Latest News
Middlesbrough Foundation set to benefit as principal partner Kindred donates front-of-shirt sponsorship in support of life-changing work across Teesside
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The life-changing work of the Middlesbrough FC (MFC) Foundation is set to receive a significant boost this weekend. The club’s principal partner, Kindred, has donated its front-of-shirt sponsorship ahead of the game against Hully City (Saturday 30th November), so that MFC can highlight its inspirational work across Teesside. Normally, the logo of gambling operator Unibet – with “Zero% Mission”, which is Kindred’s Responsible gambling message – would adorn First Team shirts.
The move is part of the club’s ‘Foundation Weekend’, and forms part of an initiative to highlight the Foundation’s life-changing work for participants of all ages in the local community, as well as how people in the area can access its projects and services.
The MFC Foundation works to raise aspirations and improve the life chances of young people and adults across Teesside. Its work is supported and funded, in part, by the club’s commercial partners, including Kindred Group.
Kindred is a long-term, valued partner of the club. As part of its commercial relationship with MFC, Kindred supports MFC Foundation’s ‘Think With Your Feet’ – a programme that enables local men to meet, play football and discuss their mental health issues in a safe, respectful environment. MFC Foundation works to raise aspirations and improve the life chances of young people and adults across Teesside.
Earlier this season, ‘Boro star Isaiah Jones sat down with a group of participants from the course where they chatted openly about mental health and the benefits of the ‘Think With Your Feet’ programme.
Kindred have partnered with Middlesbrough since 2018, making it one of the most successful and long-running in British football. It is due to run until at least 2027.
Sam Mead, UK General Manager, Kindred: “Our relationship with Middlesbrough FC and their Foundation is a long-running, deep and supportive one. We are all aware, and incredibly proud of, the Foundation’s incredible work in the North-East community. As such, we are delighted to once again donate our normal front-of-shirt space to the Foundation for this weekend’s fixture against Hull City. In the spirit of what this weekend is all about, we would urge supporters to seek out the MFC’s outreach programmes, if they feel they could benefit from the various initiatives on offer. Please visit mfcfoundation.co.uk for further information”
Latest News
Christmas comes early with Booming Games’ Holly Jolly Cash Pig
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4 mins ago
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November 28, 2024
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It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been naughty or nice this year because Booming Games is delivering the perfect Christmas gift for everyone: the shiny, new Holly Jolly Cash Pig.
Luxury is everywhere you look on this 5×4, 30-payline slot. The reels are rich with all the shiny, sparkly things you could ever dream of – gold rings, expensive watches, sports cars and even private jets.
The Piggy Bank feature triggers popular Cash Collect mechanics. Land value symbols and a collect symbol in the base game, and you’ll be collecting coins with multipliers of up to 50x your bet. It’s like Christmas has come early!
You’ll want to trigger the Free Spins feature by landing 3 scatters on reels 1, 3 and 5. This festive feature will gift you 12 spins plus an extra six if you land three scatters in-game.
In Free Spins, any win triggers the cascade. Minor symbols in the win get eliminated until the end of the bonus, while Major symbols get boosted and pay double. This makes for the clear win potential exposure, as well as he chases to eliminate the Minors as soon as possible and boost the Majors so each cascade can bring a double win!
As with all of the provider’s titles, Holly Jolly Cash Pig has been certified for launch in core regulated markets, including the UK, Sweden and all Malta jurisdictions.
Nemanja Živić, Director of Games at Booming Games, said: “Tis the season for slots and Holly Jolly Cash Pig is the perfect gift to keep you warm this winter – a game rich with fun, features and festivities. Merry Christmas from Booming Games!”
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The 16th World Esports Championship (WEC), held from November 11 to 19, once again proved Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) as one of the standout titles of IESF competitions. Both the Open and Women’s categories delivered exceptional competition; with live audiences and online viewership worldwide, this year’s tournaments stood as one of the most-watched MLBB tournaments of the year.
The MLBB Open tournament delivered one of the most exciting playoffs in WEC history. For the third consecutive year, a new champion was crowned, as Malaysia triumphed in dominant fashion. In a great run, Malaysia stunned the MLBB giants by defeating Indonesia, the 2022 champion, in the semifinals and then the Philippines, the 2023 champion, in a thrilling final.
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Gold: Malaysia
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Silver: Philippines
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Bronze: Indonesia
The tournament reached a peak viewership of 613k, making it one of the most-watched MLBB Open tournaments in WEC history.
A Historic Year for Women in Esports
The debut of the MLBB Women’s Tournament marked a new milestone for the World Esports Championship. Teams from across the world displayed extraordinary talent and competitiveness, with Indonesia, the pre-tournament favorite, securing the first-ever MLBB Women’s World Esports Championship title.
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Gold: Indonesia
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Silver: Cambodia
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Bronze: Egypt
The Women’s tournament reached a peak viewership of 258k, presenting the growing interest in women’s Esports. This debut exceeded all expectations and set the stage for more successful tournaments in the future, proving the Women’s category deserves its rightful place on the biggest stage.
Record-Breaking Prize Pool
This year’s tournaments also had the largest prize pool in MLBB history throughout WEC, totaling $280,000 across both categories:
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$160,000 for the MLBB Open Tournament
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$120,000 for the MLBB Women’s Tournament
The success of this year’s MLBB tournaments is a result of the strong partnership between IESF and MOONTON Games. Together, we have elevated MLBB into one of the most iconic and recognizable elements of the World Esports Championship.
“We are proud to have delivered such an impactful and pleasant MLBB experience for our fans and athletes. The incredible performances and viewership this year reaffirm our goal to growing MLBB’s presence on the international Esports stage,” said Igor Nedeski, IESF’s Esports Manager.
Ray Ng, Head of Ecosystem at MOONTON Games, said: “Congratulations to the whole IESF team for another great event that achieves a new milestone together with MLBB. We share the same beliefs of excellence and inclusion and are excited to build on this momentum to create even more unforgettable moments for MLBB fans around the world.”
Asia
GR8 Tech Expands Infrastructure into Asia with 25% Performance Boost
Published
10 mins ago
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November 28, 2024
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To better serve clients in the target Asian region, GR8 Tech has expanded its technical infrastructure with new, automated server setups. The upgrade enables rapid platform deployment across markets, delivering optimized, high-performance experiences for Asian users with 99,96% uptime even during top sporting events such as the World Cup or IPL.
“Our expansion into Asia is not merely a strategic move, but an opportunity to set a new standard in iGaming. The initiative allows us to better meet client needs, providing reliable performance that builds trust and boosts engagement,” said Yevhen Krazhan, CBDO at GR8 Tech.
Previously, product load times in Asia were hindered by reliance on centralized servers in Frankfurt, leading to delays that affected user experience. In response, GR8 Tech deployed the platform’s main frontend as a standalone solution and established a new data center in Asia, which has significantly reduced load times and enhanced service delivery to clients across the region. As a result, web performance metrics have improved by 25% in the region.
To further enhance performance, GR8 Tech selected an optimal content delivery management provider to bring services closer to clients and improve access speed. The platform also implemented front-end optimizations to boost operational efficiency. The migration will continue with backend infrastructure improvements, reducing the number of frontend-to-backend calls and further enhancing service reliability and speed.
“The migration to Asia is a pivotal project for GR8 Tech, with our SRE, Sportsbook, and Platform teams working closely to deploy the solution, achieving significant improvements in web performance and enabling faster market launches. The project embodies the kind of collaboration that excites us – harnessing our combined strengths to build high-performance infrastructure and establish our leadership in key Asian markets,” said Artur Ashyrov, CTO and Deputy CEO at GR8 Tech.
