Team’s “News of the Week” (March 1st – March 7th)

 

Competitive players and Team Owners like you are often consuming more game-related insights… But what about the industry itself?

That’s the type of awareness that gets you the victory on the podium.

Let’s find out what were the 10 “News of the Week” from March 1st to 7th.

 

1) G2 Pengu Retires from Professional Rainbow Six Siege (R6) Scene

The Rainbow Six Siege superstar Pengu has retired from G2’s roster.
After becoming one of Europe’s top Siege players, this announcement made on March 1st, during his Twitch live stream, came as a shock to his fans and the whole Rainbow Six Siege community.

It’s been FIVE years.
Five years of living my childhood dream, and getting to experience the most incredible things.

I have stepped down as an active pro league player active as of this tweet.

I cant wait to show you what the future holds. But for now.
we gotta be patient.

— Pengu (@Pengu) March 1, 2021

He announced that the reason to step away from the competitive scene is to focus full-time on content creation. So, he’s not retiring due to a streak of “lost invitational events,” as many rumored.

G2 released an emotional tribute (titled “Thank You, Pengu”) following the announcement.

 

 

2) “Blaseball” Online Browser-Based Sports Game is Back

Fans of the online web-browser massive multiplayer sports management game noticed a few changes on the website, signaling its season comeback: Weather, Idols, and many other icons were updated and a large number of consumable snacks were added.

Blaseball began in 2020 and had eleven seasons throughout the whole year, but the developing team (The Game Band) took pauses to catch up with the game’s development/popularity.

If you haven’t heard about it: Blaseball is being played at all times (literally) in your PC browser. “Seasons” last one week. Every week consists of 99 games played (one per hour).

Like with almost every other sports management game, you start by signing up, picking a team, and betting free but fake money. But what differentiates Blaseball the most, is that fans choose to vote for new absurd rules that change every Sunday, when the votes are tallied.

 

 

3) Activision’s C.O.D.E (Call of Duty Endowment) Showcase 2020s Event Results

According to Activision, their non-profit organization branch, known as C.O.D.E., helped 15,446 former service members land new jobs in 2020, making it its best year since 2009.

From that total, 94% were full-time roles; 21% placements were women; 28% were Black.

They also shared that the 2020s was also the year with the highest average salary for soldiers: $61,050.

These numbers weren’t published until, which represents good news after so many bad ones, as the Bob Woodruff Foundation projection of 2020 being the year with the highest number of affected soldiers, due to COVID-19.

C.O.D.E. successfully partnered with teams of Activision titles to sell in-game content to benefit the Endowment. They also held a charity esport tournament called “C.O.D.E. Bowl” to raise awareness and money ($900,000 collected).

 

 

4) Aspen Hits Rank 1 in Overwatch’s Competitive Ladder

Overwatch Streamer and support player Becca “Aspen” Rukavina reached rank 1 of the competitive ladder, she revealed on Twitter.

Rank 1 and 4700 pic.twitter.com/YQzHi0szoo

— Aspen (@Aspen_OW) February 28, 2021

With a skill rating of 4704, she deserves the spot, when the average player has 2500.

Pro players (like Linkzr and Custa) congratulated Aspen and many followers raised questions about how a support hero can reach the highest position on the ladder.

Many speculated that Mercy would be the easiest ticket to achieve in the current meta, but Aspen replied both Baptiste and Lucio were her preferred heroes. She also highlighted the fact that the easiest way to climb is “to avoid getting angry and communicate with allies.”

 

 

5) Dr. Disrespect Has Been Banned and Unbanned for 3rd Time

Those well-aware of Dr.Disrespect know that this isn’t uncommon, but it’s always interesting to see what types of problems the Doc gets into.

This third ban almost cost him the opportunity to compete in the Warzone’s Toronto Ultra.

While any of the organizers didn’t say a single open word about it, the Doc itself announced:

“Well, we’re allowed to compete. Flip phone rang the other day, good news, we can compete in warzone tournaments again.”

Before that, YouTuber and Player ZLaner released a short video suggesting the 2020’s Twitch ban was responsible for this one.

Luckily for the Doc’s fans, he’s back to the podium.

 

6) Valheim’s “The Viking Legends” PvP Tournament is Here

The Viking Legends inaugural tournament aired this Saturday on Twitch to incentivize Vailheim players to kill each other.

The premier of Vikings of Legend is THIS Sat at 4PM EST!

⚔️Watch 2 teams of 4 Vikings take turns defending their bases until one team wins 3 rounds and claims victory!

🕹️Come support our @AbleGamers fundraising campaign!

📣Hosted by @DreadDoug & @SayHeyRocco

🎥twitch in bio pic.twitter.com/U6s4S4gOXg

— Vikings Of Legend (@vikingsoflegend) March 1, 2021

Of course, simple rules had to be followed:

The participant Vikings (two teams of four) have to start naked on a server and rotate to destroy each other’s bases. Each match had a starting building phase of one hour to recollect. Each player had one bed, which the opponents had to destroy to win.

Then, in the attack phase, one team had to defend while the other attacks. The best 3 out of 5 wins the PvP tournament organized by AbleGamers charity to help disabled gamers.

 

 

7) HyperX Reveals Apparel Partnership with Champion and Collegiate Sponsorship with FACEIT

HyperX peripheral vendor killed two birds with one stone this week, with double deals.

The first one is an apparel collection with the athletic wear Champion brand. HyperX will take care of the “GG Collection” design creation and manufacturing: hoodies, hats, t-shirts, and face masks.

The second is a sponsorship with tournament organizer of FACEIT CS:GO, LoL, and Valorant collegiate leagues. They’ll host the Collegiate All-Stars tournaments, providing funding and prizes across esports clubs.

This is not the first time HyperX and FACEIT collaborate. They also did for FACEIT Global Summit and the London Major.

 

 

8) FC Barcelona Clubs Will Compete in Chinese League of Legends Pro League (LPL)

2PlayBook report reveals the Football Club Barcelona will enter the LoL competitive scene by sponsoring one of the Chinese League of Legends Pro League franchise teams.

This play isn’t rare nowadays, with PSG doing exactly that in 2020 with Talon Esports; the Spanish team reveals they do it to save costs of initial license acquisition, which goes around the €5 Million range.

FC Barcelona already owns Rocket League, PES, and Hearthstone teams.

The club’s business plan is ready and it includes sponsorships, content, and merch on their recipe. They’ll try to align with other successful LPL teams that generate 8-figures annually.

 

 

9) International Women’s Month Celebrated with Summits & Tournaments

The International Women’s Month is full of support events, of which some of the most notorious are the “Press Forward: Young Women in Gaming” summit and Brazil’s “Vivo Keyd Girls Championship” ($1,750) and “Valkyrias Tournament” ($8,400 prize pool).

The Press Forward summit consists of panels with successful women in gaming (like the Dignitas captain) as well as networking sessions and resume reviews with recruiter’s feedback. It will take place on April 24 with tickets available on a “pay-what-you-can” basis.

Both tournaments seek to “enhance the visibility of women in esports, promote the competitive spirit, and expand the reach of women’s voices in the scene.” The Valkirias tournament started on March 8 with the help of Tencent Games and Krafton.

They’re broadcasted through Vivo Keyd’s Twitch channel and will have their finals on March 12.

 

 

10) Gen.G to Host Esports Invitational with the University of Kentucky

Gen.G has partnered with the University of Kentucky to launch the “University of Kentucky Esports Invitational.” Down below is the list of schools that also compete in the League of Legends (March 12), Valorant (March 13), and Rocket League (March 14) invitational:

• Auburn University
• Mississippi State University
• Texas A&M University
• University of Alabama
• University of Georgia
• University of Kentucky
• University of Mississippi
• University of Missouri
• University of Tennessee

The tournament is the first of its kind, where student casters can also participate on the official Twitch stream. Each title’s winner school will take $1K of prize money.