AC MILAN AND QLASH KICK OFF THE NEW ROSSONERI ESPORTS SEASON AT THE MILAN GAMES WEEK

AC Milan and QLASH, a leading European Esports organization, are consolidating their collaboration by getting ready to get AQM's season underway. AQM was launched a year ago and is ready to represent the Rossoneri in Italy and internationally, in a sector that is constantly growing, with around 6 million fans in Italy (data provided by OIES Sports) and 474 million fans worldwide - up by over 75 million since 2019 - (data provided by Statista). Furthermore, 1.62 million spectators tune in to more than one live Esports event on a weekly basis, an increase of 15% since July 2020 (data provided by Nielsen Sports).

The launch of the new season coincides with the Milan Games Week, the most important consumer show for video games in Italy, which starts today and lasts until Sunday 14 November. QLASH will be present at the event with their own dedicated stand and will be hosting the AQM team for different physical and digital activities.

Today, Friday 12 November, the Rossoneri gaming world and football world will collide with the AQM pro-player Crazy set to meet Rossonere players Valentina Bergamaschi and Laura Fusetti. For this special occasion, the two AC Milan Women stars will swap their boots for controllers and put their gaming ability to the test on FIFA 22, under the supervision of Crazy himself.

Bergamaschi and Fusetti will then take part in a special live streaming event on AC Milan's Twitch channel live from the Milan Games Week alongside streamers Lollo and Francesco Specchia.

AQM are coming off a largely positive first season, which saw the team reach the Brawl Stars World Finals and the Final Eight of the very first edition of eSerie A 2021. The AQM squad have been preparing for the new season since September when the pro players met at the QLASH House to work with the coach and team manager on their body and on their mind, but also on the economic aspect of creating the first team on FIFA Ultimate Team.

In this new season, AQM will wear a special shirt designed by PUMA with the special DryCell technology, which combines the tradition of the Club with its iconic Rossoneri colours and the innovation that QLASH brings to the world of Esports. For the first time, the BitMex logo will appear on the sleeve of the shirt. BitMex are the Rossoneri's Official Sleeve Partner and will accompany the Esports team through its growth path. The special shirt is available at AC Milan’s physical and digital stores, as well as on QLASH's online shop.

The season is set to kick off at the end of this month with the Online Qualifiers of the FIFA Global Series and the FIFAe Club Series 2021/22.

This new and exciting season will then continue with AQM playing the Brawl Stars World Finals, to be held between 26 and 28 November in Bucharest, Romania. AQM's Crazy will then represent the team in the next edition of the eChampions League 2021/22, the Club World Series 2021/22 and the eSerie A TIM 2022, alongside another player selected via a draft process.

Casper Stylsvig, Chief Revenue Officer of AC Milan said: "After a very successful first year, which has brought us some really great results, we are delighted to be heading towards the beginning of a new exciting Esports season with our AQM team, under the expert guidance of our partner QLASH. We entered this dynamic world last year and we are pleased to continue on this path, which represents an important step in the process of modernization and innovation of our Club."

Luca Pagano, co-founder and CEO of QLASH added: "We cannot wait to get out there on the virtual playing fields, proud to be representing the prestigious colours of AC Milan and to wear a fantastic jersey specially designed by PUMA. Our main goal is to improve the great results already achieved last season."

AQM is ready: let the Esports season begin!