IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--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.
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.
