Category: E-Sport

Over 20 days in June, IEM Cologne saw $109.3 million traded on US-based prediction market Kalshi as a fairytale storyline drew to a conclusion in Germany. The $109.3 million represents volume of contracts traded, so does not necessarily represent amount of actual money wagered, or handle in traditional sportsbook terms. Still, it’s an impressive figure that goes to show there’s significant interest in esports betting when the event magnitude is there to match. Kalshi · Prediction Markets IEM Cologne 2026 CS2 prediction market activity · full tournament Jun 2–21, 2026 $109.3MTotal traded 1.53MTrades placed $5.46MAvg per day 2,956Markets open $71.62Avg…

Image Credit: Activision It was the face of gaming during a pandemic that bred a need to socialize and escape reality. Although the immersive dystopia was a war-torn landscape called Verdansk, Call of Duty: Warzone quickly became a haven for friendship, camaraderie, and alliances.  The promised land of competitive battle royales dawned with every parachute glide, as even the most casual of players scratched a competitive itch in Warzone; harboring equal opportunities to win as a slow-paced ghillie sniper in the bushes or a run-and-gun demon meant that part-time players were rewarded in their four-stacked evening playthroughs, and the 24/7 grinders hit…

Image Credit: HLTV “I am a prime example to never give up. Never give up on your dreams.” That was Nikola “NiKo” Kovač‘s emotional speech after winning IEM Cologne Major 2026. He’d been to 17 majors over a decade, but this was his first time lifting the trophy. As he wiped away his tears, fans debated whether it was a legitimate run or not due to NiKo’s signing to Team Falcons. Following a dominant 3-0 sweep over FURIA, an emotional NiKo took the microphone, looked out at a chanting crowd, and told everyone that he is a prime example of…

Image Credit: Colin Young-Wolff/Riot Games The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is the latest guy to claim his city will “lead the world in esports.” It sounds exciting at first, sure, but it made me laugh almost immediately. How many friggin “esports capitals” do we need? It’s a phrase that basically means nothing at this point. During a high-profile trade mission to Tokyo, where he dropped by the Red Bull Gaming Sphere alongside the folks from Fnatic and Sony, Khan declared his absolute ambition to make London the undisputed esports capital of the world. It is a grand vision backed…

VALORANT Masters London’s second Playoffs day kicked off last week with a three-map thriller between VCT EMEA darkhorse FUT Esports and VCT China legend Champions EDward Gaming (EDG). Tension was brewing throughout the series, with FUT Esports delivering banter on stage and receiving boos from the audience in return. What followed after the series, though, was far more problematic. FUT Esports player Efe “s0pp” Tur became a target of online harassment and death threats due to racism allegations. A clip where s0pp yelled ‘’ZmjjKK, you can’t hold sh**!’’on stage was misunderstood as a racist remark by some VCT China fans.…

If you have spent any time trying to buy tickets for a premier esports event lately, you probably have some deeply held, highly aggressive feelings about ticket scalpers. The community sentiment right now is a mixture of absolute exhaustion and pure rage. Over on Reddit, the “IEM Cologne Major: Flights Booked. Hotel Booked. No Ticket. Gather Here” thread has practically become their own support group. But as painful as it is to watch tickets disappear into the digital ether within thirty seconds, there is a fascinating flip side to this chaos. Michael Decker recently pointed out in his Esports Business…

Image Credit: Riot Games After revealing the new League of Legends champion Locke, Riot Games has unveiled his abilities and gameplay details. Corvin Locke will arrive in Patch 26.13 as a new AP melee assassin for the mid lane.  Known as the Ashen Exorcist, he is a nail-slinging vigilante born from Demacia’s hidden occult underbelly. He is the only new champion set to release this year as Riot continues to focus on developing League Next and its long-awaited MMO behind the scenes. Locke’s kit centers on marking souls, stacking power, and executing enemies with precision. Before he arrives on global…

Riot Games was willing to give us the League Championship Series (LCS) back after the disastrous LTA experiment. But it looks like Riot was right after all about LCS: the League of Legends esports scene doesn’t care about it. Riot Has Some Solutions For Low LCS Viewership, But It May Be Too Late The LoL Esports scene was relieved when Riot finally gave in and brought back the LCS. The LTA rebrand was highly criticized by the esports community, with many feeling it didn’t really click with fans. Viewership drastically dropped. Back in June 2025, Carlos Antunes, Head of League…

mage Credit: Darrell McCready It looked like a massive Evo was coming this summer. Last year’s Evo Vegas was massive, with 8,541 unique registered competitors and 14,500 attendees. Then, Evo Japan earlier this year was even bigger, with 9,875 total participants. It was mostly for Street Fighter 6, but still. By all accounts, it seemed like Evo Vegas 2026 would be insane. However, the numbers are in, and it’s even worse than I could have ever imagined. The final numbers came in today, and it’s bad. Street Fighter 6 is the biggest, with 2,414 entrants. Rivals of Aether II only…

Image Credit: GENESIS / X In the corner of the GENESIS X3 convention, with eight CRT TVs, no stage, no livestream, and no microphone, was a tournament for an 18-year-old game with a $450 prize pool on the line. And it meant the world to the 45 or so players who competed. This is Super Smash Bros. Brawl. This is everything, especially for Christina “Chia” Korsak, ranked #4 in the SSBBRank as of Summer 2025. She flew to San Jose to compete in Brawl – to prove something to herself, to finally get first at a GENESIS, because she can’t…