The Global Gaming League (GGL) ended its SZN Zero Championship battle of celebrity esports teams without a champion.
NE-YO’s Gentlemen’s Gaming walked away with $40,000 and Howie Mandel’s Howie Do It Gaming won $10,000, but Clinton Sparks, CEO of GGL, declared at the end of a controversial match that no champion would be crowned. Instead, the owners of the teams agreed to a rematch later on.
It was an example of the kind of grudge match that the league was founded to produce, as celebrity-owned esports team go up against each other for prizes. No one seemed particularly happy with the outcome, and the Tekken8 players who got into the disagreement — HipHop Gamer and NE-YO — argued with each other on stage.
As you can see in the video, HipHop Gamer and NE-YO got into an argument over the style of play in the closing match where the squared off against each other in the Tekken 8 fighting game. HipHop Gamer used a control that allowed him to exploit built-in combos to better fight against NE-YO, who didn’t use them. NE-YO said it was cheating, while HipHop Gamer said it was using his preferred style of play in the game.
They got into an argument and that led to the Solomon-like decision to award more money to NE-YO’s team than Mandel’s — but not crown a champion because neither side truly understood the rules going in. The rematch will take place later this year, likely at the start of Season One in August.
Meanwhile, GGL also used Halfbrick Studios’ Fruit Ninja VR in a professional competitive league setting as part of the SZN Zero Championship.
“The point of the Global Gaming League is simple: Everybody Games,” said Clinton Sparks, Founder and CEO of GGL, in a statement. “And very few games in history have connected with people globally the way Fruit Ninja has. It’s iconic, instantly recognizable, and now we’re proud to introduce it in a competitive league.”
The Global Gaming League is a first-of-its-kind gaming entertainment platform built around celebrity-owned teams competing across multiple genres including fighting, racing, sports, shooters, retro classics, and emerging technologies like VR. Each match features four games, four players, and one winner in a premium live-event format merging sports, culture, music, and gaming.
This marks the second successful collaboration between GGL and Halfbrick. Earlier this season, Halfbrick’s Thrill of the Fight 2 delivered one of the most talked-about moments in league history when real-life boxing standoutChase DeMoor faced off against Gillie Da Kid in a dramatic live VR showdown.
“We saw firsthand how powerful competitive VR can be on the GGL stage,” said Edward Vasquez, CreativeDirector at Halfbrick, in a statement. “Thrill of the Fight 2 brought intensity and physical drama. Fruit Ninja VR brings speed, precision, and pure excitement. Together, they showcase the incredible range of immersive competition and why Halfbrick continues to lead in the space.”
Halfbrick now joins an elite roster of publishers and brands aligned with GGL, including Activision Blizzard, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Capcom, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and The Tetris Company.
Watch the championship match on Global Gaming League YouTube.
GGL backstory
SZN Zero began in August with the T-Pain vs. NE-YO match. Their teams played Tetris, Tekken 8, Call of Duty, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, and TrackMania.
NE-YO won the match. Flavor Flav was introduced as a team owner and played an exhibition match of Atari’s Centepide as part of the Half time show.
SZN Zero Match 2 pitted Howie Mandel’s Howie Do It vs. Gillie&Wallo267’s Million Dollaz Gaming. The podcasters Gillie da Kid and Wallo 267 put up a good fight but Howie’s team won. The games played were Tetris, Tekken 8, Call of Duty, Thrill of the Fight 2 VR. Mande’s team won, advancing to the finals.
The championship match was Mandel’s team vs NE-YO’s team. They played Tetris, Tekken 8, Call of Duty, and Fruit Ninja VR. (A bonus round of physical UNO was played too in partnership with Mattel.)