News & Announcements
News & Announcements
Skillshot Media to Launch Esports Gaming Hub at Uptown Atlanta
Skillshot Media
,
August 16, 2021

Formerly known as Lindbergh City Center, mixed-use development re-emerges as the epicenter of esports in Atlanta, a city ranked #1 for its gaming environment

ATLANTA  — Skillshot Media, a leading turnkey esports provider based in Atlanta, today announced plans to create a highly connected esports gaming hub at Uptown Atlanta, the 47-acre mixed-use community being redeveloped by Rubenstein Partners, L.P. (together with its affiliates, “Rubenstein”). Skillshot will relocate its Alpharetta office and production studios to Uptown and partner with Rubenstein to establish Atlanta’s new go-to destination for esports events. Skillshot’s new space will also provide classroom and training space for local students.

Located within Uptown, Skillshot’s space will serve as a production studio, collaborative learning center and retail space. At the ground level, Skillshot is working with Rubenstein to program the 35,000-square-foot office atrium to become Atlanta’s premier venue for esports events. The atrium will be outfitted to host approximately 300-400 gamers for in-person events and feature a massive LED screen with new digital infrastructure to support live streaming to millions of gamers around the world.

Skillshot will be working with industry leading gaming partners in the build-out of the facility. HyperX, the brand leader in gaming and esports peripherals, was named the official peripheral partner of Skillshot at Uptown. As part of the collaboration, HyperX will outfit Skillshot with a range of products, including best-in-class headsets, keyboards, mice and microphones.

Skillshot’s plans for Uptown come as part of the growth and momentum of the esports and gaming industry in Atlanta. Notably, Atlanta is recognized as the #1 city for its gaming environment, and in 2019, the gaming industry contributed $925 million dollars in economic impact to the State of Georgia. In addition, the State’s favorable tax incentives for the esports industry have created an incredible opportunity for expansion, positioning Skillshot and Uptown as the frontrunners in this booming, highly competitive arena.

"With this partnership, Skillshot at Uptown becomes the Metro Atlanta hub for digital media, gaming, and esports," said Todd Harris, CEO of Skillshot Media. "The Rubenstein vision for Uptown as a high-tech and high energy mixed-use environment is a perfect match with Skillshot Media’s aspiration to foster community engagement with gaming. The gaming industry, at $180 billion, is bigger than movies and North American sports combined. Skillshot and Uptown are now well-positioned to serve this massive and broad gaming ecosystem with support for student workforce training, professional esports teams, studio content and broadcasting, and hosting live gaming events."

Skillshot is aligned with the Atlanta Esports Alliance, a private 501(c)6 division of the Atlanta Sports Council (ASC), the group responsible for securing bids for large-scale sporting events like the Olympics, Superbowl and FIFA World Cup. Skillshot Founder and CEO Todd Harris serves as one of the local business leaders in the esports ecosystem working to further metro Atlanta’s position as a global leader in the space.

Skillshot is also partnered with the University System of Georgia and the Georgia Film Academy to offer students workforce development programs for college credit. Skillshot will host its first classes for Georgia State University students at Uptown on August 17, offering credit in Digital Media, Esports Event Production, and Esports Hosting and Commentary.

“Skillshot Media’s new production studio and learning center will be a game changer in Georgia as the state’s esports ecosystem continues to grow and thrive,” said Asante Bradford, the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Senior Industry Engagement Manager, Center of Innovation – IT. “I look forward to seeing the opportunities Skillshot’s collaborative partnership with both the University System of Georgia and the Georgia Film Academy creates for the next generation of software developers and gamers.”

In addition to the digital infrastructure and LED screen, the renovated office atrium will feature a slew of new amenities, including a gaming center with video game equipment, a golf simulator, bocce ball and foosball; a coffee shop and wine bar; second-story conference space; and state-of-the-art fitness center. The reimagined office atrium comes as part of Rubenstein’s redevelopment of Uptown into a modern mixed-use destination.

“The atrium is the nerve center of Uptown’s reimagined office experience – seamlessly integrated into the vibrant and energetic mixed-use environment that surrounds it and equipped with an incredible selection of high-tech amenities,” said Taylor Smith, Regional Director of the Southeast at Rubenstein. “Skillshot brings an unmatched level of esports expertise and ingenuity to Uptown and this partnership signals an exciting opportunity for the future of digital innovation in Atlanta. Together, we will build upon the undeniable impact of the gaming industry and create a forward-thinking, creative hub for the community.”

Rubenstein, alongside its design partners ASD|SKY and Gensler, is driving the transformation of the transit-oriented property into a hyper-accessible hub of activity for office workers, residents and the community. Redevelopment plans are focused on revitalizing the destination and providing the community with vibrant restaurants and retail, enhanced connectivity with recreational trails and MARTA, modern office amenities and greenspace. Construction is currently underway, with a heavy focus on revamping the streetscape and pedestrian experience along Main Street by adding outdoor patios and office balconies, as well as refreshing building facades.  

Rounding out the redevelopment team, global commercial real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield is leading office leasing at Uptown, with a focus on recruiting companies who value working in a vibrant, highly connected mixed-use destination. Retail real estate consultant firm Revel is overseeing retail leasing, with plans to introduce a globally inspired mix of restaurants and retailers.

Last fall, Uptown launched a series of community events on The Lawn, the property’s expansive greenspace, to infuse the property with energy and unique experiences such as gnome picnics, artist markets, weekly yoga classes and more. Additionally, The Hambidge Center debuted its Cross Pollination Art Lab at Uptown last October, transforming a 12,000-square-foot space along Piedmont Ave into a series of art galleries, studios and performance spaces.

Once complete, Uptown will encompass nearly one million square feet of office space, 120,000 square feet of retail and a variety of community gathering spaces to bring the best of Atlanta together.

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News & Announcements
Skillshot Media Partners With Reely, Bringing Real-Time AI Technology to Esports Event Productions
Skillshot Media
,
May 27, 2021

MIAMI, May 25, 2021  -- Reely.ai first commercialized its Machine Vision + AI technology in the collegiate sports market in the Fall of 2019. Seeing a massive opportunity to use its proprietary real-time stream analysis and distribution tool in the esports and gaming world, Reely.ai has partnered with Skillshot Media, a leader in organizing and producing live esports events.

"We've been interested in the gaming space for some time but our focus was primarily collegiate and professional sports," says Reely CEO Daniel Evans. "When most live sports were canceled in the Spring of 2020, we upgraded our tech to handle the massive scale in gaming and teamed up with Skillshot to start training our models and scoring algorithms accordingly."

The new partnership gives Skillshot the ability to push top moments from its competitive esports events to social channels in near real time using AI-based automation. As content is pushed out from the platform, Reely automatically includes event logos and sponsorships, ensuring all content is consistent and meets brand and sponsor guidelines.

"We met the Reely team early last fall as they were working to extend their capabilities to esports. We definitely saw the potential even then and we're thrilled to now have these new tools for our productions. Our fans will love getting exciting moments in their hands quickly to share with friends, add their own commentary or just replay the action," said Todd Harris, founder at Skillshot Media.

The Reely platform currently supports primarily multiplayer competitive titles such as Valorant, Fortnite, Warzone, and Rocket League and top sports titles like FIFA, Madden, and NBA2K. "We were able to port most of the traditional sports models to their gaming counterparts without a lot of tuning, which just goes to show you how well EA and others have replicated the physical sport," added Evans.

Reely currently supports 17 game titles and 13 sports at a 94% accuracy rate, with plans to add new game titles each month.

ABOUT REELY.AI

REELY leverages proprietary computer vision technology and artificial intelligence to identify, segment, and rate key events (highlights) in live streaming and stored VOD content. The technology makes it possible for sports teams, content creators, and esports organizations to deliver their best moments to social audiences in near real time while creating new automation efficiencies in content production and archiving workflows. www.reely.ai

About SKILLSHOT MEDIA

Skillshot connects leading brands to engaged esports fans while delivering positive social impact. We provide a turnkey esports solution for leading competitive titles, including online and offline tournament organization, industry-leading esports production, active community management, and authentic brand integration and consulting for partners. Skillshot has more than five years of esports experience in hosting thousands of global competitors, paying out millions in tournament prizing, and serving more than one billion esports views to date. www.skillshot.com

Press Contact:Maria@reely.ai

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News & Announcements
Ghost Gaming Collaborates with Georgia Film Academy and Skillshot Media to Launch Student Esports Path To Pro
Skillshot Media
,
March 24, 2021
Mentoring and internships open additional gaming, esports career opportunities

ATLANTA — March 24, 2021 — Ghost Gaming, the Atlanta-based esports organization and gaming lifestyle brand, has announced its collaboration with the Georgia Film Academy (GFA) and esports production company Skillshot Media to develop Georgia’s workforce for the growing gaming and esports industry.

As a result, Ghost Gaming establishes a relationship with students on Georgia’s public college and university campuses, who are eligible to participate in GFA’s Digital Entertainment, Esports & Game Development Certification.   Each semester the GFA, Ghost Gaming, and Skillshot Media will identify opportunities for students to have additional hands-on exposure and internships.

The collaboration kicks off this Spring 2021 semester, with GFA’s Fundamentals of Esports class, which includes twenty-six students designing and operating an invitational collegiate esports tournament in the popular game Valorant.  Three members of Ghost’s professional Valorant team roster will serve as coaches for the college teams competing in the final match on Thursday, April 8, with GFA students executing the event management, tournament operations, marketing, live-stream production, and on-air hosting and commentary.  

“The GFA is excited to collaborate with Ghost Gaming and Skillshot Media to offer students professional experience and exposure, leading to high-demand careers and the growth of the full eco-system within the digital entertainment, gaming, and esports industries here in Georgia.”  - Jeff Stepakoff, Georgia Film Academy Executive Director

Ghost Gaming has competitive teams and creators in the most popular competitive titles including Fortnite, Rocket-League, Valorant, Call of Duty Warzone and PubG Mobile.

“In relocating Ghost Gaming to Atlanta one key consideration was the availability of talent as we grow.  We’re excited to collaborate with the Georgia Film Academy and Skillshot Media to provide students additional industry learning opportunities and to help fill our own workforce needs” - Andrew Steinberg, Ghost Managing Partner

The GFA is a collaboration of the University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia created to meet education and workforce needs for high-demand careers in Georgia’s creative industries.  Last year, Skillshot Media worked with the GFA to establish an esports pilot class at Georgia State University.  The initiative has quickly grown to include additional institutions and an expanded certification to include multiple new courses.

According to the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), esports has emerged as one of the fastest-growing industries in the state, with gaming having an economic impact of over $830 million last year.

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News & Announcements
Virtual Event ‘InvitationATL’ To Support New Voter Registration
Skillshot Media
,
September 22, 2020
Gamers.Vote, Comcast, Skillshot Media, Twitch, and gaming community to support new voter registration with live-stream event

Gamers.Vote, Comcast and multiple gaming and esports partners, including Twitch and Skillshot Media, today announced ‘InvitationATL’—a virtual event on September 29th focused on boosting new voter registration.  The event will feature an online invitational Fall Guys tournament and a Chess.com showmatch with top live-streamers.  

“Our mission is to aggressively register gamers as new voters before the registration deadline closes in 15 states, which is home to well over one-third of all electoral votes,”  said Gamers.Vote CEO, Christie St. Martin.

InvitationATL will be produced by Skillshot, presented by Gamers.Vote and Comcast, and supporting partners  including Twitch, HyperX, Ghost Gaming, XSET, Skullz, SwaggedOutNerds, Chess.com, Atlanta Esports Alliance, Shotcall.gg  and others to be announced.

“With half of all U.S. adults playing games, that is 133 million potential voters,” said Todd Harris of Skillshot Media. “ With this virtual event, a follow-on to our first one in July, we hope to drive awareness and facilitate direct online voter registration for this massive, digitally connected gaming audience.”

Twitch.TV is supporting the activation with a custom platform extension that directs participants and viewers to online voter registration in 39 states plus the District of Columbia.

The online Fall Guys tournament will include top streamers and icons committed to helping their communities register to vote, with additional tournament invitations being extended to active duty, reservist, and veteran military personnel in appreciation of their service.  

Beyond Fall Guys, viewers will be treated to an hour of competitive chess between top gaming personalities.

Details on how to watch the September 29th InvitationATL live-stream will be posted to www.iatl.gg

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News & Announcements
Atlanta Musicians and Creatives Join Esports Event InvitationATL TOMORROW To Highlight 2020 Voter Registration and Participation
Skillshot Media
,
July 20, 2020
The free-to-view InvitationATL digital event and $10,000 Fortnite tournament on Twitch.TV includes a diverse set of artists performing music and speaking on the importance of voting

(From left-to-right, top-to-bottom: LAIKA, Missing Peace, Sonic Rebel, King of Sneakers, Skooly, Leah Culver, Favor, and Sage Hammond.)

Skillshot Media, Gamers.Vote and esports organization Ghost Gaming today announced the talent list for InvitationATL—a digital festival on Tuesday, July 21 filled with musical performances, videogame live-streaming and a $10,000 online invitational Fortnite tournament to raise awareness of voter registration and participation across the 133M adult gamers in the US.  

“Our mission in July is to get as many gamers registered as new voters as possible” said Gamers.Vote CEO, Christie St. Martin, “With InvitationATL, Skillshot Media and the Atlanta community have embraced this mission with an incredible tentpole event featuring performers from both music and esports.”

Event participation includes Atlanta-based musicians across diverse genres including John Hopkins from the Zac Brown Band, Bill Kelliher from Mastodon, Waka Flocka, Skooly, Isaac Hayes III, Leah Culver, and more, including a world debut performance from new artist Sonic Rebel.

Programming includes casual video-games played by special guests including actor Jesse Usher, and a virtual reality DJ set by KRYOMAN - Spirit Link powered by TribeXR.

The event culminates with a 49 team $10,000 Fortnite tournament showcasing invited competitive players from esports teams FaZe Clan, NRG, Ghost Gaming, and XSET, along with top streamers and invited players from organizations including Atlanta Reign, GamersDoingThings, KontrolFreek, the National Association of Collegiate Esports and many others.

The full talent list and event schedule is available at www.iatl.gg. The live-stream event will kickoff on Tuesday, July 21 at 3pm ET at www.twitch.tv/skillshot.  

Twitch.TV is supporting this activation with a custom platform extension that directs participants and viewers to online voter registration. New Georgia Project is the local civic engagement partner.

InvitationATL will be produced by Skillshot, presented by Gamers.Vote and Ghost Gaming, with additional supporting partners including Twitch, HyperX, New Georgia Project, Respawn, Greenberg Traurig, Axis Replay, United In Gaming, KontrolFreek, Skullz, Skinz.gg, Reely, Subnation, SUBSUME, Nexus, Atlanta Reign, GamersDoingThings, Placement Music, Radar Live, Fandom, Represent Us, TribeXR, Atlanta Esports Alliance, MomoCon, and the Georgia Game Developers Association.

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News & Announcements
COV-AID LAUNCHES 10+ HOUR STREAMING CHARITY EVENT
Skillshot Media
,
April 23, 2020
All Proceeds to Support Americares and Boys & Girls Clubs of America Initiatives Related to Covid-19 Relief Featured Talent to Include Lil Jon and Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski

Partners Include United in Gaming, Skillshot Media, Uspech Marketing, Film Quality Services, Big Block Media, Visual Weaponry, Softgiving and KontrolFreek

COV-AID is proud to present a massive, multi-platform, one-day online charity event on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, at 1pm EDT / 10am PDT. The event will feature more than 10 hours of content showcasing popular gamers, athletes, artists and other personalities streamed across top social game-streaming platforms including Twitch, YouTube, Mixer, Twitter and Facebook. All proceeds will be donated to Americares and Boys & Girls Clubs of America to help the fight against COVID-19, and to support front-line medical professionals, first responders, and families most directly affected by COVID-19.

The event will feature a mix of interactive, live-streamed competitions and performances, plus pre-recorded content from entertainers, athletes, and other personalities. Talent will include Grammy Award-winning artist Lil Jon, Super Bowl champion Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski, and many others.  Additional talent will be announced.

COV-AID is an egoless alliance of talent, distribution and nonprofit partners coming together to fight COVID-19. Event organizers and logistical partners will earn no revenue from COV-AID. All proceeds will support the event’s nonprofit beneficiaries and their work.

“This is such an extraordinarily challenging time for people all over the world,” said United in Gaming Co-Founder Andrew Smoltz. “I am grateful to my partners for coming together for this event so we can help make a difference for Americares and Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and the essential workers and families they support.”

Skillshot CEO Todd Harris added: "Everyone is at home. Everyone. Some people are feeling isolated and we figured this was a great moment for digital-native talent to step up and take the lead in bringing people together, albeit remotely, to enjoy each other's company while also addressing the urgent challenges we all face.”

“We're especially thankful for our amazing talent, all of whom are all donating their time to participate in this event,” added Uspech Marketing Consultants Founder Jennifer Erdman. “No one involved in COV-AID is taking any fee or percentage, which allows us to ensure every penny raised goes directly to these two essential organizations at this critical time."

Americares is providing desperately-needed personal protective equipment (PPE), training and emotional support to ensure health workers on the front lines of the pandemic can continue their lifesaving and life-changing work.

“Americares is heartened to see such an outpouring of support to help health workers on the front lines of the pandemic,” said Americares President and CEO Christine Squires. “With support from COV-AID, we can provide even more masks, gloves, gowns and essential training to protect our health care heroes.”

Boys & Girls Clubs of America is committed to remaining open to support the children and families of front-line medical professionals and essential workers while also providing meals and virtual learning at thousands of Clubs around the country.  

“For 160 years, Boys & Girls Clubs have navigated times of tragedy and crisis to provide safe places for kids and teens. Today, we are committed more than ever, to ensure Club staff, members, families and communities have the resources and support they need to navigate these uncertain times,” said Boys & Girls Clubs of America President and CEO Jim Clark. “Thank you to COV-AID and its partners for helping support our work during this critical time.”

For more information, or to make a donation, please visit cov-aid.org.

* * *

COV-AID was created, and is being produced by, a consortium of media and technology firms with close ties to the gaming and esports community, including: United in Gaming, Skillshot Media, Uspech Marketing, Film Quality Services, Big Block Media, Visual Weaponry, Softgiving and KontrolFreek.

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News & Announcements
Skillshot Media Announces Game Development and Esports Curriculum, Toward Future Workforce Development, Delivered in Partnership with Georgia Film Academy and Georgia State University
Skillshot Media
,
April 2, 2020

We are living in unprecedented times.

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed tens of thousands of people around the world, and hundreds of thousands or potentially millions are still at risk. Economically, many employees, businesses and entire industries also face existential risk, or in the best case, a long pause. Our education institutions are dealing with a transition to online learning short-term while preparing students for a post-virus economy long-term.

At the same time we are all aware that this too shall pass.  Certain industries are uniquely positioned to provide safe entertainment, comfort, and social connection in this moment, “filling the void” left by traditional sports, concerts, and live events all going dark.

One industry proving to be particularly resilient and necessarily right now is esports. With most of the world’s population now homebound, the number of people playing online games is at a record high. The number of people watching others play games is at a record high. Virtual racing is broadcast on television in place of live motor sports. NBA players compete from their homes in NBA 2K. And the World Health Organization encourages playing video games and adopts the #PlayApartTogether campaign. This global phenomenon is being highlighted this week by the New York Times, The Washington Post, Time Magazine and others recognizing that it is in fact esports that is filling the void.

And yet, we can do more than entertain short-term. We can also act now to prepare our students and workforce for a post-virus economy and new jobs within the gaming industry.

Toward this goal, Skillshot is pleased to announce an initiative we have been working on for many months. In collaboration with partners, we’ve developed a series of in-person and online courses focused on workforce development for the thriving game development and esports industries. These are industries with combined global revenue of $140 billion, making gaming not only more resilient but also much bigger economically than the film and music industries combined.

The first of these courses will roll out in our home state of Georgia this fall, delivered in partnership with the Georgia Film Academy and Georgia State University’s Creative Media Industries Institute (CMII).  Students will earn hours in the class, which will credit to CMII’s programs in Game Design and Media Entrepreneurship. Many other courses will follow.

In the meantime, as the internet says, “Stay Home, Play Games”.  

And once this passes, we hope to be part of the workforce development engine that keeps the world playing hard, AND working hard.

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News & Announcements
NACE Announces Strategic Partnership with Skillshot Media For Comprehensive Collegiate Esports Program Offering $16M in Scholarships Annually
Skillshot Media
,
February 20, 2020
Together, the organizations will advance collegiate esports governance, scholarships, competition, live event production, and commercialization.

The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE), a nonprofit membership association and the only governing body of collegiate esports in North America, today announced their strategic partnership with Skillshot Media, esports infrastructure provider and agency, to offer collegiate competition, event production, and rights commercialization.

NACE is the association of college varsity esports programs, with over 200 member universities contributing over $16 million annually in esports scholarships.  Skillshot Media has produced and licensed esports competition and events in North America for over 5 years, across numerous titles and genres, with over 1 billion video views.

“Skillshot Media powered our initial collegiate competitions for CS:GO, Smite, and other titles.  After hearing our member school appetite for more competition, we considered many partners, and Skillshot was the clear choice for a strategic partner based on shared vision and capabilities,” said Michael Brooks, NACE Executive Director.  “We are thrilled to offer more game titles and more live events, including collegiate Fortnite this spring and many more games to come in the fall.”
Todd Harris, Skillshot CEO, added, “NACE member schools are the true pioneers and thought leaders in collegiate esports, the schools who are committing scholarship dollars, coaches, and facilities, and are committed to positive and balanced outcomes for their student-athletes.  We're excited to partner with NACE to scale esports to colleges nationwide – more schools, more game titles, more events. With our infrastructure, production capability and publisher relationships we aim to provide value to participating schools, the competing teams, and also importantly our partnered game publishers.  Beyond competition, together we are also developing governance and internship opportunities for students wishing to enter the esports industry.”

NACE and Skillshot announced that the Spring 2020 collegiate competition includes both Fortnite and CS:GO with an invitational finals to take place at MomoCon in Atlanta, May 23rd, a festival that draws over 35,000 unique attendees.

About NACE
The National Association of Collegiate Esports (NACE) is a nonprofit membership association organized by member institutions and is the only governing body of collegiate varsity esports in North America. NACE works on building the structure and providing the tools for students needed to advance at varsity-level in collegiate esports. Areas of focus include areas such as: Eligibility, Path to Graduation, Competition & Scholarships. NACE currently includes over 200 varsity esports programs of its members, accounting for nearly 90% of all varsity programs across North America.

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News & Announcements
Hi-Rez Studios Co-Founder Completes Management Buy-Out of Skillshot Media and will Strategically Partner with INAP to Develop an Esports Media Center in Downtown Atlanta
Skillshot Media
,
January 16, 2020
The new 10,000 square foot esports operations, production and broadcast center will service multiple game publishers as well as consumer brand partners.

Skillshot Media, the esports entity formerly owned by Alpharetta-based game publisher Hi-Rez Studios, announced today the completion of a management buy-out by two former Hi-Rez executives. Skillshot will operate as an independent, publisher-agnostic esports solution provider and agency, and Hi-Rez Studios no longer has an ownership interest in the company.  

Hi-Rez Studios Co-founder Todd Harris and former Vice President Nabil Ismail will exit Hi-Rez and serve as CEO and COO of Skillshot Media, and in strategic partnership with INAP will develop an esports operations center and production studio in downtown Atlanta.  This new Esports Media Center, operated by Skillshot, will be located at 250 Williams Street NW in Atlanta, co-located within INAP’s flagship Atlanta data center facility.

“With 15 years in game development and marketing, we have seen first-hand how a community-driven esports approach delivers results for both the game publisher and brand partners,'' said Todd Harris, CEO of Skillshot Media. “Players who watch esports are more engaged and spend more money with the game publisher. Those players also have higher spending and goodwill toward partners who authentically support esports events. We believe brands that want to reach the next generation of consumers will discover esports to be the most effective and efficient way to connect with that massive audience, and Skillshot wants to help them do exactly that.”

INAP’s flagship Atlanta data center features low latency network performance enabled by patented route optimization technology and an onsight network operations center to keep game server and broadcasting infrastructure operational and at peak efficiency.

“Gaming and esports is not only the largest entertainment industry but one of the most demanding in terms of performance,” said TJ Waldorf, CMO at INAP. “INAP is proud to have powered esports communities for over a decade, and this strategic partnership with Skillshot allows us to even better serve the fast growing gaming and esports industry.”

Continues Harris, “Esports demands an IT infrastructure built for speed, reliability, and global scalability.  Players are competing for millions of dollars and INAP delivers the performance required for that competitive environment. This Esports Media Center is walking distance to the Georgia World Congress Center, State Farm Arena, Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and public transportation to the world’s busiest airport, allowing us to easily integrate with other Atlanta venues and hospitality partners for esports events.”

About INAP
Internap Corporation (NASDAQ: INAP) is a leading-edge provider of high-performance data center and cloud solutions with 100 network Points of Presence worldwide. INAP’s full-spectrum portfolio of high-density colocation managed cloud hosting and network solutions supports evolving IT infrastructure requirements for customers ranging from the Fortune 500 to emerging startups. INAP operates in 21 metropolitan markets, primarily in North America, with 14 INAP Data Center Flagships connected by a low-latency, high-capacity network.For more information, visit www.INAP.com.

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News & Announcements
Co-founder of Twitch and Co-founder of Major League Gaming to Keynote Atlanta's Inaugural Esports Summit, Powered by INAP
Skillshot Media
,
August 22, 2019

Kevin Lin, co-founder of Twitch, and Sundance DiGiovanni, co-founder of Major League Gaming, as keynote speakers at Esports Summit 2019 -- the first business-focused esports conference in the southeast. Additionally, INAP, a leading-edge provider of high-performance data center and cloud solutions, is the official “Powered By” partner of Esports Summit and secured the title sponsorship. Hi-Rez Studios is the Presenting Publisher sponsor of the summit.

Presented by Skillshot Media, Esports Summit will gather leaders of the entertainment industry to discuss upcoming trends and projections for the future of esports November 14 - 15, 2019 at the Georgia World Congress Center.  

“As the inaugural event in the Southeast, Esports Summit 2019 is an excellent opportunity to shine the light on one of the most robust gaming and esports ecosystems in North America, metro Atlanta,” said Grant Wainscott, head of creative industries economic development with the Metro Atlanta Chamber.  

As industry veterans who helped shape the esports and streaming scene, Lin and DiGiovanni will share their insight and expertise as the co-founders of Twitch and Major League Gaming respectively. In addition to keynotes, a full-day of panels featuring esports industry professionals and endemic companies will also run on Friday, November 15.

“These first two industry titans, with a combined experience of 30 years between them, sets the bar for the level and depth of esports expertise we will provide this year at Esports Summit,” said conference organizer Kathryn De Shields. “This conference will provide content and access to the very top professionals across the esports ecosystem - representing team orgs, publishers, investors, brands, platforms, educators, and more.”

Support from the Esports Summit title sponsor, INAP, will enable comprehensive speaker content, networking opportunities, and behind-the-scenes tours of a production studio (Skillshot Media) and the World Championship live event at Hi-Rez Expo.

“We are proud to support Skillshot Media and this important, first-of-its-kind event for the region,” said TJ Waldorf, Chief Marketing Officer and Head of Customer Success at INAP. “Esports is on its way to becoming a billion-dollar industry this year, making this world-class showcase a must-attend for all parties looking to operate in this exciting and fast-growing ecosystem.”  

The full speaker list and agenda for Esports Summit 2019 will be released in early Fall 2019. Tickets are currently available at an early bird discount. For tickets and additional information, visit www.esportssummit.live.

For information about sponsoring or speaking, please contact kdeshields@skillshot.com.

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