Allied Esports today announced its first product launch as part of a
strategic alliance and exclusive agreement signed this year with TV
Azteca, a Grupo Salinas company and the top sports network in Mexico, to
create and deliver live esports experiences and esports-related content
for the Mexico market and throughout Latin America.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190513005458/en/
Titled NATION VS NATION™, Allied Esports’ first event and
broadcast production in Latin America will feature a squad of four U.S.
players as they battle a Mexican team of 40 total players, including
featured and celebrity squads and 32 fan participants, in
PLAYERUNKNOWN’S BATTLEGROUNDS with the inaugural NATION VS NATION
trophy and cash prizes on the line. The event will take place on
Tuesday, May 14 at Foro Totalplay in Mexico City.
“Latin America represents a massive and transformative opportunity for
Allied Esports,” said Frank Ng, co-CEO of Ourgame Holdings
International, owner of Allied Esports. “By combining our live events
experience with TV Azteca’s unequalled reach as the number one sports
network in Mexico, this crucial esports ecology partnership will be a
major driver in building out the offline-online environment at the core
of Allied Esports’ global strategy.”
The global debut of NATION VS NATION will also usher in TV
Azteca’s latest platform, Azteca Gaming, joining the company’s leading
news, sports and entertainment content across digital assets and more
than 40 local broadcast and regional free-to-air stations reaching over
95 percent of the Mexican market. The event and broadcast will launch a
new era in mass media esports content in the region.
“The transformation process of TV Azteca, to bring the best television,
has led to set an eye in new markets, towards an audience that consumes
esports,” said Benjamín Salinas, CEO of TV Azteca. “Sports are part of
our strength, and now with esports, we find a way to connect with a
growing market in Mexico.”
Led by captain Johnathan “Fatal1ty” Wendel, one of most accomplished
professional gamers in history and an inaugural member of the
International Video Game Hall of Fame, the U.S. NATION VS NATION team
will also include: professional gamer and streamer, Avori; professional
player for Ghost Gaming and winner of the PGL-PUBG Spring Invitational
2018, Miccoy; and Ghost Gaming’s soon-to-be professional player, Vegas.
Team Mexico will be led by a featured squad of professional players and
streamers – Alberto “QUERETAROCK” Oceguera, Nicol “NicolSteel” Toriz,
Anthony “TMX5” Fernández and Isaac “Clumzy” Ramíres – as well as a
number of surprise celebrities and guests.
The remaining Mexican team will be formed through two rounds of
qualifying earlier in the day. Each qualifying heat will include two
games in which players will be ranked by a point system based on kills
and finish. The top 32 players will move on to the finals where they
will join the featured and celebrity squads and compete against the U.S.
team in a best-of-three competition.
Team USA will be designated as the winner of each game if they are the
last squad standing, while a Team Mexico win will occur if the U.S.
squad is eliminated. The first team to reach two wins will take home the
inaugural NATION VS NATION trophy.
NATION VS NATION will air on TV Azteca platforms starting at 6
p.m. local time. The event will also be live streamed on TV Azteca’s
digital properties. Allied Esports will offer a live English simulcast
of the stream on twitch.tv/AlliedEsports.
Today’s announcement follows news from March 2019 in which TV Azteca and
the World Poker Tour® agreed to bring WPT’s poker content library,
premier poker events and the development of social poker and exclusively
customized gaming products to a growing Latin America audience.
As previously announced, Allied Esports and its sister company, the
World Poker Tour, both currently owned by Ourgame Holdings
International, will be acquired, subject to shareholder and regulatory
approval and the satisfaction of other conditions to closing, by Black
Ridge Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: BRAC), to form Allied Esports
Entertainment.
For additional information about NATION VS NATION and other
Allied Esports initiatives, follow @AlliedEsports and visit AlliedEsports.gg.
About Allied Esports
Named to Fast Company’s World’s Most Innovative Companies list for 2019,
Allied Esports is a premier esports entertainment company with a global
network of dedicated esports properties and content production
facilities. Its mission is to connect players, streamers and fans via
integrated arenas and mobile esports trucks around the world that serve
as both gaming battlegrounds and every day content generation hubs.
Allied Esports is a subsidiary of Ourgame International (SEHK:899),
owner of WPT Enterprises, Inc., the operator of The World Poker Tour®.
Ourgame has entered into an agreement with Black Ridge Acquisition Corp.
(NASDAQ: BRAC) to combine, once all applicable shareholder and
regulatory consents have been obtained, Allied Esports and the World
Poker Tour to form Allied Esports Entertainment, Inc.
Through direct operation and affiliate relationships via the Allied
Esports Property Network, the first esports venue affiliate program
available to partners looking to open new esports facilities around the
world, Allied Esports’ locations currently include 11 properties in the
top three esports markets across the globe: North America’s HyperX
Esports Arena Las Vegas; HyperX Esports Truck “Big Meta”; Esports Arena
Orange County and Esports Arena Oakland; Europe’s HyperX Esports Truck
“Big Betty” and HyperX Esports Studio in Hamburg, Germany; and China’s
Lianmeng Dianjing in Beijing, Lianmeng Dianjing SEG Arena in Shenzhen,
Lianmeng Dianjing Tianjin Arena, Lianmeng Dianjing Gui’an Arena and
Lianmeng Dianjing LGD Gaming Hangzhou Arena. The Allied Esports Property
Network’s 12th property, developed by Fortress Esports, is expected to
open in Melbourne, Australia in 2019. For more information about Allied
Esports and its global network of properties, visit AlliedEsports.gg
and follow @AlliedEsports.
About Grupo Salinas
Grupo Salinas (www.gruposalinas.com)
is a group of dynamic, fast growing, and technologically advanced
companies focused on creating economic value through market innovation
and goods and services that improve standards of living; social value,
to create social capabilities to improve communities; and environmental
value, by reducing the negative impact of business activities. Created
by Mexican entrepreneur Ricardo B. Salinas (www.ricardosalinas.com),
Grupo Salinas operates as a management development and decision forum
for the top leaders of member companies. These companies include: TV
Azteca (www.TVazteca.com;
www.irtvazteca.com),
Grupo Elektra (www.grupoelektra.com.mx),
Banco Azteca (www.bancoazteca.com.mx),
Advance America (www.advanceamerica.net),
Afore Azteca (www.aforeazteca.com.mx),
Seguros Azteca (www.segurosazteca.com.mx),
Punto Casa de Bolsa (www.puntocasadebolsa.mx),
Totalplay (www.totalplay.com.mx)
and Totalplay Empresarial (totalplayempresarial.com.mx).
TV Azteca and Grupo Elektra trade on the Mexican Stock Exchange and are
part of its Sustainability Index. Each of the Grupo Salinas companies
operates independently, with its own management, board of directors and
shareholders. Grupo Salinas has no equity holdings. The group of
companies share a common vision, values and strategies for achieving
rapid growth, superior results and world-class performance.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Forward-looking statements may relate to the proposed transaction
between Black Ridge Acquisition Corp. and Ourgame International Holdings
Limited (the “Proposed Transaction”) and any other statements relating
to future results, strategy and plans of Black Ridge and Ourgame
(including certain projections and business trends, and statements which
may be identified by the use of the words “plans”, “expects” or “does
not expect”, “estimated”, “is expected”, “budget”, “scheduled”,
“estimates”, “forecasts”, “intends”, “anticipates” or “does not
anticipate”, or “believes”, or variations of such words and phrases or
state that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”,
“might”, “projects”, “will” or “will be taken”, “occur” or “be
achieved”). Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and
estimates of management of Black Ridge or Ourgame, as the case may be,
as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known
and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that may
cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements
to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. For Ourgame, these risks and uncertainties
include, but are not limited to, its revenues and operating performance,
general economic conditions, industry trends, legislation or regulatory
requirements affecting the business in which it is engaged, management
of growth, its business strategy and plans, the result of future
financing efforts and its dependence on key personnel. For Black Ridge,
factors include, but are not limited to, the successful combination of
Black Ridge with Ourgame’s business, amount of redemptions, the ability
to retain key personnel and the ability to achieve stockholder and
regulatory approvals and to successfully close the Proposed Transaction.
Additional information on these and other factors that may cause actual
results and Black Ridge’s performance to differ materially is included
in Black Ridge’s periodic reports filed with the SEC, including but not
limited to Black Ridge’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018.
Copies may be obtained by contacting Black Ridge or the SEC. Readers are
cautioned not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking
statements, which speak only as of the date made. These forward-looking
statements are made only as of the date hereof, and Black Ridge
undertakes no obligations to update or revise the forward-looking
statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or
otherwise, except as required by law.
No Offer or Solicitation
This communication is for informational purposes only and is neither an
offer to sell or purchase, nor the solicitation of an offer to buy or
sell any securities, nor is it a solicitation of any vote, consent, or
approval in any jurisdiction pursuant to or in connection with the
Proposed Transaction or otherwise, nor shall there be any sale, issuance
or transfer of securities in any jurisdiction in contravention of
applicable law.
Participants in Solicitation
Black Ridge and Ourgame, and their respective directors and executive
officers, may be deemed participants in the solicitation of proxies of
Black Ridge stockholders in respect of the Proposed Transaction.
Information about the directors and executive officers of Black Ridge is
set forth in Black Ridge’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2018. Information about the directors and executive officers of Ourgame
and more detailed information regarding the identity of all potential
participants, and their direct and indirect interests, by security
holdings or otherwise, is set forth in Black Ridge’s preliminary proxy
statement and definitive proxy statement, when available. Investors may
obtain additional information about the interests of such participants
by reading such proxy statement on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190513005458/en/