Activision's takeover of eSports League causing waves

The $46 million acquisition of eSports company Major League Gaming last year by Call of Duty and Hearthstone developer Activision Blizzard (see previous reports) is in the headlines again as stakeholders bridle at the lack of consultation.

The publication eSports Observer reports that MLG co-founder and CEO Sundance DiGiovanni has stepped down and departed, leaving CFO Greg Chisholm to helm the company.

The publication notes that the Activision Blizzard acquisition essentially dissolves the professional gaming organisation, and that some investors are angry that the agreement was inked without a stakeholders meeting.

The Observer records that DiGiovanni and Mike Sepso founded MLG in 2002, and throughout the years it has regularly hosted professional gaming tournaments, broken into the streaming business, and helped bring eSports to television and the mainstream.

In 2014, MLG opened the United States’ first professional gaming arena in Ohio, and had plans to open another arena in China by 2017.

However, in October last year it lost the hosting rights to the Call of Duty World League’s Pro Division to the ESL, an event which coincided with co-founder Mike Sepso joining Activision as senior vice president of its new eSports division, overseeing professional eSport franchises that include StarCraft, World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone.

ROLL UP, ROLL UP FOR THE BIGGEST WORLD POKER TOUR HIGH ROLLER TOURNEY YET

$200,000 buy-in does not deter the game’s biggest aces.

Many of the top names in poker have been lining up to play in the January 3rd World Poker Tour National Philippines Festival of Poker Super High Roller competition which starts today….undeterred by the $200,000 buy-in.

Entries so far include a who’s who of online and live poker that includes: Brian Rast, Keith Gipson, Thomas McDonald, John Juanda, Philipp Gruissem, Mike “Timex” McDonald, Stephen Chidwick, Hendrik Latz, David Peters, Isaac Haxton, Sam Soverel, Jean-Robert Bellande, Tom Hall, Dan Colman, Nam Le, Richard Yong, Paul Phua, Lei Tim Meng, Mui Man Bok, Qin “The Chairman” Si Xin, Wang “Shanghai Wong” Qiang, Zhang “Big Head” Xi Hong, Wang Zuo, Stanley Choi, Zhang Shu Nu Aaron, Liang Yu, and Chan Wai Leong.

Also competing will be Phil Ivey, Tom Dwan, Sam Trickett, Daniel Cates, Andrew Robl, Vivek Rajkumar, Fedor Holz, and Andrew Pantling.