Johannes Prandl

For 17 years, League of Legends has asked players to coordinate in-game solely on pings and hurried messages typed in between clicks. Now, this could all change. Earlier this March, Riot Games confirmed that it was exploring the implementation of Team Voice to the game, extending communication beyond premade parties. While the feature hasn’t been … Continued The post League of Legends Team Voice could transform Solo Queue forever… with one condition appeared first on Esports Insider.

VALORANT Champions Tour Pacific has long positioned itself as a stage designed to unite talent from South Korea, Japan, Southeast Asia, Oceania, and more under one competitive banner. Hosted primarily in South Korea and featuring a mix of partnered and Tier 2 organizations, the league has produced international contenders while building passionate fanbases across the … Continued The post “We’ve admittedly created an unintentional imbalance over the last few years”: VCT Pacific has an inc

Europe vs. North America has been one of the game’s defining regional rivalries since the inaugural League of Legends World Championship in 2011. It has survived years of trash talk, Rift Rivals, international upsets, and one-sided stomps. For much of the last 15 years, though, Europe had the stronger argument. The region produced deeper international … Continued The post LEC vs. LCS: Who leads League of Legends’ oldest regional rivalry? appeared first on Esports Insider.

The most effective tactics (the meta) in esports heavily influence how certain titles are played. Whether it’s a game-changing update impacting popular weaponry in a first-person shooter or an overpowered champion in a MOBA receiving a nerf, the world’s top players are constantly adapting in a bid to gain the upper hand over the opposition. … Continued The post Counter-Strike 2 vs. Call of Duty: How does the meta determine which esport is best? appeared first on Esports Insider.

The Aegis of Champions is by far the most iconic trophy in Dota 2. Since Natus Vincere lifted it at the inaugural International in 2011, TI has delivered unforgettable plays, legendary dynasties, unexpected underdog runs, and some of the most memorable grand finals in esports history. Below is the complete list of Dota 2 TI … Continued The post Dota 2 The International winners: every TI champion in history appeared first on Esports Insider.

The North American Challengers League – North America’s League of Legends Tier 2 system – is in its home stretch. Six teams remain in the NACL Summer Playoffs, but the prize isn’t merely a trophy. The top two teams qualify for the League Championship Series’ promotion-relegation tournament, set to happen later this year. The finalists … Continued The post “It’s just not sustainable”: Tier 2 esports orgs discuss the shocking finances and player poaching that comes with (finally)

Choi “huhi” Jae-hyun wasn’t focused on the Esports Nations Cup. It was just one of three potential things he had on the calendar in the first few weeks. If he and Sentinels made a magical run to the World Championships in Brooklyn, his club season would conclude on Nov. 14. Then, in the moments after … Continued The post “It’s very sad for players and coaches”: Esports pros react to sudden Esports Nations Cup delay with further training, confusion, and a wedding appeared first on E

The sixth and final week of the regular LEC Summer Split, and for once, there’s harmony between robot and human, all celebrating being bad, together. Craig‘s two-week winning streak came to an abrupt end last weekend, and it was the first week that not a single one of our clanker, or expert tipster, landed a … Continued The post AI vs expert: The stage is set for LEC week six predictions after last week’s blank appeared first on Esports Insider.

The final week of the Esports World Cup saw record trading volumes on Kalshi. Over $95 million was traded across esports events in the last seven days of the tournament.  This was up from $90 million the previous week. Volume exceeded $70 million every week of the tournament except for one, although not all the … Continued The post Esports World Cup sees volume rise at Kalshi, but MSI and IEM remain biggest events appeared first on Esports Insider.

I am really not the kind of person who watches other people play games and scream on Twitch. Nor do I find streamer drama interesting. It feels like the gaming (used loosely) equivalent of following Instagram influencer news. For this reason, I’m pretty late to hearing about this. But I was scrolling TikTok earlier today … Continued The post I’m honestly so sick of Kick, and the “Last Woman Standing” exploitation stream was my final straw appeared first on Esports Insider.

In Counter-Strike, few achievements carry the same weight as winning a Major Championship. These Valve-sponsored tournaments represent the absolute peak of play, capable of defining a player’s career and cementing an organization’s place in the esports history books. Since the inaugural CS:GO Major at DreamHack Winter 2013, the series has produced dominant dynasties, incredible underdog … Continued The post All Major Championship winners in CS2 and CS:GO appeared first on Esports Insider.

Team Spirit has officially become the first Dota 2 team to have lifted the Aegis of Champions three times, doing so at TI15 in Shanghai last week. Their conquest this time around was a little harder than their previous one, as they had to take down tournament favorites TEAM VISION 3-2 in the Grand Final … Continued The post Sanatic’s hype vs. Yatoro’s dynasty: TI15 put Dota 2’s best carries in an anime-style clash appeared first on Esports Insider.

Southeast Asia (SEA) has grown into one of the world’s most important mobile-first gaming markets. This growth has been fuelled by affordable smartphones, accessible free-to-play games, expanding mobile connectivity, and a bustling social gaming culture, allowing mobile titles to reach audiences that consoles and gaming PCs simply cannot [1,3]. The same conditions have also helped … Continued The post Why Southeast Asia is a mobile gaming powerhouse appeared first on Esports Insider.

Team Spirit entered the grand final of The International 2026 (TI 2026) with a rather strange advantage: knowing exactly what it felt like to lose to TEAM VISION. They were swept 2–0 by VISION in the group stage before suffering another 2–1 defeat in the upper bracket semifinal. However, after dismantling Liquid, BoomBoys, and Yandex … Continued The post How Team Spirit made history at The International 2026 appeared first on Esports Insider.

As the dust settles on the Esports World Cup, the eyes of the Counter-Strike 2 esports circuit turn towards BLAST Open Porto 2026, the next stop in a hugely populated Tier 1 calendar. With 13 of the 16 teams committing to the incredibly short turnaround, the stage is set for another enthralling tournament.  With several … Continued The post BLAST Open Porto 2026 could be the most open CS tournament of the year so far, and I can’t wait appeared first on Esports Insider.

With 8 million subscribers on YouTube alone, Levy “GothamChess” Rozman is the biggest chess content creator worldwide. After decades of dedication to the game, the “Internet’s Chess Teacher” has now joined his first esports organization, BASILISK, as its Head of Chess. In an exclusive interview with Esports Insider, GothamChess shared his motivations behind the move … Continued The post “Chess is the most humbling activity a person can do”: GothamChess discusses signing with BASI

The League of Legends pro circuit used to have a drafting problem, but has Fearless Draft actually changed that? In the past, you could finish game 1 of a best-of-five, load into game 2, and see half of the same champions again. Maybe they swapped sides or banned a priority pick, but more often than … Continued The post Has Fearless Draft actually improved champion diversity in League of Legends? appeared first on Esports Insider.

The FGC was shocked and saddened by a seemingly sudden update from Riot Games: 2XKO will essentially shut down by the end of 2026. It was one of those moments for me where I had to hold back from saying, “I told you so.” See, I’ve been predicting 2XKO’s demise for a while now, not … Continued The post “This falls entirely on the execs”: 2XKO community discusses Riot’s unrealistic expectations and missteps with the FGC appeared first on Esports Insider.

Ever since Riot Games introduced the partnership system in VALORANT esports, Tier 2 has existed in an uncomfortable position. It was important enough to be called the foundation of Tier 1, but it rarely received enough spotlight, investment, or care to sustain itself. As a result, multiple organizations left the scene, as the sheer amount … Continued The post Riot gave Tier 2 VALORANT a chance and it exposed VCT Tier 1 teams’ vulnerability appeared first on Esports Insider.

On August 8th, one of the most prominent players in the women’s Counter-Strike 2 scene, Mayline “ASTRA” Champliaud, made waves by announcing her transition from CS to VALORANT esports.  According to HLTV’s Women’s Player of the Year 2025, “the recent news of female CS falling apart and the lack of tournaments coming up” led to … Continued The post “It’s on life support”: Women’s Counter-Strike 2 scene is struggling to stay afloat, and there is little hope left if things

VALORANT Champions 2026 marks the culmination of the VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT), drawing the world’s best teams to the bright lights of Shanghai, China. From Sep. 24 to Oct. 18, teams from across the Americas, EMEA, Pacific, and China will battle for the title of world champion and the lion’s share of a reported $2.25 … Continued The post VALORANT Champions 2026 preview: schedule, format, teams, and more appeared first on Esports Insider.

He’s only gone and done it. Our expert, Craig, has gone back-to-back after firing blanks in the opening two weeks to take the lead in the epic battle of human versus robot. Humanity’s on a roll as we head into LEC Summer Split week five, with robots everywhere dreaming of an upturn in fortune. Last … Continued The post AI vs expert: Humanity chases a hat-trick in LEC week five, while the bots malfunction appeared first on Esports Insider.

League of Legends and Counter-Strike 2 matches are seeing trading volumes that are nearing those of major league sports at prediction markets.  An analysis of Polymarket trading over the past year found an average of over $1 million was traded on LoL matches, with the highest match recording $28.3 million. In comparison, NFL, NBA, and … Continued The post Esports catching major league sports in prediction market volume appeared first on Esports Insider.

It’s easy to know that League of Legends, with its immense history and popularity, is the most watched MOBA in the world. In 2025 alone, more than 735.9 million watch hours of League of Legends content were viewed by fans, according to Esports Charts. Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, League’s mobile cousin, ranked second in MOBA … Continued The post “Honor of Kings had its biggest year yet”: As HoK grows outside of China, the PC vs. mobile MOBA clash is heating up appeared first on Esports I

“Professional gaming” is an industry that continues to confuse the masses, but as we move out of the era of billionaire sports-backed ventures closing in esports winter and begin relying on talent bred in the space, where is the pipeline? Can we rely solely on attracting hobbyists to push esports forward with businesses, tournaments, and … Continued The post “Don’t waste your money”: Unraveling the stigma of esports degrees in higher education appeared first on Esports Insider.