ESports Breaking News in July

Big things are happening in the world of eSports this July.

Let’s take a moment to go over a few major factors in eSports today. Including the F1 Esports Series, Vancouver blowing up as an eSports hub, and the LCS’s Echo Fox on a timer to remove a shareholder for ‘racist remarks.’

F1 New Balance Esports Pro Series

We get so caught up in our first-person shooters, MMORPG, and RTS games, even tracking odds and probabilities at sites like YouWager that we forget about the fact that there are millions of people totally into auto racing. Especially nowadays where auto racing games are more of a simulation than a game, it has become a true test of hand-eye coordination – and foot when playing with a pedal and steering wheel setup– and timing. The auto racing gaming community must feel like the red-headed stepchild to those entrenched in CS: GO, LoL, StarCarft and DOTA 2.

But F1 is starting to come into its own. On July 16th, ten drivers were drafted in the Pro Draft to teams like McLaren Shadow, Red Bull Racing Esports, Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports, Alfa Romeo Racing F1 Esports, and Ferrari Driver Academy. 41 of the world’s top drivers were whittled down out of a whopping 109,000 qualifying participants. From the 41, the slowest were eliminated, and the field was further reduced to 30. OUt of the remaining 30, the drive off continued and the top-ten drivers emerged, who were then drafted on July 17th to join their new Pro F1 teams.

10 teams now make up the F1 New Balance Esports Pro Series, and the prize pool has jumped to an incredible five-hundred-thousand dollars! The Season is comprised of four major, live events with a total of 12 races taking place through the fall, on September 11th, October 2nd, November 6th, and December 4th.

F1 has arrived ladies and gentlemen.

Vancouver Booming

A recent documentary by Melissa Dex Guzman highlighted the gaming community in the city of Vancouver, British Columbia. Not only has Vancouver been the site for several high-profile, big-money tournaments over the years, but the city is also a mecca for career opportunities. You don’t necessarily have to be the best gamer to make a living at eSports, especially in a thriving esports community like that of Vancouver. Marketing, publicity, events coordination, graphic design, et cetera are all paths one could take in eSports if they understand and embrace the culture.

Smash Forward, the documentary was released this week; a fantastic medium for non-gamers to see that video games are not an anti-social activity. But true community where people come together to support one another and make big things happen.

Echo Fox Gets One More Week

Former Laker and eSports entrepreneur, Rick Fox, stated that he was leaving Team Echo Fox, the team he co-founded nearly five years ago due to racist remarks by a shareholder identified as Amit Raizada. This was back in Apri. He told reporters, “I will not support or be associated with such behavior and attitudes displayed at the shareholder level. Racism is an anathema to what my personal brand strives for and tolerating any form of discrimination, such as this is not acceptable.”

Riot Games and the LCS responded by giving Echo Fox 60 days to remove the shareholder from his position. Now, it appears those days are up, and the LCS is giving the League of Legends team one more week to remove Amit Raizada.

It is reported by Dextero that they are close to reaching a resolution, hence the one-week extension. That said, it will be interesting to see how this gets handled, especially if Echo Fox balks for any continued length of time.