Gamereactor UK

VCT EMEA Stage 1 2026: Fnatic and FUT Esports already confirmed for playoffs

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Tue, 21 Apr 2026 10:05:04 +0200

The first stage of the Valorant Champions Tour EMEA division is well underway, with the group stage nearing its completion. We're about to head into the fourth week of action, wherein the fate of many teams will be decided with key playoff spots on the line.

To this end however, already two of the 12 teams have secured their playoff tickets by so far being undefeated in their respective groups. {FUT Esports} hasn't dropped a match-up in Group Alpha whereas {Fnatic} is the same in Group Omega. Their work isn't quite done yet as both teams will be pushing to win their groups and secure a first-round upper bracket bye in the playoffs.

https://x.com/vct_emea/status/2046261472657920093

As for the rest of the teams, none of the 10 other organisations have qualified or been eliminated as of yet, but some are close on both fronts. In Group Alpha, {Karmine Corp} is about to be knocked out thanks to being winless in its match-ups, with the same applying to {PCIFIC Esports} in Group Omega. The other organisations in between still have plenty to compete for.

The next round of action will pick up from tomorrow afternoon, so expect updated news from the VCT EMEA Stage 1 very soon.

Counter-Strike 2 pro receives 10-year ban for punching rival on stage

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 12:05:02 +0200

In a rather shocking turn of events, a Counter-Strike 2 professional player has been handed a whopping 10-year ban from competitive play after he took the stage at an event and proceeded to sucker punch one of his opponents.

As reported by Dexerto, "MAUschine" was the player in question who threw the punch, with the target being "Spidergum". It happened at a DACH CS-hosted tournament called CAGGTUS Leipzig, with the incident occurring during the awards ceremony at the end, with MAUschine clearly unhappy about how things unravelled.

Naturally, such a situation caused the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) to take action almost right away, with MAUschine handed a ten-year ban for his actions, which likely means any hope of a career in competitive Counter-Strike 2 (or any esport for that matter) has been dashed.

You can see the shocking moment as captured on stream and clipped by DramaAlert below.

https://x.com/DramaAlert/status/2046095355083636748

As for the reason for the attack, the report explains that MAUschine was upset by trash talk during the match, which is still little reason to strike someone especially in front of a live audience and with viewers watching from home.

Team Vitality completes the unthinkable, crowned back-to-back Intel Grand Slam champions

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 11:05:02 +0200

As we recently reported upon, Team Vitality won IEM Rio over the weekend, continuing a very admirable and impressive streak of results and success. This victory, while amazing in its own right, is exacerbated by the fact that the French team also secured a back-to-back Intel Grand Slam by lifting the IEM Rio trophy, a feat no team has ever accomplished before.

For reference, winning an Intel Grand Slam requires winning four ESL-hosted events within a ten-game run. For {Team Vitality}, it managed the feat in as little as seven total tournaments after winning IEM Dallas 2025, IEM Cologne 2025, IEM Krakow 2026, and IEM Rio 2026.

As few teams have managed to land a single blow on {Team Vitality} as of recent, and considering we're now in IEM season, it wouldn't be unreasonable to suggest that the team is a favourite for the next Intel Grand Slam. For reference, before we reach July, there will be two more IEM events (Atlanta in May and Cologne in June), and on current form, you wouldn't favour many squads over {Team Vitality}.

But enough looking to the future, this result means that {Team Vitality} takes home an additional $1 million in prize money and even is rewarded with an incredibly rare gold bar, the second of which this team has secured.

https://x.com/ESLCS/status/2045960915343003905

IEM Rio 2026: Team Vitality continues spree of dominance by defeating Team Spirit

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Mon, 20 Apr 2026 10:15:02 +0200

Heading into IEM Rio, the ESL decided to put a bounty on {Team Vitality}'s head in an effort to encourage rival organisations to beat them and knock them out of the tournament. This bounty started at $10,000 but as the event progressed and {Team Vitality} continued to dispatch opponents, the value increased exponentially until it hit a peak of $100,000 for the grand final, meaning should {Team Spirit} win, it'd take home $125,000 in regular prize money plus an additional $100K from the bounty. It's because of this that {Team Spirit}'s loss likely stings worse than ever...

{Team Vitality} could not be stopped in the end and made short work of {Team Spirit} by winning the IEM Rio final in a convincing 3-0 fashion. This result has seen the team continue its spree of dominance and set it up as the one to beat again heading into BLAST Rivals Spring 2026, IEM Atlanta, and IEM Cologne in June.

https://x.com/ESLCS/status/2045959413706740060

Were you surprised by this result at all?

ESL FACEIT Group will begin streaming its tournaments on Kick

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 12:10:04 +0200

Considering how much Kick has grown as a livestreaming platform, this latest news from the ESL FACEIT Group is perhaps less of a surprise. In a press release, it's confirmed that future EFG tournaments, events, and broadcasts will also be livestreamed on Kick, with the intention that committing to this platform will allow the organiser to reach younger fans.

EFG has noticed that Kick is a location where "younger, digitally native audiences are most active," and by accommodating Kick as part of its existing distribution (meaning YouTube and Twitch will still be supported), it should make its content "more accessible than ever before."

Speaking about this move, EFG's SVP of advertising and distribution, Steve Ford, has stated the following: "Our goal has always been to bring esports to the fans, wherever they are. By partnering with KICK, we aren't just adding a new stream; we are entering a long-term collaboration designed to grow the global footprint of Counter-Strike and Dota 2 by engaging with new and incremental audiences."

The one added caveat with this news is that Kick will now serve as the exclusive broadcast destination for the ESL Challenger League, meaning you will need to head to the streaming platform should you want to watch second-division Counter-Strike 2 action.

FaZe Clan looks to get its Counter-Strike 2 efforts back on track by signing new head coach

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:05:02 +0200

For a period of time in the early 2020s, {FaZe Clan} was arguably the best Counter-Strike 2 team in the world. The organisation won a boatload of tournaments and looked indomitable, but then it all fell apart and since then, it has been struggling to replicate a modicum of that same success.

To this end, {FaZe Clan}'s last truly successful major tournament was the StarLadder Budapest Major in December 2025, when it finished second, only losing to the current competitive behemoth, {Team Vitality}. But even this isn't a victory, and this is what {FaZe Clan} is hoping to change by bringing on a new head coach.

Niclas "enkay J" Krumhorn has been acquired from {ENCE} with the hope that the German coach can get the team back to its winning-ways. This change naturally will see Dominik "GruBy" Świderski moving back to an analyst position too.

https://x.com/FaZeEsports/status/2044808097147900253

As for when we'll next see {FaZe Clan}, it will be appearing at the BLAST Rivals Spring 2026 tournament from late April and then travelling to the United States for IEM Atlanta in mid-May afterwards.

IEM Rio 2026: The playoffs commence today, here is the six-team bracket

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Fri, 17 Apr 2026 10:05:02 +0200

It's crunch time for the Intel Extreme Masters event in Rio de Janeiro, as the big Counter-Strike 2 tournament comes to a close this weekend. With this being the case, the group stage recently concluded, meaning the six-team playoff bracket has been locked in, with this being a single-elimination event where there are no second chances.

The format will see the two quarterfinals being played today, April 17, before the semi-finals follow tomorrow, and finally the third-place match and the grand final occurs on Sunday. With this being the case, you can see the full schedule and slate of fixtures below.

Quarterfinals - April 17

Mouz vs. Team Spirit at 16:00 BST/17:00 CEST

Team Vitality vs. NAVI at 19:15 BST/20:15 CEST

Semi-finals - April 18

Team Falcons vs. Winner of Mouz/Spirit at 16:00 BST/17:00 CEST

Furia vs. Winner of Vitality/NAVI at 19:15 BST/20:15 CEST

Third-place match - April 19

Loser of Semifinal 1 vs. Loser of Semifinal 2 at 14:30 BST/15:30 CEST

Grand Final - April 19

Winner of Semifinal 1 vs. Winner of Semifinal 2 at 18:00 BST/19:00 CEST

Considering Team Vitality has shown its first sign of mortality by losing its group final to Team Falcons, who do you regard as the favourite to win IEM Rio 2026?

Sentinels enters Valorant Game Changers circuit with team created in collaboration with Blue Otter

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 12:10:03 +0200

The Valorant Game Changers 2026 season is picking up, meaning all eyes will be on the women's competitive circuit once again. To this end, a few teams have decided to take the leap into the esport, with Evil Geniuses recently signing a Game Changers squad that is set to compete in South America. Sentinels are also not wasting the opportunity to explore the competitive scene either.

As part of a collaboration with the organisation known as Blue Otter, Sentinels has created a Game Changers organisation, which is going by the moniker of SEN Otters. The team consists of five core players, two substitutes, a manager, a head coach, and an assistant coach too. As for who each of these individuals are, you can see the full SEN Otters team below.

"Avery"

"Battison"

"CYN"

"MAYYY"

"Oasis"

"Invert" as a substitute

"Princessicy" as a substitute

"JacSakura" as the manager

"Lolooomir" as the head coach

"Scorezy" as the assistant coach

https://x.com/sentinels/status/2044119735621824814

SEN Otters will be competing in the North American division, which kicks off its first stage later today, with this running until June 5.

FaZe Clan unveils new academy programme aiming to discover "future superstars"

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 11:00:03 +0200

{FaZe Clan} is looking to find the next-generation of esports and gaming superstars, all through a new academy programme that the organisation has launched. It's regarded as {FaZe Up Next} and while information related to the project is scarce as it stands, we are told the following.

"Introducing FaZe Up Next, our academy program dedicated to the development and competition of pro gaming's future superstars."

https://x.com/fazeupnext/status/2044113587073905032

{FaZe Clan}, during its heights at the end of the 2010s and in early 2020s, employed a huge number of creators and esports stars, but after failing to find a place as a publicly traded company, losing almost all of its valued worth, the team cut ties with many of these individuals to instead focus its efforts on a more concise number of opportunities. This move seems to show that {FaZe Clan} has found its footing once again and is ready to begin its expansion into academy prospects and the talent of the future.

IEM Rio 2026: Four playoffs spots have been filled while four teams have already been eliminated

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Wed, 15 Apr 2026 10:10:02 +0200

As we mentioned yesterday, as we head into Wednesday's action, already four teams have concluded their journey through IEM Rio 2026, as four organisations have been eliminated from the major event. To polarise this, four teams have also already punched their playoffs ticket, including {Team Vitality}, who is still hunting for their back-to-back Intel Grand Slam achievement.

As for the eliminated teams, {Gentle Mates}, {Team Liquid}, {Passion UA}, and {Legacy} have all been knocked out. On the other hand, the four confirmed playoff squads are {Team Vitality}, {Team Falcons}, {Furia}, and {Mouz}.

With all of this in mind, today (April 15) is a big day because we'll learn about the confirmed group winners and also the next four eliminated teams. This being said, the fixtures are as follows.

IEM Rio April 15 Fixtures:

Group A Upper Bracket Final:

Team Vitality vs. Team Falcons

Group A Lower Bracket Semifinals:

Team Spirit vs. RED Canids

G2 Esports vs. 3DMax

Group B Upper Bracket Final:

Furia vs. Mouz

Group B Lower Bracket Semifinals:

Aurora Gaming vs. B8

Natus Vincere vs. HOTU

PaiN Gaming parted ways with its Dota 2 team to "ensure the project's sustainability"

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:05:02 +0200

{PaiN Gaming} has had an uneven time in the world of competitive Dota 2, with some of its best success found in the late 2010s. The 2020s haven't been too kind for the organisation in the esport, and despite plans to compete in PGL Wallachia Season 8 from later this week, the team has made the decision to go a very different way.

{PaiN Gaming} has officially dropped its latest Dota 2 roster, pressing the reset button in an effort to better determine its place in the esport. The full reasoning behind this surprising change has been outlined in a post on social media, wherein we're told the following.

"Throughout this journey, we conducted a careful evaluation of the project as a whole and came to the understanding that this is the right moment to close this chapter, considering the demands, structural challenges, and the need to ensure the project's sustainability in order to remain at the highest competitive level."

https://x.com/paiNGamingBR/status/2043359170897051753

With this in mind, Máximo "Wits" Orozco Alza, Gonzalo "DarkMago" Herrera, Frank "Frank" Ayala, Elvis "Scofield" Peña, Yelsthin "Elmisho" Hurtado, coach Juan "Vintage" Angulo, analyst Ryan "Tristan" Piero Angulo Diaz, and manager Edson "EdsonVera" Enrique Vera Bazan have all been released from their contracts.

It's unclear what the future holds for {PaiN Gaming} in the Dota 2 space, but the team does sign off by explaining "maybe our paths will cross again in the future."

Evil Geniuses signs Valorant Game Changers roster

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 11:10:02 +0200

For a couple of years in the early 2020s, Evil Geniuses was one of the bigger names to feature and support a Game Changers team in the Valorant circuit. The organisation competed in the women's division but soon decided that it wasn't proving to be a fruitful investment, hence why it disbanded the roster in late 2023 and has not since returned.

Or rather it hadn't... Now Evil Geniuses has revealed a return to Game Changers, signing a fresh roster that will compete in the Brazilian division for the esport. As per the players who have been signed and who will represent Evil Geniuses, they are the following.

"Allie"

Giulia "lissa" Lissa

Camila "sayuri" Obam

Nicolas "srN" Niederauer

Vitória "vii" Rabelo

Beatriz "Bebesita" Hornes as head coach

João "jvsz" Vitor as assistant coach

https://x.com/evilgeniuses/status/2043449078848369115

Evil Geniuses GC, as the team is known, is currently competing in the Brazilian Stage 1 - Playoffs, which are still underway.

IEM Rio 2026: First matches conclude with Team Vitality, Natus Vincere, Aurora Gaming, and more, victories

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Tue, 14 Apr 2026 10:00:02 +0200

While it has only just begun, IEM Rio is moving along at a breakneck pace. So far, the opening fixtures for the tournament have commenced, and with these in mind, eight teams have started their event with victories while a further eight are already now battling elimination.

With a ton of matches in the books, you can see the April 13 results below and likewise the fixtures for April 14 too.

IEM Rio April 13 results:

Team Vitality 2-0 RED Canids

Gentle Mates 1-2 G2 Esports

Team Spirit 2-0 Team Liquid

3DMax 0-2 Team Falcons

Furia 2-0 Passion UA

B8 1-2 Natus Vincere

Aurora Gaming 2-0 HOTU

Legacy 1-2 Mouz

IEM Rio April 14 fixtures:

Group A Upper Bracket Semifinals:

Team Vitality vs. G2 Esports

Team Spirit vs. Team Falcons

Group A Lower Bracket Quarterfinals:

RED Canids vs. Gentle Mates

Team Liquid vs. 3DMax

Group B Upper Bracket Semifinals:

Furia vs. Natus Vincere

Aurora Gaming vs. Mouz

Group B Lower Bracket Quarterfinals:

Passion UA vs. B8

HOTU vs. Legacy

What do you expect from today's fixtures?

Faker to be immortalised on a stamp this October

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 12:00:02 +0200

The success of Faker is incredibly well-known among gamers of today, as the South Korean League of Legends player is often brought up in greatest-of-all-time conversations due to his consistent and long-running excellence in the LoL esports space. Faker has had immense longevity already and he's showing no signs of slowing down either, which is what makes this latest news all the less surprising.

As per Dot Esports, it's mentioned that Faker will soon be immortalised on a postage stamp in Korea. He is set to become the first active esports player to ever be featured on a government-issued stamp, and the commemorative collection will be making their arrival as soon as this October.

Faker's stamp inclusion will see the esports legend regarded amongst national icons and leaders, becoming a true first for esports and also further evidence of just how much esports has grown in the Asian country.

As it stands, Faker is currently experiencing some of his greatest success to date, after recently becoming back-to-back-to-back world champion with T1. The question is whether a fourth consecutive trophy will be on the cards this November.

Here is the bracket for the Call of Duty League 2026 Minor I tournament

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 11:15:02 +0200

We've already had a few Major tournaments in the 2026 Call of Duty League calendar but things won't be slowing down any time soon. Qualifiers for the third Major of the year are upon us and these are being split by the arrival of the first Minor tournament of the season, which is slated to run between April 24-26.

Unlike the Majors, this tournament will feature all 12 CDL teams, with seeding simply using the current season-wide standings. The tournament is also a single-elimination event, meaning teams must not lose a single match if they intend to come out on top, and since it's a Minor event, it will be played online.

With all of this in mind, the bracket and initial seeding has been laid out as such:

Round 1 Fixtures:

Toronto KOI vs. Carolina Royal Ravens

G2 Minnesota vs. Cloud9 New York

Riyadh Falcons vs. Vancouver Surge

Miami Heretics vs. Boston Breach

Quarterfinals Fixtures:

OpTic Texas vs. Winner of KOI/Royal Ravens

Los Angeles Thieves vs. Winner of G2/Cloud9

FaZe Vegas vs. Winner of Falcons/Surge

Paris Gentle Mates vs. Winner of Heretics/Breach

Each of the matches will use a best-of-five format, so expect plenty of CDL action over next weekend.

PGL Bucharest 2026: FUT Esports claims trophy after dominant grand final against Astralis

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Mon, 13 Apr 2026 10:15:02 +0200

After a busy tournament that started over Easter, PGL Bucharest 2026 came to a close over this past weekend, meaning a team has been crowned champion and the trophy has been handed out.

The grand final match-up saw {FUT Esports} and {Astralis} coming together and after a rather dominant performance from the former, {FUT Esports} walked away as the victor following a 3-1 result.

https://x.com/pglesports/status/2043025065151803729

This means that the team is heading home with $200,000 in prize money, while {Astralis} gets $93,750 for its efforts. Otherwise, thanks to beating {3DMax} in the third-place match, {The MongolZ} is walking away with $75,000 in prize money due to finishing third overall.

As for what's next for {FUT Esports}, the team has a minor break, as it will next appear at BLAST Rivals Spring 2026, which commences on April 29.

Call of Duty: Warzone competition will peak with the Esports World Cup's Resurgence Series

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 12:05:02 +0200

While many games use the Esports World Cup as a place to host a major tournament but otherwise save their premier event for elsewhere, some titles do utilise the Saudi Arabian festival as the place to hold the biggest moment on their competitive calendar. One such example of this will be for competitive Call of Duty: Warzone, which is finally getting a more substantial international event starting from this summer.

Known as the Call of Duty: Warzone Resurgence Series, this is regarded as the "crown jewel" of the competitive calendar, as it brings the best teams from around the world together for a tournament where $1 million is on the line.

Unlike past events, all roads will lead to this tournament, with qualification secured by competing in regional events around the world. As for how the 32 slots are distributed, we're told the following:

The top 5 teams that have not already qualified for EWC from COD:WRS Atlanta at DreamHack

The top 6 teams from the COD:WRS Championship Qualifiers: NA

The top 6 teams from the COD:WRS Championship Qualifiers: EU

The top 3 teams from the COD:WRS Championship Qualifiers: LATAM North

The top 2 teams from the COD:WRS Championship Qualifiers: LATAM South

The top 3 teams from the COD:WRS Championship Qualifiers: MENA

The top 2 teams from the COD:WRS Championship Qualifiers: APAC

This will seemingly be the format going forward too, suggesting that Call of Duty: Warzone esports are about to take a much-needed official and more structured step forward.

PGL Singapore Major will feature a third-place decider match

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:10:03 +0200

One of the final Counter-Strike 2 tournaments of this calendar year will take place in Singapore, with a PGL-hosted Major occurring between November 24 and December 13. This event will bring together 32 of the top teams from around the world and as for who will be present, we now have an idea as to who could be invited.

In a blog post, PGL has confirmed that the attending teams will be selected based on the latest Valve Regional Standings information after November 2. Essentially, only the best-ranked teams will be invited and competing for a slice of the $1.25 million being presented at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Otherwise, it's mentioned that the event will be the first PGL Major to offer a third-place decider match, with this determining which team walks away with a slightly larger cash prize.

PGL Bucharest 2026: Here are today's semifinals fixtures

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 10:35:03 +0200

We mentioned yesterday that four teams would be eliminated from the PGL Bucharest 2026 Counter-Strike 2 tournament before the day ended, leaving just four remaining teams, and likewise, only four remaining games too. Below are the fixtures for April 10 and April 11, and as for the four teams who were knocked out yesterday, these include {Eyeballers}, {MiBR}, {Parivision}, and {B8}.

Semifinals (April 10):

Astralis vs. 3D Max at 15:00 BST/16:00 CEST

The MongolZ vs. FUT Esports at 18:00 BST/19:00 CEST

Third Place Match (April 11):

Loser of Semifinal #1 vs. Loser of Semifinal #2 at 13:00 BST/14:00 CEST

Grand Final (April 11):

Winner of Semifinal #1 vs. Winner of Semifinal #2 at 16:00 BST/17:00 CEST

Who do you think will go the distance?

Riot Games reveals huge plans to revamp the Valorant Champions Tour ecosystem, starting in 2027

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 12:05:02 +0200

Riot Games has revealed that the Valorant Champions Tour will look considerably different as of 2027. A huge format overhaul is being planned, which will see the top-division esport move away from its current format to instead utilise a tournament model where the stakes are higher than ever before.

Riot explains that the aim here will be to offer more regional tournaments that take the action to more locations around the world, all while improving the ways that a team can qualify to Masters and Champions-level events.

There will be open qualification routes available to ensure that a wider array of teams have a path to global events, and with this bigger emphasis on tournaments, Riot promises over $6 million per year in cash prizes will be up for grabs, on top of VCT teams benefitting from funding from their respective digital goods.

Essentially, league play is being sunset in favour of VCT Cups, which will determine the best teams from each region and which will see these squads qualifying for Masters and Champions events. There will be a grand total of over 20 tournaments happening over the calendar year, with plans to visit more than 16 cities too.

Riot is also changing how its partnership system works, with teams now set to get a two-year partnership cycle that sees them benefit from partner payments, performance bonuses, in-game team capsules, and direct seeding.

As Leo Faria, Riot's global head of Valorant esports explains, "VCT 2027 is about reimagining how teams compete and how fans experience VALORANT esports. By shifting to a tournament-driven system with open access to our biggest events, we're creating a more dynamic, high-stakes ecosystem where every match matters and every team has a shot at the global stage."

The full Esports Nations Cup 16-game line-up has been confirmed

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 11:10:03 +0200

While the immediate focus for many will be on the Esports World Cup in the summer, the Esports Nations Cup will happen later in the year in November, with this latter festival being a nation-based tournament where countries will send forth representatives to compete in a slate of different video games.

To this end, the Esports Foundation has now confirmed the 16 games that will be featured at the Esports Nations Cup, with these titles set to be in the spotlight for a period of time during the three-weeks that the festival occurs between November 2-29.

The full Esports Nations Cup line-up can be seen below.

Apex Legends

Chess

Counter-Strike 2

Dota 2

EA Sports FC (seemingly 27?)

Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves

Honor of Kings

League of Legends

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang

PUBG: Battlegrounds

PUBG Mobile

Rainbow Six: Siege X

Rocket League

Street Fighter 6

Trackmania

Valorant

Which games are you most excited to see host competitive action?

PGL Bucharest 2026: The playoffs bracket is set with only eight teams left in contention

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Thu, 09 Apr 2026 10:15:01 +0200

The group stage for PGL Bucharest 2026 has come to a close, meaning as of yesterday, three more teams were eliminated from the tournament while three others punched their tickets to the playoffs.

To this end, after a tense match, {Eyeballers} managed to knock out {Fokus} after defeating the team 2-1, all while {Parivision} and {B8} made short work of {Wildcard} and {Legacy}, both in a 2-0 manner.

This means that the playoff teams have been confirmed and the quarterfinals bracket is locked in. The quarterfinals actually happen today, and since it uses a single-elimination format, four teams will be knocked out today, while the other four advance to tomorrow's semi-finals. As for the fixtures for today, you can see that information below.

PGL Bucharest Quarterfinals:

Astralis vs. Eyeballers

3DMax vs. MiBR

The MongolZ vs. Parivision

B8 vs. FUT Esports

What results are you expecting from these fixtures?

The Esports Awards returns to North America later this year

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 12:20:02 +0200

There are plenty of events and shows where creators and developers in the video game world are spotlighted and celebrated, but for the esports sector, there are considerably fewer dedicated events. However, one such show that does happen each and every year is The Esports Awards, which recently celebrated its 10th iteration.

Building on this, it has now been confirmed that The Esports Awards will return for a 2026 event, with the caveat that the organisers are not yet ready to share information in which exact venue this show will be held, when exactly it will be held, or even in which city, as we're simply told that it will be returning to North America.

More information is planned for the coming months ahead but we are told that the event will also bring back the Esports Awards Golf Invitational, "bringing together industry leaders, creators and competitors for a day of networking and competition ahead of the awards."

ESL revealed the whopping 32 teams invited to IEM Cologne

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:40:03 +0200

One of the most popular and iconic events on the Counter-Strike 2 competitive calendar is IEM Cologne, which sees the best squads and organisations from around the world travelling to the German city for an intense tournament where $1.25 million is on the line.

With the 2026 event planned for June 2-21, now the ESL has confirmed all 32 teams who will be in-attendance, revealing how the various organisations have been split across the three phases of action.

The seeding has been arranged based on recent performances elsewhere, with the highest-ranked squads able to skip the 'qualification' rounds and simply appear in the latter stages. To this end, here is how the teams are arranged.

Stage 1:

GamerLegion

BetBoom Team

Heroic

Sinners Esports

Sharks Esports

Gaimin Gladiators

MiBR

Team Liquid

Tyloo

Lynn Vision Gaming

Thunderdownunder

FlyQuest

Stage 2:

Team Spirit

Astralis

G2 Esports

FUT Esports

Monte

9z Team

PaiN Gaming

Legacy

Stage 3:

Team Vitality

Natus Vincere

Parivision

Aurora Gaming

Team Falcons

Mouz

Furia

The MongolZ

Stage 1 will happen between June 2-5 and will knock out eight teams. The eight survivors will advance to Stage 2 between June 6-9, where again the bottom eight teams are eliminated and the top eight advance. This then leads to Stage 3 between June 11-15, where, you guessed it, eight teams are knocked out and eight teams progress to the conclusive playoffs.

With these invitees in mind, who do you see as a favourite for IEM Cologne?

PGL Bucharest 2026: The MongolZ, MiBR, and 3DMax joins playoff-bound team list

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Wed, 08 Apr 2026 10:05:02 +0200

The first handful of teams to punch their playoff tickets for PGL Bucharest 2026 were confirmed at the start of the week, something we touched upon yesterday where we also noted that more teams would be confirmed for the playoffs later in the afternoon. We can now touch on the latest group stage results.

Recently, {The MongolZ}, {MiBR}, and {3DMax} all secured their playoff spots by winning a third group stage match. Surprisingly, none of these results actually ended up eliminating any teams from the tournament, as rather it was a tense battle between a collection of organisations attempting to notch up their third wins.

As this was the case, further down the group standings were a bunch of knockout matches, with {BC.Game Esports}, {NRG}, and {Inner Circle Esports} all falling victim and losing crucial matches, meaning their tournament hopes have been dashed.

This leaves just three more playoff spots to be filled, which will happen this afternoon. There are three matches planned today, all of which are crucial games where the winner advances and the loser is eliminated. As for the fixtures, see these below.

Fokus vs. Eyeballers

B8 vs. Legacy

Parivision vs. Wildcard

Once these games conclude, the playoffs bracket will be seeded, so expect another update tomorrow.

MarineLorD and Hera crowned Red Bull Wololo: Londinium champions

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 12:20:04 +0200

Age of Empires and esports aren't typically a very well-known marriage of ideas but there's a major interest from fans for this to change, as the recent Red Bull Wololo: Londinium tournament goes to show.

The event was held over the past week and concluded by seeing the best players taking to the stage in London's famed Royal Albert Hall for a live final that drew in a total audience of over 110,000 fans.

There were two finals that took place yesterday, April 6, with a tense Age of Empires IV showing between MarineLorD and Wam01, which went the distance until MarineLorD managed to come out on top and claim the title and trophy for their own.

Adding to this was an intense and amazing comeback performance in the Age of Empires II category, where Liereyy had the trophy within reach by going up 3-0 all before Hera delivered an insane reverse-sweep, winning four engagements in a row and stealing the trophy and title away for themselves.

Ultimately, fans were treated to an impressive showing that goes to show that competitive Age of Empires has a very bright future.

IEM Rio 2026: The groups and opening fixtures are locked in

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 11:10:02 +0200

The Counter-Strike 2 competitive calendar simply does not slow down this time of the year, as there are tons of tournaments happening on a weekly basis. To this end, while PGL Bucharest is underway in Romania, a bunch of other teams are getting ready to compete in Brazil for IEM Rio.

This event starts on April 13 and with $300,000 on offer (and potentially $1 million for {Team Vitality} if they win the event and secure another Intel Grand Slam), the groups and opening fixtures have now been locked in. You can see this information below.

Group A:

Team Vitality vs. RED Canids

Gentle Mates vs. G2 Esports

Team Spirit vs. Team Liquid

3DMax vs. Team Falcons

Group B:

Furia vs. Passion UA

B8 vs. Natus Vincere

Aurora Gaming vs. HOTU

Legacy vs. Mouz

With these teams and fixtures in mind, who do you think will go the distance at IEM Rio?

https://x.com/ESLCS/status/2039765006154121596

PGL Bucharest 2026: Astralis and FUT Esports secure playoffs tickets

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Tue, 07 Apr 2026 10:10:06 +0200

Ahead of the long weekend, we touched up on the schedule for PGL Bucharest 2026, which started on April 4 and will run all the way until April 11. With this major Counter-Strike 2 tournament bringing together many of the best teams from around the world, you may be interested to hear how the event has progressed up until this point? If so, we have you covered.

As it stands, not much of certainty has happened, as out of the 16 group stage teams, 12 still remain in flux and in a position where they can compete for playoff spots. The other four teams have either secured playoffs tickets or been eliminated altogether.

After beginning their PGL Bucharest campaigns with three consecutive victories, both {Astralis} and {FUT Esports} have been confirmed for the playoffs. Likewise, both {FaZe Clan} and {Team Voca} have been knocked out after losing their first three matches.

There are a slate of matches underway today, meaning more playoffs tickets could be punched in the coming hours. Likewise, we won't know the firm playoffs schedule and bracket until the group stage has concluded tomorrow.

Team Vitality is now on the second-best Counter-Strike map-winning streak ever

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 12:05:02 +0200

Earlier this week, we touched on the result of the BLAST Open Spring 2026 tournament and how {Team Vitality} is continuing to establish dynasty status in the Counter-Strike 2 era by securing yet another trophy for its cabinet.

In fact, as Dot Esports has noticed, {Team Vitality}'s recent performance has seen it enter the history books by now being on the second-best map-winning streaks in the history of Counter-Strike. As of writing, the organisation has notched up 22 consecutive map wins, which places it in second in the all-time charts, behind only {Ninjas in Pyjamas}.

The catch is that claiming the title will require an immense amount of effort, as {NIP}'s record reached a staggering 87 consecutive map wins, meaning {Team Vitality} will need to win a further 65 maps without losing a single one, something that will mean winning the next five-to-ten tournaments without a single blemish, depending on how many maps are required to do so during that time. Doing so, while unlikely, would for certain place {Team Vitality} at the top of the CS dynasty rankings.

The immediate future will see {Team Vitality} appearing at IEM Rio and Atlanta, where it could win a back-to-back Intel Grand Slam, with a stop in between for BLAST Rivals Spring 2026.

LEC Spring 2026: Here are the fixtures for Week 2

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 11:10:05 +0200

Just because many of us will be relaxing over this long weekend doesn't mean that the best esports players will be following suit. For the world of competitive League of Legends, regional play continues, including in the LEC where as many as seven games will happen over the coming days. To this end, so you're away about what's coming, we've gathered all of the fixture information below.

Saturday, April 4:

SK Gaming vs. Shifters at 13:00 BST/14:00 CEST

G2 Esports vs. Team Heretics at 15:15 BST/16:15 CEST

Natus Vincere vs. Team Vitality at 17:30 BST/18:30 CEST

Sunday, April 5:

SK Gaming vs. GiantX at 16:00 BST/17:00 CEST

Fnatic vs. G2 Esports at 18:15 BST/19:15 CEST

Monday, April 6:

GiantX vs. Team Heretics at 16:00 BST/17:00 CEST

Team Vitality vs. Movistar KOI at 18:15 BST/19:15 CEST

Which game are you most eager to watch?

PGL Bucharest 2026: Here are the opening fixtures

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Thu, 02 Apr 2026 10:10:05 +0200

While many of you will be kicking back to enjoy the long Easter weekend, the best Counter-Strike 2 players and teams will be back to business by appearing at the PGL Bucharest event happening in Romania this April. The tournament officially kicks off on April 4, and with matches slated from Saturday, you might be curious to know what the opening fixtures look like. We have this information below.

FUT Esports vs. Inner Circle Esports

B8 vs. Wildcard

The MongolZ vs. BC.Game Esports

Parivision vs. Legacy

3DMax vs. Fokus

NRG vs. Team Voca

Astralis vs. MiBR

FaZe Clan vs. Eyeballers

https://x.com/pglesports/status/2039333020742688848

The tournament will last just over a week and will begin by seeing the 16 teams whittled down to only eight survivors through the initial group stage. The group is structured so that each round is re-seeded from scratch, with the aim being for a team to notch up three victories to advance to the playoffs. This could happen by winning the first three matches and easily progressing, or by squeezing through in the end in a 3-2 manner. Regardless of how the job is done, any team who notches up three losses will be eliminated.

When the playoffs do commence, this will be a single-elimination bracket, meaning there is no safety net during this phase of the action.

Will you be watching PGL Bucharest this weekend?

Evo Awards 2026: Here are all the categories and winners

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 12:05:02 +0200

Recently, the second annual Evo Awards show took place in Los Angeles, bringing together many of the biggest names and players from the world of competitive fighting games, to celebrate and hand out trophies to mark another year of action.

As this event is now in the books, you might be wondering about who has been recognised for their efforts and across which categories. If so, we have all of the relevant information below.

Best Artist: Hungry Clicker

Best Character: Mai Shiranui

Best Combo: Blaz's Sagat vs Xiohai's Mai Fan

Best Commentary: Rynge on Blaz Entering Grand Finals of CapCom Cup 11

Best Content Creator: Rooflemonger

Best Cosplay: Sharkparty's Juri

Best Custom Controller presented by Chipotle: The Bard Box

Best Dressed presented by Zenni: Ryan Hart

Best Game Release: Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves

Best Local: River City Rushdown

Best Meme presented by Chipotle: KojiKOG's Crashout

Best Online Series: Tampa Never Sleeps

Best Pop Off: Punk Standing Up vs Xiaohau at EWC

Best Product: Brook Wingman Converter

Comeback of the Year: Mister Crimson (vs Blaz)

Commentator of the Year: Tasty Steve

Match of the Year presented by Qiddiya: Xiaohau vs Lauyagami

Moment of the Year: KojiKOB's Crashout

Player of the Year presented by Qiddiya: Arslan Ash

They've Got Next (upcoming new player) presented by PlayStation Tournaments: Blaz

Esports Foundation reveals its 40 Club Partner organisations for 2026

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:10:02 +0200

As the summer is nearing by the day, the Esports Foundation is continuing to share more and more information about 2026's edition of the Esports World Cup. The latest development is in regards to the Club Partner Programme, which dishes out a ton of financial support to different organisations to ensure they can field a wide array of players for the seven-week-long and 20+ tournament festival.

This year will see 40 organisations being welcomed into the fold, with each team receiving up to $1 million, from a total pool of $20 million, to help fund their ambitions for the Esports World Cup. Typically, this leads to various teams and players being signed for the summer to represent organisations in games they otherwise have a reduced presence in, all before the two parties go separate ways after the festival ends.

As per the 40 clubs selected for 2026, you can see this information below.

100 Thieves

9z Globant

All Gamers

Alpha7 Esports

Cloud9

EDward Gaming

Fluxo w7m

Fnatic

Furia

FUT Esports

G2 Esports

GAM Esports

Gen.G Esports

Gentle Mates

GodLike

Heroic

JD Gaming

Leviatan

Mouz

Natus Vincere

Ninjas in Pyjamas.eStar

ONIC

Reject

S8UL

Sentinels

Team Falcons

Team Heretics

Team Liquid

Team RRQ

Team Secret

Team Spirit

Team Vitality

Titan Esports Club

Twisted Minds

Virtus.pro

Weibo Gaming

Wolves Esports

Zeta Division

Are you excited for the Esports World Cup in the summer?

BLAST Premier Open Season 2 to be held in Porto in September

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 10:10:09 +0200

Tournament organiser BLAST has revealed that very soon competitive Counter-Strike 2 action will be heading back to Portugal for an upcoming event. As part of the BLAST Premier Open Season 2 event planned for September 4-6, we're told that the European country will play host to major action once more, after previously being the selected host for events in 2018, 2022, and 2025. The difference is the three prior tournaments all took place in Lisbon, while the upcoming event will happen in Porto.

Set to be featured at the Super Bock Arena in the country, we're told that the event will bring together 16 of the best teams from around the world and will serve up a prize pool of $1.1 million.

Speaking about returning to Portugal, BLAST Premier's programme director, Anne Banschbach, explained: "Bringing BLAST Premier back to Portugal is a special moment for us. Portugal has consistently delivered events with some of the most passionate Counter-Strike fans in the world, and bringing our events to Porto for the first time is another exciting step in a milestone year for BLAST Premier. We're proud to continue growing our global circuit in new cities, and we can't wait to deliver an unforgettable experience inside the Super Bock Arena this September."

The confirmed teams will be revealed at a later date as will ticketing information for the tournament.

CS Asia Championships 2026 to be held in May: Here are the 16 invited teams

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 12:05:02 +0200

There are so many major Counter-Strike 2 tournaments happening throughout this spring, including two IEM events, PGL Astana, more BLAST-hosted action, and even a Perfect World Esports-organised event too.

This latter tournament is the CS Asia Championships (CAC), which will be happening in Shanghai, China between May 20-24. It's a big event that brings together 16 of the best teams from around the world in a bid to see them fight over a $1 million prize pool.

It will begin with a double-elimination group stage knockout bracket between May 20-22, which will whittle down the competition to simply six survivors. These six teams will then be seeded into a single-elimination playoffs bracket to be played over May 23-24, where a winner will be crowned.

With this all coming up, you might be interested in knowing which teams have been invited to CAC 2026? If so, you can see all 16 invited squads below.

Parivision

Team Falcons

Mouz

Aurora Gaming

The MongolZ

Team Liquid

3DMax

Legacy

PaiN Gaming

BC.Game Esports

MiBR

Lynn Vision

Tyloo

Will you be tuning into CAC 2026?

https://x.com/CS_PerfectWorld/status/2038808130252103720

Manchester City wins third-straight ePremier League title

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 11:10:01 +0200

It has been almost two years since Manchester City last won a Premier League title and while that may seem like quite a long time ago, the fact that the club has won six of the last eight trophies no doubt makes this sting far less for its fans. This slump has not affected all avenues of competition for Man City, however, as in the ePremier League, it is continuing to be an indomitable force.

During the ePremier League Finals over the weekend, Man City was crowned victor once again, making for its third title in a row and its fourth trophy in the eight years that the ePremier League has been held.

The final saw Man City's duo of Matias Bonanno and Jafonso taking on Leeds United's Tekkz and NiKSNEB, with this leading to an intense match where Man City won 8-6 in the end, lifting the trophy, securing qualification to the eChampions League and also an invitation to the World Championship reserved solely for regional tournament victors around the world. Leeds did also earn an eChampions League spot for their efforts, but will not appear at the World Championship.

As for what's next for this Man City duo, the eChampions League will be held in mid-to-late May, with the World Championship following at the Esports World Cup in July.

DreamHack will return to Birmingham in 2027

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Tue, 31 Mar 2026 10:10:04 +0200

Over the weekend, DreamHack Birmingham took place in England's sister city, bringing many of the esports world's biggest games and talent to the Midlands city for three days of intense action and community-geared activities. It has proven to be a big success both for Birmingham and DreamHack, hence why there is a reunion planned for two year's time.

Between April 2-7, the NEC will once again play host to the major gaming festival. We don't yet know what will be featured as part of this return, as typically confirmed tournaments and events are revealed closer to the festival's opening, but the good news is that if you enjoyed the event, you will soon be able to do it all over again.

https://x.com/DreamHack/status/2038541922940104920

As per this year's event, it's mentioned that it brought in over 54,000 visitors during its three-day span and according to DreamHack's vice-president product and executive producer, Anna Nordlander, the 2027 event will be "even bigger".

https://x.com/Laejten/status/2038553115725635654

ESL One Birmingham: Tundra Esports continues latest slate of success with another title

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 12:05:03 +0200

The current best-in-form team in the world of competitive Dota 2 is undoubtedly {Tundra Esports}, who ever since November 2025, has won BLAST Slam IV and V, DreamLeague Season 28, and now also ESL One Birmingham.

The major event came to a close over the weekend and featured a final that pitted {Tundra Esports} against {Team Yandex}. After a convincing 3-1 result went in {Tundra Esports}' favour, a match-up that actually followed an Upper Bracket Final where {Tundra Esports} and {Team Yandex} faced off with the former winning 2-0 too, the London-based team lifted the trophy and was crowned champion once more.

https://x.com/ESLDota2/status/2038353194741289390

As for what's next for {Tundra Esports}, the team will soon be appearing at PGL Wallachia Season 8 in mid-April, all before shifting its attention to BLAST Slam VII in May, ahead of the Esports World Cup in the summer.

FaZe Vegas dubbed Major II champion at Call of Duty League's Birmingham-based event

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 11:05:03 +0200

The current reigning Call of Duty League champion of {OpTic Texas} has hit a rather strange snag in its title defence season, as the organisation has managed to become the runner-up at the two Majors of the ongoing season. After failing to defeat {Paris Gentle Mates} in Major I, the team just failed once more over the past weekend at Major II.

Hosted at DreamHack Birmingham as the first Call of Duty League event to leave North America in years, the event featured a grand final that pitted {OpTic Texas} against {FaZe Vegas}, a match that did not at all go the direction of the reigning champions.

After five maps, {FaZe Vegas} came out on top after defeating {OpTic Texas} 4-1, to both secure the trophy, leave with $150,000 in prize money, and also a slate of Call of Duty League Points that elevates {FaZe Vegas} to second this season, just 20 points behind the reigning champions.

As for what's next for the CDL, qualifiers for Major III kick off on April 17 ahead of the main event happening in mid-May.

https://x.com/CODLeague/status/2038335908743680394

BLAST Open Spring 2026: Team Vitality continues latest reign of terror with another victory

ben@gamereactor.eu (Ben Lyons) — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 10:10:02 +0200

For a period over the past few years, Team Vitality was almost untouchable in the competitive Counter-Strike 2 world, winning most events it attended and securing an Intel Grand Slam and getting most of the way towards a back-to-back one too. However, it then hit a bit of a snag and the form fell apart for around half a year, begging the question of whether this 'dynasty' was over. Clearly it was simply dormant...

Following winning the StarLadder Budapest Major at the end of 2025 and then IEM Krakow in February, now the French team is back on top once more in an event hosted by a third organiser. Over the weekend, Team Vitality was crowned BLAST Open Spring 2026 champion after defeating Natus Vincere in the grand final in a convincing 3-0 manner.

https://x.com/BLASTPremier/status/2038253568591798577

To add to this, Team Vitality proved its dominance by never actually dropping a map in the entire tournament, being an indomitable force and the undisputed champion who is heading home with $150,000 in prize money.

As for what's next for Team Vitality, it will be looking to complete its next Grand Slam by appearing at IEM Rio from April 13, so good luck to anyone seeded against the French team... If it does fail to complete the task at this coming event, IEM Atlanta is coming up on May 11 too.

Did you tune into the BLAST Open Spring 2026 event?