eSports
Galaxy Racer’s AboFlah raises US $1M for charity in record-smashing 28 hour livestream
The “Warm Their Hearts” stream was held to celebrate AboFlah reaching 20 million followers globally and the US$1M raised for UNHCR will help refugees this winter
Galaxy Racer (GXR), the biggest esports, gaming and lifestyle organisation, headquartered in Dubai, has announced that its content creator, Hassan ‘AboFlah’ Suleiman has successfully raised US$1M in a charity stream for UNHCR, The UN Refugee Agency.
AboFlah started live streaming on his YouTube channel on Friday 29th October 2021, which lasted for 28 hours until he successfully hit the target of US$1M, with donations pouring in from all over the world. His live stream was a record-breaker, it reached over 588K peak concurrent views and over 28 million total views, smashing multiple streaming records regionally, including being the Top 5 Global content creator on YouTube for peak concurrent views.
AboFlah decided to honour his 20 million subscribers milestone by partnering with UNHCR to help refugees this winter and launch the Warm Their Hearts campaign and live stream on his YouTube channel. He pledged to stream until he reached his US $1M goal to provide for over 5,600 families (that’s more than 17,000 people) with urgent winter aid that will secure shelter, warm food and clothing, fuel for heating, as well as medicine. While the refugee crisis continues across the region, the harsh winter season presents itself again, forcing already vulnerable families into further hardship, insecurity and suffering.
This positive impact initiative follows a string of impressive charity streams AboFlah has conducted when hitting previous milestones, including raising money to build a hospital, a well in Africa for those without access to drinking water, a mosque, houses for refugees in Syria as well as organising thousands of cataract surgeries.
Galaxy Racer’s Content Creator and YouTube sensation, AboFlah commented: “After hitting another major milestone on my channel with 20M subscribers, I am truly honoured and grateful to share that we’ve hit the US$1M target with UNHCR’s charity fundraising live stream for refugees and displaced families in the region. I wouldn’t have been able to do these charity streams and give back to the community without the incredible support from my fans. Thank you to everyone who has supported me so far and look forward to speaking to you all on the stream!”
Galaxy Racer’s CEO, Paul Roy commented: “This record-breaking remarkable achievement shows the true spirit of the esports and gaming community united as one, and we are at an epitome of a cultural phenomenon that is taking place rapidly across the globe. AboFlah’s good nature of wanting to give back to the community is a testament of Galaxy Racer’s core values in our content creators and we are looking forward to more record-breaking positive impact initiatives in the future!”
UNHCR’s Chief of Private Sector Partnerships in MENA, Houssam Chahine commented: “With the winter season fast approaching, many refugees and internally displaced families rely on UNHCR’s assistance to be able to afford to keep safe and warm and provide their children with shelter, food and medicine. The cold season brings with it additional costs of heating, home insulation, warm clothes, and/or medical expenses, for families already facing difficulty meeting their basic needs.
“With many being forced to make difficult choices in order to keep their families warm. We are grateful to generous individuals like AboFlah, who use their platform, reach and influence for good. We hope AboFlah and Galaxy Racer’s determination to mobilize their community for a good cause is a shining example and inspiration for youth in the region to take action to support refugees and internally displaced people and encourage an increase in responsibility-sharing and support from the private sector as well in addressing the needs of displaced communities.”
Launching his YouTube channel in 2017, AboFlah began posting gaming content of him playing FIFA17 before creating content on Fall Guys and Fortnite. AboFlah went on to join Galaxy Racer’s content creator team earlier this year, which already boasts some of the biggest content creators in the MENA and Southeast Asia region including fellow YouTube sensation Noor Stars. The organisation now carries over 100 content creators, with a total reach of over 500 million followers across all platforms and more than two billion views.
Galaxy Racer launched in 2019 and has already become one of the biggest esports, gaming, and lifestyle organisations globally. The organisation has five separate business offerings; Esports Teams, Content Creators, Tournament Management, Merchandising and Lifestyle and GXR Records, a newly established record label that already carries two signed artists from the MENA region and are looking to expand globally.
Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) today announced that 30 esports Clubs from across the globe have been accepted into its debut EWCF Club Support Program. The full lineup of Clubs includes 100 Thieves, Blacklist International, Cloud9, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, Furia Esports, G2 Esports, Gaimin Gladiators, Gen.G Esports, Guild Esports, Karmine Corp, KOI, LGD Gaming, LOUD, OG, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, NRG Esports, Spacestation Gaming, T1, Talon Esports, Team Falcons, Team Liquid, Team Secret, Team Vitality, TSM, Tundra Esports, Twisted Minds, Virtus.pro and Weibo Gaming.
The EWCF Club Support Program is a pioneering initiative designed to promote the creation of sustainable infrastructure for multidisciplinary esports Clubs. Furthermore, the program empowers esports Clubs to expand their investment across more games, providing impactful career opportunities and competitive support to athletes around the world.
As members of the EWCF Club Support Program, these esports organizations can receive six-figure funding to enter into new esports titles at the highest level, diversifying their competitive footprint and providing more opportunities for esports athletes. The funding has already enabled esports Clubs to:
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Re-enter esports titles in which they previous established long histories of involvement, and enter new gaming genres with strong grassroots resonance
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Expand into new international markets by signing athletes and rosters outside their home region, fueling stronger global esports infrastructure
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Create novel content verticals to engage fans with compelling athlete narratives, along with hiring the staff needed to support those efforts
In response to the significant interest in the Program from Clubs all over the world, the Program increased the number of available slots from 28 to 30. Of the 30 Clubs, eight were selected through an open application period in February 2024, during which the EWC Foundation received more than 150 applications. Applications were judged on three core criteria: a Club’s esports pedigree, its forward-looking competitive strategy and goals, and its creative approach to content and fan engagement. The 30 Clubs hail from five major esports regions — Europe, Asia, North America, South America and the Middle East — making the EWCF Club Support Program a truly global endeavor.
“The Club Support Program is critical to the EWC Foundation’s vision of building a stronger esports ecosystem and elevating esports as global sports,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO, Esports World Cup Foundation. “Because we received so many high quality applications, we expanded our original allocation of 28 Club Support Program slots to 30, a testament to the strength of our program as it supports some of the world’s best esports Clubs. I’m excited to cheer on these Clubs as they work to qualify for the Esports World Cup and its life-changing prize pool of more than $60 million.”
A Club’s acceptance into the EWC Club Support Program does not guarantee their participation at the Esports World Cup. All Clubs and athletes must seek to qualify on their own merits for each title. The prize pools in each Game Championship, along with the cross-game EWC Club Championship, are available to all EWC competitors. Regardless of their qualification to the Esports World Cup, all members of the EWC Club Support Program will be eligible for annual financial rewards based on their ability to drive viewership and fan engagement to the EWC.
The Club Championship, an innovative cross-game competitive format unique to the EWC, will award a total of $20 million to the top 16 Clubs based on their cross-game performance. At the event’s conclusion, the Club with the best performance across various game championships will be crowned the world’s first Esports World Cup Club Champion. Additionally, each of the 20 Game Championships will have their own prize pool with a combined total exceeding $33 million. A standout participant in each competition will receive a $50,000 MVP Award.
The post 30 Esports Clubs Join the Esports World Cup Foundation’s Club Support Program! appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Abios, the esports subsidiary of Kambi Group plc, has appointed CTO Anton Janér as its new Managing Director, succeeding Abios’ long-term CEO Oskar Bonnevier Fröberg who has stepped down to pursue new endeavours.
Having co-founded the company alongside Fröberg in 2013, Janér assumed leadership of Abios as Managing Director effective from 1 May. He brings extensive experience in technology to his new role, as well as a deep understanding of the esports market, and as CTO was instrumental in the development of Abios’ market-leading esports solutions.
Spearheaded by Fröberg for more than 10 years, Abios has witnessed incredible growth since launch, expanding the company to reach millions of esports fans, power scores of businesses in esports, media, betting, and entertainment sectors, and employ roughly 70 people worldwide.
Furthermore, Fröberg successfully navigated Abios through its acquisition by Kambi Group, a leading sports betting technology company, in 2021. Bonnevier Fröberg played a pivotal role in ensuring a smooth integration within the Kambi Group, further solidifying Abios’ position within the esports betting landscape.
Janér said: “I am honored to take on the role of Managing Director and lead Abios into its next chapter. Oskar and I have had a lot of fun together throughout the years at Abios, building the company into the industry leader it is today. I am very excited about the future of Abios and eager to take the business to new heights alongside our excellent team.”
Fröberg added: “It is with mixed emotions that I have resigned as CEO of Abios. This decision has not been an easy one, as I have dedicated more than 10 years of my life to building and leading this organisation together with Anton. However, we could not have found a better home for Abios than Kambi nor could I have found a better successor than Anton, giving me every confidence that Abios will only flourish moving forward.”
The post Abios names co-founder Anton Janér as new Managing Director appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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