FaZe Clan has announced its entry into the Verizon 5G Ultra Cup Rocket League competition after acquiring North American team, The Peeps.

The move now brings FaZe’s total esports teams to nine as part of its esports division, and will release official merchandise celebrating the acquisition.

The Peeps will now represent the organisation in all future Rocket League competitions, after being founded in 2018 off the back of the reformation of the Pittsburgh Knights roster.

In a media release, FaZe Clan CEO, Lee Trink, and head of esports, Erik Anderson, said: “We are so proud of our esports teams dominating in 2021.”

“We’ve been looking at Rocket League for years now and love what Psyonix has been doing.

“We hope our fans are just as excited as we are that the day is finally here as we welcome The Peeps to FaZe Clan,” they said.

Elsewhere in esports, WePlay Esports has announced a new streaming partnership with OTT platform, DAZN, which will see DAZN broadcast the upcoming WePlay Ultimate Fighting League.

The event, which is set to include feature events for Mortal Kombat 11, SoulCalibur VI, and Tekken 7, will include a USD$150,000 prize pool following the joint investment in the Ultimate Fighting League by WePlay and former world boxing cruiserweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk of USD$25 million.

With the partnership, the competition will be available for viewers in over 200 countries on multiple devices when it begins on March 25.

WePlay Esports chief visionary officer, Maksym Bilonogov, said the deal will cover three Ultimate Fighting League seasons, which are all expected to take place in 2021.

“DAZN is a major player in the sports broadcasting market and a partner ready to support esports and to remove the boundaries between traditional and virtual sports,” Bilonogov said.

“WePlay Esports’ goal is to shape a new reality where watching esports competitions will become as routine as watching a Netflix series or an important Champions League match in the evening,” he said.

DAZN executive vice president, Joe Markowski, said: “We’re excited about our partnership with WePlay, bringing a top tier gaming tournament to DAZN subscribers around the world.”

“As esports continues to see exponential growth globally, DAZN is well-placed to host this exciting form of entertainment with a footprint in 200+ countries and territories around the world,” Markowski said.