The business of sports tech, in brief.
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 infrastructure, and the inability to access the internet. Before the conflict, Iran’s government focused on controlling its…
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 was sitting at FACEIT Level 6, which is honestly pretty impressive for someone his age. However, the announcement…
The inaugural MoonPay X Games League (XGL) Winter Draft will take place Wednesday, September 16, 2026 at Cosm Los Angeles from 7–9 p.m. PT. The event will stream on ESPN+/ESPN
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 already seen before. No Super Smash Bros. 6. We already knew this, of course. Masahiro Sakurai has essentially…
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 another reminder that the Smash community still has its share of weird people. While the allegations were retracted by the…
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 posting solid numbers. The data pulled is from 1-7 June 2026. Kalshi’s esports markets generated a total of $36.18…
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 leaked during Pride Month, pushing a straight couple rather than its queer agents at this questionable time. Where is…
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 others are still finalizing their seeds, with four teams still to be confirmed. This past week, Top Esports has booked its…
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 fees out, the Call of Duty League’s economic landscape has crashed and burned. Call of Duty esports has always had a complicated…
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 Masters London, here’s a rundown of everything you might have missed! Fnatic Signs Former Karmine Corp Coach Engh Fnatic…
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 our own opinions. Aaron Alford is a professional debater, and I’m just here to rant and rave about a topic. But we are…
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 of the season and are now one series away from qualifying for the Mid-Season Invitational. While everyone loves an…
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 success, there lies a problem in the community that, while reduced, persists in the darkest corners of the FGC. Yup. I’m…
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). And it’s because it brought back that chaos we’ve been missing from esports broadcasts the past few years. While…
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 face up to his usual tricks. Here’s everything that went down in this Dota 2 week that we think you should know about. ……
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 together in the French capital, fighting not only for glory but also to win a share of the $75 million prize pool. ……
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 Rocket League came home. Born out of a tiny studio in the US that was workshopping some extra mini games to port into…
Correction: The Esports World Cup reached out to state it’s not funded by the PIF. The EWC is funded by the Esports Foundation, a Saudi Arabian non-profit. But the PIF is listed as the Esports Foundation’s parent organization. On May 20th, the Esports World Cup (EWC) officially announced that it…
The IEM Cologne Major is set to be one of the biggest Counter-Strike 2 events of the year. Starting on June 2nd, it will take place at the LANXESS Arena in Germany and feature a $1.25 million prize pool. This puts it in the top 10 Counter-Strike 2 tournaments by prize pool. But there may … Continued
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: the FGC really doesn’t like influencers. Despite this, Evo, the largest fighting game event of the year, has been sorta taken over by content creators. Recently, Evo revealed the registration numbers for its fighting game lineup. It looks like Street…
