- The Race All-Star Series - Fully Charged by ROKiT Phones to
be shown live on ESPN2 and in the ESPN App
- Legends Trophy, All-Star Cup and Jones Soda Last Chance
Qualifier showcased on ESPN for US sports fans
MIAMI, April 9, 2020 /CNW/ -- Torque Esports'
(OTCQB: MLLLF) (TSXV: GAME) virtual esports racing series will
be shown live on TV for the first time in a new broadcast
partnership with the Disney-owned, ESPN.
Starting this Saturday (April 11),
The Race All-Star Series - Fully Charged by ROKiT Phones will reach
millions of homes via a new airtime-for-content partnership with
ESPN (NYSE: DIS). Saturday's All-Star Cup and Legends Trophy races
will be shown live on ESPN2 from 12:00 noon US Eastern time and
replayed Sunday on ESPN2 at 1pm
ET.
Created to fill the motorsport entertainment void caused by the
COVID-19 pandemic, Torque Esports was on "pole" as the first to
create a live-streamed event to fill the racing void on
March 15 when major events were
canceled including the opening rounds of the Formula 1 and IndyCar
championship.
Now known as The Race All-Star Series - Fully Charged by ROKiT
Phones – the Torque Esports-created series has become the first
broadcast esports racing event to reach more than 600 million homes
around the world.
The Torque Esports events feature two separate competitions –
the All-Star Cup, which pits the leading stars from Formula 1,
Formula E, IndyCar, sportscars, and more against the world's top
sim racers; and the Legends Trophy.
The entry list for the Legends Trophy features familiar names
for ESPN viewers, including Formula 1 World Champions Emerson Fittipaldi, Jacques Villeneuve, and Jenson Button and Indy 500 winners Juan Pablo Montoya (also a F1 star),
Dario Franchitti, Helio Castroneves,
Gil de Ferran, and Tony Kanaan.
Last week's Legends field had a combined record of three Formula
1 World Championship titles, 1076 race starts, 47 wins, 41 pole
positions; eight IndyCar championships, 1414 race starts, 124 wins,
and 11 Indy 500 victories; as well as 16 wins in the 24 Hours of Le
Mans.
"For more than 40 years, ESPN has been the leader in sports with
its groundbreaking coverage, and we're immensely proud to have The
Race All-Star Series - Fully Charged by ROKiT Phones now shown live
on the network," Torque Esports President and CEO, Darren Cox said about the new
airtime-for-content partnership with ESPN.
"When we debuted our esports racing events, our live streaming
numbers were off the charts, and now our agreement with ESPN along
with our entire international broadcast package is taking virtual
racing to an unprecedented global audience.
"This is an incredible opportunity for Torque Esports to
introduce this genre of racing to new fans around the world. Many
ESPN viewers have watched the likes of Fittipaldi, Villeneuve,
Montoya, Franchitti, Castroneves, and more before but never all
together in such an incredible field.
"We're also introducing the stars of tomorrow to fans too. ESPN
viewers saw the journey of World's Fastest Gamer winner
Rudy van Buren as he earned his
title in 2017 – now they get to see him and the rest of the world's
top esports racers fight with top real-world racing stars as
well."
Along with the exciting ESPN live broadcast news, The Race
All-Star Series - Fully Charged by ROKiT Phones yesterday revealed
it would evolve into a full championship series from this
weekend.
A three-race championship series will feature professional
racers competing against the world's top sim racers. Points will be
awarded after each week, with the pro racing champion crowned at
the end of three weeks being awarded a US$30,000 prize to be given to the charity of
their choice.
The top-performing sim racer will receive a full day's test in a
Formula 1 team's simulator including flights to the UK and
accommodation (subject to the lifting of travel restrictions from
the COVID-19 pandemic)
Legends racers will also compete for their favorite charity with
a weekly US$10,000 prize on offer for
the winner of the opening race.
Saturday's The Race All-Star Cup - Fully Charged by ROKiT Phones
event will be held at the rFactor 2 version of Sebring
International Raceway from 17:00 UK, 18:00
CET, 12:00 US Eastern, 9:00 US Pacific, 13:00 Brazil, 00:00 China, 1:00 Japan and 2:00 Australian East Coast time.
The Torque Esports group also includes the Barcelona, Spain-based data analytics experts
Stream Hatchet; Lyon, France-based
game studio, Eden Games; Maranello,
Italy-based motorsport simulator
company, Allinsports; Silverstone, esports tournament and streaming
platform, UMG Games; UK-based content and esports tournament
creators, IDEAS+CARS; plus London-UK-based motorsport and esports racing
media platform, The Race.
About Torque Esports
Torque focuses on three areas -
esports data provision, esport tournament hosting and esports
racing.
Torque aims to revolutionize esports racing and the racing
gaming genre via its industry-leading gaming studio Eden Games which focuses on mobile racing games
and its unique motorsport IP, including World's Fastest Gamer
(created and managed by wholly-owned subsidiary IDEAS+CARS,
Silverstone UK). With the proposed acquisition of simulator company
AiS – Torque offers gamers everything from Free to Play mobile
games to the highest end simulators.
Building on the leading position of Stream Hatchet, a
wholly-owned subsidiary, Torque also provides robust esports data
and management information to brands, sponsors, and industry
leaders. Its tournament organizing arm, UMG, has recently added a
digital tournament platform to its portfolio of assets in its
ever-growing ecosystem.
For more information, visit www.torqueesport.com.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of Torque to be materially different
from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or
implied by the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to
our expectations with respect to the completion of further tranches
of the Offering. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements
can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or
"does not expect", "is expected", "estimates", "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" or "will" be
taken, occur or be achieved. There can be no assurance that
additional closings of the Offering will occur, or that it will
occur on the terms and conditions contemplated in this news
release. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on
the forward-looking statements and information contained in this
press release.
Since forward-looking statements and information address future
events and conditions, by their very nature, they involve inherent
risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially
from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and
risks.
Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list of factors is not
exhaustive. Additional information on other factors that could
affect the operations or financial results of the parties are
included in reports on file with applicable securities regulatory
authorities.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release
are made as of the date of this release and, accordingly, are
subject to change after such date. Torque does not assume any
obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements,
whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time by us
or on our behalf, except as required by applicable law.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
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SOURCE Torque Esports Corp.