Latest News

Staffordshire University makes history in college esports

Published

6 months ago

July 19, 2024

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Students of Staffordshire University have achieved a unique success: becoming the UK’s first winning university team in Europe’s premier esports competition between colleges. Players of ‘Korean Pop Superstars (KPS)’ emerged victorious last weekend in VALORANT (Riot Games’ shooter title) at the Grand Final of UNIVERSITY Esports Masters (UE Masters), where they defeated their rivals from National University of Physical Education and Sport of Ukraine (NUPESU) by a score of 3-2.

It was not an easy road to glory. British representatives had to overcome the continuous returns from the Ukrainian players, who demonstrated a tough competitive spirit throughout the Grand Final. However, it was a great sporting experience in which fair play prevailed between the two teams. In fact, students of KPS waited over an hour for their NUPESU’s counterparts due to a problem with the venue where they were competing.

All the clashes at the Grand Finals of UE Masters (both VALORANT and League of Legends) were played entirely in online format. Live streams of the showdowns on Twitch and X (formerly Twitter) accumulated more than 40,000 views throughout last weekend on two official social channels with over 11,000 followers.

A great victory for the UK

The win of KPS is a meaningful milestone for college esports in the UK. For the first time, a British team has been crowned as Champion of UE Masters, the most important esports tournament in the college ecosystem across Europe. Since the first edition of the competition in 2016, Great Britain has had representatives, but none had been able to lift the Championship title.

This group of five students from Staffordshire University, integrated by Diarmuid McGirr, Josh Green, Zain Lim, Stanley Lebon, and Ignas Kantauta as the main squad, have completed a successful performance in this edition of UE Masters: overcoming qualifiers, beating the best opponents, and positioning the UK at the top of the university esports in the continent.

One of the KPS integrants, Zain Lim, said: “Playing as a team has definitely been fun, competing with friends just created such an atmosphere where it felt like we would beat teams due to just having better vibes than them. I would recommend university esports to others. I felt it made gaming a more social-able hobby, as over 5 years of university, at two different unis, I have met a bunch of people.”

Find out more about VALORANT, the victory’s game

What is VALORANT? What does it consist of? It is one of the most wanted esports-games globally. This shooter title, developed by the giant Riot Games and released in 2020, is a 5v5 character-based tactical FPS where precise gunplay meets unique agent abilities. It also includes a lot of effects and advanced weapons to offer players a better first-person experience.

Millions of people have tested their tactical skills on VALORANT over the past few years. According to the specialized website Tracker Network, over 16 million active users have played VALORANT so far in July worldwide.

Beyond of a video game competition

UE Masters, supported by Riot Games, is the conclusion of the UNIVERSITY Esports season, a global program with a presence in 26 countries on four continents and involving more than 100,000 students from 2,000 universities.

The main objectives of UNIVERSITY Esports are to create a sense of community among players from all over Europe, to give them the opportunity to compete in high quality international tournaments and to provide avenues for young people to develop a career within the esports world, as well as to find a place to learn and enhance their skills.

In the UK and Ireland, UNIVERSITY Esports, a project organized by NUEL (a GGTech Entertainment’s company), has celebrated its 13th Season. The winners of its Winter Split, such as Staffordshire University, have been the national representatives in the outgoing edition of UE Masters.

The post Staffordshire University makes history in college esports appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Latest News

Aviatrix gains final approval in Spain ahead of launch

Published

16 minutes ago

January 14, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: < 1 minute

The multi-award-winning crash game Aviatrix has received final approval from the Spanish regulator ahead of a full launch in the country.

The approval (homologation) from Spain’s Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego (DGOJ) means that any licensed operator in the country can now integrate Aviatrix, either via an aggregator or directly.

Anastasia Rimskaya, Chief Account Officer at Aviatrix, said: “We’re proud to announce that Aviatrix is ready to take flight in Spain in 2025. This is a market we’ve been watching closely for a long time, and we’ve worked really hard to make sure we can offer our game to operators in the easiest way possible. We look forward to building many great, mutually beneficial partnerships in Spain over the coming months.”

The Aviatrix team will be touching down in Spain in January for ICE Barcelona 2025. To find out more about adding the game to your Spanish-licensed operator, drop by stand 2E30.

Aviatrix has significantly increased its regulator footprint around the world over the last 12 months, gaining licences or certifications in major markets, including Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, Colombia, Ontario and many more.

The post Aviatrix gains final approval in Spain ahead of launch appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Latest News

BOOMING GAMES EXPANDS IN WEST AFRICA WITH CHOPBET PARTNERSHIP

Published

16 minutes ago

January 14, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: < 1 minute

Booming Games is excited to reveal its new partnership with ChopBet, a premier operator in Africa.

Established in 2024, ChopBet strives to become Africa’s premier sports entertainment provider. With a clear focus on engaging the continent’s youth, the company offers top-notch sports entertainment products, prioritizing trust and exceptional customer service. Booming Games’ partnership highlights ChopBet’s dedication to delivering high-quality content and creating immersive gaming experiences across Africa. ChopBet Players can now experience world-class gaming right from the comfort of their homes.

Solomon Godwin, Head of Africa at Booming Games, said: “We’re delighted to continue our expansion in African markets, and Chopbet’s strong and trusted brand will only enhance this. Our provision is as wide-ranging as high-quality, and we believe we can offer real value to African players.”

Mr Eazi, Founder & Chairman at ChopBet, said: “We are excited to partner with Booming Games to bring their world-class gaming experience to ChopBet. Booming Games’ portfolio of games aligns perfectly with our vision of delivering premium gaming experiences to our customers across Africa, and we are confident that this partnership will offer our customers exciting new opportunities to enjoy.”

The post BOOMING GAMES EXPANDS IN WEST AFRICA WITH CHOPBET PARTNERSHIP appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Latest News

PlayOJO Becomes the Official Headline Sponsor of ITV1 and ITVX’s Dancing on Ice

Published

16 minutes ago

January 14, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: < 1 minute

PlayOJO Bingo announced today it has inked a deal to be the official sponsor of ITV1’s live celebrity ice-skating competition Dancing on Ice for its seventeenth series.

The agreement includes significant PlayOJO Bingo brand visibility in the format of idents around the Sunday peak-time show. Hosted by Holly Willoughby and Stephen Mulhern, Dancing on Ice challenges celebrities and their professional ice skater partners to learn and perform ice-skating dance routines in front of a panel of judges and live studio audience.

The new season slid onto UK TV screens on 12th January. Celebrities hoping to achieve skating success this year include Olympic rowing legend Sir Steve Redgrave, Love Island star Chris Taylor,  TOWIE’s Dan Edgar and Ferne McCann, former footballer Anton Ferdinand, Coronation Street‘s Sam Aston,  EastEnders star Charlie Brooks and Hollyoaks’ Chelsee Healey; as well as former English football player Anton Ferdinand, comedian Josh Jones, Coronation Street’s Sam Aston, and presenter Michaela Strachan.

The deal includes 120 seconds of on-air brand accreditation via sponsorship idents featuring the PlayOJO Bingo ‘Sounds Like OJO Time’ creative platform and the brand’s iconic three-note sonic logo. There will also be 10 seconds of idents around free programme-streaming content on the ITVX website, ITV’s streaming service, and the STV Player website and mobile app.

Meanwhile, PlayOJO Bingo will have the rights to use the Dancing On Ice show logo, design assets and format across its website, app and social channels and in competitions targeting consumers, trade and employees, as well as certain other marketing communications.

Peter Bennett, CMO at PlayOJO said Dancing on Ice and the SkillOnNet-powered PlayOJO are perfect dance partners.

“PlayOJO Bingo is all about creating a vibrant and entertaining environment where players can challenge themselves and have fun whether they win or lose, just like the celebrities on Dancing on Ice. It’s about building exciting and memorable experiences, whether that be through the thrill of casino games or gliding across the ice.”

The post PlayOJO Becomes the Official Headline Sponsor of ITV1 and ITVX’s Dancing on Ice appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.