This week in Esports: Genius partner with FACEIT, DOJO investment and Subaru enter the fray

The highlights this week in esports include: Genius Sports’ partnership with FACEIT; big data startup DOJO Madness receiving further investment; Stephen A. Crystal adding PENTA Sports to his investments and Subaru entering the space.

ecs wembley season 3

Genius Sports partner with FACEIT for ECS

FACEIT announced the third season of ECS this week – revealing Wembley Arena will once again play host to the Grand Finals. They have also partnered with Esports Arena in order to broadcast part of the league from the studio out in Santa Ana, California. 

Arguably the biggest part of the announcement was their partnership with Genius Sports. The partnership will see ECS benefit from Genius Sports’ Esports Bet Monitoring System as they look to safeguard the integrity of their league. Additionally, the partnership will see the way data and statistics are used in the ECS enhanced. 

“We are incredibly excited to partner with FACEIT and ECS with our ground-breaking Esports technology to help increase fan engagement,” said Mark Locke, CEO Genius Sports. “As well as help ensure players and fans are treated to a fair and transparent game, and ECS league representatives are equipped with information and tools necessary to maintain a clean, honest and exhilarating contest.”

Read the full article here.

DOJO Madness raise $6 million in Series A II round funding

Esports data start-up DOJO Madness announced this week that they had raised $6 million (£4.8m) of Series A II round investment. The total amount raised by the company now stands at over £10 million. 

The financing round was led by Raine Ventures, the venture capital arm of The Raine Group, with help from Kakao’s K Cube Ventures and existing investors such as March Capital and DN Capital.

It follows their recent acquisition of Weldon Green’s LeagueCoaching.GG.

Read the full article here.

Stephen A. Crystal becomes PENTA Sports co-owner

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Stephen A. Crystal

Stephen A. Crystal, a man with vast experience in iGaming and gambling made his second esports investment in a matter of months this week. He revealed he had become a co-owner of German esports organisation PENTA Sports. 

He told Esports Insider: “I recognise that esports is a worldwide phenomenon. My association with PENTA brings me into a direct relationship with one of the outstanding European esports powerhouses which will also be helpful to me in my dealings in the USA. My intent and motivation is to provide mentorship and business experience to PENTA and it’s players and teams, and to be a steady hand as PENTA executes on its expansion plans. “

Read the full article here.

Subaru announce $20,000 CS:GO tournament

In a fairly unexpected move, Subaru have partnered with esports agency Damage to create their $20,000 Subaru Invitational. It is set to be played across May 13th and 14th, with eight unconfirmed North American teams set to compete for their share of the $20,000 on offer.

Eric Park, the Zone Retailer Marketing Manager of Subaru of America commented:

“Our goal is to build brand affinity with a highly-engaged, dedicated millennial community that shares our core values and are ready for wherever the road takes them. Millennial esports fans have a fierce dedication to the games and its players. We understand and appreciate that kind of passion and it was an easy decision to dedicate ourselves to the esports movement.”

Read the full article here.