The veteran coach made a return to the Valorant esports this week despite leaving Sentinels, his previous team, during their first season as a franchised member of the Valorant Champions Tour.
Rather than his previous role as head coach of Sentinels’ Valorant team, SyykoNT signed on to M80 as their vice president of esports.
SyykoNT has been a key figure in North American Valorant from the early days of the esport. He previously played with lesser-known teams like Sedated before joining XSET and Sentinels.
During his time on XSET in 2022, SyykoNT helped the team win two international tournaments and reach a top-six finish at Champions 2022. He joined Sentinels ahead of the 2023 season and oversaw the signing of several big-name players during the off-season.
These include Brazilian stars Gustavo “Sacy” Rossi and Bryan “pANcada” Luna. SyykoNT also helped them sign former XSET players Zachary “zekken” Patrone and Rory “dephh” Jackson.
He left Sentinels on April 18, following the team’s disappointing 1-2 record at the start of the VCT Americas split. SyykoNT has not been signed to any other organization since then; instead working in esports media.
As M80’s Vice President of Esports, SyykoNT will oversee the efforts of esports teams across games like Valorant, Street Fighter, and Rainbow Six: Siege.
The new role will also see a sort of reunion between SyykoNT and Marco Mereu, the founder and CEO of M80. Mereu was the co-founder and COO of XSET before founding M80 in August last year.
“Don has a rich track record building and leading championship-caliber esports teams, and his addition to M80 will ensure our continued competitive dominance,” Mereu said in a press conference.
“M80 has quickly cemented itself as a top esports organization, and Don’s ability to spot and support talent will help us thrive in our current titles while also successfully entering new ones.”
In a separate statement, SyykoNT revealed that he looked forward to working alongside Mereu once again and helping the them grow.
“M80 is approaching pivotal moments across its teams and my sights are set on nothing but setting our squads up for success,” he said.
Despite his move to a managerial position, SyykoNT disclosed that he was not shutting the door on coaching jobs in the future.
“I’ve greatly enjoyed my time as a coach over the years, so I haven’t fully closed the door on it,” he said.
“However, I’m excited to take the skills I’ve developed during my time coaching into this new VP of Esports position and utilise them to support M80’s teams, scout rising talent, and build new programs in promising titles.”
The ex-Sentinels coach will make his first major move with M80 at the VCT Ascension Americas tournament in Brazil on June 30. The organization’s Valorant team recently qualified for the event and are set to face off against five other squads for a spot in the franchised league.
]]>The Singaporean MMA promotor has hired the former Battlefly chief business officer Carlos Alimurung CEO of ONE Esports. Alimurung was also a high-ranking executive at LG North America and Univision.
As revealed in a LinkedIn post by the company’s co-founder Chatri Sityodtong, ONE Championship has also partnered with PGL. The Romanian production company has an impressive track record of hosting Dota 2 esports events, including the Manila Major 2016, Boston Major 2016, Kyiv Major 2017 and China Dota2 Supermajor.
GG Bet
150%
Get €5 freebet!
18+ Gamble responsibly. Min deposit after code activation for freebet is €10. 1x turnover requirement. 14 days expiry. Max funds transferred to real balance is €5.
Betway
￡30
€30 Welcome Free Bet
New UK & Ireland customers only. Min Deposit: ￡10. First deposit matched up to ￡30. 1 x wagering at odds of 1.75+ to unlock Free Bet. Debit Card & PayPal deposits only. This offer is valid for 7 days from your new account being registered. T&Cs Apply
ONE Esports will kick off at ONE Championship’s 100th event in Tokyo on October 5-6, where two fighting games are set to take stage. First on the schedule is the ONE Tekken Tokyo Invitational, followed by the ONE Street Fighter Tokyo Challenge.
Later in the year, the ONE Dota 2 Singapore World Pro Invitational will kick off at Singapore Indoor Stadium on December 20 and conclude two days later on December 22. After that, we will have to wait more than three months for the ONE Dota 2 Jakarta World Pro Invitational event, which will be held at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition from April 17-19.
Only basic details have been released regarding the two events. Both will feature 12 of the best Dota 2 teams from all around the globe and a US $500,000 prize pool, but teams, format and schedule are yet to be announced.
Tekken, Street Fighter and two Dota 2 World Pro Invitationals are the only four events on the schedule for ONE Esports, but the organization is already making plans for the future and has locked in a $50 million investment for further development and expansion.
On April 24, Falke will available for download on Steam and PlayStation 4.
The Guardian Hawk is the third character from the third season pass, joining Blanka and Sakura, who were introduced in February and January respectively.
Falke’s backstory is an interesting one. She was Shadaloo’s prisoner and forced to train day and night until she reaching perfection. As one of Bison’s alternative clones, Falke has the ability to use Psycho Power on objects and her abilities have left a permanent scar on Falke’s spirit. Ed rescued Falke from the nightmare and now the two share a deep bond.
A youtube teaser revealed more about her fighting style.
Falk owns a staff that she can use to channel the Psycho Power. It can be used to shoot or the power can be released upon contact in hand-to-hand combat. Fighting with Falke will be relatively easy. As a character, she doesn’t require extra input and her abilities can be used to attack or defend.
Falke was initially revealed along with five other champions of the season in December of 2017 in Capcom Cup final. Three more characters are yet to be released. Falke will have two customs available — the story custom and the battle design.
Falke can be purchased for $5.99 or the equivalent of in-game currency. Those that wish to buy all the new characters will be allowed once the remaining three are revealed. The price for all six characters is $24.99.
]]>Capcom is already prominent in the esports scene in North America, largely through its popular series Street Fighter, but the proposed push into home country Japan where the game is hugely popular shows a desire to further gain a slice of the growing industry.
JESU aims to solidify the different eSports bodies in Japan and help give the industry a voice, with insiders believing a unified approach to government officials is the best chance of properly regulating the industry.
And Capcom entering the fray shows they might be on the right track. The games developer has announced it will hold esports competitions based around Street Fighter in Japan.
Esports was estimated to be worth $500 million in 2017, and growing rapidly in 2018, with many pundits predicting it could be bigger than traditional sports in time.
The growing footprint of esports is highlighted by its inclusion in the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China; while the Organising Committee for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games is talking about on the possibility of adding esports as an event.
Last week Capcom established the a communications base at its Plaza Capcom arcade in Kichijoji, with further plans to expand nationally to its other arcades and hold qualifying tournaments for pro license certification.
Running alongside the Capcom Pro Tour, which is run by its USA arm, Capcom will run an event named the Capcom Pro Tour Japan Premier Tournament at the Tokyo Game Show.
]]>