- Ignite Tournaments raises $10M for Play-to-Earn esports tournament and streaming.
- It launched its alpha test on February 28, 2022.
- A web app that will support PC games is also presently under development.
Play-to-Earn tournament infrastructure provider Ignite Tournaments announces it has successfully garnered a sum of $10 million. Raised by strategic investors, the mobile gaming platform built on Moonbeam will channel the funds into expanding its ecosystem.
Ignite Tournaments says it intends to build the world’s first mobile Play-to-Earn esports tournament as well as a streaming platform. Before this, it launched its alpha test on February 28, 2022.
The team disclosed that they are currently developing a web app that will support PC games.
Ignite Tournament is making an effort to bridge the gap between traditional games with web 3.0. They are accomplishing these with their payout models — a form where players are paid in crypto and NFTs.
It is important to note that the $10M raised came in phases. At the first stage completed in December 2021, a $3M seed round was realized. It was co-led by Yield Guild Games and Ascensive Assets, with participation from Mechanism Capital, Arca Funds, Skyvision Capital, multiple funds, and angel investors.
Meanwhile, a $7 million strategic round closed in February 2022 was co-led by Animoca Brands, ROK Capital, and Moon Holdings Fund.
Robby Yung, CEO of North American Operations for Animoca Brands notes that “It is under this exciting context that we are eager to both invest in as well as to explore integrating our games with Ignite Tournaments.”
In addition, other investors participated including Genesis Block Ventures, SevenX Ventures, Longhash Ventures, and Infinity Ventures Crypto.
Brian Lu, Venture Capital Investor at Infinity Venture Crypto affirms that “he co-led this round because he wants to see Ignite Tournaments add that immense value to all games worldwide; to both IVC’s game portfolio and beyond.”
Equally, Huobi Labs, Akatsuki, MH Carnegie, D1 Ventures, Ghaf Capital, and Morningstar Ventures were part of its strategic investor. Jeffrey ‘Jiho’ Zirlin, co-founder of Axie Infinity, and Looren Roosendaal, co-founder of Ember Sword and PlanetQuest also joined in the round as angel investors.
Lastly, Thomas Vu, Former Head of Creative and Franchise at Riot Games and Partner at Moon Holdings Fund, adds:
We are bullish on Ignite Tournaments. When I led multiple strategic efforts at Riot Games, I always thought that a ‘plug-and-play’ tournament would benefit players. It was inevitable that someone would build such a platform. I am delighted to see what Krystal and Tony have built, and look forward to supporting them in play-to-earn and traditional gaming.