Community is the key to the esports industry's success, not winning tournaments, says Fnatic's former CEO
Esports is going in the wrong direction, if you ask me. And nobody has asked me. But all this focus on bravado, mainstream appeal, and flashiness won't spell long-term success. To ...
Riot Games' suspension of League of Legends player Syzyf raises questions
Last week, Riot Games announced the suspension of Polish League of Legends player Jakub “Syzyf” Ruta. Riot announced a 12-month ban for the player, who allegedly allowe...
It’s time for Call of Duty esports to return to an open ecosystem
Over the past decade, the Call of Duty esports scene has experienced a wealth of peaks and troughs as a result of format changes that have managed to gatekeep one of gaming’s most ...
AI vs expert: Human to bounce back for LEC Week 2 against Claude, Gemini and ChatGPT?
Week two of the LEC Summer Split is here, and so is round two of —drum-roll, please—humans versus robots. Last week, I handed Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini the opening-weekend LEC fi...
EWC 2026 viewership recap: which games attracted the most viewers?
The Esports World Cup (EWC) returned in 2026 with a life-changing $75 million prize pool, spread across 25 tournaments and a cross-title Club Championship. However, even the magnit...
Marvel Tōkon Fighting Souls beta broke Steam records, but its future in the FGC seems dire
If you thought the fighting game community was going to have a quiet, peaceful weekend during the Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls open beta, you clearly do not know the FGC. Between m...
“If you slow things down too much, you risk hurting the gameplay”: The FGC is conflicted and salty about fighting games getting too slow
Fighting games have been around since the late 90s, with tournaments following shortly. Like other esports scenes, this one is undergoing constant evolution. Fighting game tourname...
“Take out your feet and do it”: Whether it's for $0 or $100,000, Huntsman will never stop competing in the Smash 64 Combo Contest
There is one frustrating downside to having too many hobbies: you miss things. I missed the massive Supernova Super Smash Bros. tournament last year for Monterey Car Week, and sadl...
Dota 2 Meepo hotfix targets game-breaking item duplication exploit
On Jul. 28, 2026, Valve released a Dota 2 hotfix addressing a critical Meepo exploit that allowed players to duplicate items and generate practically infinite amounts of gold durin...
League of Legends World Championship tickets are appearing for over $3,000, but Riot may not be the one to blame
The esports community is raging after the 2026 League of Legends World Championship finals tickets went on sale. Passionate fans set their alarm, verified their account through thr...
“I want to be known as a winner”: Top MLBB pros like Ashlay are dying to compete, but there are no tournaments in North America
The benefit of winning matches comes with the glory of playing more high-stakes matches and the opportunity to grow. In 2025, Gaimin Gladiators became the first North American team...
“Our preparation was pretty intense”: How Team Vitality's MLBB roster breaks stereotypes about mobile gaming and women's esports
France-based esports organization Team Vitality fields one of the most successful rosters in the history of competitive gaming. And it’s not what you might expect. Team Vitality’s ...
Moonton's Ray Ng on MLBB at the Esports World Cup, growing mobile in the West, and AI coaching tools
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang is not the first game that slips off the tongue when you ask a Western esports fan to name one of the world's largest competitive titles. The mobile MOBA,...
“The spirit of the FGC is still there”: Cuddle_Core talks old-school gatekeeping, grassroots to mainstream, and making a career out of Tekken
Let's be uncomfortably honest for a minute. There's definitely a kind of person that pops into your head when you hear “top Tekken player.” And that person may not look...
Esports fans want to predict tournament results but states (and Faker) are fighting it
This week, as ever, there were more developments in the legal battles against prediction markets. But data released from Riot Games and GRID suggest they are fighting a losing batt...
AI vs expert: Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini take on our LEC week one predictions
The LEC returns today with the 2026 Summer Split getting underway in Paris, France. There will be a nine-week run between now and the finals in September, and from there, we'll see...
It’s time for soundproof booths to return to esports
Integrity in esports remains a hot topic of conversation among fans and industry stakeholders looking to ensure the world’s biggest events are contested on a level playing field. T...
“Keep fighting for your dream”: Team Vitality MLBB pro Vivian on overcoming challenges and judgement to become a top esports pro
Team Vitality Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) player Vivi “Vivian” Indrawaty changed her life and her family's by banking on her esports career. The Indonesian athlete...
Hans Jagnow on Paris, politics, and building fandom across 24 games at the Esports World Cup
The Esports World Cup‘s third edition landed in Paris this year, following a last-minute relocation due to geopolitical tensions. The Esports Foundation faced an unenviable t...
Risk without reward: Counter-Strike 2's new sticker system threatens the entire esports scene's structure
There’s a lot of buzz in the Counter-Strike community right now, and it has to do with Major stickers. Valve recently changed how Major sticker sales work at IEM Cologne 2026, ditc...
Forget the burrito bowl: Karmine Corp's Blue Rising TCG is the future of esports monetization
Let’s be honest with ourselves for a second: the era of esports organizations begging mainstream corporate giants for a lifeline is getting a little tired. For years, the industry ...
Single-player games deserve more attention in esports
If you look at the top tier of competitive gaming, it feels like a total team sport monopoly. The biggest heavyweights in the industry pull in staggering numbers, and almost every ...
I am not convinced that hunting for AI is going to solve esports' biggest issues
I am going to say something that might get me kicked out of a few Discord servers, but somebody has to say it. The esports community has officially entered its witch hunt era when ...
Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves has an insane DLC schedule, but it may not be enough to bring the sauce
SNK is absolutely on one right now. They just pulled back the curtain on Season 3 of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, and the release schedule is relentless. We are getting a brand-...
South American Dota 2 just got dealt one of its worst blows yet after PlayTime's scandal at the Esports World Cup
South American Dota 2 just got dealt one of its worst blows in God knows how long. At the Dota 2 tournament at the Esports World Cup, one of the biggest tournaments of the year, Pl...