Rival Esports (formerly Pro Rivalry League) is the creative project founded by Elliot Ewing, Murty Shah, Caleb Klahre, Mckenzie Collins, and myself in early 2016. As a production company powered by and for the Rocket League competitive community, our success was inextricably linked to the overnight success of the arcade sports game. As Rocket League continued to grow, so did our relationship with the publisher, Psyonix Studios. With their sponsorship we operated successful standalone events like Rival Week (July, October 2017), The Climb (July 2018), Project Phoenix (October 2018), and The Field (2020).
In partnership with Psyonix, our team also operated the inaugural season of the Rival Series (October 2017), the minor league of the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) along with the secondary broadcast in Season 9 (March 2020).
More about The Field can be found here
Independently, Rival Esports hosted a number of events, including the Seasonal Opens throughout 2018 and 2019. Our team also produced broadcasts for Gold Rush, DreamHack Pro Circuit Qualifiers, and RLCS Open Qualifiers.
Throughout my four years with Rival Esports, I oversaw tournament operations for all our events, across multiple game titles. I, along with David Swanson, led the Graphics team that continually raised the bar for what a community esports broadcast could be. Key contributors on the Graphics Team include Jalen Jones, Jason Simpson, and Kendra Mechling.
Amazon Games Studios
Our team at Rival Esports worked closely with Amazon Games Studios for the release of their third-person hero-shooter, Crucible, in May 2020. At launch we supported competition in both Europe and North America.
Stunlock Studios
Battlerite, the team-based MOBA video game, was the spiritual successor to Stunlock Studios’ Bloodline Champions. Rival Esports operated the publisher-backed competitive program, the Battlerite Pro League (BPL), as well as offered weekly competitions for their passionate community in Europe and North America.