News

OMD wins inaugural UnLtd Big Game trophy, with tournament raising $56,000 for young people at risk

OMD has won the industry’s first virtual gaming tournament – UnLtd’s Big Game – which raised $56,000 for children and young people at risk.

The Rocket League tournament was sponsored by Twitch, and saw 24 teams across the industry play over five weeks, culminating in a semi-final and grand final played on Tuesday.

The first semi-final was a battle between stablemates, with OMD beating fellow Omnicom Media Group agency PHD. In the second semi-final, Carat won against Quantcast, leading to an OMD vs Carat grand final.

OMD won the Rocket League grand final

UnLtd said two of the tournament’s greatest players featured in the showdown: Carat’s ‘Jimbae’ (Zac Kelly) and OMD’s ‘Momo’ (Jacky Mo). ‘Momo’ scored OMD’s first goal within the first three seconds, and, with help from teammate ‘Denny_Turkus’ (Thomas McGlynn), continued to dominate the game.

McGlynn thanked UnLtd for hosting the tournament, and Max Vonneumann for casting each game.

“We loved having the opportunity to interact across our industry outside of our normal ways of working, and the fact we came out on top amongst some fierce competition was a great bonus,” McGlynn said of OMD’s win.

“Whilst we love being the official gaming champions of our industry, the real winners are the kids that will be helped thanks to everyone who took part. We hope to do this all again next year.”

The winning OMD Big Game team

OMD, as the winning team, will receive a Twitch prize pack including a jersey signed by Team Liquid, one of the world’s best professional esports teams.

“We loved being part of Big Game and being able to provide a forum for our industry to connect and chat over gaming and do our part in helping raise funds for the important work that UnLtd do with young people at risk,” said Twitch’s Ricky Chanana, head of sales AUNZ.

“There were some epic games to watch and a great atmosphere in the chat too. We can’t wait for next year’s Big Game.”

Max Vonneumann (@formalcasting) and Chris Freel, UnLtd CEO

UnLtd’s events manager Bronte Mikel added: “It was amazing to bring together the gaming talent of our industry but also to introduce new people to the world of gaming and esports.

“We’ve had such positive feedback and we can’t wait to do it all again soon. Thank you to everyone who gamed for good and helped us raise funds for children at risk. And a huge thank you to our sponsor Twitch and supporters Let’sPlay.Live and eGen and our wonderful host Max Vonneumann – we couldn’t have done it without you.”

The participating agencies and owners in this year’s Big Game were: Australian Community Media, Australian Radio Network, Carat, Mediacom, Foxtel Media, Group M, Half Dome, IPG Mediabrands, Sizmek, Nova, Network 10, Nine, OMD, Ooh Media, Publicis, PHD, Quantcast, REA Group, Seven West Media, The Guardian, Val Morgan, The Trade Desk, Verizon Media and Twitch.

ADVERTISEMENT

Get the latest media and marketing industry news (and views) direct to your inbox.

Sign up to the free Mumbrella newsletter now.

 

SUBSCRIBE

Sign up to our free daily update to get the latest in media and marketing.