eSports
Amateur esports events will soon overtake professional tournaments by budgets
Gamers have crashed a new gaming quest website: esports events are growing in popularity
Professional esports tournaments will soon begin to lose ground to amateur tournaments on budgets. The latter have more and more participants, and this attracts sponsors.
For example, the prize pool of the second season of Polish Esport Cup Summer 2021 is approximately $3,000; LPL Pro League Season 8 has $7,500. At the same time, EXTREMUM Digital Pass event has collected a prize pool of $20,000 and the number of participants is quite large – 50,000. The project has already been running for two months.
This is more than a tournament. There was created a large interactive quest for gamers of all categories. Not necessarily for professionals, and age is not so important.
For successfully completing virtual quests, players earn points that can be spent on real prizes in the DP store. The grand prize is a customizable gaming PC. Now the second season of the project is in full swing. It started on June 1 and will finish on July 25 (the first season was in 2020).
For the first time EXTREMUM brand held a similar quest back in 2019. But it was designed for a small number of users and lasted only 5 days. The event was timed to coincide with the announcement of the Dota 2 lineup, and despite the smaller scale, the project attracted the attention of users. Then the organizers realized that the community was eager for such activities – the gaming audience is mature enough to go beyond the usual formats.
That is why they switched to a wider format. In the first season, it paid off: the audience was 10,000. For such a scale, the developers had to write a huge system from scratch, as there were no similar IT solutions for organizing virtual events. After that, they fixed bugs and eliminated errors, listened to the audience, improved the general approach to the quest, etc.
This season EXTREMUM has not only increased its audience to 50,000 people but also went far beyond the CIS region and now 52% of the audience are English-speaking users. During this season users have already activated more than 1,000,000 game codes in the system.
And now it’s not just personal competition. In addition to individual tasks there are clan tasks. Participants join in groups, compete with each other (including in Dota 2 and CS:GO), socialize and make new friends. The number of some clans reaches 150 people.
The organizers didn’t expect the quest to cause such a stir. On average, a drop of 100 prizes is sold out in 5 seconds. During one of the drops the site went down: it couldn’t cope with the huge number of active users. The devs had to urgently expand the technical features of the website. This experience will be taken into account in the future.
Brands began to invest more actively in cyber events. Even at the start of the project, partnership requests kept coming in. Brands began to come to the understanding that the esports audience is now a serious community with broad interests and opportunities.
The final drop of the event will take place on July 25, which means that even new users have the opportunity to earn enough points to claim the grand prize. This point and drop mechanic is designed so that people can join the event at any time. To do this, you need to register on https://pass.extremum.gg/ and start completing tasks in your personal account area.
Asia
AA Gaming Announce the Rajasthan State Esports Championship (RSEC) with Youth Affairs & Sports Department, Govt. Of Rajasthan
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Open Qualifiers
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Inter-College Knockout Rounds
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Semifinals
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Grand Finals – which will be live-streamed and culminate in a prestigious awards ceremony.
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Gaming techniques and strategic play
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Game development fundamentals
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Esports career pathways
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Mental health and well-being for athletes
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Team-building and communication
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Professional conduct in esports
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In-depth game analysis and review
The post AA Gaming Announce the Rajasthan State Esports Championship (RSEC) with Youth Affairs & Sports Department, Govt. Of Rajasthan appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
StarLadder today announced that it will host the second Counter-Strike 2 Major of 2025 in Budapest, Hungary, culminating in a four-day Playoff stage inside the MVM Dome – one of the largest and most advanced esports venues in Europe, and one of the biggest CS2 Major venues to date.
The event will run from November 24 to December 14, featuring the world’s top 32 Counter-Strike 2 teams competing for a $1.25 million prize pool and one of the most prestigious titles in the esports world.
Kicking off on November 24, the early stages of the tournament will take place at Budapest’s MTK Sportpark, a recently upgraded venue with seating for 2,000 spectators. This modern, esports-ready venue offers fans a unique opportunity to get close to the action and experience high-level Counter-Strike in the vibrant atmosphere of an offline setting.
From December 11 to 14, the tournament moves to the MVM Dome for the playoffs. With 20,000 seats and cutting-edge production capabilities, the Dome will deliver a stadium-scale experience – featuring record-breaking LED setups, immersive lighting, and arena-wide special effects crafted to elevate the show for every fan on site. Set against the backdrop of Budapest’s iconic pre-Christmas charm, the Major will offer not just world-class esports, but also a chance for fans to experience one of Europe’s most vibrant cities during its most magical season.
“ Hosting another Major is an incredible honor, and we’re determined to make it unforgettable,” said Roman Romantsov, CEO of StarLadder. “Budapest gives us the perfect stage to push the boundaries of what a live CS2 event can look and feel like. From day one to the Grand Finals, we’re building something that fans – both in the arena and watching around the world – will remember. We invite every Counter-Strike fan to be part of this iconic moment with us.”
The post StarLadder to Host 2025 CS2 Major in Budapest’s 20,000-Seat MVM Dome appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
eSports
Esports World Cup Foundation Launches Global “Road to EWC” Program, Unveiling Qualification Pathways for the Esports World Cup 2025
The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has unveiled the full scope of the qualification system for the Esports World Cup 2025 with the launch of the global “Road to EWC” program. Featuring over 200 tournaments spanning grassroots leagues to elite international circuits, the Road to EWC offers opportunities for players at every level to compete on the world’s biggest stage, the Esports World Cup, set to return to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 7 through August 24.
“Road to EWC is a platform for every player, Club, and community whose journey defines the spirit of competition,” said Faisal Bin Homran, Chief Product Officer, of the Esports World Cup Foundation. “By connecting hundreds of tournaments across the world, we are creating life-changing opportunities for players at every level, bringing the world’s best talent to Riyadh. This is how we grow the sport – by growing our partnerships, investing in competitions and laying the foundation for sustainable growth across the industry.”
The Road to EWC qualification program marks a major milestone for the Esports World Cup and is a core component of EWCF’s commitment to the sustainable growth of esports, supporting the professional ecosystem and advancing the sport on a global scale. With 25 tournaments in 24 games, including four new games – Chess, Crossfire, FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves and VALORANT – the EWC 2025 will bring together more than 2,000 elite esports players and 200 top Clubs to compete for a prize pool of more than $70 million, the largest in esports history.
For League of Legends, Valorant, Overwatch 2, and Apex Legends, official publisher circuits such as the LEC, VCT, OWCS, and ALGS serve as the primary route to qualification. Other games, including Dota 2, Call of Duty: Warzone, PUBG, Teamfight Tactics, and StarCraft II, are holding open online qualifiers, while fighting games, including Street Fighter 6, TEKKEN 8, and Fatal Fury are qualifying players through community-driven tournaments such as EVO Japan, Combo Breaker, and CEO.
In mobile titles like Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, Free Fire, PUBG MOBILE, and Honor of Kings, region-specific leagues across Southeast Asia, MENA, and LATAM are producing national champions who will represent their respective nations in Riyadh. Finally, for titles such as Chess, EA SPORTS FC 25, and Overwatch 2, a final wave of Last Chance Qualifiers will be staged in July, giving one last opportunity for breakout players and rising stars to earn their spot in Riyadh.
Additional information about the Road to EWC, including events and dates for specific titles, can be found at esportsworldcup.com.
As anticipation builds for the Esports World Cup, the Road to EWC also features a multi-channel marketing campaign with a calendar of original content from selected qualifier events and partner leagues around the world. Player interviews and behind-the-scenes access will bring to life the stakes, talent, dedication and human interest stories behind the competition, alongside tournament and game explainers to introduce EWC games to broader audiences and bring fans closer to the action.
The Esports World Cup 2025 will once again unite gaming and esports communities in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for a global competition that will crown the next Esports World Cup Champion. The tournament’s unique cross-game format will reward Clubs and players competing for a life-changing prize pool across a mix of platforms and genres, bringing together esports’ best teams, players and games under one banner in the largest-ever celebration of esports.
The post Esports World Cup Foundation Launches Global “Road to EWC” Program, Unveiling Qualification Pathways for the Esports World Cup 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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