VALORANT Champions Tour announced, ESE enters into K1CK purchase deal |ESI Digest #20

Each week ESI Digest breaks down the weekly happenings in the esports industry, making sense of things so you don’t have to. As well as being housed on YouTube, ESI Digest is available on all major podcast platforms and is also available in written form below.

This week on the ESI Digest, we cover ESE Entertainment entering into asset purchase talks for K1CK Esports Club, VALORANT and PUBG Mobile revealing its 2021 esports plans, Twitch teaming up with Learn2Esport, plus Legends of Runeterra partnering with Wisdom Gaming Group.

Riot Games unveils VALORANT Champions Tour for 2021 season

Following VALORANT’s successful release and integration into the esports ecosystem, Riot Games has unveiled its new competitive structure for the 2021 season with the introduction of the VALORANT Champions Tour.

The VALORANT Champions Tour is a global competitive structure which will feature a range of tournaments being played in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia. The format will see teams battle through a pyramid structure in order to be crowned the best VALORANT team at the end of 2021.

ESE Entertainment enters asset purchase agreement for K1CK Esports Club

K1ck Esports Club x ESE Entertainment
Credit: K1CK Esports Club

Entertainment and technology company ESE Entertainment Inc. (ESE) has entered into an asset purchase agreement with the owner of K1CK Esports Club, Pedro Fernandes.

The deal will see ESE acquire all assets “relating to, and required for, the continued operation of K1CK”.

K1CK is already integrated into ESE’s structure through the licensing and management of its professional teams. However, with ESE acquiring the intellectual property of the organisation, it is said that the company will be able to “rapidly scale and increase the value of the K1CK brand on a global level.”

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PUBG MOBILE reveals 2021 plans with $14m esports programme planned

PUBG Corporation has revealed its PUBG MOBILE esports programme for 2021, with the developer announcing that a total prize pool of $14m (~£10,502,000) is up for grabs. 

PUBG will introduce seven new PUBG MOBILE Pro League (PMPL) regions in CIS, Turkey, Western Europe, Arabia, North America, Latin America, and Brazil. The newly established leagues are expected to be complementary to those that already exist in South and Southeast Asia.

Similar to 2020, next year’s circuit will be split into two seasons, culminating in PUBG MOBILE Global Championship (PMGC) at the end of 2021. 

Learn2Esport teams with Twitch for streaming curriculum

Learn2Esport, a European firm that provides esports programme management tools and educational resources, has announced a new partnership with streaming platform Twitch.

The companies will collaborate on a streaming curriculum that helps students better understand the live-streaming industry and potential careers within the space.

Wisdom Gaming Group tapped for NA Legends of Runeterra broadcasts

Image credit: Riot Games

Riot Games has announced that Wisdom Gaming Group will handle North American broadcasts for its Legends of Runeterra esports competitions into 2021.

The collectible card game (CCG), which spins off from the League of Legends universe, will kick off the first seasonal tournament in December with a $10,000 (~£7,433) grand prize up for grabs.


ESI Digest is part of ESI Network, a collection of podcasts encompassing the esports industry. For deep dives into the major areas of esports with subject matter experts, check out ESI Focus. For conversations with key personnel and major stakeholders in esports, ESI Insight is the series for you.