WePlay Holding is proud of its records in 2021. It isn’t alone; many media have noticed the company’s achievements and helped tell the whole world about them. Esports Insider noted WePlay Holding’s record of 37 million hours watched of the unique anime-themed Dota 2 tournament. ITC.ua stressed that this year was successful for esports and recognized WePlay Holding as the “vehicle for the progress” in Ukrainian esports. AIN.UA has calculated that since 2012, WePlay Holding has hosted 22 international events and paid out $2.6 million in prize money. IBTimes, NV.UA, and others launched a discussion of esports and its future featuring WePlay Holding.

Setting new records: Esports Insider

Esports Insider focused on the significant results the company has achieved. WePlay AniMajor, the first-ever anime-themed Dota 2 competition, amassed 37 million hours watched. It’s a record among all DPC (Dota Pro Circuit) Majors. In addition to the MOBA discipline, the company contributed to the PGL Stockholm Major 2021. Its broadcast set a record among Russian-language CS:GO broadcasts, reaching 865,000 concurrent viewers.

Oleh Humeniuk, CEO of WePlay Holding, gave Esports Insider a detailed account of the company’s activities. In particular, Oleh paid attention to the title that was added to the company’s portfolio in 2021, Rocket League. WePlay Esports Invitational featuring Rocket League, the company’s debut in the discipline, turned out to be the most successful tournament among non-RLCS (Rocket League Championship Series) events, reaching over 631,000 hours watched.

Esports Insider mentioned the WePlay Holding initiative to help develop esports . Together with eight CS:GO organizations, the company founded the WePlay Academy League, a series of tournaments for young players. According to Oleh Humeniuk, the WePlay Academy League is a prototype of a structured Tier 2 scene, where up-and-coming teams can hone their skills and gain experience performing at LAN events.

Discovering up-and-coming talents: Sportarena

Sportarena was also interested in the new esports media holding’s project, the WePlay Academy League, and pointed out that some players made it into the main rosters of professional teams after just two seasons. Love “phzy” Smidebrant, a player for Young Ninjas, was invited to the BLAST Premier: World Final 2021 as part of the Ninjas in Pyjamas roster. BLAST Premier is a prestigious tournament for CS:GO esports teams that only the best get into.

Another prodigy, Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, a former NAVI Junior player, was transferred to G2 Esports, which offered $600,000 for the young team leader. G2 Esports is a prominent team that took second place at the PGL Major Stockholm 2021.

Arranging eye-catching events during a pandemic: Vector

Vector highlighted the unusual approach of WePlay Holding, which the company didn’t lose even during the pandemic. In the article featuring the company’s 2021 recap, Vector recalled the first fighting league, the WePlay Ultimate Fighting League. WePlay Esports combined three disciplines at once — Mortal Kombat 11, Tekken 7, Soulcalibur VI — and invited players from all over the world.

To create a spectacular show without spectators, WePlay Holding used AR technology and organized a virtual battle between Oleksandr Usyk and Mortal Kombat 11 character Shao Kahn. Combining esports and sports, the company, together with USYK-17 PROMOTIONS, hosted the Ultimate Boxing Night, an evening of real-life boxing, at the WePlay Esports Arena Kyiv.

Building new venue: Esports Grizzly

The Esports Grizzly team asked Maksym Bilonogov, chief visionary officer and general producer at WePlay Esports, what goals the company set for the new WePlay Esports Arena Los Angeles. The WePlay Esports Arena Kyiv, the first venue built by WePlay Esports, was actively used in 2021. This place can host a tournament in any discipline, be it Dota 2, CS:GO, Rocket League. Plus, the company uses arenas as labs where employers can run tests to determine which idea should be implemented in the next event.

The WePlay Esports Arena Los Angeles opens up new opportunities for the esports media holding: more events and tournaments , ground-breaking ideas, competitions in the heart of the media industry. Lockdown proved that online tournaments won’t replace LANs, which means that the WePlay Holding arenas will always be in demand.

NFT project: IBTimes

In 2021, WePlay Holding launched an NFT project, WePlay Collectibles, which IBTimes became interested in. WePlay Collectibles has already successfully sold several NFT collections. However, more importantly, the project showed the entire industry how to effectively use NFT in esports.

For the first time in esports history, the trophy was awarded not to the winner but to the losing finalist. WePlay Collectibles’ Runner-up Award, including the NFT Trophy, went to NAVI Junior for taking second place at the WePlay Academy League Season 2.

With each passing year, the company grows and raises the bar even more for the entire esports world. There are hours of work behind every achievement of WePlay Holding, and it is a delight to have the media appreciate all of them and help make esports mainstream.