Allied Esports Makes Deal to Launch Simon Cup

Black Ridge Acquisition Corp. has an agreement to become a shareholder of Allied Esports, a global esports entertainment company, with the goal of creating dedicated esports venues and experiences at selected locations throughout the United States.

The agreement will be made through Simon Equity Development LLC. In the agreement, Simon will acquire $5 million in shares of Black Ridge, and a new competition tour called The Simon Cup will be launched by Simon and Allied Esports. The Simon Cup would be a co-branded esports competition and gaming tournament festival combining online and in-person elements into a integrated content format. The activation includes regional tournament events in New York and Los Angeles, culminating in a Grand Final at the HyperX Esports Arena Las Vegas.

“Simon’s commitment and investment in our growing esports ecosystem will immediately strengthen our foundation for creating live experiences and compelling content for gamers and fans around the world,” said Frank Ng, co-CEO of Ourgame, owner of Allied Esports. “We are thrilled for the opportunity to work closely with the forward-thinking team at Simon to design specialized mall-based esports concepts that we hope will attract new audiences and partners through their network and enhance our global presence.”

Simon and Allied Esports will also collaborate to create a new product offering focused on delivering esports experiences in select destinations around the country. The in-mall arenas will be designed for tournament play and daily use with the capability to be expanded into common areas for larger esports activations and live events.

“We’re extremely pleased to collaborate with Black Ridge and Allied Esports, leading innovators in esports and gaming, to bring cutting-edge venues to our iconic properties around the country. This is exactly the type of innovative activation that excites our customers and drives traffic for our centers at Simon. Simon’s successful locations are ideally suited to provide these new and exciting community spaces, complementing our other dynamic offerings,” said Mark Silvestri, Simon’s chief operating officer for development.