Jacob Wolf
- Founder, Overcome
Austin
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Esports, Video Gaming
leading podcasts & video engineering at @beehiiv • @zeddotdev, open-source contributor • award-winning investigative reporter • fmr @espn, @dotesports
Articles by Jacob Wolf
TSM barred from using new FTX sponsor in name, jerseys on League of Legends, VALORANT broadcasts
Editor’s Note (2026) This article was originally published in 2021 and has been updated with new context on the collapse of FTX, Riot’s evolving sponsorship policies, and the rise of regulated esports betting. Riot Games will not allow TSM to use its new cryptocurrency exchange name sponsor FTX in League of Legends and VALORANT broadcasts, the company told Dot Esports today.
U.S. Department of Justice opens antitrust inquiry into Overwatch League's soft salary cap, 'competitive balance tax'
Editor’s Update (2026): What happened next Since this article was published in 2021, the Overwatch League has ceased operations following the 2023 restructuring of Activision Blizzard’s esports strategy. Season 6 in 2023 was the final season of the OWL. Teams voted to exit the league, franchise slots were dissolved, and Blizzard shifted toward an open competitive ecosystem for Overwatch esports.
Sources: Alienware terminates League of Legends global sponsorship following sexual harassment allegations against Riot Games CEO
This article was originally published in 2021 and has been updated to reflect developments related to Riot Games leadership and sponsorships. One of the biggest advertisers for League of Legends esports is cutting ties with Riot Games following allegations of sexual harassment against the company’s CEO, Nicolo Laurent. Alienware will terminate its global esports partnership more than 10 months early.
On Our Present Anti-Institutional Age
By any reasonable metric, Americans have developed a profound distrust in our social and political institutions. Gallup reports a significant decline in public confidence across eleven of the sixteen institutions it tracks. As of 2023, fewer than one-third of Americans express confidence in the medical system or organized religion, while only about a quarter of Americans express confidence in the Supreme Court, banks, public schools, the presidency, tech companies, and organized labor.
Prevalence of ventilator-associated pneumonia and bacterial isolates in mechanically ventilated dogs
College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States Introduction: Mechanical ventilation is used to treat respiratory failure in veterinary patients. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a reported complication of mechanical ventilation in both human and veterinary medicine. VAP can lead to increased length of mechanical ventilation, longer hospital stays, and increased mortality.
Beyond the Battlefield of Ideas – Jacob Wolf
My position is that a university cannot be an open society in all respects and that it must be bounded in certain ways in order to achieve its fundamental mission. That mission, I believe, requires us to draw lines and make distinctions. To that end, it would be helpful to define what people generally mean by an “open society.” At its most philosophical level, an open society is one that is purposefully indeterminate with regard to ends.
2024 RECOVER Guidelines: Advanced Life Support. Evidence and knowledge gap analysis with treatment recommendations for small animal CPR
ALS advanced life support BiP biphasic BLS basic life support CCCPR closed-chest CPR CePP cerebral perfusion pressure CI confidence interval CoPP coronary perfusion pressure CPA cardiopulmonary arrest CRI constant rate infusion EDT emergency department thoracotomy EE Evidence Evaluator GRADE Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluation HES hydroxyethyl starch IHCPA in-hospital cardiopulmonary arrest IO intraosseous IQR interquartile range MP monophasic OCCPR open-chest...
The Moral Butterfly Effect
That the whole moral universe could be inverted by a single word seems a rather absurd contention. Nevertheless, it is true, and knowing this fact helps us perceive a silent revolution now centuries in the making, wherein selfishness, cleverly rebranded as “self-love,” would become the central ethic of Western Civilization.
Brandfluence Drops Defamation Claims Against Journalist Jacob Wolf
Brandfluence CEO Matt Pfaltzgraf, left, at Atlanta-area software company meetup (Photo via Atlanta Ventures) Brandfluence, the Atlanta-based for-profit marketing agency formerly known as Softgiving, voluntarily dismissed four defendants from a lawsuit it brought in December. That lawsuit, filed on Dec.
Some notes on 'The paranoid style in video game culture' | Jacob Wolf & Mikhail Klimentov
Founder $7 per month (7 days free) Patreon launch special: Sign up in the first 60 days for a discounted price of $7.00 USD/month until August 2024, then $10.00 USD/month Become a founder! By directly supporting Jacob Wolf and Mikhail Klimentov, you'll gain access to exclusive Jacob Wolf Report, ReaderGrev, and Visionaries podcast content.
Brandfluence to End Charitable Fundraising Work on Twitch, Lays Off More than 15 Employees
Brandfluence, the middleman for-profit marketing company formerly known as Softgiving, reportedly laid off around 15 contractors and employees on Monday as part of a pivot away from charitable fundraising and brand campaigns spearheaded by Twitch streamers.
Some notes on ‘Riot should kick EG out of Valorant’ | Jacob Wolf & Mikhail Klimentov
Founder $7 per month Patreon launch special: Sign up in the first 60 days for a discounted price of $7.00 USD/month until August 2024, then $10.00 USD/month Become a founder! By directly supporting Jacob Wolf and Mikhail Klimentov, you'll gain access to exclusive Jacob Wolf Report, ReaderGrev, and Visionaries podcast content.
Why Twitch's Massive Layoffs Are Horrific for the Future of Gaming
On Tuesday evening, Bloomberg reported that Amazon-owned livestreaming platform Twitch, one of the most important businesses in video games and the creator economy, was laying off 500 people—roughly 35 percent of its workforce. Combined with two other reductions in force last year, Twitch has laid off nearly 1,000 employees in less than a year.
Why EA Will Be Acquired This Year, The Future of DC & Marvel, and other 2024 Predictions | Jacob Wolf & Mikhail Klimentov
Founder $7 per month Patreon launch special: Sign up in the first 60 days for a discounted price of $7.00 USD/month until August 2024, then $10.00 USD/month Become a founder! By directly supporting Jacob Wolf and Mikhail Klimentov, you'll gain access to exclusive Jacob Wolf Report, ReaderGrev, and Visionaries podcast content.
Saudi State-Backed Esports World Cup to Host 'League of Legends' Tournament
Photo via Gamers8/Twitter The Saudi Arabian state-backed Esports World Cup event will kick off in July and feature a League of Legends tournament, according to an internal Riot Games email sent over the holiday break and obtained by The Jacob Wolf Report. First announced in October 2023, the eight-week event will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, beginning in July, and will reportedly feature the largest prize pool in esports history.
How Softgiving Collected 42 Percent of Donations from Twitch Streams
Illustration by Wade Malone Five of Twitch’s most-watched men are sitting in front of a long, white table inside the living room of an Austin, Texas, home. Over the next eight and a half hours, Asmongold, Mizkif, Esfand, Nmp and Rich Campbell will unbox some of the rarest Pokémon cards in the world, worth thousands of dollars. The hundreds of thousands of viewers watching will get a chance to win these cards—if they donate to charity, that is.
How Softgiving Collected 42 Percent of Donations from Twitch Streams
Illustration by Wade Malone Five of Twitch’s most-watched men are sitting in front of a long, white table inside the living room of an Austin, Texas, home. Over the next eight and a half hours, Asmongold, Mizkif, Esfand, Nmp and Rich Campbell will unbox some of the rarest Pokémon cards in the world, worth thousands of dollars. The hundreds of thousands of viewers watching will get a chance to win these cards—if they donate to charity, that is.
How the Golden Guardians and Evil Geniuses Actually Left the LCS
On Nov. 20, Riot Games made a big announcement: The League Championship Series, the premier North American league for League of Legends, would reduce the number of its teams by two ahead of the 2024 season. The reduction saw the exit of two of the league’s playoff teams: fifth-sixth place Evil Geniuses and league runner-up Golden Guardians.
Overwatch League Shutdown Vote Underway as Activision Blizzard Prepares for Esports' Future
The most expensive esports league ever produced will soon be officially dead. Staff at Activision Blizzard are preparing to contract with the Saudi Arabian state-owned ESL FACEIT Group to run the 2024 Overwatch season, effectively dissolving the existing Overwatch League, sources familiar with those discussions told The Jacob Wolf Report.
The Hypocrisy of Nickmercs
On the eve of Amazon-owned platform Twitch’s big annual convention, TwitchCon, its biggest rival in the past half-decade made a big announcement: It had signed one of Twitch's most-watched streamers to a $10 million deal. With more than one million watch hours on Twitch in September alone, Nick “Nickmercs” Kolcheff is now instead focused mostly on Kick, a new platform that has made noise throughout 2023 for signing some of the most-watched and most-controversial streamers from other platforms.
How Riot Games Subtlety Made a Major Impact on Mainstream Music
Hey everyone! It’s Jacob. Apologies for the slow turnout of late. I took a few days off last week to peruse the Kentucky Bourbon Trail for my Bachelor Party. Unfortunately, I also caught an upper respiratory infection that’s sidelined me most of this week (not fun!).
Why Epic Games' Metaverse Ambitions Cost It Its Identity
Welcome to The Jacob Wolf Report! I’m Jacob Wolf, a former ESPN, award-winning investigative journalist who is now the founder and CEO of Overcome Media and the host of the Visionaries podcast. For the past eight years, I’ve been writing about gaming and for the past year, I’ve been expanding my scope to the creator economy and nerd culture. Recently, I joined forces with Mikhail Klimentov, a former video games journalist from the Washington Post who now writes the ReaderGrev newsletter.
Starfield and Esports — Both Worse Than We Thought! | Jacob Wolf & Mikhail Klimentov
Hi everyone, Mikhail here. It’s time for our Patreon weekly update! I've been in the middle of a move, which has cut into my writing time, not to mention my "Valorant" time.
Why the MrBeast-Endorsed Creator League Fell Apart in Less than 72 Hours
Today’s Newsletter is Brought to You by Masterworks! The financial markets had a historically bad year in 2022, but blue-chip art sold for more than ever before. Our sponsor, Masterworks, is here to help you make money from the art world. Masterworks believes that art should be accessible to everybody, not just a select few. That's why they’ve pioneered an investing platform that democratizes the art world.
Join Our First-Ever Off The Record Conference Call this Thursday
Are you curious about the latest happenings in the gaming industry and the creator economy? Do you enjoy being privy to behind-the-scenes discussions about the hottest topics in gaming? If you answered yes to either of these questions, then you won't want to miss our first-ever monthly Off The Record Conference Call.
Why Sentinels' Crowdfunding Campaign is Deeply Irresponsible
A little more than a month ago, the self-proclaimed “most popular brand in VALORANT”1 announced that it was looking for new investors: You! After five years of running on institutional investor money, esports team Sentinels launched a crowdfunding campaign on StartEngine, a platform where everyday people can invest in private companies—similar to how they invest in public companies.
One week done... | Patreon
Hi everyone, Mikhail here! We're one week into this great experiment at the Jacob Wolf & Mikhail Klimentov Patreon! (We're going to need to figure out a shorter way to refer to ourselves. Suggestions are greatly appreciated.) The past five days have been stressful. I am an obsessive analytics-checker, so I've been tracking our stats, keeping an eye out for how the stuff we've published has been doing, etc.
Welcome to the Jacob Wolf & Mikhail Klimentov Patreon!
Hi there! Welcome to the Patreon for Jacob Wolf and Mikhail Klimentov’s newsletters and podcast. You’re probably here because you’ve read Jacob or Mikhail’s goodbye-to-Substack letters, or our interview in Digiday. We’re so glad you’re here. We started this Patreon as an experiment. Both of us have done video game and esports journalism separately in the past. Earlier this year, that got us thinking: What if we gathered our output under one umbrella?
Jacob Wolf & Mikhail Klimentov | Patreon
Patreon launch special: Sign up in the first 60 days for a discounted price of $75.00 USD/month until August 2024, then $100.00 USD/month You get Jacob and Mikhail's personal contact information. And everything else. But you're paying for the direct contact line. All benefits included in 'Founder' & 'Visionary' PLUS:
The Religion of Democracy
Without much overstatement, one can describe the history of modern political philosophy as the search for a suitable replacement for Christianity. Progress replaces providence, humanitarianism replaces charity, and mind (or reason) replaces God himself. Into the void left behind by Christianity have rushed all sorts of ideologies—that is, comprehensive systems of belief that purport to explain the whole of human thought, action, and purpose.
Successful Management of Severe Manganese Toxicosis in Two Dogs
Save citation to file Format: Add to My Bibliography Your saved search Name of saved search: Search terms: Frequency: Which day? Which day? Report format: Send at most: Send even when there aren't any new results Optional text in email: Create a file for external citation management software
Getting the Venom Out: Why I No Longer Want to Be 'The Esports Reporter'
Last month, after a year on Substack, I wrote about my experiences, both positive and negative, with the platform. That piece was different than most of what I’ve done on this platform over the past 13 months, but it was cathartic, and selfishly, I enjoy writing about bigger philosophical audience-engagement topics. So what follows is a bit like that—some thoughts on how I’ve been feeling, not just this week, but over the past couple of years.Thanks, as always, for reading.
Why Even Riot Games Isn't Immune to the 'Esports Winter'
Six and a half years ago, I sat in the Los Angeles Lakers’ ownership suite at the then-Staples Center in what felt like a seminal moment. It was the League of Legends World Championship in October 2016, as the best two teams in the world competed for a trophy in front of thousands of people. It was not the first time that esports had filled the stadium where the Lakers and L.A. Kings have won a combined four championships. But this time felt different.
Justice Department, Activision Blizzard Settle Esports Antitrust Lawsuit
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and Activision Blizzard, the publisher of “Call of Duty” and “Overwatch,” agreed to settle an antitrust lawsuit filed Monday over a quasi-salary cap rule previously enforced in two of its esports leagues. The DOJ filed the lawsuit in Washington, D.C., federal court on Monday and immediately submitted a consent decree, signaling that the two sides had agreed to a settlement pending a judge’s approval.
'Fortnite' Creator Epic Games Freezes Hiring Amid New Cost Cutting Initiative
“Fortnite” developer Epic Games is freezing hiring, reassigning employees and exploring other ways to lower its operating costs in one of the first cost-saving initiatives in the company’s modern history, according to an email sent to staff by senior leadership on Thursday and obtained by The Jacob Wolf Report. The company is scaling back its efforts across many projects and shifting its priorities to “must-succeed initiatives” for 2023.
Jake Lucky, Hunter Grooms Bring Their Pseudo-Journalism to Twitch's Latest Sordid Story
On Monday, Amazon-owned streaming platform Twitch permanently banned one of its most-watched and followed streamers. After streaming pornography on competing platform Kick and then showing racist messages from his chat on that platform on Twitch, Adin Ross’ time on the platform came to an unceremonious end. Over the past two days, Ross has been the focal point of the creator economy news cycle.
Why independent esports media is on the rise in 2023
So Matthiesen decided to strike out on his own, launching his independent esports journalism site, Em Dash Esports, in September 2022. As the League of Legends World Championship progressed over the following month, Matthiesen’s efforts were rewarded by growing readership.
Why the Washington Post's Gaming Layoffs Make Zero Sense
We’ve covered a lot of layoffs here at The Jacob Wolf Report the past few weeks. There has never been a more unstable time to work in the gaming industry—once known as “recession proof”—as it faces its first recession since it surpassed music, TV and film as the largest form of consumer entertainment. No sector of the industry has felt that more than games media, which in the past six months has eliminated hundreds of jobs and created almost none in their place.
Riot Games Eliminating 46 Positions Amid Shift in Priorities
Riot Games, the company behind some of the world’s most popular multiplayer games, is eliminating 46 positions in one of its first-ever publicized reductions in force amid shifting priorities within the company. The layoffs focus primarily on its talent acquisition and recruiting departments, as well as its publishing arm, but also feature a few position eliminations in both its esports and support units.
Overwatch League Teams Start Collective Bargaining Process Against League
The majority of Overwatch League teams have retained a British law firm to start a collective bargaining process against the league after years of high operating costs and continually missed promises on revenue. The teams have hired Sheridans, a media and technology focused law firm with experience in both traditional sports and esports, to negotiate on their behalf with the league, sources familiar with those discussions told The Jacob Wolf Report.
100 Thieves Lays Off Roughly 30 Employees
The second most valuable esports team in the world is laying off about a sixth of its workforce. 100 Thieves eliminated around 30 positions on Tuesday across sales, marketing, content and human resources, sources familiar with the cuts told The Jacob Wolf Report.
French Agency Suing 'League of Legends' Pro Hans Sama Over Alleged Breach of Contract
French esports agency Athletes Representation & Consulting (ARC) is suing former Team Liquid AD carry Steven “Hans Sama” Liv for alleged breach of contract by signing with a competitor and not paying commissions during his existing representation agreement, sources familiar with the matter told The Jacob Wolf Report this week. The dispute is linked to Liv’s move from Rogue to Team Liquid in November 2021, discussions which began with ARC but were finalized by a competing agency, Proxy.
The Competitive 'Super Smash Bros.' Meltdown Continues
It’s been a longggg week in competitive “Super Smash Bros.” One of esports’ longest-standing titles, the Smash community has seen mudslinging between two of its most notable tournament organizers and drawn additional fire for game developer Nintendo amid unclear communications about their involvement in a cancellation of a major, year-end, community-organized event.
Exclusive: Police Records Reveal New Details of Amouranth’s Volatile Marriage
Police in Fort Bend County, Texas, performed three wellness checks on Oct. 16 and 17 after Twitch’s most-watched female creator, Kaitlyn “Amouranth” Siragusa, accused her husband of years-long emotional manipulation in a series of livestreams that weekend, according to public records obtained by The Jacob Wolf Report. Those visits to Siragusa’s Houston-area home came after a livestream late into the evening of Oct.
Settlement Talks Break Down Between U.S. Justice Department, Activision Blizzard Over Esports Antitrust Probe
Settlement discussions between the U.S. Department of Justice and “Overwatch” and “Call of Duty” publisher Activision Blizzard regarding an antitrust probe over a previously instituted “competitive balance tax” in those two games’ esports leagues have broken down, sources familiar with the investigation told The Jacob Wolf Report.
The Gaming Empire of the Comcast Heir Suffers Another Blow
On Sunday, Comcast closed G4, the gaming and entertainment network it relaunched last November. For many, it came as no surprise. The network struggled to catch on in a changing media landscape and an evolving demographic since Comcast first launched it in 2002 and first closed it in 2014.
Co-Founder Pursuing Legal Action Against Excel Esports Over Alleged Wrongful Dismissal
Excel Esports co-founder Kieran Holmes-Darby is pursuing legal action the company he started in a British employment tribunal case, according to court dockets obtained by The Jacob Wolf Report and confirmed by the team in a statement. Holmes-Darby’s case against Excel is set to be heard on Oct. 11 at the Central London Employment Tribunal, according to the docket. One source said that Holmes-Darby’s case is over alleged wrongful dismissal.
Dot Esports' Owner GAMURS Acquiring Upcomer, Destructoid and Other Enthusiast Editorial Assets
Surprise! It’s Monday. I usually take the day off from writing today—but when there’s breaking news, I will be there. Today, I’m reporting on my former employer, GAMURS, so, disclosure: I used to work there. That said, with the trend of gaming media consolidation, I felt this was an important story to cover.
The Amazonification of Twitch
After years on its own island, Twitch is finally feeling the effects of its acquisition by Amazon eight years ago. The gaming livestreaming platform issued an emphatic statement on Wednesday, addressing calls from thousands of streamers to increase its revenue splits from 50-50 to 70-30. Its answer?
Twitch Finally Takes Action Against Gambling
After years of silence, Twitch announced on Tuesday that it’s banning the streaming of unregulated gambling on its platform. It’s about damn time. The recent push to ban gambling began last week, after a series of streamers exposed one of their own, British streamer Abraham "Sliker" Mohammed, who allegedly owes his peers somewhere between $200 and $300,000.
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