A screenshot from the 2021 World Championship Play-in Knockouts broadcast, showing the Game Five drafts between PEACE and RED Canids with a shot of RED Guigo in the middle. With their backs against the wall, PEACE and RED Canids fought to advance to the next stage...
From kids collecting monster cards, such as Pokémon and Yu-Gi-Oh, to pro gamers competing for $500,000 (~£360,154) at the Hearthstone World Championship 2021, collectible card games (CCGs) have grown a lot. With the increasing popularity of digital CCGs -both casually and within esports – the sector’s...
Dropping the support line. Discounting the two-way players with their Contenders team UP Academy, Guangzhou only had a six-man roster, just enough to make a starting roster. They have now released their two Support players Chan-hee “Mandu” Kim and Youngseo “KariV” Park. Fans have already raised questions...
As we approach the final days of the Play-Ins stage, it’s time for the first day of Bo5 competition. First up for the day is Galatasaray (GS) vs Beyond Gaming (BYG) who’ll be looking to secure their spot in the final round of Play-ins. For the...
Each month, ESI compiles the period’s most significant esports movers and shakers. September’s round-up features personnel changes from the likes of Immortals, EXCEL ESPORTS, Team Liquid and BLAST among others Here are the key esports movers and shakers from September 2021. To read more about a...
Keeping the core. Besides Hojin “iDK” Park, the Hangzhou Spark’s most recent roster decisions were nothing out of the blue. Liu “M1ka” Jiming, Tong “ColdEst” Xiaodong, and fan-favorite Min-soo “SeoMinSoo” Seo have been released alongside iDK in Hangzhou’s attempt to start building for the 2022 season....
Each week, ESI Digest breaks down the weekly happenings in the esports industry, making sense of things so you don’t have to. As well as being housed on YouTube, ESI Digest is available on all major podcast platforms and is also available in written form...
BITKRAFT Ventures, a global early and mid-stage investment platform for esports and gaming, has launched a $75m (~£55m) Token Fund for blockchain investments within the sectors. According to the release, the fund will focus on investments that impact the gaming and digital entertainment ecosystems. Image credit: BITKRAFT...
Esports and gaming venture EQ will present its vision to create opportunities for young people to develop their skills and find work through esports at this weekend’s ESI Oxford Street pop-up event. EQ is a new esports venture focused on delivering events and strategic collaborations such...
A short stint and a championship. Rak-hoon “Develop” Chae joined the Shanghai Dragons straight out of Contenders during the June Joust stage of the regular season. Playing a grand total of just over 10 minutes on Tracer in the Countdown Cup, he was just barely able...