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Red Bull Wololo: Legacy Concludes, Celebrating 25 Years of Age of Empires

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Red Bull Wololo: Legacy, the renowned Age of Empires tournament, reached its electrifying climax this weekend as three champions were crowned after ten days of intense battles between the world’s best players. The tournament, which celebrated 25 years of the iconic real-time-strategy game, saw competition across Age of Empires I, II and IV, with a total prize pool of $550,000 up for grabs. Over 80,000 viewers tuned in to see the live audience LAN event, taking part in the iconic Castle Heidelberg in Southern Germany.

The tournament brought together the best talent the Age of Empires scene has to offer, such as Ørjan “TheViper” Larsen, Kai “Liereyy” Kallinger and Gan “Yo” Yangfan. Three tournaments spanning three Age of Empires titles were all played out from October 21st, with some breathtaking matchups and shocks on the books. Last year’s winner and one of the favourites to win, TheViper, failed to make it past the quarterfinals in his AOE 2 bracket and the group stages of AOE 4, as strong showings from Liereyy and LucifroN7 respectively ended his tournament early.

Here’s the full breakdown:

Red Bull Wololo: Legacy, the iconic global 1v1 Age of Empires tournament, came to an exhilarating end last night, with three finals being played out across Saturday and Sunday that saw the very best Age of Empires talent lock horns and go to battle.

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The Age of Empires I tournament saw eight players entering the group stage, with the start of the show Nguyễn “Chim Sẻ Đi Nắng” Bình who looked dominant throughout as he fought he was to the crown. The Grand Final saw Chim Sẻ Đi Nắng” Bình face off against fellow countryman Nguyễn “BiBi” Hùng, who put together a dominant victory with a 3-0 win across Continental, Small Islands and Coastal.

On his win, Chim Sẻ Đi Nắng said “I’ve played in AOE tournaments for almost 13 years, and this is the most special one I’ve ever taken part in. The event is really really cool and I’m so happy that I’ve been able to be a part of it.”

Saturday also saw the Age of Empires II tournament, with a star-studded lineup including Kai “Liereyy” Kallinger and Ørjan “TheViper” Larsen entering the 14-player tournament.

In arguably the highlight of the tournament, TheViper faced off against fellow favourite Liereyy in the quarterfinal, in maybe the greatest rivalry in AOE history, with the latter taking a convincing win. On the other side of the bracket, Canadian player Hera looked unbeatable as he crushed all competition in his way, not dropping a round until he faced Spanish talent Roberto “TaToH” Jiménez, who put Hera’s run to an end with a 3-1 victory.

Liereyy and TaToH met in the final with a best of seven match, a tense matchup that saw TaToH take a strong 2-0, before a strong Liereyy push made it 2-2. TaToH kept his cool however, taking the next two games and the title of Red Bull Wololo: Legacy Champion.

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“It was a good start” TaToH said on going 2-0 up, “But with Liereyy I have seen other players have a good start against him in other tournaments and then get reversed swept, so I wasn’t fully confident at all. Liereyy is one of the best so you can’t be overconfident against him”

Featuring some of the best talent Age of Empires has to offer, the AOE IV circuit concluded on Sunday as one of the most exciting tournaments at Castle Heidelberg. A fiercely competitive group stage saw strong showings from IamMagic, TheMista, 1puppypaw and Beastyqt, as LucifroN7 knocked out deafening champ TheViper in the final match. The following knockout stages saw two stars put on dominant performances on the way to the Grand Final, Themistoklis “TheMista” Bonidis and Alexis “MarineLorD” Eusebio, who faced off for the final match of the tournament. In the end it was MarineLorD who took a commanding victory, with a 4-0 sweep.

Speaking after his victory, MarineLorD said “It feels incredible. I’ve won some online events i the past but offline it feels different. The trophy is amazing, I’m so happy.”

Away from the gameplay, a key highlight of the event was undoubtedly renowned host and caster Tristan “T90” Berry proposing to his partner on the balcony of Castle Heidelberg.

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GIANTX unveils its team for the Spanish Superliga of League of Legends

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The global esports organization GIANTX has officially presented the roster for its League of Legends Superliga team, the most prestigious esports competition in Spain, organized by the LVP. The roster includes Feisty (midlaner) and Aetinoth (ADC), who continue for another year after establishing themselves as key players for the organization, and newcomers Badlulu (toplaner), Ferret (jungler), and Lospa (support).

The team, known as GIANTX Pride, will be led by Fearless, a veteran coach who has already won three Superliga titles with GIANTX. After previous stints with teams like Guasones and Rebels, Fearless returns to lead this young and promising roster as they pursue the organization’s long-awaited eighth Superliga trophy, with the season set to begin in January 2025.

The roster was revealed during an event at the Home of GIANTX in Málaga, attended by over 150 fans and supported by Opel, the team’s main partner in the Superliga. The event featured activities, giveaways, and a showmatch against Barça Esports, where fans got a first glimpse of the team in action.

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Feisty (South Korea, 2003) and Aetinoth (Turkey, 2005) return for another year, having gained recognition as rising talents with potential for the LEC, Europe’s premier competition in which GIANTX also competes. Badlulu (France, 2002), with prior experience in the Superliga at CASE Esports, joins as the toplaner. Ferret (Turkey, 2001), a promising jungler from the Turkish scene, comes from FUT, while Lospa (South Korea, 2002), a former Iberian Cup champion, joins as support after training in Gen.G Academy.

GIANTX Pride is the most decorated organization in Superliga LVP history, with seven titles to its name. The last victory came in the summer of 2021, and the team is determined to add the elusive eighth trophy to its collection. The Superliga for 2025 will feature ten teams, including Barça Esports, Guasones, Los Heretics, LUA Gaming, Movistar KOI, Ramboot Club, UCAM Esports, VENI VIDI VICI, and ZETA, competing across three splits—winter, spring, and summer.

The LVP, part of Grupo Mediapro, has introduced changes to the Superliga’s format for 2025. The updated calendar will be released soon, setting the stage for another thrilling season.

The post GIANTX unveils its team for the Spanish Superliga of League of Legends appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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GRID Joins IBIA as an Associate Member, Strengthening Esports Integrity

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GRID, an esports data platform, has officially joined the International Betting Integrity Association (IBIA) as a first esports-focused Associate Member. This collaboration signifies a pivotal moment for esports integrity, aligning GRID with IBIA and its globally recognized integrity-focused members, who monitor over $300bn in sports bets per annum and have a growing focus on esports betting.

With this partnership, GRID and IBIA are committed to collaboratively addressing any integrity issues in esports, fostering trust across stakeholders, and setting a benchmark for excellence in the ecosystem. GRID has been a certified member of IBIA’s Data Standards program since 2022, actively contributing to the development of tailored esports integrity protocols. This membership further underscores GRID’s dedication to transparency and collaboration in combating betting-related corruption within esports.

Since 2018, GRID has operated an internal integrity department pioneering official data-driven solutions for esports. This makes GRID one of the first companies to monitor tournament and data integrity in the competitive sports sector and actively flag and report suspicious behavior, enabling it to collect a large database of integrity reports and insights.

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IBIA is a not-for-profit body that protects regulated sports betting markets from match-fixing. It represents over 50 of the world’s leading betting companies which operate over 125 sports betting brands. IBIA’s global monitoring network is a highly effective anti-corruption tool, detecting and reporting suspicious activity in regulated betting markets using transactional activity linked to individual customer accounts.

Under the partnership, GRID and IBIA will share information relating to suspicious esports betting and potential match manipulation from their respective monitoring and intelligence platforms. IBIA members will also benefit from free access to wider integrity-focused resources supplied by GRID.

Moritz Maurer, CEO of GRID, commented: “Integrity is at the heart of GRID’s mission. By joining IBIA as an Associate Member, we are taking a definitive step toward establishing esports as a trusted and credible industry. This partnership enables us to further our efforts in promoting transparency, reducing risks associated with esports betting, and strengthening operational practices across the ecosystem.’’

Khalid Ali, CEO of IBIA, said: “We are delighted to welcome GRID as an Associate Member of IBIA. This partnership is a landmark for the esports sector and reflects our commitment to expanding our integrity initiatives into new markets. GRID’s expertise in esports data monitoring and integrity standards is an invaluable asset in our shared mission to combat betting corruption globally.”

 

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ComeOn Group and Astralis unite to drive esports engagement in the Nordics

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ComeOn Group announced a sponsorship partnership between its flagship brand ComeOn! and Denmark based Astralis, one of the most esteemed esports organisations globally. As a global leader in esports, Astralis is providing a vibrant and engaging esports experience that is aligned with ComeOn!’s brand experience and is further enhanced by its focus in providing a leading esports betting destination.

As the official sponsor of Astralis, ComeOn! will be prominently featured across all of their platforms, including social media, team events, and competitive gaming content, boosting their brand exposure in key global markets with a focus on the Nordics. ComeOn! is already known as a vibrant brand in the Nordics and with the increased brand visibility it will be put at the heart of the fast-growing esports scene.

ComeOn Group continues to invest in its Sportsbook product experience that is powered by its proprietary sportsbook platform, where esports holds an important strategic market opportunity with its ever growing demand.

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Juergen Reutter, Chief Executive Officer at ComeOn Group, said: “We are very excited to team up with Astralis as this collaboration not only allows us to showcase our innovative Sportsbook platform but also strengthens our ties to the esports community. This partnership is very much in the heart of one of the fastest growing betting markets globally. Esports has seen great demand by our audiences, and we want to provide the best betting experience for our customers. This partnership is also a testament to our localisation and personalisation focus and by working together with Astralis, we can deliver unique experiences that resonate with our players and elevate the entertainment experience around competitive gaming.”

Mads Rasmussen, Commercial Director at Astralis, said: ”We are proud to present ComeOn Group as our new global partner. This partnership holds great significance for Astralis both as an organization and as a business, and we look forward to bringing the agreement to life, benefiting the vast majority of our fanbase – who are adults. We have undergone a long and very positive process with ComeOn, and the fact that they are European-based with licenses in all our key markets, including Denmark, has been a decisive factor in our decision. Astralis fans, both in Denmark and internationally, can look forward to an innovative new digital activation, which promises to deliver an exciting and engaging experience.”

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