.
“This really is a game-changing product, and we can’t wait to see it become available at some of the biggest betting brands in North America and beyond.”
The launch of Daily Fantasy eSports complements PandaScore’s growing esports betting offering, which includes odds and data for a huge number of disciplines, plus betting products like its BetBuilder, MicroMarkets and StoryBuilder.
The post PandaScore launches game-changing Daily Fantasy eSports product appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Esports Charts, a Ukraine-born analytics company that aggregates real-time viewership insights about esports, has won the Esports Innovation Award at the EsportsNext Industry Awards, hosted by the Esports Trade Association (ESTA) in Dallas, US.
The Esports Innovation Award recognizes an organization or individual that has introduced groundbreaking technology, services, or strategies significantly advancing the esports industry.
Esports Charts was honored for its scalable analytics platform, which provides comprehensive tournament and viewership statistics across more than 25 livestreaming services — helping stakeholders from publishers and teams to fans make smarter, data-driven decisions.
“Winning the Innovation Award from ESTA is an important milestone for us as a leading esports analytics service in the world. Also, we’re especially proud to represent Ukraine-born innovation on an international stage.
“From day one, our mission has been to bring clarity and transparency to the world of esports data. And this recognition from the industry is both an honor and a motivation to keep raising the bar.
“Thank you to our incredible team and partners, who believed in us from the start. This award is a shared success — and we’re just getting started,” Artyom Odintsov, co-founder and CEO of Esports Charts.
The post Esports Charts Wins “Esports Innovation Award” at the EsportsNext Industry Awards appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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