Greatest Hitt and a Man in a Mask
And other interesting news for the week ending March 7, 2025.
I am super stoked that we have signed one of the best esports reporters on the planet, Kevin Hitt, to serve as our editor-at-large over at The Esports Advocate. We’ve been talking about it for awhile—ever since Kevin exited Sports Business Journal—but we needed to find the right moment where this could work for all of us. That moment is now—you can read our official announcement on The Esports Advocate.
I love working with Kevin and look forward to helping him create whatever kinds of content makes him happy. It’s going to be great for us and for you, dear readers. Onto the news (somber personal news at the end about me, if you are interested). - James Fudge.
NAVI Owner Named President of Ukrainian Esports Federation
Ukrainian businessman and venture capitalist Maksym Krippa was recently named president of the Ukrainian Esports Federation, according to a report in Ukrainian publication ITC. Krippa is best known as the owner of Natus Vincere (which he acquired a majority stake in in Q4 2018) and game developer GS Game World (makers of the popular shooter series S.T.A.L.K.E.R.).
In addition NAVI CEO Yevhen Zolotarev has been named to the board, as well as Maincast broadcast studio and sports commentator Vitaliy Volochai, streamer/commentator Mikhail Zverev, and NAVI Counter-Strike Coach Andrij "B1ad3" Ghorodensjkyj. All of the aforementioned people added to the board have direct ties to Krippa.
According to published reports citing the federation's now former chairman of the board Ivan Danishevsky, the federation needs $1.5M -$2M in investments per year to operate, which Krippa is supposedly trying to create a strategy for. Of course all of this is in the backdrop of an ongoing wart between Russia and Ukraine, which makes conducting regular business and life an extreme challenge...
Jared Neuss Return to Riot Games
Seasoned game developer Jared Neuss has left Activision Blizzard to rejoin Riot Games. Neuss returns to Riot to take on the role of senior director on Riot's popular team-based hero shooter Valorant.
Neuss left Riot in October 2022 to serve as the executive producer & VP overseeing Blizzard's hero shooter Overwatch 2.
Neuss officially announced his return to Riot earlier this week on social media:
"This moment also marked the end of my time at Blizzard Entertainment, as I made the difficult decision to step away from my role as the EP of Overwatch 2. I can’t thank the wonderful folks on Team 4 enough for welcoming me and my (sometimes wild) ideas from Day 1. I’m proud of the work that we did together and the path forward that we set for such an amazing game and franchise. I can’t wait to see where you take it in the future from my seat as a player and fan once more.
“This week I’ve embarked on a new adventure…with some old friends at Riot Games! I’m thrilled to re-join the studio that helped make me the game developer that I am today and I can’t wait to continue to learn and grow from the brilliant folks I’ll be working with in VALORANT Studio."
Neuss is a seasoned veteran who has worked for PopCap Games, Bungie, 343 Industries, and Microsoft over the last 14 years in various leadership roles. His game credits include Peggle, Solitaire Blitz, Destiny 2, Halo 5: Guardians, League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, and Riot's MMO, among others.
News From Around the World
Report: Esports World Cup still owes from 2024 event.
Report: Sony lays off employees at Visual Arts and PS Studios Malaysia.
PlayStation reportedly enacts fresh wave of layoffs.
League of Legends First Stand Tournament set to open in Seoul next week.
Microsoft and Epic Games leave Korea Association of Game Industry.
Cxmmunity gets support from Microsoft's Nonprofit Tech Acceleration Program.
PandaScore integrates esports betting solutions with Playbook Engineering.
2XKO update may not be good news for fighting game fans.
Noctem Esports shuts down.
KIA, Riot Mena team for Arabian League.
Stream-jacking Scams on YouTube leverage CS2 Pro Player Championships…
Skyblivion mod still on track for 2025 release.
SCCG partners with Instalock Network.
Complexity details NA Revival Series.
NASEF forms consulting group to help educators with esports.
Fans mad at Call of Duty AI usage.
Guild becomes new home of GINX TV.
Heroic claims profitability.
Call of Duty dev claims system publishes players for being good.
Valorant Challengers Series 2025 calendar.
Cancer Update: Week 1 Recovery
I finished my cancer treatments a week or so or go and now i’m on the road to recovery. People keep asking how I am doing, and honestly at this point in time, not good. The recovery process has been rougher than the recovery post surgery (two surgeries) or any problems I suffered during radiation treatment. All the expenses related to this little adventure are also starting to pile up too, but that’s another story for some other time (or for never)…
I am starting to feel at least a little bit better as I write this so I thought this was a good window of opportunity to share. There’s a reason this is at the bottom of this newsletter: if you don’t care, don’t read this stuff, I guess.
But for those that care, I wanted to show you what the process of radiation treatment is like in pictures. I went through this process 36 times over seven weeks.
Image1: This is a custom mask you wear during radiation treatment. Technicians make it by pouring warm plastic material over your face.
Image 2: The mask is fastened to the table so your head doesn’t move and the machine can make sure you are perfectly centered for the machine.
Image 3: These are cameras that you see when strapped down to the table—you really can’t see it because the mask is a thick plastic mesh.
Image 4: This is the tube where targeted radiation is administered and where technicians can take a scan to record progress.
Image 5: Me wearing the mask at home. Fun!
Image 6: How deep the mask is.
Image 7: what I saw when I wore it while being strapped to a table!