Johannes Prandl

The LEC returns today with the 2026 Summer Split getting underway in Paris, France. There will be a nine-week run between now and the finals in September, and from there, we’ll see which three European teams head to the League of Legends World Championships. This week, we’re introducing something a bit different editorially. Inspired by … Continued The post AI vs expert: Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini take on our LEC week one predictions appeared first on Esports Insider.

This week, as ever, there were more developments in the legal battles against prediction markets. But data released from Riot Games and GRID suggest they are fighting a losing battle. Fans want to predict the outcome of events and will undoubtedly find a way to do just that.  More than 1.7 million players engaged with … Continued The post Esports fans want to predict tournament results but states (and Faker) are fighting it appeared first on Esports Insider.

Let’s be uncomfortably honest for a minute. There’s definitely a kind of person that pops into your head when you hear “top Tekken player.” And that person may not look like Jeannail “Cuddle_Core” Carter. But that’s okay, she isn’t here to cater to anybody nor seek their validation. She is here to play. And stream. … Continued The post “The spirit of the FGC is still there”: Cuddle_Core talks old-school gatekeeping, grassroots to mainstream, and making a career out of Tekke

There’s a lot of buzz in the Counter-Strike community right now, and it has to do with Major stickers. Valve recently changed how Major sticker sales work at IEM Cologne 2026, ditching the capsule system we’ve used for decades in favor of a token shop where you just buy the sticker you want for a … Continued The post Risk without reward: Counter-Strike 2’s new sticker system threatens the entire esports scene’s structure appeared first on Esports Insider.

The Esports World Cup‘s third edition landed in Paris this year, following a last-minute relocation due to geopolitical tensions. The Esports Foundation faced an unenviable task: moving 25 tournaments, thousands of competitors, and all the infrastructure behind them to a new country and city in a matter of weeks. The tournament itself does not present … Continued The post Hans Jagnow on Paris, politics, and building fandom across 24 games at the Esports World Cup appeared first on Esports In

Team Vitality Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) player Vivi “Vivian” Indrawaty changed her life and her family’s by banking on her esports career. The Indonesian athlete comes from a rural household, where she struggled with insecurity and fear of judgment about her living situation throughout her childhood. Vivian’s incredible MLBB success, however, allowed the player … Continued The post “Keep fighting for your dream”: Team Vitality MLBB pro Vivian on overcoming challenges and jud

Integrity in esports remains a hot topic of conversation among fans and industry stakeholders looking to ensure the world’s biggest events are contested on a level playing field. The world’s best teams frequently compete on stages surrounded by supporters cheering on their favorite players. Despite the use of noise-canceling headsets and in-ear monitors to prevent … Continued The post It’s time for soundproof booths to return to esports appeared first on Esports Insider.

If you look at the top tier of competitive gaming, it feels like a total team sport monopoly. The biggest heavyweights in the industry pull in staggering numbers, and almost every single one of them relies on a full squad to get the job done. Take a look at the viewership metrics. League of Legends … Continued The post Single-player games deserve more attention in esports appeared first on Esports Insider.

Let’s be honest with ourselves for a second: the era of esports organizations begging mainstream corporate giants for a lifeline is getting a little tired. For years, the industry playbook was simple: throw money at non-endemic brands, slap a Mastercard, Coinbase, or Mercedes-Benz logo on a jersey, and pray that a casual crypto customer suddenly … Continued The post Forget the burrito bowl: Karmine Corp’s Blue Rising TCG is the future of esports monetization appeared first on Esports Insid

South American Dota 2 just got dealt one of its worst blows in God knows how long. At the Dota 2 tournament at the Esports World Cup, one of the biggest tournaments of the year, PlayTime’s mid-laner Gonzalo “DarkMago” Herrera and coach Juan “Vintage” Angulo were provisionally suspended by ESIC over suspected breaches of its … Continued The post South American Dota 2 just got dealt one of its worst blows yet after PlayTime’s scandal at the Esports World Cup appeared first on Esports

SNK is absolutely on one right now. They just pulled back the curtain on Season 3 of Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, and the release schedule is relentless. We are getting a brand-new character dropped every single month for a straight half-year, starting with Rick Strowd. The developers’ strategy is pretty transparent here. They … Continued The post Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves has an insane DLC schedule, but it may not be enough to bring the sauce appeared first on Esports Insider.

I am going to say something that might get me kicked out of a few Discord servers, but somebody has to say it. The esports community has officially entered its witch hunt era when it comes to artificial intelligence. Every single time a game developer or an esports organization posts an image, half the comment … Continued The post I am not convinced that hunting for AI is going to solve esports’ biggest issues appeared first on Esports Insider.

EA Head of Esports, Monica Dinsmore, spoke with Esports Insider (ESI) at the Esports World Cup about how EA organizes its esports operations across titles, the growing overlap between esports and real-world sports, EA’s mobile push, and what could be next for the Esports World Cup. Over the first weekend of competition, EA had one … Continued The post EA Head of Esports on cross-title strategy and what’s next for the Esports World Cup appeared first on Esports Insider.

If you tuned into the Esports World Cup expecting the usual high-octane crowd and absolute chaos you usually get during a Grand Final match, you might have noticed things felt a little quiet. Like, “empty customs lobby” quiet. According to the latest stats from Esports Charts, VALORANT took a massive hit in the viewership department … Continued The post VALORANT’s viewership at Esports World Cup has fans worried that the game is “dying” once and for all appeared first on Esports Insi

Nostalgia within the gaming industry is a surefire way for developers and publishers to generate huge profits. In the majority of cases, the remaster or re-release of a popular title from years gone by generates huge interest among fans looking to take a trip down memory lane.  The launch of an old title rarely captures … Continued The post Esports has an excellent opportunity to cash in on nostalgia right now appeared first on Esports Insider.

Leading tournament organizer ESL has just updated its Counter-Strike 2 rulebook, adding a bunch of changes. However, one that stuck out was a new clause regarding internal team communications during a live match. The newly-added Clause 2.30 states that what you say to your own teammates during a match is no longer off-limits to tournament … Continued The post Is Counter-Strike 2 going soft? Esports fans react to new comms rule and debate hate speech vs. trash talk appeared first on Esports Ins

As the Esports World Cup in Paris heads into its second week, the French gambling regulator,  Autorité Nationale des Jeux (ANJ), has reiterated that betting on esports is illegal everywhere in France, on every platform. The regulator issued the reminder during the first week of the Esports World Cup competition, emphasizing that its ban on … Continued The post France reiterates questionable esports betting ban legislation as the Esports World Cup enters second week appeared first on Esports

Esports Insider sat down with Alia Rosmini, Executive Director of Consumer Marketing, Global at Lenovo, and Karan Kapur, Global Marketing Head of Gaming at Lenovo, at the press conference for the Esports World Cup‘s opening ceremony to talk sponsorship strategy, measuring ROI, and where AI fits into the brand’s approach to gaming and esports. All … Continued The post Lenovo on why “not marketing” is the best way to market Legion at the Esports World Cup appeared first on Esports Inside

Last week, insights from a recent episode of The Vodfathers podcast sparked heated discussions about the Esports World Cup (EWC) VALORANT tournament.  According to esports broadcast talent and The Vodfathers co-host, Josh “Sideshow” Wilkinson, some esports organizations prioritize the EWC over their performance in Riot Games’ semi-franchised VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) due to the massive … Continued The post “Maybe it’s not actually voluntary”: Are esports organizations pressuri

In recent times, the Fighting Game Community (FGC) has been too serious for its own good and has forgotten how to have fun while playing the games they love. I don’t blame the community, though. It’s easy to lose sight of fun if there’s a million dollars dangling in front of you to claim, as … Continued The post The FGC has become too serious and we need more people like Hayao appeared first on Esports Insider.

Underdog stories aren’t built on random happenstance. Rather, they are fostered through the unseen moments that fly under the radar. League of Legends isn’t any different from any other form of competition. Teams are bracketed into their specific roles, similar to other sports. China’s LPL is making a run at the dominant LCK, Korea’s top … Continued The post “I think LEC is one step ahead”: CBLOL’s FURIA and LCP’s Team Secret Whales tell us what it takes to catch up to bigger r

One of the most devastating things to ever happen to the Super Smash Bros. community was the time Nintendo pulled Smash games from Evo. Evo used to be one of the largest showcases of Smash’s talented, gritty, and passionate esports scene. Pros crying on stage after they won, Smash players boo’ing during the Wii U … Continued The post As much as I want Super Smash Bros. back at Evo, it no longer makes sense to include it appeared first on Esports Insider.

For years, the script on the League of Legends esports international stage has been the same: China and Korea battle it out for the top spots, with one Western team barely keeping up.  The Mid-Season Invitational 2026 completely threw that script away, partially rewriting the storylines for the second part of the season.  Yes, a … Continued The post MSI 2026 proved the gap between East and West is closing — at least at the top appeared first on Esports Insider.

Another year, another missed Combo Contest. I have unfortunately decided to head to Monterey Car Week this summer, which means I won’t be able to attend the newly expanded Supernova (aka Smash Con) and watch my favorite tourney of all time: the Combo Contest. Supernova is the largest Smash event in the world, featuring tournaments … Continued The post The Combo Contest is unironically my favorite Super Smash Bros. tournament of all time appeared first on Esports Insider.

Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen was a diminutive silhouette as he sat at the end of the stage where he’d be illuminated at the end of the Esports World Cup’s Opening Ceremony’s opening gambit. Five minutes later, French superstar Aya Nakamura performed one song and left the stage. So too did Theodora, before waltzing up the … Continued The post A buffet, not a meal: Inside the Esports World Cup opening ceremony  appeared first on Esports Insider.