Web3 eSports on the rise in southern Asia

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Very last November, players worldwide converged in Manila to compete in the MMG Axie Masters League, a Website3 match with a whopping $150,000 prize pool. The sport was Axie Infinity, the most common NFT match to date, possessing attracted above 2 million people at the peak of the crypto bull marketplace of 2020-2021. 

Quite a few gamers were from the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries, where by pandemic-induced unemployment and typical poverty led several to turn to Axie as a supply of money back again when token selling prices were being booming (the truth that it could be played on cellular was a massive aspect as well). Even though the amount of users has declined considerably considering the fact that then — next the token price motion — a devoted local community of Axie eSports players stays remarkably engaged, competing both equally on the net and in are living tournaments for the hefty prize swimming pools set up by Sky Mavis (the Vietnam-dependent company driving the match).

A lot of fledgling World-wide-web3 games are hoping to cultivate their have eSports scenes (these kinds of as Spidertanks and EV.IO, for instance). However, their bases — and funding — are minuscule as opposed to those of Axie Infinity, which held a World Finals with a million-greenback prize pool in Barcelona very last year. Sky Mavis followed that up with a million-greenback eSports grant, funding a number of Axie competitions globally. 1 of the largest funding recipients was E4E (eSports 4 Every person), who been given a grant of over $100,000 to host a are living Axie Match in Ho Chi Minh Town subsequent thirty day period. Titled the E4E Minors, it is slated to be the greatest internet3 eSports celebration that Vietnam has ever noticed. 

“Since I joined Axie 3

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Sun Belt expansion: Southern Miss, Old Dominion join conference with Marshall, FCS power expected to follow

The latest domino in the realignment bonanza has fallen, and the future of Conference USA is severely in doubt. Old Dominion announced Wednesday that it has accepted an invitation to join the Sun Belt Conference with the move coming no later than July 1, 2023. The Monarchs join Southern Miss, which announced its move to the Sun Belt on Tuesday.  

“While C-USA has proven to be an excellent home for ODU Athletics during our transition from FCS to FBS, and we thank the C-USA membership and leadership for such an outstanding partnership, the chance to enhance the overall athletic experience for the student-athletes, fans and alumni of ODU in the SBC with regional rivalries represents the perfect opportunity for the continued growth and evolution of ODU athletic programs in our pursuit of national prominence,” Old Dominion athletic director Wood Selig said in a statement. 

Old Dominion joined Conference USA as it transitioned to the FBS level during the 2014 football season. The program played football for a brief period in the 1930s, but ultimately folded before restarting a football team at the FCS level in 2009. Bobby Wilder led the program from inception until 2019, posting a 77-56 record between FCS and FBS, including a 10-win season in 2016. 

The program has struggled since the breakout season, however, posting an 11-32 record since 2017. Former Penn State offensive coordinator Ricky Rahne took over the program in 2020, but ODU opted not to play football during the pandemic season. A move to the Sun Belt — along with the potential rise of James Madison from the FCS ranks — gives the Monarchs significantly more regional partners in the Carolinas and Georgia. 

“We are thrilled to welcome Old Dominion University to the Sun Belt. ODU brings a host of strengths to our

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