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Fortnite’s esports entry makes history
Epic Games doesn’t mess around. The editor just announced that they will put 100 million dollars on the table for the ever popular Fortnite’s competitive start. The first professional Fortnite season should take place in 2018-2019. Epic Games can count on the game’s huge success and on major ambassadors such as Tyler “Ninja” Blevins. For a few months, Ninja’s constantly been at the top of Twitch audiences.
However, there’s still a lot we don’t know from the editor’s announcement. Still, they did state that their approach will be different, more focused on the joy of playing and watching the game.
ESPN+ to air NA LCS
Esports vulgarisation keeps going. ESPN recently signed a partnership with Riot Games to obtain the rights to air the North American League of Legends Championship Series. The competition will be livestreamed on ESPN’s new streaming service, ESPN+. This association takes a non-exclusive form, meaning it won’t collide with Youtube and Twitch. While the latter maintain its free aspect, ESPN hopes to open up ESPN+’s subscribers to esports. The partnership should begin officially on June 16th, starting date of the NA LCS.
Fortnite’s first scholarship revealed
LoL is doing it, so is Overwatch … why not Fortnite? Ashland University (Louisville, Kentucky) decided to offer a scholarship to the best players of Epic Games’ popular battle royale. While many schools are rejecting the game, Devin Sharp, 22 years old, didn’t have to think about it twice. He told ESPN: “Honestly, I’m still somewhat in shock. Hearing it being said in those words, it’s nothing short of mind-blowing. On the other hand, it also motivates me to keep grinding, because it’s proof that hard work towards your dreams really can pay off.”
Dignitas shakes things up
American structure Dignitas is transforming. First and foremost, they just hired a new CEO, Michael Prindiville. He takes the place of Jonathan Kemp, who left a while ago. Under this new leadership, Dignitas already signed Rocket League’s world champions, previously on Gale Force eSports. Moreover, Prindiville is seriously thinking about submitting an application to enter EU LCS, and relocating to Los Angeles. All those changes are part of the structure “update”, which may – it’s not confirmed yet – go as far as replace the Dignitas name altogether.
Cover picture credits : Epic Games
