TMZ Games

Marquez Valdes-Scantling ain't just a beast on the gridiron ... the Green Bay Packers stud WR is a killer on the sticks too -- telling TMZ Sports he could be a pro gamer!!!

The 24-year-old has become Aaron Rodgers' second-favorite target this season ... and after he scored a 40-yard TD on Sunday, he busted out a famous Fortnite dance in the end zone.

So, when we spoke with him on Monday ... we had to ask, what was the inspiration for that???

That's when Valdes-Scantling told us he's a huge gamer ... and he's so good -- he thinks he could be up there on stages with Ninja and FaZe Censor!!!

"I definitely think I'm good enough to play professionally," Marquez says.

Of course, Valdes-Scantling has a pretty good career going for himself in Green Bay ... and tells us there's ZERO chance of him leaving football for pro gaming.

There's a ton of money in Esports ... and there could be GOLD in video games soon too ... 'cause Fortnite superstar Ninja says gaming WILL be in the Olympics -- it's just a matter of time.

Of course, Esports is bigger than ever -- the prize pool for the Fortnite World Cup was $30 MILLION in July (shout-out to 16-year-old gamer Bugha, who took home $3 milli for winning).

Ninja doesn't think the sport's done growing ... 'cause he says gamers will be representing their country on the sticks VERY soon.

"For me, I just think it's going to be time," Ninja tells TMZ Sports. "I think that obviously, the younger generation enjoys Esports and enjoys watching video games. Eventually, that's what they're gonna want and that's what the TV people are gonna want to show and represent."

"Just give a little bit of time and Esports will be there."

As for how soon it can happen, we ask if it can happen in time for the 2028 Games in L.A. ... and Ninja says he "wouldn't put it out of the question."

"F**king FaZe up, bitch!!!"

Think Offset is stoked to be part of the FaZe Clan, one of the biggest teams in gaming?!?

HELL YEAH!!!

The Migos rapper, who's a huge gamer, recently became an investor in FaZe Clan -- and when we spotted him out in NYC, he couldn't contain his excitement!!!

"I'm with FaZe Clan -- FaZe Up, bitch!!!"

Offset says gaming is becoming the "biggest s**t in the world" ... and he's right -- predicting it'll be a $30 BILLION industry by 2022.

"Big money," Offset says ... "but the thing is I do it for the kids, for the culture. It's a way to get your mind away from things."

Offset says he believes gaming "is a good thing for mental health" because it can help alleviate stress.

In fact, Offset says he wants to launch a project to help spread his message but warns our TMZ photog ... "Don't steal my idea motherf**ker!"

The BIG3 was ON FIRE over the weekend -- with a ton of huge stars hitting the American Airlines Center in Dallas for the BIG3 Ballout ... capped off with a live performance from T.I.

The place was rockin' ... with Ice Cube, LL Cool J, Gary Payton and more showing support for the league's intense 6-game showcase just 1 week before the playoffs begin. The championship game is on Sept. 1 at Staples Center.

The basketball action was solid -- with stars like Tri-State's Amar'e Stoudemire and Aliens' Greg Oden battling it out on the court ... where things got pretty chippy between the 2 big men.

And, with so many players in the league looking to make the jump back to the NBA, it's a pretty big deal to have Dallas Mavericks honcho Mark Cuban sitting in the front row.

By the way, Lisa Leslie's Triplets squad is currently in 1st place -- with stars like Jannero Pargo and Joe Johnson, who just set a BIG3 record for points scored in a season (175).

The Triplets are 7-1 through 8 weeks  -- with Stephen Jackson's Killer 3s squad in 2nd place with a 5-3 record.

Gaming superstar Bugha -- who just won $3 MILLION in the Fortnite World Cup -- was swatted during a Twitch stream on Saturday ... after someone pretending to be Bugha called police and claimed he killed his father.

The 16-year-old -- real name Kyle Giersdorf -- was playing the same game that made him an instant millionaire when armed cops surrounded his home.

"I've been swatted," Bugha said on the live stream ... which, BTW, is a dumb trend when someone makes a fake claim on a 911 call to get law enforcement to crash an unsuspecting victim's home.

Cops called Bugha's home while waiting outside and spoke with his dad ... and eventually figured out it was a hoax when one of the officers recognized the gamer.

"They came in with guns, bro. They literally pulled up," Bughha said once he returned to the stream.

"That's scary. What if I had just got popped? Jesus Christ, the internet's f**king crazy."

Swatting is becoming a big problem in gaming, and holds serious criminal consequences -- 26-year-old Tyler Barriss was sentenced to 20 years after calling in a fake emergency on a Call of Duty opponent back in March, which led to the death of a 28-year-old man in Wichita.

After things calmed down ... Bugha returned to his friends and finished the game.

Somebody caught 'em all ... and paid some serious coin for it!!!

TMZ Sports has learned a complete set of Pokemon cards just fetched $107,010 at auction ... and it's the most cash someone has EVER plopped down for the famous card game!!!

The 103 pieces are ridiculously rare ... they're all in perfect, Gem Mint 10 condition -- and, yes, the most coveted Pokemon card in the world, the 1st edition Charizard, is included.

The holographic Alakazam, Blastoise and Chansey cards are also in the set -- which was sold at Goldin Auctions over the weekend -- and they're all in unbelievable shape considering they were made in 1999.

In fact, we're told for some of these cards ... there are less than 50 (!!!) in these conditions in the world!!

Donald Trump believes video games are partly to blame for the mass shootings in America -- claiming the "glorification of violence" is desensitizing potential real-life killers.

POTUS just delivered a speech from the White House in the wake of 2 mass shootings over the weekend in Ohio and Texas ... where 29 people were killed by domestic terrorists.

During his speech Monday morning, Trump noted 3 things the government can do to address the threat ... one of which is do a better job of regulating video game violence.

"We must stop the glorification of violence in our society -- this includes the gruesome and grizzly video games that are now commonplace," Trump said.

"It is too easy today for troubled youth to surround themselves with a culture that celebrates violence."

"We must stop or substantially reduce this and it has to begin immediately."

Trump is clearly referring to ultra-popular games like Fortnite, Red Dead Redemption 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Mortal Kombat and Grand Theft Auto ... where killing people is the point.

The issue with Trump's logic ... they have video games in other countries, right?

The powerful FaZe Clan gaming team is suing its most famous member, Tfue ... claiming the 21-year-old has "betrayed" the team and damaged the brand by trying to weasel his way out of their contract.

21-year-old Tfue (real name Turner Tenney) is one of the top gamers in the world -- and has earned MILLIONS of dollars thanks to his dominance in Fortnite.

Earlier this year, Tfue called out FaZe Clan publicly -- painting himself as a victim who was taken advantage of by a big gaming team who pressured a then-20-year-old to sign an unfair contract.

The biggest issue at the time was that Tfue claimed FaZe Clan's contract called for 80% of his brand deals and 50% of his merchandise profits ... and Tfue felt it was unfair.

But now, FaZe Clan is firing back in a lawsuit filed in federal court in New York ... essentially saying boo-hoo, you signed the contract and need to live up to it.

"Though a rookie athlete, Tenney was an adult when he signed his contract," FaZe says ... adding, "An initial rookie contract is a risk that the organization takes; most young players young careers never take off."

In fact, FaZe Clan says they believe Tfue has made more than $20 MILLION in earnings since joining FaZe Clan in April 2018 and he's only forked over $60,000.

FaZe says TFue was just your average "skilled gamer" when they found him -- and they transformed him into a bankable gaming pro.

FaZe says the deal they have in place with Tfue locks him up until 2021 -- and the fact he's trying to bail is complete BS.

FaZe says they recognized Tfue was a star and offered significant bonuses along the way -- including an offer to increase his revenue shares in the company substantially. They also claim they offered Tfue a 7-figure salary ... but Tfue refused to play ball.

Instead, FaZe claims Tfue trashed the company publicly ... violating a non-disparagement clause in his contract.

Now, FaZe is suing for their share of Tfue's earnings -- and to shut him up from divulging confidential information about the Clan.

We spoke with TFue's attorney Bryan Freedman who tells us, "Faze Clan’s lawsuit in New York is a ridiculous and obvious attempt to avoid the consequences of its clear violations of California law"

"Filing the lawsuit in New York is actually an admission that Faze Clan has no defense to these violations of California law. Ask yourself, why is Faze Clan is afraid to litigate its wrongful conduct in California? The answer is obvious. Faze Clan will lose."

Bombshell news in the gaming world ... Ninja is leaving Twitch -- and he's going to a direct competitor.

The move will land Ninja -- the most famous gamer on Earth -- with Microsoft's Mixer platform, Twitch's biggest competition with gamers in the livestreaming space.

Unclear how much cash Mixer shelled out to get Ninja to jump platforms, but we guarantee the numbers are HUGE.

Ninja is widely considered the most important gamer in the space and Mixer is clearly banking on Ninja bringing his massive fan base with him.

FYI, Ninja has more than 22 MILLION subscribers on YouTube ... and a HUGE chunk of those people watched him stream on Twitch every day.

The 28-year-old made the announcement on social media Thursday ... saying, "I'm super excited!"

"I'm honestly at a loss for words. I'm freaking out in the best of ways and I'm really just excited ... I feel like I'm gonna get back to the streaming roots."

Ninja says everything about his streams will be the exact same -- just on a new platform.

As we previously reported, Ninja said he makes around $500,000 per month just from streaming.

He also has big endorsement deals with brands like Red Bull.

Kyle "Bugha" Giersdorf's $3 MILLION victory at the Fortnite World Cup is adding even more fire to one of the nastiest feuds in Esports ... involving a billionaire and one of the hottest execs in gaming.

TMZ Sports has obtained a lawsuit filed by Rob Moore -- the CEO of Sentinels, one of the top Esports franchises in the world. Bugha is a key member of the team.

Moore is suing Stan Kroenke's Esports company, KSE -- claiming he was tapped to build and run Stan's Esports empire in 2017 ... only to be stiffed out of millions of dollars for his troubles.

As part of the deal, Moore claims KSE wanted him to oversee their already-existing Overwatch league team, the L.A. Gladiators.

Long story short ... Moore says under the partnership with KSE, he put together a bunch of successful teams to compete in games from Fortnite and Apex Legends to League of Legends and Hearthstone.

Moore claims he not only scouted talent and signed some of the hottest gamers around -- including Bugha and xQc -- but he turned Stan's Esports division into a financial winner.

Here's where things get dicey ... Moore claims in early 2019, KSE was interested in acquiring Rick Fox's Team Echo Fox -- one of the most famous Esports franchises in the world.

The problem, Moore claims he never had a concrete contract with KSE in place ... and he wanted a formal deal that would give him a significant equity stake in Echo Fox if KSE bought the team.

Moore says he reached an oral agreement with Stan's son, Josh Kroenke, that was called a "Joint Venture" deal ... but now, Moore claims KSE is trying to renege.

In his lawsuit, Moore claims KSE is essentially trying to say he doesn't deserve equity because he isn't as important to the company as he THINKS he is.

Moore claims his resume speaks for itself ... and in the lawsuit, he actually points to Bugha's $3 million Fortnite victory as proof that he's great at his job.

Now, Moore is demanding compensation PLUS he wants 51% ownership of all KSE Esports teams including the L.A. Gladiators.

So, if the deal with Echo Fox goes through (it's reportedly a $30 mil deal) ... there's a lot of money at stake for Moore.

Moore's attorney Bryan Freedman tells TMZ Sports, "KSE's attempt to deny that Rob Moore and his team have been the sole operator of the successful Gladiators team is a transparent attempt to avoid their obligations under the joint venture agreement and has caused this lawsuit."

Danielle Bregoli might as well be Rich Uncle Pennybags from the Monopoly game ... cause she's cornering the market on big money contracts -- and the latest gets her into the gaming world.

According to new legal docs obtained by TMZ ... Danielle's company, Dani B, scored a $100k advance for her to promote a new mobile game. As part of the deal, she'll have to pimp the game on her social media ... including her popular YouTube channel, which has nearly 7 million subscribers.

It's unclear, based on the contract, if Bhad Bhabie herself is part of the game ... but seems like a good bet.

Danielle's likely to score a bunch more money on the back end ... with royalties based on the number of downloads and ad revenue. The deal was struck just a few days ago.

It's been one helluva month for Danielle. As we first reported ... Danielle scored a $1 million songwriting deal earlier this month. Earlier this year, she inked a $900k deal to promote CopyCat Beauty.

Then, there's her Snapchat original series, "Bringing Up Bhabie," which generated over 10 million unique views in the 24 hours after its debut. Unclear how much she's making with Snap, but with views in the MILLIONS, ya gotta imagine she's making a pretty penny.

Think Ninja is gonna sit around and mope about losing the opportunity to win a $30 MILLION Fortnite tournament????

HELL NO ... 'cause the legendary gamer is out in NYC for Epic Games' unprecedented event this weekend despite not being able to play in it -- and he says he's stoked for it!!

"It's gonna be nuts," Ninja says.

If you're unfamiliar, Fortnite is holding its World Cup event this weekend in NYC -- where 100 gamers are going to pack Arthur Ashe Stadium for the chance to win some serious cash.

Ninja -- arguably the greatest Fortnite player who's ever lived -- somehow missed the cut a few weeks ago ... but he ain't exactly hanging his head low about not qualifying.

When we got the 28-year-old out in the city -- he was smiling, laughing and even cracking jokes about how he's making video games sexy again!!!

Of course, Ninja says he makes more than $500,000 PER MONTH for playing the game recreationally ... so it ain't exactly like he's hurting for the dough.

But still, this is like Tiger Woods missing the Masters cut in his prime!!!

It's not all bad for Ninja, he's still playing the Fortnite Celebrity Pro-Am with Marshmello -- the two are defending their title from last year and are heavy favorites to win again!

There's a total of $3 MIL in prize money for the Pro-Am -- which the winners will donate to their charity of choice ... so it's a big deal!

By the way, if you're looking to find a new favorite for the World Cup champion ... 14-year-old Cody "Clix" Conrod is considered one of the tourney's top dogs now with Ninja out.

Keenan Allen says there's no way in hell he's playing this year's edition of Madden ... and it's all 'cause he thinks his in-game avatar SUCKS!!!

"Bro, who's making this sh*t, dawg!" Allen said in a rant after seeing the video game rating EA Sports handed him Monday ... "Who did this?!"

It's becoming an annual tradition in the NFL ... every summer around this time, the football game giant releases its initial rankings, and guys go ballistic over the numbers.

Keenan's ratings this year weren't so special ... despite being 89 overall, he got hit with 87 speed, 69 strength and some questionable route-running digits.

Allen fired off about all of them Monday morning ... but saved his funniest comment for his strength, saying, "My strength is 69 like I'm a little boy!"

"I'm just not understanding," Allen added. "I'm not understanding."

FYI, Madden says there are 12 total receivers better than Allen in this year's game ... with dudes like T.Y. Hilton and Adam Thielen coming in with 90-plus skill sets.

Celebrity gamer Sonja Reid -- aka OMGitsfirefoxx -- makes a living firing shots in virtual reality but in real life ... she's under fire for allegedly stiffing her lawyers.

The law firm McPherson LLP is suing Reid claiming the former client bailed on her legal bills. She hired the firm in February of last year to get a restraining order against one or more alleged stalkers that had been sending her threatening messages.

According to the law firm, it gathered tons of evidence which led to LAPD search warrants targeting Facebook, Instagram and others ... to unearth the identity of the bad guys.

Things went south just a month after Reid hired the firm, because the lawyers weren't getting paid. The tab is now $41,570.54.

McPherson claims Reid hired another lawyer ... and only offered to pay around 18% of the $41k bill.

Reid, btw, is one of the biggest celebrity gamers in the world ... with nearly 1 million followers on Twitch, the game streaming platform. She has nearly 2 million followers on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

Keanu Reeves' badassery has now seeped into the cyber world -- 'cause he's playing a character in the upcoming 'Cyberpunk' installment that looks EXACTLY like him.

The iconic action-hero actor made a surprise appearance Sunday in L.A. at Microsoft's E3 2019 presentation -- where he was featured in a trailer for "Cyberpunk 2077," which drops in April 2020. It's unclear what character he's playing exactly ... but what is clear is that KR is IN the game, right down to his long hair and dreamy, intense stare.

Keanu came out afterward to talk about the game, and in the middle of him saying the experience would breathtaking ... someone took the words right out of his mouth and flipped it on him. Check out how he handled the would-be heckler -- ya gotta love this guy.

It's been a big year for Keanu -- not only does he have his third 'John Wick' movie under his belt, but he also appeared in the new Netflix rom-com, "Always Be My Maybe" ... and he's gonna be in 'Bill & Ted' and 'Toy Story' sequels as well soon enough here. And, of course, now this.

Okay, we're gonna tell ya right off the bat "Jeopardy!" fans ... SPOILER ALERT!!!!

If you've been watching James Holzhauer's ridiculous, record-setting hot streak on "Jeopardy!" ... ya probably heard about the footage of Monday's episode that leaked on the Internet ... and now we can tell you for sure if it was real.

It was. That revelation came to light when Monday's episode started airing in certain cities across the country. Viewers witnessed James' reign get stripped away from him when he lost in Final Jeopardy to a woman named Emma ... who basically bet the farm to beat JH and the other contestant.

That's gotta sting for James, seeing how he got it right, but simply didn't have confidence enough to wager enough. He ended up with $24,799 to Emma's $46,801. He noted in an interview afterward that even if he doubled down, it wouldn't have been enough if Emma also answered correctly and wagered slightly more than him.

Unfortunately for him, she did exactly that. James doesn't seem to busted up about it ... on Monday, he referenced the Drake curse -- usually reserved for sports competitions.

Prior to Monday's loss, James was on a roll ... having won 32 games in a row and racking up almost as much as the 2004 "Jeopardy!" champ, Ken Jennings -- just over $2.5 million. James fell short of that by $58,484 ... and with that, Ken continues to hold the record for prize money.

That doesn't mean James doesn't hold a few records of his own on the show though. He won the most money in one game, and for 11 times during his streak ... he went an entire game without buzzing incorrectly. Not too shabby for second place all-time.

Question ... what is a bitter-sweet bummer? The floor is yours, James.