The business of sports tech, in brief.
I recently said we needed more events like Evo, and I meant it. The fighting game esports scene features multi-title events that bring the community together in a way that mainstream esports titles haven’t yet figured out. LVL UP EXPO just wrapped up over the weekend, another event that featured…
I’ve been one of the haters booing Evo‘s expansion. After Saudi Arabian company RTS took control of Evo and announced a bunch of tournaments, I was pretty bummed. Like Arslan Ash, I felt this would ruin the prestige of the cumulative event in Las Vegas. However, there is a lot of nuance in the…
VALORANT has drastically evolved since its launch in 2020, not just in terms of agents, but also in how the game is played across different levels. There were 10 agents available at launch, each role was clearly defined, and compositions were easier to master and counter. However, as the roster…
The recent days have been packed with controversial and intriguing developments in the League of Legends (LoL) esports scene. Here’s a rundown of some of the major topics worth further discussion, including the co-streaming debate, concerns about Tier 2, and the return of one of LoL’s biggest…
Last week, the VALORANT esports community was hit by the unexpected news of duelist prodigy Alex “canezerra” Banyasz receiving a 12-month hardware ban from all Riot Games titles. This includes the game he had dedicated the last three years of his life to in an effort to qualify for the Tier 2…
The FGC is always full of excitement, chaos, drama, and emotion. Unlike other scenes, there is still a bit of grassroots undertone at even the largest events. There is grit and passion unlike you’ve ever seen. While that often leads to a lot of toxicity and drama, this past week has been full of…
It’s been an eventful past week in the Dota 2 scene, and there’s quite a lot to digest. We saw title contenders falter, a familiar face return, and some topics worth debating. From tournaments to Reddit threads, here are the happenings in Dota 2 this past week that I’ve been invested in. Tundra and…
Riot Games announced VALORANT Game Changers in 2021 to give marginalized genders a space to showcase their skills and compete at a global level.This annual league provided a space to thrive and feel safe, something no other title had fully achieved, which, in itself, was a massive statement. So…
It’s the end of an era in Counter-Strike as veteran pro player Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo announces his retirement. FURIA‘s IGL will compete for the remainder of 2026 before ending his 20-year run. The retirement was announced on-stage at IEM Rio, with FalleN making an emotional speech in front of a…
The VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) is in the midst of its four regional Stage 1 events across EMEA, Americas, Pacific, and China. Each competition offers a qualification to Masters London in June. As the second international tournament of the year, Masters London is meant to unite the best VCT teams…
When the stage lights go out, and the gaming mice are stuffed in drawers, what’s left? For retired esports professionals, that question is becoming harder to avoid. There used to be an old fantasy that a few strong seasons and a recognizable handle would lead to a straightforward second act in the…
Esports is full of passionate fans and players, so you’re bound to come across heated debates and frustrated takes. In South Korea, where League of Legends esports is even more mainstream, that toxicity has become too much for FANABLE, the agency that represents Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok and Lee…
OG is no stranger to making some of the craziest roster moves in Dota 2, but they’ve really one-upped themselves with this one. Last week, the two-time TI-winning organization introduced Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek, catching every fan off guard. Though the change doesn’t make sense at first…
Street Fighter 6 has often seemed like it’s one fighting game title that’s broken free from the chains of the “struggling FGC” stereotype. The Capcom Cup 12 is a massive tournament with a massive prize pool. However, that prize pool comes at a high cost to the Street Fighter scene at large. The FGC…
Following the conclusion of VALORANT Champions Paris in September last year, developer Riot Games dropped one of the most disruptive updates in the history of the game. Patch 11.08 significantly reduced agent utility in an effort to “strike a healthier balance between gunplay and abilities.” Seven…
In May 2025, VALORANT Game Changers star and VCT player Ava “florescent” Eugene was accused of sexual assault by a X (Twitter) user (account now deleted) on behalf of a girl named “Brick.” This was followed by Flor’s former Shopify Rebellion Gold teammates calling her behavior “reprehensible,”…
Riot Games’ 2027 overhaul of the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) reads like a rebuke of its own recent past. The slogan is comically blunt: everything is a tournament. No more long regular seasons. No more hard border between the partnered teams and everyone else. No more waiting an entire year for…
Popular streamer Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp, largely known for being good at League of Legends and being loud, announced that he was going to compete in Street Fighter 6 again, starting with Evo. And the FGC is angry. On stream, Tyler1 announced that he was going to Evo in Las Vegas (which he had to…
While Super Smash Bros. is often seen as a united esports scene from the outside, there has always been a bit of tension between Melee and Ultimate players. The two games cannot be more different, and their players are different as well. Recently, the FGC noted that Melee players seem to have a…
The Dota 2 esports scene is in a healthy place if we’re looking at the sheer number of S-Tier events. We have million-dollar tournaments almost every month, but the issue is — the majority of them are either played in a closed studio or entirely online. And, even though I’m a hardcore Dota fan…
