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Valkenburg, Netherlands (September 29, 2017) – World Poker Tour® and ELC Gaming, the European arm of Allied Esports, have announced a first-of-its-kind collaboration between poker and esports. The multi-day event, hosted at Holland Casino in Valkenburg, Netherlands, will take place October 9-15, 2017.
The groundbreaking partnership will take place during the WPTDeepStacks™ poker series at Holland Casino, which features an €1,100 Main Event taking place October 12-15. During the festival, ELC Gaming’s “Big Betty,” the world’s first 18-wheel mobile esports arena, will host an esports festival featuring casual and professional events and tournaments, including the finale of the famed Legend Series.
A number of integrated poker and esports events will be held each day during the festival, both inside Holland Casino and outside on Big Betty, with opportunities for players and fans in attendance to win entry into the WPTDeepStacks poker tournament and several esports competitions. The festival will also feature an interactive virtual reality experience, a casual gaming lounge, and daily esports battles between local universities, with additional prizes available.
ELC Gaming will stream the Legend Series final on its Twitch channel, ELCgamingTV. The match will consist of two teams who qualified from across Europe through online matches.
“This is an inspiring time in both poker and esports, the two mindsports that have only begun to realize their enormous collaboration potential,” said Frank Ng, CEO of Ourgame International, parent company of both WPT® and Allied Esports. “With prominent businesses in poker and esports, Ourgame is uniquely positioned to raise the bar with a new breed of events across the globe to give all of our players more of what they want.”
“The World Poker Tour is proud to partner with ELC Gaming for this first international poker and esports venture,” said Adam Pliska, CEO of the World Poker Tour. “The crossover between the poker and esports communities is undeniable, and the addition of a live esports event to one of the WPT’s live poker festivals is a perfect fit to provide an even greater experience for our players. Backed by the support of Ourgame, the WPT looks forward to this being the first of many collaborations between the World Poker Tour and ELC Gaming.”
Leon Groenewoud, COO of ELC Gaming, added: “We are delighted to be working with our sister company, the World Poker Tour, and Holland Casino to create the first-ever crossover experience between poker and esports. We have seen firsthand the popularity in both industries grow exponentially, and I’m confident this partnership is a natural next step for players, fans, and business partners alike.”
WPT Media Contact
Donnie Peters – [email protected]
ELC Gaming Media Contact
Brian Fisher – [email protected]
About Ourgame International
Ourgame International Holdings Limited (stock code: 06899.HK) was founded in 1998 and is a leading company in the global mind sports industry.As the pioneer of the online card and board game market in China, Ourgame has over 700 million global registered users on its platforms today. The company’s mind sports ecosystem includes five major business groups including online games, esports, mind sports, global poker entertainment and sports industry e-commerce. In 2015 Ourgame successfully completed the acquisition of the World Poker Tour® establishing a global operating footprint which continues to expand today. Additionally, Ourgame has strategic alliances and cooperates with the Board and Card Games Administrative Centre of the General Administration of Sport of China, International Mind Sports Association (IMSA), World Bridge Federation (WBF), Mahjong International League (MIL) and other authoritative organizations. The company’s strategy is designed to integrate and implement global mind sports initiatives across its five business groups and achieve its goal of becoming a global sports and entertainment group.
About World Poker Tour
World Poker Tour (WPT) is the premier name in internationally televised gaming and entertainment with brand presence in land-based tournaments, television, online, and mobile. Leading innovation in the sport of poker since 2002, WPT ignited the global poker boom with the creation of a unique television show based on a series of high-stakes poker tournaments. WPT has broadcast globally in more than 150 countries and territories, and is currently producing its 16th season, which airs on FOX Sports Regional Networks in the United States. Season XVI of WPT is sponsored by ClubWPT.com and PlayWPT.com. ClubWPT.com is a unique online membership site that offers inside access to the WPT, as well as a sweepstakes-based poker club available in 35 states across the United States. PlayWPT.com is a social gaming platform offering free-to-play poker and slots with innovative features and state-of-the-art creative elements inspired by WPT’s 15 years of experience in gaming entertainment. WPT also participates in strategic brand license, partnership, and sponsorship opportunities. WPT Enterprises Inc. is a subsidiary of Ourgame International Holdings, Ltd. For more information, go to WPT.com.
About ELC Gaming
Based in Hamburg, ELC is the owner and operator of the world´s first mobile Esports truck – Big Betty – as well as a tournament organiser and content producer for the interactive entertainment industry. With a background in events & broadcasting, ELC is quickly gaining influence within the Esports community through high-quality production and entertaining contant. Big Betty and the ELC Garage Studio in Hamburg are members of the Allied Esports Property Network. ELC Gaming is the European arm and subsidiary of Allied Esports.
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