World-Ranked Madden Players to Launch Gaming Communities with Rival

NEW YORK (Thursday, January 5, 2023) – Expansion Gaming & Management, an esports talent agency, has partnered with fan engagement provider Rival, who will collaborate with its roster of esports players to build their own gaming communities.

Representing some of the top esports talent in the world, Expansion Gaming & Management will leverage Rival’s white-label enterprise platform solution to directly connect its players with the global community of gamers. The platform will provide Expansion’s players with the ability to host tournaments, offer prizes and incentives and build a deeper relationship with their gaming communities.

“Over Madden 22, our communities were looking for more opportunities to compete and in partnering with Rival, we are excited to fill that void and bring our creators closer to their communities,” said Expansion Gaming & Management Founder & CEO Adrian Perez. “We’re eager to bring our communities over to the Rival ecosystem and give them an opportunity to engage with other football communities currently doing great things on the Rival platform.”

Expansion players who will be hosting Madden 22 tournaments on their Rival-powered platforms include Pavan Lakhat, Noah Johnson and Kenny “Civil” Cox.

• Widely regarded as one of the best Madden players in the world, Lakhat is ranked on the Madden Championship Series Power Rankings by EA Sports as #18 and earlier this year, was ranked #4 globally.
• As the first Madden player to ever receive a full-ride collegiate scholarship to play Madden at West Virginia University, Johnson is currently ranked the #2 Madden player in the world.
• Cox is a Madden content creator, competing and growing his YouTube and Twitch communities, and ranked 36^th in Madden.

“Rival’s platform is a dynamic extension to the services Expansion Gaming provides their roster of esports athletes,” said Rival CMO Dan Parise. “We are excited to build on Expansion’s client offerings and provide a customized community site for their talent to engage and grow their communities through tournaments and leagues.”

Rival powers the gaming communities of more than 45 partners worldwide, across sports properties, media, tech, and brands, including organizations across NFL, NBA, NHL, MLS and English Premier League. While Rival has collaborated with talent, including Gridiron Gaming’s Austin Ekeler, this partnership with Expansion marks its first with an esports-dedicated talent agency.

To join the communities of Lakhat, Johnson and Cox visit www.rivalgames.com/play/exp