Support NeoGAF

[El Sloth]

Courtesy of CurlyW

http://avyd.com/championship.php

We are proud to announce that we will be hosting a $100,000 Fighting Game Championships to be played at our Winter Championships at the close of 2016. The event will be hosted in sunny Orlando, Florida and feature a massive prize pool. Prizing will be split between six of the most popular competitive fighting games, including Street Fighter V, Mortal Kombat X, Guilty Gear Xrd, Killer Instinct, Super Smash Bros. Wii-U, and Super Smash Bros. Melee! It wasn’t just that we wanted to host the most popular fighting games, but we also wanted to host the best players in those games.

With that in mind, we are also proud to announce that Avyd has partnered with some of the best fighting game community events in the United States to produce a Qualification Tour throughout 2016. Each event’s Champion will secure a qualification spot in our closed Top 8 bracket at our Winter Championships. On top of that, we will provide each Champion with a free lodging and a VIP weekend pass. We will also host multiple online qualifiers giving competitors a final chance to secure a qualification spot into our Top 8 bracket. A total of six out of the eight spots will be filled by this Qualification Tour. The final two will be determined at the event itself. Below you will find the details on when and where you can qualify for your chance at $100,000.

*Table with qualifying events and dates*

We are very excited about where we see Fighting Games heading in 2016 and we are committed to supporting the growth of FGC events for the benefit of the players. We would like to thank all of our event partners who made this possible and we can’t be more pleased to be associated with these great events. Please be sure to check out all of their events and don’t forget to go compete for a chance to qualify for $100,000. Here is to a great 2016!

The events are NorCal Regionals, Combo Breaker, CEO, CEOtaku, The Big House, SoCal Regionals, and some online events hosted by the company itself.

Needless to say this all sounds shady as fuck. But if people like TheHadou and Jebailey are willing to partner with them, then I'm willing to give these new guys a chance. Still, whenever big money like this gets thrown around, especially at the small as shit fighting game community of all things, I think a healthy amount of wariness is warranted.

3/26 Update:

A few days ago we made a very exciting announcement about our $100,000 Fighting Game event. Our goal for announcing this event was to show the community how serious we are about supporting them. It’s that same reason that made us choose to partner with several of the best fighting game community events around the country and offer them the support they need to improve the experience they produce for their fans. We have gotten a ton of great feedback and we wanted to update the community and inform you that Avyd has begun discussions with Capcom about potentially working together in the future. We are very excited about the possibility of creating and building a working relationship with such a powerful brand in the Fighting Game Community. Part of that will likely involve retooling our plans and making changes to our event structure. With that in mind, we will be making changes to the qualifying structure for our event that include NCR no longer qualifying any titles and removing Street Fighter V from the qualification process that leads into our Fighting Game Championship.

We still very much want to be involved with Street Fighter V and we feel we have much to offer to such a powerful community. We will be actively discussing a partnership with Capcom in the coming weeks and months and we hope to come together and be able to offer even more to its fanbase. We will be updating the qualification structure over the coming weeks based on continued feedback. We want to be clear that we are very committed to providing support to our community partnered events and the great games they feature.

As with any new company, we understand that we have to earn the trust and respect of not only the community, but also the publishers and developers who already work so hard to grow them. We will not back away from any of the skepticism that may arise and we look forward to the challenge. We are here to stay and our only goal is to grow eSports and strive to be a company that puts the needs of the players first. We will keep everyone updated on our event as we continue to get feedback on how to improve it to be the best event possible.

This is after NCR put Avyd's name and logo all over their event. edit: seems like NCR still benefited from the sponsorship?

Avyd ‏@AvydTweets 27m27 minutes ago

.@AnneP4U We are still fully supporting the event in every way. We are simply changing the qualification process for our later event.

https://twitter.com/AvydTweets/status/713787590076473344

Rick ‏@TheHadou 30m30 minutes ago

@AnneP4U trophies, medals, badges, staff shirts, financial support. There are still tangible niceties.

https://twitter.com/TheHadou/status/713787056644866050

Maybe some problem with Capcom and the CPT?

 

[RecRoulette]

Needless to say this all sounds shady as fuck. But if people like TheHadou and Jebailey are willing to partner with them, then I'm willing to give these new guys a chance. Still, whenever big money like this gets thrown around, especially at the small as shit fighting game community of all things, I think a healthy amount of wariness is warranted.

I saw the news earlier but didn't see that specific part, interesting. That changes a lot.

 

[El Sloth]

The company's mission statement (courtesy of Tripon):

Brace Yourselves, Avyd Is Coming

March 22, 2016 Brand News Share

Orlando, FL March 22nd 2016. Avyd Inc. launches a company with a focus on the eSports experience and improving the appeal of eSports to all gamers.

Here at Avyd, our goal is to remove barriers of entry into eSports for all gamers, from the casual to the extremely dedicated pro competitor. We plan to launch our new platform into Beta later this spring. Make sure you sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date on all of the awesome info as it comes available! Here are a few key points we can share with you at this time.

Avyd received a significant round of seed funding in early 2016 and our team has been working diligently on our platform and services since then. We will be opening up our corporate offices in Orlando, Florida in early April 2016.

The Avyd Support team will be comprised of full-time employees dedicated to improving the users' experiences rather than the volunteer-based system most websites use today.
During Beta, the platform will allow gamers to compete online in various modes of competition and levels. It will be a feature-rich platform that makes competing online easier than ever before. It simplifies many of the processes gamers have become accustom to using on other websites. It will also unveil many features that have never been seen before.

Avyd also has big plans in regards to LAN events in 2016. We plan to run multiple major events throughout 2016 and will make it easier than ever for gamers to get involved in their first ever LAN event. We can't disclose many details, but we will support multiple games on both our online platform as well as our events.

Our focus will be on uniting and growing all elements of the eSports ecosystem. To push eSports into the mass market it needs a company that has the ability to unite all communities across multiple games and platforms. We look forward to releasing more details in the very near future. In the meantime, sign up for our newsletter and follow our social media accounts for a chance to win some upcoming giveaways!

Are you an Avyd Gamer?

 

[ChosenPredator]

How do you enter the pokken tournament thing in canada or specifically toronto, this doesn't look like the same thing but just curious.

 

[AkelisRain]

Seems interesting.

 

[Tripon]

Seems interesting.

Uh, that's not what I would say.

 

[Perro]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz32LIyJZmY

 

[Anne]

Gonna leave this here: http://shoryuken.com/2016/03/24/ran...unces-random-100000-fighting-game-tournament/

 

[JayEH]

Wtf...

 

[sixteen-bit]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz32LIyJZmY

Edit: beaten

 

[atomic moth]

I'd like to know Markman's opinion on it. He's connected enough to the community and behind the scenes goings on that he could provide some good insight.

 

[FinKL]

How you gonna have a Capcom Pro Tour Event (nearly all of these) as ALSO qualifiers for another tournament when Capcom is sponsoring the original events...

 

[Producer]

Sounds legit as fuck

 

[KidA Seven]

How you gonna have a Capcom Pro Tour Event (nearly all of these) as ALSO qualifiers for another tournament when Capcom is sponsoring the original events...

That's what I was thinking lol

If it's legit I think it would be great as it gives more incentive for top players to make it out to these premier events. However, that's only looking at it from a fan perspective and from a player perspective. How would Capcom feel about this? Maybe they would be ecstatic that more money is being injected into their game without their money or Sony's money. Not sure.

 

[mbpm1]

Will they at least have a beech?

 

[Tripon]

Will they at least have a beech?

Strangely enough, a hookah bar

 

[jhmtehgamr20xx]

Would be nice if they could try something different. Say, 3D fighters. Say, Tekken, DOA and/or Virtua Fighter.

People still play those last I remember.

 

[El Sloth]

Would be nice if they could try something different. Say, 3D fighters. Say, Tekken, DOA and/or Virtua Fighter.

People still play those last I remember.

that's just an urban legend.

 

[DunpealD]

Would be nice if they could try something different. Say, 3D fighters. Say, Tekken, DOA and/or Virtua Fighter.

People still play those last I remember.

It already looks shady. I doubt they want to make it more shadier than what they have now.
Also it says most popular and not just good games, which fits to none of yours sadly.

 

[Rocwell]

If it sounds too good to be true you should act now supplies are limited!

 

[CrispyBoar]

Will wait until there's further concrete evidence before judging; Sounds too good to be true.

 

[Tripon]

I'd like to know Markman's opinion on it. He's connected enough to the community and behind the scenes goings on that he could provide some good insight.

He's on board. The FGC Illuminati is hooked and snookered man.

 

[specdot]

Isn't this kind of what Jeff Gerstmann has been afraid of when it comes to esports and the FGC? I really hope this isn't something that will exploit the players and bring bad publicity.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

Gonna leave this here: http://shoryuken.com/2016/03/24/ran...unces-random-100000-fighting-game-tournament/

That headline is perfect.

 

[JeTmAn81]

No Marvel, no care

 

[kaioshade]

Hopefully it is legit. Players are always saying the FGC needs more support and a company hopefully steps up and stays around. Because if they are legit, all they are getting is shit from the very players they are trying to help.

 

[Kysuke]

I think the misconception is that There is 100k per tourny. I'm pretty sure that its 100k across all 6 games. Its most likely going to be 10k first place for the 6 games(60K) with the rest spread around to top 3 or 4.

 

[Infinite]

Hopefully it is legit. Players are always saying the FGC needs more support and a company hopefully steps up and stays around. Because if they are legit, all they are getting is shit from the very players they are trying to help.

And if it isn't legit they are completely scamming the people they claim to be "helping"

 

[smurfx]

wonder when they announce triforce being part of the series.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wz32LIyJZmY

First thought that entered my head. They're trying to kidnap Wong again.

 

[biosnake20]

I heard it's sponsored by Chef Boyardee.

 

[Tripon]

http://avyd.com/fighting_game_event_update.php

Dropped SFV and NCR

 

[PreyingShark]

http://avyd.com/fighting_game_event_update.php

Dropped SFV and NCR

Well it took longer than I expected for that to happen. I'm impressed!

 

[El Sloth]

lmao

and they announce this after NCR has plastered their name and logo all over the event.

 

[Trace]

This seems totally legit and on the level.

 

[Poltergust]

I'm not sure what to feel about this...

 

[El Sloth]

So seems like NCR still benefited from their sponsorship but they pulled out for whatever reason. Still weird. They're not off to a good start.

 

[MarkMan]

He's on board. The FGC Illuminati is hooked and snookered man.

hooked and snookered?

haha.

I'm supportive of companies helping the community grow. The lack of business sense/practice is another thing though. I've worked with enough companies/developers and individuals to know that you gotta do things a proper way.

I didn't really comment on it other than people should give them a chance. Welp. Yeah.

 

[Anth0ny]

Melee boyssssss

 

[Tripon]

hooked and snookered?

haha.

I'm supportive of companies helping the community grow. The lack of business sense/practice is another thing though. I've worked with enough companies/developers and individuals to know that you gotta do things a proper way.

I didn't really comment on it other than people should give them a chance. Welp. Yeah.

I will readily admit to be overly snarky about this subject. I did see your tweet about give these guys a chance, but IMO, I haven't seen a good reason why. Avyd needs to explain why a person should not be heavily skeptical of a new company entering this field. I would like to be wrong, but would like to see why I should be hopeful instead.

 

[ThoughtsOfSpeaking]

Where's Mahvell?

 

[Tripon]

http://avyd.com/meet_the_ceo.php

So the team at Avyd finally introduced themselves. Guys from CoD eSports and Scuf controllers.

 

[slightconfuse]

Da Beech part 2?

 

[Cosmo Clock 21]

http://avyd.com/meet_the_ceo.php

So the team at Avyd finally introduced themselves. Guys from CoD eSports and Scuf controllers.

It's nice that he directly talked about the NCR thing, but I'm still not sure what their business model is.

 

[Tripon]

It's nice that he directly talked about the NCR thing, but I'm still not sure what their business model is.

Near as I can tell, something similar to EMG. Online tournaments, syncing of trophies, direct donation of stuff.

Not sure how they will make money.

 

[Tripon]

Brand new company didn't hold the tournament like they said they would

 

[JaseC]

Brand new company didn't hold the tournament like they said they would

I'd guess Avyd was hoping sponsors would foot the bill but failed to find interested parties. The site is still alive, though, and judging from the company's Twitter account will soon offer "cash challenges", which I assume means players will compete against one-another with an agreed-upon wager (e.g. you challenge someone to the tune of $50 and take $100 if you win).

 

[Tripon]

I'd guess Avyd was hoping sponsors would foot the bill but failed to find interested parties. The site is still alive, though, and judging from the company's Twitter account will soon offer "cash challenges", which I assume means players will compete against one-another with an agreed-upon wager (e.g. you challenge someone to the tune of $50 and take $100 if you win).

Yeah, but they took down all the blog posts that had all the promises they made. There's little to no reason why people would use Avyd over already gambling and betting websites that are already set up to make wages on competitive matches.

 

[JaseC]

Yeah, but they took down all the blog posts that had all the promises they made. There's little to no reason why people would use Avyd over already gambling and betting websites that are already set up to make wages on competitive matches.

Oh, definitely.