Welcome to the latest esports roundup. Send me an email at mat@geekybrummie.com to get your story featured.
British Esports & North Yorkshire Police Team Up
Yep, you read that right. British Esports Association is supporting the North Yorkshire Police and the Youth Justice Service in a new pilot which utilizes esports and gaming to improve police engagement with young people in and around the city of York.
The plan is to enable the police to reach vulnerable young people in communities in York, and to build positive relationships through the power of esports and gaming.
North Yorkshire Police are aiming to help improve police engagement with children and young people in the area, as well as seeking support from their parents and guardians.
The pilot will cover a variety of sessions including casual gaming, skills workshops, careers awareness, and building a safe place for young people. At the end of the pilot, there will be a ‘Cops v Kids’ fun competitive gaming session with the police playing on a team against young people in the area.
BEA is providing kit and guidance throughout the pilot and will produce a case study from the findings.
I love this idea. It shows real innovation in understanding and engaging with young people through a modern platform. I hope this pilot succeeds and maybe West Midlands Police could look at adopting it too?
Wolves Esports Partner with Evil Geniuses
Premier League Football Club Wolverhampton Wolves have partnered with the North American esports giant Evil Geniuses in a deal. The partnership will see both teams increase their reach into new geographic markets and expand their expertise in player performance.
Evil Geniuses are big. They have one of the most decorated histories in esports, winning 86 national and 102 international championship titles. The organisation currently competes in four of the world’s biggest esports titles – League of Legends, Dota 2, CSGO, and Valorant. Their rosters also contain some of the world’s most talented and followed players.
About the Partnership.
Wolves branding will feature on Evil Geniuses’ uniforms. Evil Geniuses’ logo will also feature a splash of gold during the launch. Wolves’ Chinese team will help Evil Geniuses’ expansion into the Asian market. Which has a market size of approximately RMB 150billion in 2021.
Wolves will also provide Evil Geniuses with local training facilities in China. These include a training base for the League of Legends World Championship, should the team qualify for the showcase event in Shenzhen later this year.
The partnership comes off the back of Fosun Sports Group, which owns Wolves, agreeing to make an investment into Evil Geniuses. The team is now valued at $255 million post-investment.
Wolves Esports has been going from strength to strength. This partnership now provides the brand with an outstanding foothold on the global esports stage. Another big win for the Wolf Pack and the West Midlands!
LDN UTD Win Big at Summer League of Legends UKEL
LDN UTD has won the UK Esports League (UKEL) League of Legends Summer 2021 Championships.
The London-based team went up against NOX Esports in the grand final on 1st August. NOX were on top winning their first match in the best of five. However, LDN pulled it back in game two destroying the nexus and winning 22 kills to14 at the 22-minute mark.
Game three was well fought with NOX standing their ground valiantly but ultimately succumbing to LDN to make it a 3-1 victory for the London-based team. This means LDN UTD has finished as champions of the Summer 2021 UKEL – the tier below the UK League Championships (UKLC).
Both teams fought very hard, congratulating each other on social media for their efforts. They will now both enter the relegation series to fight for a space at the 2022 Spring UKLC.
You can watch the explosive grand final here.
Who else was there?
The 8-week tournament saw 8 teams battle it out – Demise, London Academy, Lucendi Gaming, Munster Rugby, nerdRage, X7 Esport, and, of course, LDN UTD and NOX Esports. Lucendi and London Academy were knocked out in the round-robin stage. This left the other 6 to progress to the playoffs.
NerdRage was removed from the league following foul play in their roster changes. Without going into too much detail they snuck a smurf into their lineup, giving them an unfair advantage. Their slot was handed to their previous roster, leading to the formation of Orgless.
The final standings saw Orgless come third, X7 Esports fourth, Demise fifth, and Munster Rugby sixth.
Blast Donate Fines to Charity
Blast Premier win the nicest esports organiser of the week after donating $5,000 to Safe In Our World. The global CSGO tournament organiser donated the fines they had accumulated from teams during the 2021 Spring Season (February to June).
Who are Safe in Our World?
Safe in our World is a UK-based mental health and wellbeing charity video game charity. Their work involves players, teams, and organisations in the industry struggling with mental health issues.
They were founded in 2019 and their mission is to foster positive mental health wellbeing and deliver support for players, developers, publishers, retailers, and the other people and teams who drive the video games industry forward.
Some of the work the charity has undertaken to date includes launching a Level Up Mental Health Programme that empowers companies to priorities its employees mental health, creating a Safer Together Discord channel that offers a safe space to interact with fellow gamers and introducing a Community Manager Mental Health Course, which is free for community managers and public-facing roles within the industry.
That’s it from me for another week, friends! I’ll see you next week.
Leave a Reply