Level Up Podcast with Tommy Knapp

We sat down with Magnus Leppaniemi, the Vice President of Marketing & Head of Esports at Esports Entertainment Group and an adviser to the ESPL. He is an integral part of the team that is building the EEG into one of the top esports betting platforms. Expanding their global reach is his primary focus. Leppaniemi is based in Stockholm and has been involved in the industry for decades.

We discussed fascinating topics, including betting in esports vs. traditional sports, differences in the industry across international borders, and the investment into and valuation of esports organizations.

The Ultimate Gamer Podcast: All About The Game! is a show that features conversations with trailblazers, thought leaders, risk takers, decision makers, celebrities, athletes, and investors who are defining the esports space.

This podcast is for you if you love gaming, you’re a part of the esports community, you’re interested in learning more about the esports business, you want to improve your gaming performance, or you’re an aspiring professional gamer.

We’re going to decode who and what’s making news in the industry while we explore the habits, best practices, successes, and setbacks faced by our guests.

Today’s episode features Steve Blickensderfer, a Senior Associate at Carlton Fields and Co-Chair of its Esports & Electronic Gaming Practice. He hosts the LAN Party Lawyers Podcast, which addresses various topics on the legal side of gaming.

Blickensderfer and I discussed topics like intellectual property law in gaming, contracts in traditional sports vs esports, and current hot topics in the space.

Later in the episode, Blickensderfer discussed some of the legal challenges in the gaming industry and the evolution of legal work in the video gaming space. He talked about the massive mobile gaming market, the growth of the competitive collegiate scene, and how he’s diving deep into these conversations on his own esports and gaming podcast.

The Ultimate Gamer Podcast: All About The Game! is a show that features conversations with trailblazers, thought leaders, risk takers, decision makers, celebrities, athletes, and investors who are defining the esports space.

This podcast is for you if you love gaming, you’re a part of the esports community, you’re interested in learning more about the esports business, you want to improve your gaming performance, or you’re an aspiring professional gamer.

We’re going to decode who and what’s making news in the industry while we explore the habits, best practices, successes, and setbacks faced by our guests.

Jean Casanova is a professional baseball player in the Texas Rangers system playing as a pitcher. He is currently in the late stages of his recovery from Tommy John surgery, which is on the player’s elbow, and it can typically take anywhere from 1 to 2 years to fully recover.

Early in our conversation, Jean broke down his personal strategy that goes into deciding which type of pitch to throw based on the batter, count, and numerous other factors, including game situation. He talked about baseball in the Dominican Republic and playing makeshift baseball in the DR using a bottle cap and a broomstick. He suggested that if you can manage to hit a bottle cap with a broomstick, you can hit a baseball with a bat.

In his free time, Jean is a gamer and streamer primarily playing Call of Duty and NBA 2K. Not only does he play games, but he is a playable character in MLB: The Show for the Texas Rangers double A affiliate. Jean joked that the developers could have done a better job on his in-game appearance.

Jean also shed some light on the challenges of balancing his passion for gaming with a professional baseball schedule, as well as the similarities between gaming and baseball in terms of reading your opponent.

The Ultimate Gamer Podcast: All About The Game! is a show that features conversations with trailblazers, thought leaders, risk takers, decision makers, celebrities, athletes, and investors who are defining the esports space.

This podcast is for you if you love gaming, you’re a part of the esports community, you’re interested in learning more about the esports business, you want to improve your gaming performance, or you’re an aspiring professional gamer.

We’re going to decode who and what’s making news in the industry while we explore the habits, best practices, successes, and setbacks faced by our guests.

Dr. Marc Williams is the Global Scholar Practitioner and Head of Esports at Florida Memorial University, plus he is the Host of Dr. Marc’s Masterclass, which receives between 9 and 10 million views monthly. A sports entertainment and marketing guru, Dr. Marc channeled his sports, music, and hip hop culture to deliver major sponsorships and product placements for Champs and Footaction in the entertainment industry.

In our conversation, we discussed why Dr. Marc decided to leave corporate America to evolve his career in the esports space. Dr. Marc talked about his role at Florida Memorial and how he leverages his extensive experience to deliver expert advice to universities that are beginning to learn more about esports.

The Ultimate Gamer Podcast: All About The Game! is a show that features conversations with trailblazers, thought leaders, risk takers, decision makers, celebrities, athletes, and investors who are defining the esports space.

This podcast is for you if you love gaming, you’re a part of the esports community, you’re interested in learning more about the esports business, you want to improve your gaming performance, or you’re an aspiring professional gamer.

We’re going to decode who and what’s making news in the industry while we explore the habits, best practices, successes, and setbacks faced by our guests.

We are excited to share our conversation with Chris Toussaint, an esports talent and acquisition specialist. He is easily one of the most business-savvy 20-year-olds on the planet. After breaking into the esports space in his pre-teen years, Toussaint has navigated the industry among multiple different gaming organizations, all before the age of 21.

Most recently, Chris was the Head of Esports at Overtime, a sports network focused on digital-native sports and esports fans. Before Overtime, Chris was the Esports Team Manager for the Orlando Magic’s NBA2K team.

In our conversation, Toussaint walked us through his journey toward his impressive and memorable esports career.

The Ultimate Gamer Podcast: All About The Game! is a show that features conversations with trailblazers, thought leaders, risk takers, decision makers, celebrities, athletes, and investors who are defining the esports space.

This podcast is for you if you love gaming, you’re a part of the esports community, you’re interested in learning more about the esports business, you want to improve your gaming performance, or you’re an aspiring professional gamer.

We’re going to decode who and what’s making news in the industry while we explore the habits, best practices, successes, and setbacks faced by our guests.

Ella Pravetz is the President of Media & Branding at Misfits Gaming Group. Her role with Misfits expanded from Creative Director to her current position as the company expanded in the last few years.

Under the Misfits umbrella, Ella oversees Media and Branding for the Misfits League of Legends Team, the Florida Mayhem Overwatch League roster, the team that competes for the Florida Mutineers in the Call of Duty League, and a handful of other competitive gamers and content creators that make up this Top 10 global esports organization.

With a background in creative and performing arts, Pravetz found her way into the

gaming industry by joining Fnatic in Berlin, Germany as a content creator. We

discussed her path to Misfits and the challenges she faced along the way.

Toward the end of our conversation, Pravetz shared information about the status of

Misfits’ new headquarters in Boca Raton, FL. She also updated me on their events and

plans amidst the pandemic.

The Ultimate Gamer Podcast: All About The Game! is a show that features conversations with trailblazers, thought leaders, risk takers, decision makers, celebrities, athletes, and investors who are defining the esports space.

This podcast is for you if you love gaming, you’re a part of the esports community, you’re interested in learning more about the esports business, you want to improve your gaming performance, or you’re an aspiring professional gamer.

We’re going to decode who and what’s making news in the industry while we explore the habits, best practices, successes, and setbacks faced by our guests.

Football fans, this podcast episode is for you! Taybor Pepper is a long snapper who most recently played for the Miami Dolphins. He is currently a free agent, and in his down time, a growing Twitch streamer. Pepper is in an exclusive club as one of the 30 to 50 people in

the entire world to actually get paid to be a long snapper.

We discussed the science behind long snapping, all the way down to perfecting ball rotations per yard! We discussed practice, the exclusivity of the profession, and free agency before moving to the topic of gaming.

Pepper is a long-time gamer, and he has developed a following on Twitch. He shared with us how he balances his football, streaming, and home life schedule.

The Ultimate Gamer Podcast: All About The Game! is a show that features conversations with trailblazers, thought leaders, risk takers, decision makers, celebrities, athletes, and investors who are defining the esports space.

This podcast is for you if you love gaming, you’re a part of the esports community, you’re interested in learning more about the esports business, you want to improve your gaming performance, or you’re an aspiring professional gamer.

We’re going to decode who and what’s making news in the industry while we explore the habits, best practices, successes, and setbacks faced by our guests.

Here’s another podcast guest you might recognize if you’re from Florida! Marcus Howard is the President of the Tampa Association of Gaming, Member of the Blockchain Gaming Alliance, and Esports Adviser at Game Credits. In each of his positions, he leads and supports brand engagement and development in esports. Howard is exceptionally knowledgeable about the underpinnings of cryptocurrencies, and he is committed to promoting blockchain in the gaming industry.

Howard has over a decade of strategic experience in building startups across multiple

industries, and he is currently a leader in the Tampa Bay esports scene. As President of TAG, he works to promote the gaming industry in the Central Florida area through education and events.

The Ultimate Gamer Podcast: All About The Game! is a show that features conversations with trailblazers, thought leaders, risk takers, decision makers, celebrities, athletes, and investors who are defining the esports space.

This podcast is for you if you love gaming, you’re a part of the esports community, you’re interested in learning more about the esports business, you want to improve your gaming performance, or you’re an aspiring professional gamer.

We’re going to decode who and what’s making news in the industry while we explore the habits, best practices, successes, and setbacks faced by our guests.

If you’re interested in game development, today’s podcast episode is right up your alley! We sat down with Rick Daniels, the Director of Operations at Ghostpunch Games, an independent game studio based in South Florida. Ghostpunch’s services include game development, performance optimization, programming, and more!

We started our conversation by talking about Daniels’ early life, including how he became interested in gaming. Then, we discussed budgets and costs of game development, game classification levels, and his experience with working on Spongebob. Daniels even shared what it’s like to see reviews of the game after its release, from a game developer’s perspective.

The Ultimate Gamer Podcast: All About The Game! is a show that features conversations with trailblazers, thought leaders, risk takers, decision makers, celebrities, athletes, and investors who are defining the esports space.

This podcast is for you if you love gaming, you’re a part of the esports community, you’re interested in learning more about the esports business, you want to improve your gaming performance, or you’re an aspiring professional gamer.

We’re going to decode who and what’s making news in the industry while we explore the habits, best practices, successes, and setbacks faced by our guests.

Amanda Solomon is the Co-Owner and Vice President of Aftershock Media Group, a premier gaming and esports-focused influencer marketing and talent agency. She is also a co-host on the Next Level Talk Show, which covers all things gaming.

Solomon kicked off our conversation by sharing her enthusiasm for WoW, business, and sales. After leaving her traditional corporate job, Solomon pursued a career in talent management.

She started Aftershock Media Group (AMG) with two other friends to create change for under-represented groups in the content creator, talent, and gaming space. Solomon also started the Next Level Talk Show to educate and give back to the esports community.

The Ultimate Gamer Podcast: All About The Game! is a show that features conversations with trailblazers, thought leaders, risk takers, decision makers, celebrities, athletes, and investors who are defining the esports space.

This podcast is for you if you love gaming, you’re a part of the esports community, you’re interested in learning more about the esports business, you want to improve your gaming performance, or you’re an aspiring professional gamer.

We’re going to decode who and what’s making news in the industry while we explore the habits, best practices, successes, and setbacks faced by our guests.