Esports Arena is a curated weekly roundup of the biggest stories in the world of online competitive gaming.
Irvine, Calif.-based Allied Esports — which owns competitive gaming arenas in Las Vegas, Orange County, Oakland and China — reported $6 million in total revenue over its most recent fiscal quarter, up more than 10 percent year-over-year from $5.5 million. The biggest gains were seen in in-person revenue, mainly from the HyperX Esports Arena in Las Vegas, which gained 17 percent over 2018’s figures. Year-to-date, Allied’s revenue is up to $19.6 million, up more than 20 percent year-over-year from $15.2 million.
The most recent quarter was Allied’s first since going public in August when it was acquired by Black Ridge Acquisition Corp. CEO Frank Ng also announced a continued partnership with Mexican media conglomerate TV Azteca and shareholder Simon Property Group for the upcoming Simon Cup esports tournament in Ontario, Calif., and bringing World Poker Tour programming to Mexico.
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Elsewhere, Chinese esports organization FunPlus Phoenix bested G2 Esports in a three-game sweep to win the 2019 League of Legends World Championships in Paris this weekend. The MVP award was awarded to Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang, while Lin “Lwx” Wei-Xiang earned the distinction of being the first player ever to go deathless through the entire Finals competition. After the event ended, Riot Games announced that Shanghai would play host to the 2020 World Championships, which will be held at the Shanghai Stadium.
Here’s what else is happening in the world of esports.
Smash Bros. Vets Released From Contract
Panda Global, one of the longest tenured Super Smash Bros. teams, has parted ways with two of its top players: Ultimate pro Brian “Cosmos” Kalu and the current sixth-ranked Melee player in the world, Zain Naghmi. CEO Alan Bunney announced the moves in a video posted to Panda Global’s official YouTube page, saying, “While we are sad to see them going, we are also really proud of where they have gotten and who they have become while they were with us.” Neither player has signed with a new team.
DOTA 2 Pro Removed From Team for Skipping Practice
Ukrainian DOTA 2 team HellRaisers has placed Ilya “ALOHADANCE” Korobkin on the transfer list for refusing to practice with the team. The team did not elaborate on Korobkin’s removal from the team, only announcing that he will be replaced by Semion “CemaTheSlayer” Krivulya, formerly of Vega Squadron and The Pango. Korobkin addressed the benching in Russian on social network VK, saying that he will continue to pursue a career in competitive gaming.
Counter Logic Gaming Welcomes Back Former Pro in New Role
CLG is welcoming back an old friend in a brand-new role as former CounterStrike: Global Offensive pro Stephanie “MissHarvey” Harvey is rejoining the organization. Harvey will be the new director of esports franchise development and outreach, a position that “will focus on engaging with the female esports community to provide a platform for inclusivity-focused esports programming.” CLG Founder and President George “HotshotGG” Georgallidis said he’s “long admired Stephanie for all she has done for the esports industry,” adding that he “can’t wait to see what CLG and MissHarvey can create.”
