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VALORANT LOCK//IN: Sao Paulo’s 2023 kickstarting tournament was a huge hit!

The long awaited VALORANT competition hosted in Brazil gathered 32 teams around the world in a 2023 season opening event. It also achieved the feat of becoming the 2nd most watched VALORANT event. Organized by Riot Games, it was the first major tournament of its kind to take place in South America. From February 13th to a very high tensity finish on March 4th.After a Bo5 series that decided the champions in the very last game, FNATIC claimed it against LOUD and lifted the trophy. The high quality production draw thousands of fans from across the region.To begin with, the teams were drawn into a unique bracket where they competed in a single-elimination format. Loser would go home and winner moved on. It was a punishing format, but keeping in mind it was a new year kickstarting event. That being said, Riot proposed a $500,000 USD total prize pool and the winners took home $100,000 USD.From the very beginning, the event was a hit. It worked as a year presentation preceding the three new international franchised leagues: Americas, EMEA, Pacific and even two teams emerging from China. An opportunity for teams to show off and prove they belong at the top. The atmosphere was electric, with players and spectators alike caught up in the excitement of the competition.On top of that, another key factor that made the event such a success was the quality of the production. Riot Games spared no expense in creating an immersive and engaging experience for the fans. The stage was decked out with cutting-edge lighting and sound equipment. The matches broadcasted on massive screens throughout the venue. The commentary team was full of many familiar faces to the scene, with some of the best analysts and casters in the industry.Just like CSGO stood foot on South America with the IEM Rio Major, Riot Games decided the time was due. The Brazilian and South American esports market is one of the fastest-growing and most promising markets in the world. The region has a huge population of passionate gamers making it ideal for game developers and esports organizations to tap into.Brazil alone has a population of over 200 million people, and with the rise of popular games like VALORANT, League of Legends, and CSGO, the esports scene in the region is exploding. By capitalizing on this market, game developers and esports organizations can not only tap into a new and potentially lucrative revenue stream but also help to further grow and develop the esports scene in the region, giving local players and teams more opportunities to compete at the highest levels of esports.

Dota 2: A new ESL Pro Circuit is reportedly on the rise for Valve’s MOBA

ESL is planning a complementary circuit to Valve's (DPC) according to the latest report from Esports Journalist Richard Lewis. The proposal presented to teams during the already finished Lima Major would combine DreamLeague, ESL ONE and Riyadh Masters into a single global circuit.The well-known DreamLeague would become the primary way to qualify for the Riyadh Masters, to be played between 16 teams remotely from Europe. ESL ONE would continue as an arena LAN event, with 12 teams. There would be plans for it to happen on Thailand next. Both would offer a one million USD prize pool.However, the connection of ESL One with Riyadh Masters is unclear, but the latter would be the pinnacle of the circuit. This is the highest paying outsourced Dota event to date. It is part of the Gamers8 festival in Saudi Arabia.Gamers8 holds ambitious tournaments for multiple titles. Last year's offering included Dota 2, PUBG Mobile, Rainbow Six, Rocket League and Fortnite. This year, they have announced a 45 million dollar prize pool which will be distributed among all the esports competitions. The event has already been confirmed for July 2023 and would arrive at the end of the Bali Major.Finally, we begin to see the plans and consequences of the merger of ESL Faceit under the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund. The parallel circuit could become a reality for the 2023-2024 season. It would not seek to rival the current Dota Pro Circuit.Outsourced events have the potential to run concurrently thanks to changes made from Valve to the latter circuit. In favor of more downtime available between Tours and with a less stretched format.

Ethereum is the future of Layer 1 according to Polygon’s CEO

Polygon's CEO, Sandeep Nailwal, assured that the future of Layer 1 technology lies with Ethereum alone: "There'll be one single environment layer one, which is Ethereum in my mind". So what does he mean by it exactly? First let's break down concepts like Layer 1 & Layer 2.Blockchain adoption continues to grow, as does the importance of scaling in the ecosystem. New applications and increased transaction volume can be accommodated with the help of system throughput rate improvements. That's where Layer 1 & 2 come in: in order to improve network security and scalability these systems can better interoperability between blockchains.Layer 1 blockchain network refers to the fundamental protocol of a network. Scalability solutions include direct modifications to protocol rules in favor of capacity and speed, which can also translate to additional users and data.Sharding, for example, has become one of the most popular methods. It consists on dividing the state of the entire blockchain network into separate sets of data known as shards. We can also take a look at the promising impact of Rollups technology on scalability. What are they all about exactly? They take the transactions out of the mainnet and process them off-chain, convert them into one single piece of data, and submit them back to the Ethereum mainnet. Projects like Optimism.io and arbitrum.io, that are Layer 2 protocol based, have made huge steps forward.Layer 2, as the name suggests, is a system that operates on top of a blockchain protocol (Layer 1). To improve scalability, L2 aims to shift the transaction load of a blockchain protocol to an off-chain architecture. Delegating data processing to the supporting architecture helps deal with possible congestion on the blockchain's core protocol. Just like Polygon, there are plenty of promising Layer 2 Ethereum projects. Specifically on web3 gaming there is Immutable X, an L2 scaling solution for NFTs on Ethereum, allowing users to build and manage NFT projects in a secure platform at zero transaction cost with scalable features.Based on the belief that Layer 1 protocols will remain the foundation of the blockchain ecosystem, Nailwal predicts that Ethereum's longevity and scalability will make it possible. Even though L2 solutions will have their place, Polygon's founder claims that the long-term success of blockchain platforms will come through Layer 1's dominance. However, his statements have been challenged by the competition. Do you agree with Nailwal

King’s Cup Tournaments: All you need to know

Dates: February 16 to March 10, 2023 February 16 - QualifierFebruary 24 - QualifierMarch 3 - QualifierMarch 10 - FinalPrize Pool: 300 USDTMode: Bracket BO3 Single Elimination — Esports Server - All UnlockedInstructionsIn this guide we’ll detail the steps to participate in the Axie Infinity Origin Invitational Tournament.Before the tournament starts:Read the How-To instructions to create your Blast account here and details of the process of joining an Axie tournament.Read the tournament rules carefully. Read them hereJoin the tournament >> https://app.blast.gg/#/pool/174Join the Blast Discord and choose the Axie ES or Axie EN Roles. In the Axie ES category channels you will be able to communicate with the tournament administrators.During the tournament:If you connected your Ronin Addresses correctly, Blast will collect match results automatically. In case of a malfunction or at the request of the moderators, players may be asked to report the results with full screenshots on our Discord channelInform tournament moderators about disconnections, remakes, or any cases in which the normal flow of the match is disrupted.GL&HF !

YouTube and esports: 3 year exclusivity deal with Call of Duty League could be in talks

When it comes to broadcasting esports the first name that pops into everyone's mind is Twitch. But YouTube may try and want to change that according to different sources. As the news spread, a 3 year exclusivity deal between the huge online video platform and the Call of Duty League is in talks.Esports has become the battlefield for big livestreaming services. This time, the focus is put on the North-American esports circuit as it might be looking to go down the same road again. It had gone this path before in 2019 at the same time Blizzard's Overwatch did. However, this was far from successful given that the Overwatch League (OWL) viewership plummeted and it lost great popularity in the following years. Apparently, this alone may not make Activision Blizzard step down as the deal could be renewed sooner than expected.YouTube has made continuous but insufficient efforts to compete with Twitch as an interactive livestreaming platform. Esports has been a gateway for Justin.tv and later on Twitch to users who follow popular leagues and tournaments. An ever increasing entertainment industry that could help boost YouTube.Since switching to Twitch in 2022, the CDL was given new life in comparison to previous seasons. With the participation of big creators streaming the debut, numbers went even higher. The league managed to attract 124K Average Viewers, and 192K Peak Viewers during Florida Mutineers and OpTic Texas' game.Source: Esports ChartsMany services have tried to top Twitch before: Microsoft's Mixer had exclusivity deals with top streamers like Shroud and Ninja and still failed the task. It ended up shutting down and passing the torch to Facebook Gaming, which hasn't got close either.However, this exclusivity deal isn't something fans have been asking for and it could even be greeted with discomfort. As we mentioned earlier, Twitch is the undisputed king of livestreaming experiences and so have shown the numbers. Activision Blizzard's intent of closing in on a deal with YouTube once again is only met with confusion. In case it does go down, the next Major events will most likely reflect this switch. Majors 3, 4, 5, and the CDL Championship would all be viewable exclusively on YouTube.

Blast’s platform redesign and new architecture is LIVE!

Home to automated gaming tournaments of different titles, Blast is ever-growing and looking to offer the best experience! And what a better time to bring changes than the start of a new year. After the continuous hard work of the dev team, we have finally introduced the new Blast platform redesign and architecture. Not only offering a more polished look, but presenting new features for all Blasters convenience!From look and style to new animations and features, you can enjoy browsing all available and upcoming tournaments with ease and even more detailed information. There are many additions, but we want to focus on three of them specifically. If this is your first time here you can read more about Blast and how to compete in web3 tournaments.The Sidebar is here!Want to see the tournaments for a specific game? We got you covered with the new sidebar! You will be able to filter and browse on whichever title you prefer. Next to each title you will find another column to access different spaces: "Tournaments", "Games" and Blast's FAQ section. As we keep expanding so will the sidebar and our catalogue.Upgraded cards with detailed informationYou may have already realized that the new tournament cards offer every bit of information you need to know about. From the competition's specific title and prize pool, to amount of players registered, and most importantly, status. The redesign and architecture allowed adding different colors highlight different states: when it's starting, if it's already active or upcoming or finished.Status BarAt Blast there is no room for confusion: Know exactly the tournament's step by step status and its current phase. Starting with "Registration" to "playing", "Finished" state and last but definitely not least important, "Paid".Reminders: Never miss a date with Blast againWe have successfully integrated Google, Apple and Microsoft Outlook calendars. You can simply link your account and generate reminders automatically every time you register to a new Blast competition. One thing less to worry about! As we probably mentioned already, Blast is all about bettering the user experience.However, 2023 has only just begun and we are adding new features and integrating new games continuously! We set sail for a new journey with many set goals and its own challenges. You'll find them here in our blog and will definitely come across them while competing at app.blast.gg.An important remark is that we are always looking to improve and every Blaster helps us make Blast the best it can be. We'd love to hear your thoughts about our latest version, so make sure to join us at our Discord and share your experience with us at the #feedback channel. If you haven't already, come join us and become part of our community! Start competing and earning in the process, but no rush... we are not going anywhere!

Meet Ephere Football: The gaming blockchain experience dedicated to football fans

In Ephere Football you can build your own football club, climbing to the top of a league system while winning crypto prizes.Players (Ephereals) are NFT, They have mental and physical attributes, trainable football skills that are capped by genetic and distinctive visual properties. They gain experience by playing matches, can train to improve their abilities, and they can also get tired, grow old, and retire… they’re alive.It is a free-to-play game. To start competing, you are given 11 players and EPH 3500 (internal token).First steps on Ephere FootballCreate your team and claim your free 11 players (Ephereals).Play a pick-up game (friendly) to learn how to plan the strategy (lineup and tactics) and how to make changes in real-time during the matches.Use your first EPH 3500 (internal token) to improve your team in the Market, temporarily hiring players from other teams.Once registered in the Ephereal Blast Cup tournament, review the fixture and save the lineup of your matches.Finally, take a look at the FAQ and video tutorial to know all the details and answer any questions: player life and rarity, NFT players, our internal token, training sessions, youth recruitment, La Liga NFT, and much more.Ephereal Blast Cup tipsWatch the match live and interact with your team (instructions, lineup and tactics changes, and substitutions), or let it play automatically. In any of the two scenarios we recommend you plan and save the strategy of each match in advance. In this way, you will increase the mental performance of your team by 10%. If you don't, the lineup will be defined randomly and the players will become demotivated due to a lack of strategy, reducing all their attributes by 50% during that match.Take care of the energy of your players and don’t schedule training sessions close to tournament matches, you must have at least 7 players available and with energy to play your league match. If not, your team does not show up and you lose with a 0–3 score.If you registered in Ephere Football with social login (social network or Google account), you must follow these steps to sign up in Blast and in the tournament.

How to compete in Ephere Football tournaments

In this guide we’ll learn the steps of how to compete in Ephere Football tournaments in Blast. If you don’t have a Blast account yet, read this one first. The Spanish version of this user guide is also available for your language of choice. You may also read our introductory blog post to the game here.Let’s see how the tournament detail looks like for an Ephere football tourney:In the detail header you can find the prize pool of each tournament leaderboard, and the timer for the different phases of the tournament (Registration, Duration, Finish Time).Before the next step make sure you have connected your metamask to the platform.When you click the Join button on the page, a modal will come up:After you click Join, Metamask will pop-up to confirm the transaction. This is the final step of the registration, and when you send the transaction to the blockchain you’ll see a ‘pending’ status. We keep that for a couple of minutes to check if the transaction went well, and we’ll confirm the registration if everything went fine.Here you can opt to add the event to a calendar, or simply close the window. And that's it.Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ).1. I have an account created in Blast with a different wallet than the one I created in Ephere Football and I get an error when I register for the tournament. What should I do?In order to register correctly in the tournament you must make sure you use the same wallet for both your Blast account and the one you use in Ephere Football. This way, you will be able to register for the tournament without any problems.2. I get the error: "There was an error connecting to the tournament. Invalid division. Please check your division in the Ephere account and try again". What should I do?You should check which leaderboard your team is in Ephere Football and sign up for the Blast tournament that corresponds to that leaderboard. You can only sign up in the corresponding leaderboard, otherwise the error will persist.

What is play and earn?

Let's start with a simple definition. Play and earn refers to a category of games and platforms powered by blockchain. What you should always consider when you come across the play and earn concept is that it is based on a player-owned economy through in-game assets, typically represented by tokens and NFTs.If you want to know what play and earn games are and their economy, we recommend you visit this article, where we go through the concepts of in-game value and ownership.Play-and-earn games offer users the ability to generate a source of income simply by playing. This is the philosophy behind Blast, which is a play and earn platform, offering gamers the ability to earn rewards for spending time playing their favorite video games.Tokens & NFTS role in play and earn gamesGenerally, a player is rewarded with tokens, and occasionally NFTs or new utilities, earning a larger amount the longer they play. The logic behind it is that simple.Another characteristic of these games, although it depends a lot on the mechanics and stories of each game, is that the tokens earned are usually necessary as part of the "crafting" process in the game.Many players prefer this token-based method of choosing a game, for the ability to acquire (win) it while constantly playing. The other way to play is through NFTs that are distributed randomly and can be bought in special markets.The play-and-earn model is especially popular among users in low-income countries or in societies with large economic gaps, since they represent an alternative, or a complement, to fixed income and a way to generate extra earnings.If you want to start experiencing this gaming modality, we invite you to participate in a Blast tournament in which you can play, compete with friends and peers and earn rewards while doing it.We leave you here some of the guides for you to register and start your experience today:How to compete in PUBG tournamentsHow to compete in Koins NFT tournamentsHow to compete in Axie Infinity TournamentsHow to compete in COD tournamentsIf you have doubts, questions or are looking for someone to play with, jump into our Discord to chat.