Brawl Stars Tournament Guide For Beginners 2020
CAPSL's top nine tips to help you play Brawl Stars tournaments 2020
Play and compete in Brawl Stars Esports Tournament on the BAASH mobile esports platform!
Every individual deserves to enjoy his or her leisure time after completion of day to day duties. There are many ways that people chose to spend and enjoy their leisure time. These ways are hikes, visiting friends, listening to music, and watching movies. However, most of the people across the globe spend their leisure playing different games. Many people believe that the only way to enjoy games is to wear games attire and get into the field and play. However, this misconception is not right because you can play and enjoy your favorite game in the comfort of your bed or couch.
The world is evolving on technology and thousands of innovations have been done in the world of games and sports. Therefore, you can assess and play your game via electronic devices at the palm of your hand. Some of these devices include laptops, desktop computers, smartphones and televisions, tablets, and Ipads. There are varieties of games that are played by different people across the globe. However, Brawl Stars game is one of the finest and prominent digital games across the world. Several mobile apps offer this mobile esports to their gamers in different capacities. However, BAASH (www.baash.gg) is one of the best and accessible mobile apps that provide the Brawl Stars esports tournaments to gamers, worldwide. The BAASH esports platform is essential because it helps games upgrade their skills by competing in esports tournaments and creating tournaments in all their favorite games while also being able to win prizes.
Therefore, if you are a beginner wondering which app to get the best brawl stars esports tournaments to worry no more because the BAASH app is here for you. A Brawl Stars is an online multiplayer game, and it involves two teams, and each team has three players. These teams have to battle against their opponents and emerge as hero shooter in various game modes.
Here is a beginner’s guide on how to play the Brawl Star game:
1. Select your favorite brawler. There are thirty-eight brawlers in number, and each brawler has its exceptional defensive and offensive equipment. Thus ensure that you choose wisely because each brawler has its unique attack techniques.
2. Select your preferred game mode to play. The Brawl stars game has six modes, and each mode has its purpose. Here are the targets of each mode.
- Showdown, here the aim is to destroy your adversaries and emerge as the winning and alive team.
- Gem grab, here the aim is to collect ten gems from the gem mine as quickly as possible or gain the gems from your opponents after you conquer them.
- Bounty, here the aim is to slay your foes and acquire stars from the opponents, acquiring of more stars translates to victory.
- Brawl Ball, here the aim is to throw the ball on to the foes goal.
- Siege, here the aim is to gather additional bolts that will help your team create a barrier that will help you attack the opponents and eradicate them.
- Heist, here, the aim is to defend your team and destroy your opponents entirely.
3. Attack the nearest opponent’s brawler by tapping the red stick controller.
4. Change the direction by dragging a blue stick controller while moving; you will be guided by a white dot to know which direction you are heading.
5. Use your bullets. These bullets will be displayed on the orange bars under your username.
6. Charge your powers. There is an extraordinary power known as super that is granted to each brawler. This power can protect you or damage your opponents.
7. Open boxes to acquire additional brawlers. These boxes contain coins that can help you earn brawlers and trophies.
8. Purchase additional brawlers, boxes, or coins from the shop using the gems.
9. Progress to the trophy path where you can acquire many varied rewards as you get the trophies. Some of these rewards are boxes, coins, or brawlers. It is important to remember that the more battles you win the higher chances of opening more boxes. Ensure you win as many battles as possible because if you lose the battles, you will lose your trophies.
Click here to download BAASH, the world’s first mobile esports platform.
BAASH Launches Weekly Clash Royale Mobile Tournaments
Grow your brand and battle like-minded mobile esports enthusiasts on BAASH - mobile esports platform! Now launching new weekly tournaments and more!
BAASH is starting new FREE weekly Clash Royale tournaments for mobile gamers to battle and win prizes.
The Philippines Clash Royale community has rallied around BAASH to host a growing number of frenzied tournaments, with gamers familiarising themselves with the BAASH.gg esports platform. To much delight and success, BAASH experienced full participation in all tournaments with also pro-gamers joining. As a result, we’re launching weekly CR tournaments!
On top of our weekly Clash Royale tournaments, FREE monthly mobile esports tournaments will be held including Mobile Legends Bang Bang, Arena of Valor, Legends of Runeterra, Call Of Duty, and more! Make sure to visit our Facebook page to register free for our events!
Make sure to invite your fellow friends, family, even dog. It’s about to be a BAASHin good time!
Click here to download BAASH, the world’s first mobile esports platform.
Top 5 Tips to Become a Pro Player in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Top 5 Tips to Become a Pro Player in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Do you have what it takes to be a pro player in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang? Here are the top five tips to start your professional gaming journey.

Do you have what it takes to be a pro player in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang?
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, popularly known as MLBB, has defined a new era in the mobile gaming and esports industry. The game drew huge popularity among gamers from all walks of life. MLBB also became a household name in Southeast Asia.
The mobile game is a free-to-play multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) that is both beginner-friendly and highly accessible. These became the pillars of MLBB’s loyal community.
In 2019, MLBB’s developer Moonton announced that its player base soared to 75 million. The 2020 figure was not yet released but it’s safe to assume that it has significantly increased since then.
With the huge popularity of MLBB, it’s did not came as a surprise when Moontoon and other tournament organizers stepped up to develop its esports scene. The MLBB Professional League Season 5 in the Philippines boasted a whopping $100,000 prize pool.
There are also regular tournaments hosted by the community to maintain the flourishing competitive scene of the game. For instance, BAASH is a go-to hub for competitive MLBB players established by the industry’s gaming veterans to ignite the next generation of esports athletes. BAASH is also the world’s first mobile esports platform and regularly hosts events and tournaments for mobile gamers.
Skills alone cannot make you a successful professional player in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang. That is just the tip of the iceberg. We gathered the top things you should also learn to achieve your feat.
Top 5 Tips to Become a Pro Player in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang
Here are the top tips to be a successful pro player in Mobile Legends: Bang Bang:
Schedule a Daily Practice
It is said that it takes 10,000 hours to be an expert in something. However, gamers deal with patch notes and game updates on a regular basis. Thus, we recommend spending more than 10,000 hours to be truly god-tier.
Practicing daily is your first step. This will help you maintain a sharp mind and a good grasp of the game. You will also adapt easily to regular updates if you have a daily practice schedule.
Be Physically and Mentally Healthy
You have to be physically and mentally healthy if you want to start a career in gaming. Esports athletes are used to traveling from one location to another. Organizations make sure that their players are physically fit to endure the hassle.
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is also about mind games. The game boils down to strategizing and right decision making. This can be exhausting and players can lose their A-game if they are not mentally fit.
Be Active in MLBB Communities
The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang community boasts millions of players around the world with rich experience as yours.
You can learn a lot from your co-MLBB players. You’ll be surprised to learn new things that will help you with your professional gaming journey.
Be an MLBB enthusiast. As an aspiring pro player, you should be at the forefront of developing a vigorous community.
Grind Your Way Up
If you want sponsors and teams to take notice, put yourself out there. Streaming is one of the best ways to show your skills to fans and potential sponsors.
Grinding your way up the ranks is also an effective way to build a name for yourself. Earning a significant spot in the leaderboard also proves that you have what it takes to dominate the competitive scene.
Your mechanical skills are a huge factor in becoming a successful pro player. This can also be improved over time through practice.
Gain Competitive Experience
If you think you have what it takes to be the next MLBB professional player, start your journey on BAASH. We offer a variety of tournaments that will suit your level of experience.
The competitive scene is different from your day-to-day games. Start participating in small tournaments to gain experience. Even if you win, you should always seek for improvement. This will help you stay on top of your game.
Don’t forget to download BAASH for a rich competitive gaming experience.
Click here to download BAASH, the world’s first mobile esports platform.
Top 5 Reasons to Play Legends of Runeterra
Learn why fans can't get enough of Legends of Runeterra.
Here are the top 5 reasons why you should hop on the hype train, too.

Fans can’t get their hands off Legends of Runeterra. Here are the reasons why you should hop on the hype train, too.
Legends of Runeterra was first released back on January 24, 2020, in an open beta version. The game was fully launched last April 29 for both PC and mobile gamers.
The huge success of League of Legends (LoL) provided an avenue for Riot Games to create other game genres within the LoL universe. The auto battler game Teamfight Tactics was a successful feat.
In October 2019, Riot Games celebrated the tenth anniversary of League of Legends. The event came with the announcement of exciting projects that the company has been working on. This also marked the official announcement of Legends of Runeterra.
Legends of Runeterra is a digital collectible card game that takes place in the same world as League of Legends. Fans will have the chance to dive deeper into the lore of their favorite champions. Meanwhile, new players are introduced to the intriguing story of these characters.
The game’s humble beginnings began with Riot employees that are also card game enthusiasts. Some of them have worked for the popular card game Magic: The Gathering. Currently, the new game is a close rival to Valve’s Artifact and Blizzards’ Hearthstone.
Legends of Runeterra created a lot of buzz within the gaming community. You might have heard of the game from popular streamers or your friends. It’s high time you give it a try.
Top 5 Reasons to Play Legends of Runeterra
Here are the top five reasons why Legends of Runeterra might be the next big thing:
Popular to gamers
Right off the bat, Riot has intrigued fans with the release of Legends of Runeterra. Who doesn’t love a good interactive strategy game?
Riot took a proactive approach that attracted players from all walks of life. For instance, the game instantly drew popularity from League of Legends and Hearthstone players. This is on top of players from Magic: The Gathering who are already making the switch.
Even if you don’t have experience with League of Legends or card games, you can still join in the fun. The game is newcomer-friendly with interactive tutorials to help you get a good grasp of the game before entering the battlefield.
Easy accessibility
Everyone can access the Legends of Runeterra. Riot offered the game as a free-to-play collectible card game for all gamers to enjoy.
The game can also be played on different platforms. Both PC gamers and mobile gamers have access to the game.
With today’s advancement, people are always on their phones. Mobile games offer increased accessibility compared to PC and console games.
Riot also made the free-to-play progression to be more generous. Players get to enjoy the game without the burden of microtransactions that are prevalent in other card games.
Gameplay
Riot did a good job of explaining the gist of the game. The easiest way to learn the game is through the in-game tutorial.
The goal of the game is to destroy the opponent’s Nexus through casting spell cards and summoning allies. The game is in a 1v1 format where each player takes turns in being the attacker and the defender.
The best way to learn more about the game is by interacting with the community. There are a lot of tutorials, videos, and blogs that will help you on your journey.
Less Toxicity
Riot believed disabling chats against the opponent will lessen the toxicity of the gaming community. This is a subject that’s harder to address in their other multiplayer games such as League of Legend and Valorant.
This is a notable feature as players will only rely on emotes to interact and converse with their opponents. Riot insisted that there is no need for text-based interaction between two opposing players.
The game is meant to feel like a puzzle being solved separately.
The Next Esports Player
Riot is at the forefront of the esports industry. The developer is more than prepared to take Legends of Runeterra to the next level. Invitational tournaments were already hosted in South Korea and Singapore during the open beta phase.
Other tournament organizers have made their move in hosting League of Runterra events. These tournaments kept the fans on their toes, but they are eager to see more events sanctioned by Riot.
The esports industry as shown a rapid growth for developers and brands to ignore. League of Runterra players are excited for a more organized structure of competitive play.
It will surely take sooner than later for Riot to launch their specific esports plans for the game.
Click here to download BAASH, the world’s first mobile esports platform.
Top 5 Things to Expect in League of Legends: Wild Rift
Here are the top five things you can expect in League of Legends: Wild Rift after its official release.
Here are the top 5 reasons why you should hop of the "wild rift" bandwagon too.

League of Legends player or not, everyone wants to get a piece of Wild Rift.
Riot Games has released another entry in the world of mobile games. League of Legends: Wild Rift marks Riot’s third feat in the rapidly rising industry on mobile gaming.
In October 2019, the developer celebrated its tenth anniversary with huge news of upcoming game releases. Fans are now watching these projects come into fruition.
Riot Games was suddenly at the forefront of the action. It first released Teamfight Tactics, an auto battler game that shares the same universe with League of Legends. Meanwhile, Legends of Runeterra drew instant support from the digital collectible card game community.
The next big thing in Riot’s basket is the League of Legends: Wild Rift. This is a mobile version for the heavy fan-favorite League of Legends.
Here are the top things you should learn to set the right expectations of the game:
Top 5 Things to Expect in League of Legends: Wild Rift
The ticket to the fun zone is not for everyone.
The game is not accessible to everyone. Wild Rift is still in the Alpha testing stage due to the limited capabilities of its servers. The game is only available for fans residing in Brazil and the Philippines. Players can pre-register on Google Play and wait for their golden ticket to the game. The Regional Android Alpha aims to gather enough data to improve the gaming experience of the fans.
In its early release, some players found a way to get around that rule. Riot is quick to take action and impose mass account deactivations. Access to Wild Rift is strictly by direct invite only.
The game is not 100% League of Legends.
Riot told fans that the Regional Alpha testing is just a small piece of a bigger puzzle. There’s a lot of features “missing” from the game. Fret not, more features will be added to the game later this year. The map is also mirrored which means players from both sides see the same thing.
There’s also a significant number of differences in the gameplay. Mobile games tend to last shorter than the PC version. This decision is not a shot in the dark either. Riot asked the League of Legends players and the majority of them want faster games that can be played anytime and anywhere.
Champions look different from their PC versions.
Champions look better! The character models in Wild Rift is more aesthetically pleasing than League of Legends champions.
Riot has rebuilt these characters from the ground up. This led to the changes in character designs that met the high expectations of players. For instance, Riot added new lore to Malphite that transformed him from a rock monster into a genuine ancient being.
Playing in a different platform also translated to changes in the champion’s abilities. Mobile gaming has button constraints and the game was tailored to still be enjoyable despite this type of challenge.
Patch notes can be adopted from one game to another.
The introduction of Wild Rift has shed a different light on the League of Legends game. While Riot is developing Wild Rift, it allows them to experiment with new ideas.
Several patch notes were already released for Wild Rift. Fans are eager to know if they’ll see these changes in the League of Legends as well.
Riot revealed that if the changes are suitable for League of Legends, these will be implemented. Wild Rift will also benefit if there are champion adjustments in League of Legends.
The developer wants fans to have a similar gaming experience they have when playing League of Legends.
League of Legends fans and Wild Rift fans will gather together.
Gamers will unite to share the same passion for the League of Legends universe. Get ready to join forces for future events.
Riot plans to host synced events to celebrate both games together. Although, the company wants to present the event in a unique way that will be exciting for fans of either game.
This is something everyone should watch out for!
Click here to download BAASH, the world’s first mobile esports platform.
Clash Royale Tournament Guide 2019
The popular esport, Clash Royale, has a tournament coming right around the corner. Come have some fun and join a tournament or create your own Clash Royale tournament. It's extremely easy to host your own tournament.
One of the perks of hosting your own tournament is that you get to choose the tournament format and get to have new ways of earning rewards and resources. One of the requirements of making a Clash Royale tournament is having at least a level 8 profile.
If you are interested in creating your own Clash Royale tournament you will need 500 gems. When creating your own tournament you can decide whether to make it private or public.
One of the benefits of creating your own tournament is that you get to oversee the whole tournament. You get to choose the length of the tournament and how long before it ends and rewarding the top players. The length of the tournament can be set between a minimum of 1 hour all the way to a maximum of 3 days. You can also set your own preparation time from 15 minutes to 2 hours.
When hosting your own tournament, you can choose between multiple game modes such as: Normal Battle, Draft Battle, Double Elixir Battle, Sudden Death Battle, Double Elixir Draft, Mirror Battle, Rage Battle, Triple Elixir Battle, Ramp Up Battle, and Classic Decks Battle.
Another perk of hosting your own Clash Royale tournament is that you get to choose the prize you are going to host. You can choose from x30 chest awards all the way to x15,000 chest awards. Of course the higher the chest awards are the more gems you will have to spend. The minimum gems to host a tournament will cost you 500 gems, while the most expensive one will cost you 250,000 gems.
The hosts can also set their own caps for the Crown Towers and cards, ranging from 9 to 13. Other than the tournaments, there are also two Victory Challenges you can also compete in. One of the victory challenge goals, called the Grand Challenge is to win 12 times without losing more than 2 times. The other challenge, called the Classic Challenge, is to win all crowns and battles without considering the losts. There is also a Grand Challenge and a Classic Challenge, with the Grand Challenge costing 100 gems to enter, and the Classic Challenge costing only 10 gems to enter. Completing the Grand Challenge will earn you 22,000 gold and 1,100 cards, while completing the Classic Challenge will earn you 2,000 gold and 100 cards.
If 500 gems is too much to spend, there are also tournaments called Private Tournaments that you can create. Hosting a Private Tournament only costs 10 gems but there will be no prizes.
Supercell is in charge of the game but the hosts are in charge of the events. So that means the host should be responsible for their events and follow all guidelines and rules. As a host, you are responsible for providing the prizes of the tournaments, you can provide prizes such as in-game items. Any types of shady activities are forbidden and can get you banned. As a host, you are responsible to make sure your event is legal and under laws and regulations.
After putting in all the information about the length and prizes of the tournament, you can add your name and description and decide whether you want your tournament to be public or private. After setting up all the information required for your tournament you can start your first match by pressing the "Battle" button.
When you host your own Clash Royale Tournament, you can also compete with other players in that tournament. All the battles played in the tournament will be in the tournament and will not be in your battle log or dashboard. After that the tournament is pretty much the same as a classic Clash Royale battle. The only difference is that the overtime will increase from 1 minute to 3 minutes to avoid draws. The cards are also capped to make sure the games are fair and no player will have an extra advantage.
When you are not battling you can also spectate other players' battles on the leaderboard. After the tournament is over, the winners are declared and you can award the players. If players get pretty high on the global leader board, they also get extra bonuses along with their original rewards. The player who got the highest amount of trophies in the tournament will receive the top reward in the tournament. The second player will receive 2/3 of the top prize. The player in third place will receive half that prize. All the other players with receive prizes in respect to their place on the leaderboard.
If you just want to create a tournament to win prizes, you can create a tournament but only allow a few people in so that the fewer people will get bigger shares of the gems you spent. Other than a few rules you have to follow, creating your own tournament is all up to you. You get to decide the majority of the factors, such as game mode, capping levels, prizes, and length of the tournament.
If you don't have any spare gems to spend on hosting your own Clash Royale Tournament, you can still join in the fun and be allowed to join a tournament for free, without costing you any gems. You also get to have the chance to participate in the event and win top prizes for the competition. However, because of the high demands of players joining the competition and hoping to win massive amounts of rewards and prizes.
Most of the time the tournaments that appear on your dashboard will be full of participants and no room for you to join. However if you are patient enough you might be able to get into a few competitions and win some lucky prizes. If you aren't, fear not, as Clash Royale always host special events, tournaments, and competitions you can be part in to earn that extra gold or gem.
2019 Guide to Becoming a Professional Mobile Esports Player
It's 2019, and the Esports world is becoming just as big as physical sports are nowadays. When we see big tournaments for PC gaming and consoles, it's just a matter of time for this worldwide phenomenon to replicate itself to other media, and gaming is evolving in new and exciting ways that are able to reach a potentially bigger user base in the competitive side of gaming. This opens the door to just about anyone who thinks that wants to be a professional mobile esports professional.
But what about the knowledge of complicated commands and joystick movements that have to be practiced every day? What if you don't have a state-of-the-art computer to play? Do you still have a chance to become an esports athlete? Of course you do! Because Esports are not limited to PC or consoles anymore. Nowadays, with the amazing mobile technology we have available, mobile esports tournaments are more and more common!
With the newer and more powerful mobile devices that mobile companies are releasing day by day, some of the most popular games are being worked on mobile apps just as if you were playing the console or PC version of those games (In some cases, even playing on the same servers), so why not testing your luck into becoming a mobile esports professional athlete? You have the advantage of this genre not being yet overrun by competitors, and there are many ways you can improve your chances to be in esports tournaments if you start right now with these few simple tips:
Pick a game that suits your abilities:
Do you have superb reflexes or you're more of a tactical thinker? All of these questions come into consideration when trying to choose the game you'd like to play professionally. If your thing is making good decisions and resource management, maybe you should focus your efforts on an Auto-Chess type of game (Autochess Origins and Dota Underlords are two options currently for mobile apps) or if you'd like more hands-on action, you could always try for the Battle Royale games that require a lot of good aim and quick reflexes.
Know your game's in and outs:
For being able to compete in mobile esports tournaments (or any kind of esports tournaments for that matter) you need to know your game left and right, down and center, and this is only achieved through constant study and keeping up to date with all the information you can gather. From the meta generally applied for most winning strategies, to characters tiers, win rates and anything else, you need to keep track of all the resources you need to learn, and make a habit of reading as much as you can ( TIP: Always read ALL the patch notes of your game of choice, changes in balance can be critical for your development if you have strategies based on characters, weapons or specific conditions in-gam)
Take care of your device:
This is just as important as practice and studying. You need to keep your gaming mobile device in a prime state if you want to compete in esport tournaments. I would personally recommend having a separate device just for your mobile esports needs, because if there's anything worse than having problems in the middle of a match, it's to receive a call just before the winning move!
Keep historic records of yourself: One of the last and more important steps, even before thinking about climbing the ranks and divisions of any esports tournaments is to know how much you're improving, and even if games take the time to take your statistics and keep track of them, there's so much more you can do to improve your abilities! Take notes of yourself, save the replays of your matches and watch them frequently! In this way, you can learn from your mistakes and improve either your KDR, your MMR or your W/L Ratio just by adjusting to new strategies and getting closer to mobile esports tournament standards.
Consistency:
Finally, the most important rule of them all to become a Professional Mobile Esports Athlete is the consistency. You have to play a lot of hours, you have to study even more, you need to refine your technique and learn from your mistakes, but most importantly, you need to do this constantly, don't stop, even if you fail, because you always have to remember that every professional has failed more times than the rookie has tried yet.
7 Tips for Navigating Esports Contracts Like A Pro
Introduction
According to analysis by NewZoo, esports is projected to reach USD$1Bn in revenue by the end of 2019 and everyone wants a piece of the pie. More starstruck youth than ever are hoping to be the next Faker or Doublelift and earn worldwide acclaim.
What’s the downside to esports’ massive growth in popularity and capital? A regulatory void that leaves aspiring players vulnerable to exploitation. Contracts for new pro players remain almost entirely unregulated, leading to exploitative agreements.
Before digging into how you can negotiate contracts like a pro, you’ll need some background to better understand why bad contracts are so prolific.
Background - Contract Law in Esports
For decades, basketball, football, and other traditional sports have worked through countless legal and contractual issues. Esports, on the other hand, is a relative newbie, with only a few recent years of legal developments.
Low player salaries and poor working conditions have plagued esports since the industry first exploded in the 1990s. Many of these problems have come from a combination of poorly designed and abusive contracts that are common in esports.
Players and organizations who aren't selective with who writes, reviews and edits their contracts are at risk of losing tens of thousands of dollars, as seemingly small clauses can negatively alter a contract hugely.
Contract disputes simply haven’t been litigated or arbitrated enough to bring esports up to date. Many contracts in esports, especially at the amateur level, are not even legally enforceable.
Organizations that don’t shell out the money for an expensive professionally written contract routinely copy poorly written contract templates from the internet. These often contain incorrect clauses and poorly defined provisions that can invalidate the contract entirely. Players and organizations who aren't selective with who writes, reviews and edits their contracts are at risk of losing tens of thousands of dollars, as seemingly small clauses can negatively alter a contract hugely.
Educating new players on their rights has remained a very low priority for the industry and this poses potentially dire consequences for their careers. If you’re reading this article, you’re already ahead of the competition on signing a contract that works for you, not against you.
With that, here are 7 vital considerations every player should think about before signing a contract:
1. Contract Language
If you’re not talking to a lawyer (Protip: Do talk to a lawyer), you need to know what you’re signing. Do you understand the language the contract is written in?
Adam Melrose of Law in Esports writes that players can become stuck in low paying (or even non-paying) contracts because of terms that disproportionately burden them. Unreputable organizations have been known to exploit players who don’t natively speak their language by using complex legal jargon to get players to sign bad contracts.
Here are some things to look out for:
- Non-compete clauses: these restrict you from activities such as joining another team or playing competitively, even after the contract ends. Non-compete clauses can even prevent you from streaming on certain platforms that compete with team sponsors, costing you money and recognition.
For more information about non-compete clauses, check out this great article by Kelley Warner Law. For some helpful examples of non-compete clauses in contracts, check out this database from LawInsider.
- Ambiguity/Vagueness: undefined terms or intentionally vague provisions increase your liability or incurred costs when you sign. Get clarity on anything you don’t feel is clear.
This article by LegalMatch has some more info on ambiguity in contract drafting, so check it out for further reading.
- Loopholes: some contracts slip in terms that allow the drafting party to violate other sections of a contract under certain circumstances, leading to easy abuse.
Check out this great article by Business News Daily for more info on loopholes and other tricky contract clauses.
Take your time going through the contract and understanding what you’re signing away. Never let yourself get pressured into signing something you don’t understand or else you could end up in a situation you didn't bargain for.
2. Choice of Law and Contract Jurisdiction
The country or state jurisdiction you sign a contract under is key to protecting your rights. While this point may sound boring and unimportant, it’s critical to understand or you could find yourself dealing with significantly higher legal fees, unfair laws, or lacking legal resources.
Contracts should always specify the jurisdiction they fall under, as that defines which set of laws the contract operates under. If your contract doesn’t have a choice of law, it will get extremely expensive to challenge or litigate any part of it in court once you’ve signed off.
This is even more important when signing a contract with an organization outside of your country because contract law changes from place to place.
3. Compensation
Contracts should be upfront about salary amount, tournament winnings, sponsorship revenue, payment schedule, and how much of that you take home. Don’t end up like Fortnite streamer Tfue who become locked in a contract with Faze Clan where Faze took an astounding 80% cut of all sponsorship deals they introduced.
Additionally, keep in mind what expenses you’ll be expected to pay for during things like tournament travel; assume you must cover the costs of anything your contract doesn’t clearly specify.
4. IP and Branding
Your intellectual property and media rights are extremely important, so get the full picture of what brand and IP rights you’re signing away. These include your appearance in advertisements, your video game streaming profile, social media, image, and other important sources of revenue.
Be careful of contracts that transfer your IP rights to the organization, especially the use of language like “lifetime” or “exclusive”. Some of the most popular streamers pull in millions of dollars in extra revenue from their IP, so push to keep as much of your brand as possible.
5. Performance Metrics
Your contract should clearly state what you need to do to stay on the team’s active roster. This includes how much you’ll need to practice and in-game performance metrics like a minimum average Kill/Death/Assist ratio to maintain.
Many contracts also include behavioral standards you must follow and a basic level of professionalism to maintain on things like social media, so make sure that you can meet these. Counter-Strike pro player Smooya was unexpectedly benched, with a reduction in salary, after joining Epsilon Gaming because he “didn’t speak Swedish”.
Push for clarity on these points or risk becoming the benchwarmer.
6. Employment Classification
Like the choice of law provisions point above, you need to know whether you’re an employee or an independent contractor under the local law. This affects things such as sick days, health insurance, and health-based exemptions from play and practice.
Employees and contractors have different legal rights, so do your best to understand the basic rules and regulations for either classification and/or talk to a legal professional.
7. Termination
Similarly to the standards of being benched, know under what circumstances your contract could be terminated and how you can get out of your contract. Take note of exceptions that will terminate your contract early as a result of a breach of contract, misconduct, or through a mutual agreement such as a buyout from another team.
Contracts commonly list buyouts twice or even three times as high as the contract value, so be careful signing any contract that would be difficult to buy out. As a young player, you don’t want to lose the best years of your career in a contract that doesn’t fit your needs.
Conclusion and Going Forward
These 7 points are merely a starting point for any player joining a team who wants to exercise caution before signing a contract. This article is not a replacement for hiring a legal professional; any player who has the means to do so should contact a legal representative.It may be expensive now, but it could save you time, stress, and most notably money in the future.
As esports grows, so will standardization. The process is slow, so take all precautions and educate yourself now when dealing with the risks and high-stakes of team contracts.
For further reading and information on contract law in esports, we’ve added several links below to check out:
- What you should know when negotiating esports contracts - Scarinci Hollenbeck Law
- Contract Advice for Teams, Orgs, and Players: Interview with an Esports Lawyer - BritishEsports
- Choice of Law Provisions in Esports Player Contracts - The Law of Esports
- Esports Contracts: 5 Things Every Athlete Should Consider - Gordon Law
- Dangers of Esports Contracts - DailyEsports