GameStop’s January surge continued on Friday.

The stock exploded more than 70% to end a week that saw shares of the retailer jump more than 100%. Trading on the stock was temporarily halted today because of volatility in a short squeeze as short sellers worked to prevent bigger losses.

Chewy founder Ryan Cohen’s increased investment bumped the stock up in late 2020, and his appointment to the GameStop board has inspired investors to pile money into the stock. 

GameStop has also become a darling for Reddit’s WallStreetBets, the community behind much of the surge — including the recent push to squeeze doubters. 

Short sellers expected the stock to fall back to Earth quickly, with Citron Research suggesting $20 a share will be a quick realization. At its high on Friday, GameStop was trading at $73.88.

More than 130% of its shares sold short, making it the most shorted stock in the U.S. market. Citron managing partner Andrew Left said he would stop commenting on GameStop and walk away from the stock.

GameStop has been on a run, gaining 209% last year and up nearly 250% this month.

A chess grandmaster was the highest-earning esports player of 2020.

The pandemic caused a major transition to virtual events, and chess was no exception. Thirty-year-old Norwegian Magnus Carlsen banked $510,587 in prize money from online site Chess24 — more than any other esports player. 

“Magnus Carlsen is a fantastic champion and has dominated the circuit for a number of years, helping raise the profile of the sport,” said a spokesperson for esports company Unikrn.

Although Carlsen pocketed six figures, the pandemic has affected esports prize money. 

• Prizes dropped 76% between 2019 and 2020, from $55 million to $11 million. 
• Fortnite was among the games slashing rewards, reducing its purse from $71.59 million in 2019 to $7.88 million in 2020.

Two other chess grandmasters were among the top esports earners: Hikaru Nakamura at No. 7 ($325,000) and Wesley So at No. 12 ($246,190). The average age of the list was 22.7 years old, and included seven teenagers.

Carlsen also launched his online Magnus Carlsen Chess Tour in 2020, with a prize pool of $1 million. He won the Grand Final in August over Nakamura, contributing to his impressive earnings.

Liberty Media executed a special purpose acquisition company and raised $500 million in its IPO Thursday. 

In its first day of trading, the corporation (NASDAQ: LMACU) gained 27.5%.

The blank check company was announced in November. CEO Greg Maffei will manage the SPAC as it seeks an acquisition target in technology, media, music or telecommunications.

It could raise an additional $250 million at the closing of an acquisition deal.

The SPAC already has an extensive portfolio that includes: 

• Atlanta Braves (NASDAQ: BATRK)
• Formula One (NASDAQ: FWONA)
• SiriusXM (NASDAQ: LSXMK)

Almost 60 blank check companies have already raised $17 billion in January, building on the nearly $78 billion raised by SPACs last year.