Category: E-Sport

Image Credit: Cloud9 / YouTube It’s interesting because Cloud9 is actually not the worst in VALORANT esports, yet it seems to get the most hate. Despite being 14th out of 48 teams in the 2026 power ranking, Cloud9 is often a topic of discussion due to its inability to qualify for an international event. This led podcaster Andre Hopkins to interview Head Coach Ian “Immi” Harding about the team’s shortcomings. But he didn’t seem too bothered. Keep Reading “How do you fix EMEA?” The VCT EMEA is falling behind, but can it catch up? “Increased focus on fandom”: Jake Sin…

Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk’s tax controversy has become one of those stories that, at first glance, looks smaller than the reaction surrounding it. A mountain out of a mole hill. After all, the taxes were ultimately paid! There’s no lurid criminal indictment attached to the case in the way casual readers might imagine when they hear the phrase “tax evasion.” And Ruler, in his own statement, has insisted there was no deliberate concealment of income, describing the matter instead as a mishandled arrangement involving payments to his father and stock held under his father’s name. Yet in South Korea, this has…

Image Credit: Michał Konkol/Riot Games VCT EMEA Stage 1 has just kicked off this week. The tournament sees twelve teams compete in the region’s semi-franchised tier-one VALORANT circuit for three slots at the next VCT global event, Masters London in June. However, EMEA’s latest international showing didn’t inspire confidence in the region’s competitive strength. With Team Liquid not advancing past the Swiss Stage and Gentle Mates and BBL Esports suffering early Playoffs eliminations, EMEA was the second-weakest region at Masters Santiago behind VCT China. Moreover, it has been three years since VCT EMEA lifted an international trophy thanks to Fnatic’s…

Image Credit: Riot Games 2XKO has been handled wrong from the beginning, and I think it’s fair to say it won’t be in the FGC for much longer. It’s a bit jarring, of course. I used to write a lot of articles about how 2XKO would save fighting game esports. It was backed by Riot, which could actually put money into a massive esports structure, offering big prize pools and high-quality broadcasts. But it seems Riot is actually the reason for 2XKO’s downfall. Keep Reading But I believe Aang can save the FGC: We need simple fun, like Avatar Legends…

Team Falcons’ Phillip “ImperialHal” Dosen recently tweeted that it “might be time to retire,” prompting the Apex Legends esports scene to wonder whether it’s time to wrap it up. It’s been a rough last few years for Apex Legends, with the scene constantly complaining about the updates devs make and esports seeing less viewership. The February 2026 patch could be the breaking point, largely due to developers bringing the Drop Ship back to Ranked. Said one frustrated player: “Instead of fixing the zones where you dropped, improving loot altogether, and removing the proximity of some zones for ranked, they just…

Image Credit: Riot Games / Jazmin Tabuena VCT Pacific has seen tremendous growth since its introduction in 2023, with the region producing some of the world’s most mechanically skilled VALORANT players and countless memorable moments.  From Gen.G being the first Pacific team to lift an international VCT trophy to Nongshim RedForce becoming the first Ascension team to win a Masters event, the league has continued to strengthen its presence globally. Following the 2026 VCT season, Riot Games will announce the next set of partnered teams, along with its plans for the Tier 2 ecosystem.  Esports Insider spoke with Jake Sin, Head of…

Photo credit: Telia It’s honestly really hard to keep track of which esports entity owes what to whom at this point, and that’s the problem. It feels like there is a new “I didn’t get paid” tweet almost every month from a player, caster, or staff member aimed at team or tournament organizer. One of the latest fiascos was with the Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC), which was called out by multiple esports professionals for extremely late payments (if they got any at all) and firing popular casters. We covered this back in February when Leagues.GG responded to the…

Image credit: Call of Duty League The Call of Duty League has never really reached the heights of other shooter esports like VALORANT and Counter-Strike 2. The highest viewership in 2026 thus far has been 353,000, set by the Stage 1 Major, which is nowhere near “dying” status but still far behind the competition. There is a lot of speculation as to why Call of Duty can’t seem to reach the same viewership as other shooters. One issue is that it has the same structure and support as the Overwatch League, which notoriously failed due to many poor decisions by Activision.…

Image credit: Blizzard Entertainment There is nothing the gaming community has united on more than a hatred of AI, and that has carried over into the more niche esports scenes as well. The FGC is one of those scenes, fighting back against any sign of AI, like in the Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves’ Season 2 trailer. Maybe the promised and rushed DLC schedule hasn’t left the team with time to make their own trailer, I don’t know. Well, you won’t have to worry about that with Street Fighter 6. Capcom recently shared a Q&A for investors that included…

Image Credit: Riot Games Chinese esports organisation JD Gaming is the last team to qualify for First Stand, the first international tournament on the 2026 League of Legends esports calendar. The team locked its qualification after advancing to the grand final of the LPL Split 1 Playoffs, and will head to São Paulo, Brazil, as the second seed from the Chinese region. Keep Reading LPL Split 1 2026 unveils format changes and increased Championship Points League of Legends First Stand 2026: teams, format, schedule and more BiliBili Gaming punches ticket to First Stand following thrilling LPL series Despite qualifying, it…