“I'm hooked forever”: Inside the small, toxic, and passionate Super Smash Bros. Brawl scene from the eyes of GENESIS X3 champion Chia
In the corner of the GENESIS X3 convention, with eight CRT TVs, no stage, no livestream, and no microphone, was a tournament for an 18-year-old game with a $450 prize pool on the l...
More transphobia in Game Changers, AI graphics, and Masters London criticism: VALORANT’s turbulent week
Masters London officially kicked off last Saturday, but there’s been plenty of VALORANT esports shake-ups even beyond VCT’s second global event of the year.  From concerning G...
Esports prediction markets on Kalshi: Breaking down the $36M by game
Earlier this week, we published our initial piece looking at the headline figures from 1-7 June on prediction market operator Kalshi. This piece dives deeper, looking at the games ...
“Everyone is in survival mode”: Inside the struggles of Iran's esports community
It’s been over 70 days since the conflict between the United States and Iran began, with fighting in the Middle East resulting in sharp increases in oil prices, damage to infrastru...
Touch grass, kick a ball, play Counter-Strike 2: Esports fans wonder if signing a kid at 7 years old is a harmful marketing stunt
Esports organization Inner Circle made headlines after signing a seven-year-old Counter-Strike 2 player, making him one of the youngest signings in this industry’s history. The kid...
The Smash scene needs Super Smash Bros. 6 to come out ASAP
Another Nintendo Direct, another disappointment. I didn't even bother watching the livestream, and I'm glad I didn't: just a bunch of remakes, DLC, and a bunch of other crap we've ...
Smash TOs retract L4st sexual assault allegations, MenaRD finally wins a Dominican Republic SF6 tourney: FGC’s weird week leading to Mixup 2026
Last week, we saw a previous king crowned yet again, a rising star challenge the throne, and some good *ss Tekken. However, what seemed like an exciting week was marred by yet anot...
CS2 drives bulk of $36 million esports volume last week on Kalshi
Counter-Strike 2 accounted for nearly two-thirds of all esports prediction market volume on Kalshi this week, with League of Legends the clear second, and Valorant and Dota 2 both ...
VALORANT continues to be afraid of exploring Nanobomb even during Pride Month
Pride Month is a month-long celebration of the LGBTQ+ community, and many games find ways to take part. Riot is under fire once more after the Give Back V26 bundle in VALORANT leak...
Team WE's dwindling hope, SkewMond becoming best LEC player, Cloud9's last chance: League of Legends action leading up to MSI
Even though the Mid-Season Invitational is less than three weeks away, teams across the world are busy with their spring splits. Some leagues have crowned their champions while oth...
From $1.5M contracts to players paying their own $2K transfer fees, a damning indictment of the Call of Duty League economics
From multi-million-dollar deals and record-high transfers for League superstars just six years ago, to minimum-wage contracts and players “buying” their own transfer fe...
Fnatic troubles, EMEA dual stage, and Masters London tierlists: VALORANT’s packed week
Despite a lack of VCT action, the VALORANT esports scene saw massive shake-ups and heated discussions last week. From Fnatic’s coaching changes to the most-anticipated teams at Mas...
Co-streaming shouldn't count towards actual esports tournament viewership: Esports Insider debates
Co-streaming has become a huge part of the esports ecosystem, for better or worse. The industry has mixed feelings about co-streaming's place in esports, so we figured we'd share o...
Unorthodox plays and scary team coordination: Team WE will likely qualify for MSI
If there is any team you should be rooting for right now in League of Legends esports, it should be Team WE. This mid-pack team pulled off not one, but two of the greatest upsets o...
Combo Breaker 2026 was a sad reminder that the FGC can still be uncomfortable for women
Combo Breaker 2026 was one of the biggest non-EVO fighting game tournaments of the year, with different nationalities flying in to experience the event. But behind its massive succ...
VALORANT broadcast interupted by hilarious Discord sound, and you probably just learned CVAL was happening
Over the weekend, I couldn't stop laughing at one specific moment of the 2026 College VALORANT (CVAL) Championship, organized by the Riot Scholastic Association of America (RSAA). ...
Tundra leaves the scene, GLYPH's hilarious clip, Save-‘s 1,000 maps: Dota 2's wild week
It’s been a really wild week in Dota 2. We have all sorts of stuff happening, from one of the largest Dota teams leaving, underdog teams leaving good impressions, and a familiar fa...
Perfect, expensive broadcasts are ruining the magic of esports (I miss the Overwatch League)
Esports used to have this kind of magical, exciting feeling I couldn't quite place. It felt like we were part of this crazy new thing that was not quite sure what the hell it was. ...
Esports World Cup's Paris move marks the city as a rising esports capital
The Esports World Cup (EWC) is leaving Saudi Arabia for the first time, and it’s going to Paris. From July 6 to August 23rd, the top players across 24 game titles will gather toget...
RLCS Paris Major proved Rocket League belongs in France, but it could have finally extinguished North America
There’s no simpler rivalry than a regional one, but after a decade of back-and-forth between North America and Europe - in particular, France - the RLCS Paris Major cemented that R...