Unikrn is getting into brick-and-mortar on the Las Vegas Strip. The Seattle esports betting startup today announced a new deal with MGM Resorts International to host live video game tournaments on Friday and Saturday evenings next year inside the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The events will take place at Level Up, a new entertainment complex inside MGM that opened one year ago. Unikrn will create a “branded esports experience,” said CEO Rahul Sood, and host competitions for a variety of games like Street Fighter, Madden, NBA 2K, and more. Competitors will have a chance… Read More
The Portland Trail Blazers just hired a new manager, but probably not the type you’d expect from an NBA team. The latest 20-year-old to join Portland’s pro hoops franchise won’t be draining 3-pointers or snagging rebounds on the court. Instead, Cameron McAlees will help lead Portland’s new Blazer5 Gaming esports team as its first-ever operations manager. Blazer5 Gaming is one of 17 teams that will compete next year in the new NBA 2K League, a joint venture between the NBA and Take Two Interactive, makers of the popular NBA 2K video game. Each team is associated with a traditional NBA… Read More
A new trailer for “Breakaway,” the multiplayer action game from Amazon Game Studios, encourages participants to “play like the world is watching.” And that’s certainly the overall goal as developers have partnered closely with Twitch in hopes of becoming the next big thing in the lucrative world of streaming gaming. The trailer for the game, which is still an alpha release, was revealed at Gamescom in Germany this week. “Players fight for dominance across fabled locations such as El Dorado, Atlantis, and Styx,” according to the game description. “They battle to control the Relic — the center of Breakaway’s action… Read More
There may be some heated League of Legends competitions going on the next time you pass by a Microsoft Store. The tech giant announced today that it is partnering with ASUS Republic of Gamers and HyperX to host weekly League of Legends events at its physical stores across the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and Australia. Called “ROG Arena at Microsoft Store,” the competitions invite local players to sign up for 5-on-5 battles each Saturday beginning Aug. 26, with up to eight teams at the weekly tournaments. The only requirement to compete is an active League of Legends account; Microsoft will provide… Read More
The NFL is getting more involved in esports. The league today announced that it is partnering with EA Sports to launch the Madden NFL Club Championship, a new gaming competition that includes all 32 NFL teams. The NFL previously helped host Madden tournaments in select NFL cities; the Seahawks, for example, hosted their first Madden event in Seattle earlier this year. But the new partnership now includes all 32 NFL teams. Madden gamers will qualify for the championship by playing online, with the top performers advancing to live tournaments at NFL stadiums and other landmarks. From there, the winning players… Read More
