The business of sports tech, in brief.
Valve has revealed the direct invitations and slot allocations for The International 2026, and there are already multiple talking points surrounding the huge announcement. For the first time in recent memory, they’ve only invited seven teams instead of eight, but the biggest controversy lies in…
ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has unveiled a new partnership with TikTok to bring broadcast-native vertical livestreams to its esports tournaments worldwide. The partnership debuted at Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Atlanta,
Ever since the Overwatch League died, Overwatch esports have been a bit of a depressing talking point in the industry. The Overwatch Championship Series hasn’t hit the same. The hype has largely disappeared, although some exciting teams remain. When I saw that the OWCS Champions Clash had such an…
Last weekend was nuts. The biggest non-EVO offline tournament, Combo Breaker 2026, reached its conclusion with Street Fighter 6 closing out the massively successful event. While Zeng “Xiao Hai” Zhuojun won the bracket and punched his ticket to both Capcom Cup 13 and the Esports World Cup, the kids…
The Super Smash Bros. esports scene is unique. In many ways. One way? It’s not really for money at all. The pros are fighting for a rank. Without Nintendo’s support, the grassroots scene has survived for decades with little to no prize pools. Most are around a few thousand bucks, just enough to…
The viewership numbers from the RLCS 2026 Paris Major were shockingly low. Like, really low. It’s easy to immediately assume that Rocket League is dying, the old esports mantra. But what’s actually going on? Well, it’s not dying. But the excuses people have for the reduced viewership actually do…
There has been a long-standing resentment toward Nintendo in the Super Smash Bros. esports community. Nintendo has not only refused to fund an esports circuit but has also actively shut down streams and tournaments for various strict reasons. The Smash community, especially Melee, hates Nintendo…
A few days ago, Norwegian esports organization HEROIC caused an uproar within the esports community with a divisive post on X (formerly Twitter). The post intends to trash-talk Saudi Arabian esports organization Team Falcons by putting its logo next to a photo of actress Sydney Sweeney under the…
The Esports Foundation has announced that the 2026 Esports World Cup (EWC) will be hosted in Paris, France, from July 6 through August 23. The event marks the first EWC
There was no shortage of spicy roster shuffles, controversial opinions, and behind-the-scenes drama in the Dota 2 scene this past week. I’ve spent the time digging around forums and socials to present you with the most impactful stories from the past few days. One thing’s for sure, Dota 2 esports…
Following a surprisingly quiet week in the Counter-Strike esports scene, Valve’s first-person shooter roared back into life with the climax of two Tier 1 tournaments laying the foundations for a potentially enthralling Cologne Major. With NAVI and Team Spirit adding a trophy to their respective…
The fighting game esports scene is growing, defying the whole “esports is dead” discussion. As sponsorships and Saudi Arabia fuel the general esports scene, esports fans are chasing that authenticity that’s been lost over the years. And they’ve found it in the FGC. The proof? Combo Breaker‘s…
While teams’ power levels are usually clearer the closer we get to the mid-way point of the League of Legends season, this year things seem to be way harder to predict. The LCK is no longer just about Gen.G dominating domestically, and four-way fights are popping up nearly across every region. With…
This week, the FGC has been relatively mellow compared to the Evo Japan week, but that might be what the community needs before the gargantuan event this weekend: Combo Breaker 2026. However, that doesn’t mean that absolutely nothing happened over the weekend, so I’m here to break it down for you…
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new content partnerships covering esports and adjacent
The Super Smash Bros. esports scene is notoriously broke. The tournaments are often crowdfunded, with prize pools reaching only a few thousand. This hasn’t stopped players from grinding Melee for hours every single day, which is what makes the scene special… And maybe a bit stupid. One of the most…
With Norwegian organization HEROIC recently pulling out of the scene, the financial sustainability of the professional Dota 2 scene has been a pretty hot topic in the community. We know that Dota 2 players are filthy rich, while most esports organizations are losing money. That begs the question of…
Last week, Counter-Strike interviewer Anastasija “Heccu” Tolmačeva shared a heartfelt video that resonated deeply with esports professionals across our industry. In her video, Heccu opened up about her struggles to find freelance opportunities in the CS tournament landscape and how this has drained…
2XKO is in a weird spot right now. It’s in the midst of the stage where it should be growing, with Evo Las Vegas and other big tournaments on the way and an esports scene forming with Riot’s help. On the other hand, Riot has laid off a chunk of the team, and the latest … Continued
When Dplus KIA’s behind-the-scenes footage of head coach Kim “cvMax” Dae-ho reviewing his team’s 2-0 loss to KT Rolster began circulating, much of the initial reaction focused on discomfort. But while most members of the community are criticizing the head coach’s ways and manners, the attention…
