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Esports is a rapidly growing industry, with millions of fans tuning in to watch their favourite players and teams compete in video game tournaments. Stay in the know with our coverage of the latest esports news, including updates on major events, player signings, and industry trends. Our coverage also includes exclusive interviews with esports players and teams, providing insight into their strategies and experiences. From breaking news and exclusive interviews to in-depth articles and expert analysis, our esports news content is carefully curated to cater to the diverse interests of esports fans across the globe.

Riot Games, publisher behind “League of Legends,” will pay $100 million to settle suit alleging pay disparity, gender bias and sexual harassment. Team Liquid is the Dodgers of the esports world, spending big to recruit and train elite athletes at their state-of-the-art facility in Santa Monica. The new CS2 season is kickstarted with the BLAST Bounty Spring qualifier, beginning Jan. 14.

Esports, after all, isn’t just about the winning and the losing or those coveted viewership stats. The first ever esports match I watched was the 2019 LCS Summer Finals, where Liquid beat TSM’s record by scoring their fourth trophy in a row. It was the rivalry between Soren ‘Bjergson’ Bjerg and Yilang ‘Doublelift’ Peng that kickstarted my love for esports – it’s about the stories, not just the numbers. Some of the biggest recent sponsorship deals in esports come from the cryptocurrency industry. Deals from betting companies and crypto firms represented 15% of 2022’s sponsorships, according to NewZoo. The rout in the crypto market and collapse of crypto exchange FTX, which filed for bankruptcy after a liquidity crisis, has dried up funding from that industry.

Additionally, Atlus, an esteemed LCK play-by-play caster, was honored with a Special Achievement Award for his dedication to the scene. As originally envisioned, esports organizations were supposed to generate revenue by selling stadium tickets and merchandise or sharing profit with game publishers from large sponsorship and broadcast deals. Anticipating outsize success, traditional sports franchise executives paid $20 million to get in early on teams for Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League and even more later for Call of Duty league teams. Latest esports news in a live feed, including game updates, tournaments, interviews, team announcements, highlights, analysis, and much more from the dynamic world of esports. I ask Lewis about what makes an esports game, and how you break into a saturated market.

Our team of seasoned writers and journalists is passionate about the industry, providing you with up-to-date information and insights on your favourite games, teams, and players. Since the summer, Team SoloMid and 100 Thieves — the two most valuable esports organizations according to Forbes — have terminated dozens of positions in total. In November, Evil Geniuses, one of the oldest esports groups, disbanded its North America team that competed in the highly popular game “Defense of the Ancients 2” and shifted their operations to South America. Game publishers, too, are shrinking their esports operations and that’s trickling down to tournament organizers, teams and players. In early November, Riot Games said it will close its official Wild Rift leagues outside of Asia next year, choosing to focus solely on the world’s biggest mobile gaming market. And a popular Super Smash Bros. tournament was terminated after not getting a license from Nintendo.

Team Liquid vs Top Esports MSI 2024 Bracket Stage Recap

It’s all about shooters in August, with the always popular IEM Cologne kicking off the month, before VALORANT Champions 2024 takes center stage. All eyes will be on Tokyo at the end of April as FGC fans from across the world descend on Japan for EVO. Before that, Europe’s finest LoL teams will do battle at the LEC Spring Finals while CS2 heads to China for IEM Chengdu. Making matters worse, viewership for the League of Legends Championship Series, one of the most mainstream leagues in esports, is at a five-year low, according to data aggregated by Esports Charts. As viewership declined, broadcast and streaming deals became less lucrative or less common for U.S. and European esports leagues. “I get to show my community what high tier gaming products should look and feel like.”

LCK Awards 2024: Faker wins Player of the Year

In November, after Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire imploded, the organization suspended the partnership and reverted to just TSM. Sponsors and advertisers, like BMW and Red Bull, represent 60% of esports organizations’ revenue, according to NewZoo. But a global economic downturn caused the U.S. advertising market to shrink by 7% in the second quarter from a year earlier and esports is not immune. The Overwatch League lost all of its sponsors ahead of the 2022 season, in part due to controversy over sexism at publisher Activision Blizzard. The first recorded competitive gaming event took place on Esports news October 19, 1972, at Stanford University. The event, known as the “Intergalactic Spacewar! Olympics,” featured the game Spacewar!

The 2025 jersey will be worn by Team Vitality’s 14 teams across international competitions, including IEM Katowice, the Rocket League Birmingham Major, and the Valorant Masters in Bangkok. The launch also aims to bolster Team Vitality’s ongoing expansion into North America and Southeast Asia. As newcomers like Supervive hope to challenge stalwarts like League of Legends and Dota, I ask Team Liquid about what makes an esports game. September sees two of the year’s biggest tournaments, as The International 2024 and the League of Legends World Championship get going. Without a doubt, the headline event of May is LoL‘s Mid-Season Invitational, the first international tournament of the year. March is a busy month, with major tournaments for VALORANT, Halo, CS2, and Call of Duty.

As we look ahead to League of Legends in 2025, with its new themed seasons and fearless draft pro system, I’m intrigued to see how Liquid performs. In the meantime, however, check out our LoL tier list if you’re looking to stomp on the Rift this holiday season or, alternatively, our rundown of the League of Legends ranks if you’re hoping to climb the ladder next year. Another mid-laner, Chovy, also won a fair amount of titles this year, being included in the All LCK 1st Team, and named as Regular Season MVP as well as Player of the Split.

At Strafe, we go beyond the scores and standings to bring you the latest esports entertainment news. From the personalities behind the games to the events that shape the industry, our coverage offers a unique perspective on the world of competitive gaming. With exclusive interviews, behind-the-scenes features, and captivating stories, we showcase the vibrant culture of esports and keep you informed and engaged with the latest trends and developments.

Our esports news section is your go-to source for the latest updates, scores, and highlights from the world of esports. However, esports truly started gaining momentum in the 1990s with the advent of internet connectivity and online gaming. In 1997, the Red Annihilation tournament for the game Quake marked one of the first major esports events, attracting around 2,000 participants. The formation of new rivalries makes the sector so interesting, but we haven’t seen any fresh, big esports games in the past few years – certainly not independently run ones.