Esports Entertainment says subsidiaries link up with Riot Games to host LCS Proving Grounds League of Legends tournament

Esports Entertainment Group Inc (NASDAQ:GMBL) has announced that its subsidiaries EGL and Helix eSports have partnered with Riot Games to host the Summer 2021 North American LCS Proving Grounds League of Legends esports tournament. 

The tournament will take place in three two-day periods spread over three weeks, the company said, beginning on July 12-13, followed by July 19-20 and the grand finals on July 26-27. The grand finals offer a $10,000 prize pool, and teams will earn tiered qualification points based on their placement for a shot to move into the LCS Proving Grounds penultimate events.

The 2021 LCS season is the fourth year of Riot’s North American League Championship Series, a professional esports league for the multiplayer online battle arena PC game League of Legends, the company said. LCS is the top level of professional League of Legends in the US and Canada. The 2020 LCS summer split drew peak viewership of 551,679 viewers and 34.7 million total hours viewed, up 72% over 2019.

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“We are excited to partner with Riot Games on one of the most exciting annual esports tournaments globally,” Helix co-founder Murph Vandervelde said in a statement. “This is a great opportunity to provide our ecosystem of amateur teams with a chance to take the next step in their esports careers. This fits in perfectly with our mission of driving a more transparent amateur to pro-pipeline.”

In January 2021, Esports Entertainment Group completed its acquisition of EGL and signed a binding agreement for its acquisition of Helix eSports.

Helix eSports owns five esports centers, including two of the five largest centers in the US, which provide esports programming and gaming infrastructure. Helix offers casual play, competitive tournaments, STEM programming high school leagues, large groups and esports bootcamps, all with the goal of leveling the playing field in esports and providing equitable access to technology. 

EGL is a business-to-business-centric provider of live and online events and tournaments where gamers can compete and enjoy a wide range of content on a proprietary technology platform with more than 350,000 registered gamers, the company said. Its services include full turnkey esports events, live broadcast production, game launches and online branded tournaments.

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Story by ProactiveInvestors