“We’ve gained so much resilience”: One kiNgg and his four rookies. The winning formula in VCT 2026 and beyond
VALORANT Masters London concluded on June 21st with a five-map thriller between Pacific’s Paper Rex and VCT Americas’ Leviatán. But it wasn’t the event favorite, comprised of a loy...
Counter-Strike 2 is clearly winning the viewership war against VALORANT after the IEM Cologne Major 2026… For now
Viewership is frequently used to determine whether a notable esports tournament is a success or a failure. High figures often grab the headlines, with some tournaments peaking at s...
“Dota 2 salaries are inflated”: Tundra Esports founder reveals expenses of a Tier 1 Dota team and the scene's struggling economics
Tundra Esports exiting Dota 2 this year was definitely not on our bingo cards. The roster has already won four trophies this season and remains a solid top-five team in the world, ...
$109 million was traded with Kalshi on IEM Cologne 2026: here's what the markets revealed
Over 20 days in June, IEM Cologne saw $109.3 million traded on US-based prediction market Kalshi as a fairytale storyline drew to a conclusion in Germany. The $109.3 million repres...
There are too many fighting games in the FGC esports scene
In recent years, developers have heavily tapped into the fighting game genre. Left and right, there seems to be a new game coming out, which took the fighting game community (FGC) ...
“They've gotta listen to the people actually playing the game”: Warzone will die if it doesn't learn from Apex Legends and go all-in on esports
It was the face of gaming during a pandemic that bred a need to socialize and escape reality. Although the immersive dystopia was a war-torn landscape called Verdansk, Call of Duty...
I was not going to watch the Esports Nations Cup, but it has now become an exciting and much-needed showcase of co-ed esports competition
The Esports Nations Cup (ENC) is meant to be a fun, slightly unhinged celebration of national pride, where countries assemble dream teams and battle it out for bragging rights. It ...
NiKo won IEM Cologne Major 2026 no matter what the Team Falcons haters say
“I am a prime example to never give up. Never give up on your dreams.” That was Nikola “NiKo” Kovač‘s emotional speech after winning IEM Cologne Major...
Parasocial behavior and death threats: VALORANT esports fans are going too far
VALORANT Masters London’s second Playoffs day kicked off last week with a three-map thriller between VCT EMEA darkhorse FUT Esports and VCT China legend Champions EDward Gaming (ED...
Every city thinks it can be the “next esports capital,” and no, London is most definitely not
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is the latest guy to claim his city will “lead the world in esports.” It sounds exciting at first, sure, but it made me laugh almost im...
Scalping continues to plague big esports events (L)… But fans are apparently willing to pay thousands for those tickets (W)
If you have spent any time trying to buy tickets for a premier esports event lately, you probably have some deeply held, highly aggressive feelings about ticket scalpers. The commu...
Esports will never be taken seriously until people get paid on time
It’s no secret that people working in esports have faced payment delays before, and we’ve been reminded of that fact multiple times this week alone. First, an artist going by “EDIC...
IEM Cologne drove 63% of all Kalshi esports betting volume in the week of June 7–13
The week of June 7–13 saw $66.2 million in esports prediction market contracts on Kalshi, and the story behind what drove that number was never really in doubt. Counter-Strike 2 wa...
The FGC must transition out of grassroots if it wants to survive
The FGC prides itself on being raw. In fact, one of the community's main gripes about the Daigo vs MenaRD match a few months ago was that some of the moments felt forced. It’s a fa...
League of Legends is one of the most greedy gacha games out there, Brazil has demanded microtransactions be removed
Riot Games is currently learning a very expensive lesson about international gambling laws. A Brazilian court just handed down a massive ruling, ordering the League of Legends deve...
Why I’ll be rooting for the underdogs in the IEM Cologne Major playoffs
Witnessing a lesser-known team conquer an established name in esports and traditional sports is a sight to behold. Whether it’s on the football pitch or the main stage of a high-pr...
Riot wants Locke to be fair, but will League of Legends' new assassin break the meta?
After revealing the new League of Legends champion Locke, Riot Games has unveiled his abilities and gameplay details. Corvin Locke will arrive in Patch 26.13 as a new AP melee assa...
The Pokémon NAIC is moving to Chicago in 2027, but maybe it should move to Canada instead
New Orleans apparently isn't big enough to accommodate Pokémon‘s rapid growth. After a wild three-year run of filling the Big Easy with thousands of cardboard-slinging, video...
LCS Spring Split has all-time low viewership, and it's because it's a bit depressing to watch
Riot Games was willing to give us the League Championship Series (LCS) back after the disastrous LTA experiment. But it looks like Riot was right after all about LCS: the League of...