Esports Network Podcast

Ray himself returns to the show under a new name and a new brand, but his approach to the CDL and his squad hasn't changed! He's still focused on improving the team, the players, and bringing new prestige to not one, but now TWO CoD giants. Ray Lussier is the first member of the OpTic organization to talk about the recent merger with Envy, and we get his thoughts on that as well as, of course, his thoughts on the upcoming Major 1 CDL tournament.

Major 1 starts Thursday, March 3rd out of Esports Stadium Arlington, which is under new management with Envy at the helm. Single day tickets are still available be sure to get them at https://optic.callofdutyleague.com/

And if you can't make it in-person, catch it all on the Call of Duty League YouTube channel!

Vote for the Esports Network Podcast as the Best Esport Podcast for the Sports Podcast Awards!

Watch The Gamer Hour - Esportz Network's new show from Times Square.

If you are interested in being a sponsor for the Esports Minute, Esports Network Podcast, College Esports QuickTake or The Gamer Hour, please reach out to Esportz Network CEO Mark Thimmig by emailing [email protected].

If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and subscribe, it helps us out a ton!

For daily esports news, check out the Esports Minute.

If you're interested in learning about college esports check out the College Esports QuickTake.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @Correa24

Follow Esportz Network on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @EsportzNetwork

Or visit our website esportznetwork.com for updates on what's to come!

Special Guest: Ray "RamboRay" Lussier.

Amateur school-centered esports may be in trouble in terms of the options of platforms presented to them, as recently a league operator across High School Esports has sent cease and desist letters to other scholastic leagues playing games they claim exclusivity to. From League of Legends to Mario Kart and more, league operators are struggling to provide games of all kinds to schools under their care. Today we were joined by member of Generation Esports, founders of the HSEL, MSEL, NJCAAE, and other leagues in the educational spaces, to discuss why games exclusivity hurts not just tournament and league organizers in states across the country, but also students served by those organizers in the first place. Mason Mullenioux, CEO, and Jonathan Schrader, VP of Growth, from GenE, are here to tell you why inclusivity of games helps build up the next generation of esports professionals, instead of cutting the options out from under them.

Visit GenE site here!

Vote for the Esports Network Podcast as the Best Esport Podcast for the Sports Podcast Awards!

Watch The Gamer Hour - Esportz Network's new show from Times Square.

If you are interested in being a sponsor for the Esports Minute, Esports Network Podcast, College Esports QuickTake or The Gamer Hour, please reach out to Esportz Network CEO Mark Thimmig by emailing [email protected].

If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and subscribe, it helps us out a ton!

For daily esports news, check out the Esports Minute.

If you're interested in learning about college esports check out the College Esports QuickTake.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @Correa24

Follow Esportz Network on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @EsportzNetwork

Or visit our website esportznetwork.com for updates on what's to come!

Special Guests: Jonathan Schrader and Mason Mullenioux.

You may know Jake Lucky from his previous work throwing out various updates from around the esports industry but his post-Esports Talk career has a neat little bump in the road. Not really a bump, but in conjunction with partner AlexB, the two are on journey to build a distinctive collection of esports merch, apparel, jerseys, hoodies, t-shirts (long, short, and sleeveless), and even some LEGO sets? They talk about the beginnings, the fun times, and the possible futures contained with their very own Esports Closet!

Follow the Esports Closet on Twitter, @EsportsCloset, Instagram, and YouTube!

You can of course follow the founders themselves on Twitter too, @JakeSucky and @AlexBActive as well as hitting up Jake's channel on YouTube here!

Vote for the Esports Network Podcast as the Best Esport Podcast for the Sports Podcast Awards!

Watch The Gamer Hour - Esportz Network's new show from Times Square.

If you are interested in being a sponsor for the Esports Minute, Esports Network Podcast, College Esports QuickTake or The Gamer Hour, please reach out to Esportz Network CEO Mark Thimmig by emailing [email protected].

If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and subscribe, it helps us out a ton!

For daily esports news, check out the Esports Minute.

If you're interested in learning about college esports check out the College Esports QuickTake.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @Correa24

Follow Esportz Network on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @EsportzNetwork

Or visit our website esportznetwork.com for updates on what's to come!

Special Guests: AlexB and Jake Lucky.

The news was teased out over the last few weeks, but finally it was confirmed that Torrent, the esports arm of Wisdom Gaming, was joining the Halo Championship Series. With players from Pushin P and Unsigned Talent, they secured a top 16 performance in a tough Open format, but before that went down this past weekend, we had a chance to talk to Wade Penfold, the VP of Esports at Wisdom Gaming. Also known as "Dreadnaught," Wade has been all around esports as a professional player in "Heros of the Storm," a commentator and host for various scenes and events, and now in an executive position helped secure an expansion into Halo Infinite esports. We discuss how it all went down and what exactly happens behind the scenes when these things take place.

You can follow Wade himself on Twitter @WadePenfold

Visit Wisdom Gaming and Torrent's sites to catch them in action @WSDMGG and @TorrentHQ respectively!

Vote for the Esports Network Podcast as the Best Esport Podcast for the Sports Podcast Awards!

Watch The Gamer Hour - Esportz Network's new show from Times Square.

If you are interested in being a sponsor for the Esports Minute, Esports Network Podcast, College Esports QuickTake or The Gamer Hour, please reach out to Esportz Network CEO Mark Thimmig by emailing [email protected].

If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and subscribe, it helps us out a ton!

For daily esports news, check out the Esports Minute.

If you're interested in learning about college esports check out the College Esports QuickTake.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @Correa24

Follow Esportz Network on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @EsportzNetwork

Or visit our website esportznetwork.com for updates on what's to come!

Special Guest: Wade "Dreadnaught" Penfold.

Collegiate esports programs and clubs are in dire need of direction in terms of not just events but also things like media rights, revenue sharing, and content creation and monetization. It's largely untapped ecosystem, where the NCAA has been uninvolved. That's ESPORTSU and Angel Bernhard Thomas come into play, with CSMG's connections to collegiate conferences across the US, they can help provide direction to a new subset of clients. Angela joins us to talk all about this launch of ESPORTSU as well as what we can expect from them in the future!

Follow all things ESPORTSU & CENC here!

Can find more about Angela here!

Vote for the Esports Network Podcast as the Best Esport Podcast for the Sports Podcast Awards!

Watch The Gamer Hour - Esportz Network's new show from Times Square.

If you are interested in being a sponsor for the Esports Minute, Esports Network Podcast, College Esports QuickTake or The Gamer Hour, please reach out to Esportz Network CEO Mark Thimmig by emailing [email protected].

If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and subscribe, it helps us out a ton!

For daily esports news, check out the Esports Minute.

If you're interested in learning about college esports check out the College Esports QuickTake.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @Correa24

Follow Esportz Network on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @EsportzNetwork

Or visit our website esportznetwork.com for updates on what's to come!

Special Guest: Angela Bernhard Thomas.

We often hear about grassroots esports in the states outside of the urban population centers. Rarely do we hear news about local scenes outside the 50 States. Axel Rivera is a student at the University of Puerto Rico in San Juan by day, and by night he commentates and helps run local FGC events on the island. We discuss how these events are organized, what and where the community holds these events, and what can best help grow the scene on an island of nearly 3 million people.

Follow Axel on his socials @iSnaXed

Vote for the Esports Network Podcast as the Best Esport Podcast for the Sports Podcast Awards!

Watch The Gamer Hour - Esportz Network's new show from Times Square.

If you are interested in being a sponsor for the Esports Minute, Esports Network Podcast, College Esports QuickTake or The Gamer Hour, please reach out to Esportz Network CEO Mark Thimmig by emailing [email protected].

If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and subscribe, it helps us out a ton!

For daily esports news, check out the Esports Minute.

If you're interested in learning about college esports check out the College Esports QuickTake.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @Correa24

Follow Esportz Network on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @EsportzNetwork

Or visit our website esportznetwork.com for updates on what's to come!

Special Guest: Axel "SnaX" Rivera.

Foley & Lardner, a US-based law firm, just released their 4th Annual Esports Survey Report, wherein industry experts and professionals give their honest insight as to what trends and in what direction the esports industry will grow. In conjunction with the Esports Observer and the Sports Business Journal, Foley surveyed over 400 of these individuals. One of the attornies behind the curtain of this report, Michael Wall, helped break down the survey results with everything from who they sent questions to, how expectations have changed, and how the overall outlook of esports may be shaped moving forward in 2022.

You can find the results of the survey here!

Vote for the Esports Network Podcast as the Best Esport Podcast for the Sports Podcast Awards!

Watch The Gamer Hour - Esportz Network's new show from Times Square.

If you are interested in being a sponsor for the Esports Minute, Esports Network Podcast, College Esports QuickTake or The Gamer Hour, please reach out to Esportz Network CEO Mark Thimmig by emailing [email protected].

If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and subscribe, it helps us out a ton!

For daily esports news, check out the Esports Minute.

If you're interested in learning about college esports check out the College Esports QuickTake.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @Correa24

Follow Esportz Network on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @EsportzNetwork

Or visit our website esportznetwork.com for updates on what's to come!

Special Guest: Michael J. Wall.

Esports Engine has made waves in the industry and outside the industry since its inception in the latter half of 2019 and part of that success came from the work put forth by production and broadcast teams behind the scenes for Esports Engine. Ryan Thompson is the company's Chief Production Officer who has the reigns in how their product gets delivered to their clients' satisfactions. From tournament organizers to large tech companies, the clientele base Ryan helps oversees saw difficulties throughout the pandemic that Esports Engine took on headfirst. After the great success 2020 and 2021 saw, 2022 looks to be an even greater time for Esports Engine and Ryan talks us through the experience of it all from his perspective.

Visit Esports Engine on their website ee.gg and hit them up on Twitter @EsportsEng

Feel free to visit Ryan's personal site ryanthompson.gg and also check out his socials @synide

Vote for the Esports Network Podcast as the Best Esport Podcast for the Sports Podcast Awards!

Watch The Gamer Hour - Esportz Network's new show from Times Square.

If you are interested in being a sponsor for the Esports Minute, Esports Network Podcast, College Esports QuickTake or The Gamer Hour, please reach out to Esportz Network CEO Mark Thimmig by emailing [email protected].

If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and subscribe, it helps us out a ton!

For daily esports news, check out the Esports Minute.

If you're interested in learning about college esports check out the College Esports QuickTake.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @Correa24

Follow Esportz Network on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @EsportzNetwork

Or visit our website esportznetwork.com for updates on what's to come!

Special Guest: Ryan Thompson.

Roc Gaming Network is a grassroots esports organization serving Upstate New York and has been collaborating with locals in the midst of the pandemic. Now they are making headway by combining the marketability of cannabis with the attraction of gaming. Brandon Isaac aka "Bobby0" is the Army veteran who launched Roc Gaming, and is now launching his own cannabis line focus toward gamers who partake, labeled RESN. Bobby0 and I discuss the role cannabis opportunities can play at a local level as it relates to gaming as well as why this new avenue shouldn't be shied away from.

All links to Roc Gaming Network can be found here!

Vote for the Esports Network Podcast as the Best Esport Podcast for the Sports Podcast Awards!

Watch The Gamer Hour - Esportz Network's new show from Times Square.

If you are interested in being a sponsor for the Esports Minute, Esports Network Podcast, College Esports QuickTake or The Gamer Hour, please reach out to Esportz Network CEO Mark Thimmig by emailing [email protected].

If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and subscribe, it helps us out a ton!

For daily esports news, check out the Esports Minute.

If you're interested in learning about college esports check out the College Esports QuickTake.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @Correa24

Follow Esportz Network on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @EsportzNetwork

Or visit our website esportznetwork.com for updates on what's to come!

Special Guest: Brandon "Bobby0" Isaac.

Every route to achieve a career as a pro player is unique, but sometimes there's a story that is little more... intriguing. iShiny came from Overwatch Contenders, moved into Apex Legends with Fnatic NA joined by his brother, Muffins. Along the way the pandemic shifted teams and iShiny found himself on Complexity, and now he and the team (Reptar & Monsoon) are preparing for Split 1 Playoffs in North America's Apex Legends Global Series.

Follow iShiny on social media channels @iShiny and of course Complexity Gaming @Complexity and @COLUpdate

(#)[]COLAPEX

Vote for the Esports Network Podcast as the Best Esport Podcast for the Sports Podcast Awards!

Watch The Gamer Hour - Esportz Network's new show from Times Square.

If you are interested in being a sponsor for the Esports Minute, Esports Network Podcast, College Esports QuickTake or The Gamer Hour, please reach out to Esportz Network CEO Mark Thimmig by emailing [email protected].

If you enjoyed the podcast, please rate and subscribe, it helps us out a ton!

For daily esports news, check out the Esports Minute.

If you're interested in learning about college esports check out the College Esports QuickTake.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @Correa24

Follow Esportz Network on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook @EsportzNetwork

Or visit our website esportznetwork.com for updates on what's to come!

Special Guest: Bryan "iShiny" McCarthy.