Nerd Street Gamers & Wisdom Gaming Selected to Lead Operations for League of Legends: Wild Rift: Summoner Series

PHILADELPHIA – July 13, 2021 – Nerd Street Gamers, the national esports infrastructure company, announced today it was selected, in collaboration with Wisdom Gaming, as the official tournament and broadcast operators for Riot Games’ League of Legends: Wild Rift: Summoner Series. Nerd Street and Wisdom will lead registration, design, operations, and production of the tournament from July to October 2021. This partnership will be Nerd Street’s first venture into mobile gaming tournaments, highlighting its continued digital expansion and industry expertise as well as its commitment to accessibility.

As the future of esports continues to evolve, mobile gaming will play an integral role. With 85 percent of American adults owning smartphones, mobile gaming makes esports accessible to a broad audience who may not have access to a PC or console. While mobile gamers range from players who enjoy gaming for fun to top-tier competitors, the growing platform aligns with Nerd Street’s mission to increase accessibility and provide more opportunities for aspiring gamers to compete in high-quality esports competitions.

“As Nerd Street continues to grow, our key goals remain the same—expand our offerings to reach new audiences, and grow deeper partnerships with publishers,” said Stephen Csikos, Vice President of Esports Operations at Nerd Street. “The opportunity to work alongside Riot to help structure and create their mobile esports program for Wild Rift in NA is an important step for us as it allows both companies to grow the mobile space within North America. Nerd Street is dedicated to being a reliable partner across multi-verticals for publishers, and we believe that expanding into mobile esports will help further increase awareness and drive participation among a wide, more diverse consumer base.”

Launched in March 2021, League of Legends: Wild Rift is a 5v5 multiplayer online battle arena game for mobile play. Wild Rift: Summoner Series open-play format creates an engaging and competitive environment, while simultaneously giving players the opportunity to participate at various times throughout the tournament series, allowing for casual and competitive gameplay and increased opportunity among newer gamers to join. The tournament is open to all players and will include a total prize pot of $50,000 across qualifiers and championships.

“Riot Games has a long-standing relationship with Nerd Street and Wisdom Gaming across multiple titles, and we are excited to combine their talents to deliver our inaugural Wild Rift competition,” said Chris Greeley, Head of Esports for NA and OCE at Riot Games. “We are confident that the expertise that Nerd Street and Wisdom bring to the table will create a seamless, integrity-driven competitive experience for our players in the Wild Rift:Summoner Series. Our team is excited to continue expanding our relationship with Nerd Street and Wisdom and to continue working together to further develop the esports industry.”

“As big Riot fans, we are honored to be a part of building the Wild Rift esports community,” said Wisdom CEO Mike Zweigbaum. “Since producing the European-focused Battle for the Rift event in May, we’ve been hungry to create more Wild Rift content. This partnership not only sets the stage for us to do just that, but also presents a great opportunity to work with Nerd Street. We’ve cheered on our neighbors to the northeast for ages, and we’re excited to collaborate with them on such a big project. We both love Wild Rift and hope to foster this growing scene.”

The tournament will consist of qualifier rounds, a last chance qualifier, and a championship tournament. Full schedule is as follows:

2021 WILD RIFT: SUMMONER’S SERIES| Schedule

FIRST CIRCUIT

July 26-27 - Top 4 Qual into M1

Aug 2-Aug 3  - Top 4 Qual into M1

August 7-8 Major 1 - Top 4 qualify into Major 2

SECOND CIRCUIT

Aug 16-17  - Top 2 Qual into M2

Aug 23-24  - Top 2 Qual into M2

Aug 28-29 Major 2  - Top 2 qualify into Champs - 3-6 Qualify into Major 3

THIRD CIRCUIT

Sept 6-7  -  Top 2 Qual into M3

Sept 13-14  - Top 2 Qual into M3

Sept 18-19 Major 3  - Top 4 qualify into Champs

LCQ Top 2 Qualify for Regional Championship

Oct 1-3

NA REGIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP

October Dates TBD

Players can register to compete in the tournament at nerdstreet.com. Future details on event dates, times, and broadcast locations can be found on the Giant Slayer Wild Rift and Nerd Street Gamers social channels as they become available.

About Wild Rift

Dive into Wild Rift: the skills-and-strats 5v5 MOBA experience of League of Legends, now built from the ground up for mobile and console. With fresh controls and fast-paced games, players of every level can team up with friends, lock in their champion, and go for the big plays.

Download now for free on iOS and Android: https://riotgames.sng.link/Dus0s/9d5d

About Nerd Street Gamers

Nerd Street Gamers (Nerd Street) is a national network of esports facilities and events dedicated to powering competitive opportunities for gamers. The company promotes greater access to the esports industry, laying a national framework for esports talent development and high-quality gaming tournaments. Through Localhost, its gaming and esports centers across the country, the company provides opportunities for gamers of all ages and skill levels to participate in esports tournaments, camps, team training, private events like birthday parties, and hourly play for a wide variety of video games. Nerd Street has received backing from Five Below, Comcast Spectacor, SeventySix Capital, Elevate Ventures, angel investor George Miller, and Founders Fund.

For more information, follow @nerdstreet and nerdstreet.com.

About Wisdom

Wisdom Gaming is an emerging leader in esports production specializing in content creation, tournament organization, design, and strategic brand activation. From concept to completion, Wisdom’s diverse team of experienced esports minds offer turnkey creative and production services, tournament organization capabilities, and marketing strategy for brands and publishers passionate about establishing their legacy in esport and gaming.

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Media Contact:

Brownstein Group on behalf of

Nerd Street Gamers

nerdstreet@brownsteingroup.com

(410) 562-9639

Wisdom Gaming, Inc.

Nicole Du Cane

VP of Business Development

nicoled@wisdom.gg