Last month, Team Vitality announced the renewal of its partnership with gaming monitor brand Philips Evnia until 2027.

The French esports organisation has been working with Philips Evnia since 2021, making the brand one of its longest-running partnerships so far. Esports Insider spoke to Johanna Remy Pollet, Director of Partnerships at Team Vitality, to discuss the recipe for successful esports partnerships and Philips Evnia’s transformative potential for athletes and fans.

For more than four years, Philips Evnia has been supporting Team Vitality’s growth and competitive performance of its rosters in VALORANT, Counter-Strike, League of Legends and more. With the latest extension, the brand will continue equipping all of Vitality’s twelve teams with gaming monitors.

Pollet explained why extending the partnership was a natural decision: “Team Vitality’s partnership with Philips Evnia has thrived since 2021 due to a strong alignment in values, mutual commitment to innovation and a shared passion for elevating the esports experience.

“It is a collaboration that works well in terms of the relationship and mutual understanding (which is essential for us) as well as the overall value created through this partnership.”.

Pollet further shed light on Vitality’s partnership strategy, highlighting that it is crucial for her organisation to be able to renew their collaborations over such long-term periods. According to her, all of Vitality’s partnership agreements during the 2023/24 renewal cycle have been continued.

Throughout the duration of the partnership, Philips Evnia’s involvement has evolved beyond performance to focus on fan engagement and immersive experiences. Together, the two entities have produced several successful interactive activations and high-quality content pieces, such as last year’s Pixel Perfect Challenge and The Unruly Series, which promotes inclusivity in esports.

In addition, Philips Evnia monitors were part of the 1v1 setup at Vitality’s V.Hive during the 2023 Counter-Strike Major in Paris. According to Vitality, the physical initiative generated 1.4m impressions, 807,000 views across teaser and video content and 619,000 impressions from on-site coverage.

This year, Philips Evnia will be at the core of the esports organisation’s brand campaign with activations that aim to ‘transform the perception of gaming by integrating it fully into the daily lives of gamers beyond the screen’.

“We will also continue to unite our fans around the brand through participatory content and interactive activations during key competitive moments…” shared Pollet. “This concept for 2025 is based on the idea that Evnia and Team Vitality empower players, both competitive and casual, to rediscover their way of playing through performance, innovation, and enjoyment. Every activation and message is built upon the following core values.”

Adding yet another layer to the partnership, Philips Evnia will support Vitality’s mental health initiative, KARE. The project promotes mental health awareness and dialogue through resources, original content and merchandise fundraisers for organisations in the field.

Pollet shared: “KARE quests by Evnia will be integrated in our fan engagement app V.Hive. This integration will raise awareness and promote KARE in a fun and interactive way towards our fans.”

European esports organisation G2 Esports has announced the contract renewal of its star League of Legends player Rasmus ‘Caps‘ Borregaard Winther.

Announced earlier today through a post on social media, the Danish mid-laner will continue to play under the G2 banner until the end of 2027.

Initially contracted until the end of the year, this marks a crucial renewal for G2 and its efforts in the League of Legends scene. According to the Global Contract Database (GCD) by Riot Games, Caps was the only player with a contract running out this year — the remaining four have their contracts until the end of the 2026 season.

Extending the contract of one of the best European talents in the scene shows the organisation’s strong commitment to keeping a competitive roster for years to come. The renewal is also important due to Caps being the face of G2’s League of Legends team.

The Danish mid laner joined G2 back in 2018 after he was picked up from the rival team Fnatic. Storming into the scene as the ‘European Faker’, Caps was known for his impressive laning phase and carry potential.

After a decade of playing competitively, Caps is the most decorated player in the LEC, having won 12 LEC titles with G2 and one international tournament, the Mid-Season Invitational, back in 2019.

Following two strong seasons domestically but bittersweet international results, with two top-16 finishes at the League of Legends World Championship, G2 made key changes to its lineup for the 2025 season.

The organisation replaced veteran support Mihael ‘Mikyx’ Mehle and jungler Martin ‘Yike’ Sundelin with former Team BDS player Labros ‘Labrov’ Papoutsakis and Rudy ‘SkewMond’ Semaan, one of the best rising talents from the tier-two scene.

While still competing at the top of the league, G2 failed to win the opening split (LEC Winter) of the new season, finishing in second place behind French team Karmine Corp. Currently, the team is leading the scoreboard in the LEC 2025 Spring Split with a 2-0 record.

2025 marks a significant year in the history of G2 Esports. This year is the 10th anniversary of the organisation, which has cemented itself as one of the biggest not only in Europe but worldwide. The company recently also completed a seven-figure investment round to enter new esports titles in addition to supporting its existing esports rosters. It looks like Caps was one of the first pieces chosen to lead the organisation into the new decade.

Bangkok saw over 1,200 protesters gather outside of Thailand’s parliament on Wednesday in opposition to the government’s entertainment complex-casino bill. It seeks to capitalise on Asia’s lucrative casino tourism sector.

The draft bill at the heart of the controversy has upset Thai residents after learning of the plan to legalize new casino venues in its recently proposed entertainment complexes.

Leaders of a number of organisations, including the Network of Students and People Reforming Thailand (NSPRT) and the Anti-Casino Alliance, not only voiced their opposition to the bill being delayed, but were demanding the government scrap it entirely.

A point that was reaffirmed by Pichit Chaimongkol, leader of NSPRT, who stated: “Our intention is to completely stop the legalisation of casinos, not just to see the bill’s deliberation delayed.”

Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra took exception to the protests, choosing to publicly defend the bill, stressing that not only would casinos only occupy 10% of each entertainment complex, but new casinos would not start being introduced nationwide.

In her response to the protests outside, Shinawatra dismissed the uprising as a “political game” designed to misconstrue the truth and spark wider dissent against one of her government’s key flagship policies.

Despite the protest, Deputy Prime Minister Prasert Jantararuangtong struck a more optimistic tone, insisting that clearer communications were needed to reduce public objections to the bill.

He believes the protesters do not understand the bill’s intent before insisting the government will work on promoting public awareness during the upcoming parliamentary recess.

Nevertheless, the contentious bill also faces political opposition, as Bhumjaithai Party MP Chaichanok Chidchob publicly declared his own opposition to casino legalization: “I will never, ever support the legalisation of casinos.”

Chidchob added his stance was deeply rooted in his own personal and family values.

The fear among the residents and opposition leaders is the belief that state-approved casinos will ultimately have a negative impact on the nation.

They point to the possibility of increased money laundering and criminality, not to mention the potential uptick in problem gambling among Thai nationals. This is despite lawmakers adopting proposals for tougher entry criteria for residents in the bill.

Beyond the civil unrest and outside of politics, religious leaders are also entering the debate, with Archbishop Francis Xavier Vira Arpondratana directly petitioning the government to reject the casino proposal.

As the debate intensifies, Shinawatra and her Thai government will no doubt continue to face mounting opposition to the entertainment complex-casino bill. Whether the bill is scrapped or is eventually passed into law, the clash between the government’s ambitious economic initiatives and intense public sentiment is surely far from over.

The most popular esports games in 2025 reign supreme at various league and non-league tournaments around the world, and it’s easy to see why. Most are free-to-play, lowering the entry requirements for millions of players and letting them into a world full of competitive gaming that could potentially give them a career in the future.

Yet, a range of factors make esports the most popular games. Emerging and existing trends could upend other titles, with brand-new genres entering certain tournaments that would have been unheard of in previous years. Games like Fortnite and PUBG are great examples of this.

However, if you’re new to esports, it could be a challenge to parse what classes are the most-viewed esports games, the most played esports games, and more. 

With this in mind, we’ve created a list of the top 5 esports games, arranged by player base, to lay all this out, as well as examine some of the most significant esports trends of 2025 so far.

League of Legends is a free-to-play MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) that lets you dive into 5v5 team battles, sprawled across huge maps that can only be won by one team.

Developed by Riot Games and released for PC and Macs in 2009, players can use a variety of power-ups and Ability Power (AP) to alter battles in their favor. With over 100 million viewers having watched several tournaments since its debut, League of Legends still leads as the most viewed esports game from players and viewers alike.

New updates featuring game-balancing and content are regularly made available, keeping players’ interests engaged. These help make every match different in its own unique way, surprising players and millions of viewers, which is another reason why League of Legends is still one of the most played esports games in recent times. To many, this makes it the best esports game in the world; however, many of the games listed below would challenge that.

Valorant is a free-to-play first-person shooter (FPS), again developed by Riot Games, and released in 2020 for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation. The game pits players in a 5v5 match that lets them select a variety of Agents, such as Controllers, Duelists, Initiators, and Sentinels, all with their unique set of abilities to help each team win the match. Valorant follows similar concepts as League of Legends, which is likely why Riot Games has already experienced a lot of success from the game. It has become one of the most popular esports by viewership with over 1.3 million viewers tuning in to watch the Masters Bangkok 2025 Championship in March this year.

With constant support via monthly game patches and many competitive tournaments, Valorant is already an essential part of the esports industry, offering players a different take on the FPS genre than games like Counter-Strike and Call of Duty offer.

Fortnite, along with PUBG, are games that broke open the battle royale genre for esports and have dominated specific events since their respective releases in 2017. Yet it’s Fortnite that has reigned supreme, with the allure of earning skins and character models with new content updates, repeatedly drawing in new and existing players. Developed by Epic Games, it’s also made its mark in mobile esports, with it being made available on Android devices and making its return to Apple iPhones and iPads in some countries, thanks to new EU rules in 2024.

There were over 2.6 million viewers for the results of the Fortnite Championship Series (FNCS) Finals in 2024, and with plenty of events that can be viewed every week, Fortnite is a consistent presence in esports.

Counter-Strike 2 is the latest game in Valve’s FPS series, which began all the way back in 1999 and is still touted as one of the games that brought competitive gaming to the masses. Released in 2023 after much anticipation, Counter-Strike 2 has already become one of the most popular esports games, with dedicated tournaments like FRAG and PGL Astana bringing in over $4 million of prize money, as well as over 850,000 peak viewers at events such as BLAST Open.

With its fun gameplay and varied patches, as well as the ability to buy and equip items and skins via the Steam Workshop, Counter-Strike 2 looks set to be a staple of esports tournaments for years to come.

Developed by Valve and released in 2013 for PC, Mac, and Linux, Dota 2 is still one of the most popular esports games for several reasons. For those unaware, it’s a MOBA free-to-play strategy game that, like League of Legends, pits players in 5v5 matches across a huge map that requires a lot of strategic thinking and understanding of the game’s complex yet appealing dynamics to win the battles. 

Dota 2’s biggest esports event, The International, offered a prize pool in 2024 that surpassed $40 million for teams who took part, alongside two million viewers keeping track of the competition. This makes it definitively the highest-paid esports game on the circuit today.

With constant updates and an alluring game pass that also helps fund the prize pools at The International, it’s no surprise that Dota 2 ranks highly among esports games.

Trends and themes in esports have the potential to change at a faster rate than other sports. This can be due to patches that can change the gameplay balance in some titles, new maps and weapons to turn the tide during matches, or completely new games.

In 2025, some of the trending esports games like League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2, and Dota 2 continue to dominate the industry, thanks to their free-to-play model and millions of active players. Another aspect is the battle royale games, such as Fortnite and PUBG, allowing players to jump in and reign supreme as the winner out of 100 competitors, becoming some of the most famous esports games in recent years. Both of these games are still thriving, with new modes and new collaborations with creators, movies, and more happening almost every month.

Regarding emerging trends in esports, mobile gaming is already gaining traction, with Fortnite being made available back onto Apple’s ecosystem thanks to the company changing its rules in 2024, allowing others to create their own third-party stores. This has led to Fortnite’s developer, Epic Games, releasing its own in specific markets, with Fortnite available to play. Combined with the millions of Android handsets that also offer games like PUBG and Call of Duty: Mobile, mobile esports could become an even bigger market in the industry soon.

There are also other potential trends, such as augmented and virtual reality (VR) technologies, which could give way to immersive experiences beyond what a monitor can reproduce. For example, games like League of Legends and Dota could let players view the maps in VR or on a living room table through augmented reality glasses.

Ultimately, esports is constantly changing but growing quickly, with all kinds of emerging technology potentially giving way to new ways of playing the largest esports games in 2025.

Esports is an ever-changing industry. The trends are ever-changing, even if some of the most played esports games remain high in players’ most popular esports games lists.

That’s also without mentioning potential trends that could upend how we see the industry today. Technologies like VR, as well as mobile esports that are already growing, could change the business in ways we can’t imagine today.

Ultimately, with esports inevitably on course to be recognized as a sport, in part thanks to the International Olympics Committee (IOC) announcing the Olympic Esports Series for 2027, we will likely see the whole industry change soon, with new answers to the question ‘what are the biggest esports games?’

Malaysia’s Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) tier-two league is heading into its third season tomorrow.

Here is everything you need to know about the revamped format of the MLBB Academy League Malaysia Season 3.

The MLBB Academy League Malaysia (MAL MY) is organised by the game’s developer, MOONTON Games, and IO Esports to provide grassroots MLBB talent with a path to professional esports.

Season 3 will feature a $20,000 (~£15,269) prize pool and a promotion slot to the country’s biggest MLBB esports stage, the MLBB Professional League (MPL) Malaysia.

The new season will also feature a more diverse talent pool with all-female team Johor Angels and collegiate team MSL x UITM. A total of 15 women athletes will participate in Season 3, the highest number in Malaysian MLBB esports history.

Season 3 of the Academy League will be divided into the Challenger and the Affiliated Conference. The Challenger Conference comprises the top four teams from MAL MY Season 2 and two from the Open Qualifier. Meanwhile, the Affiliate Conference includes six junior teams from Season 15 of MPL Malaysia.

With a similar format to Season 2, the Regular Season of MAL MY Season 3 will begin with Stage 1 from April 12th until May 6th, followed by Stage 2 from May 12th-22nd. The first stage will see teams play best-of-three (BO3) single round-robin matches within each Conference. The top eight teams from the Challenger Conference and the top four squads from the Affiliated Conference will advance to Stage 2.

Throughout the second stage, teams from the Affiliated and the Challenger Conference will face each other in single round-robin BO3 matches. The top six teams from the Challenger Conference and the top four from the Affiliated Conference will qualify for the Playoffs.

The Challenger Conference Playoffs will take place from June 26th-29th with a revamped format. The Semi-Finals match between the final two Challenger Conference teams will determine who may ascend to MPL Malaysia Season 16.

Afterwards, the losing team will face the 9th-placed squad from MPL Malaysia Season 15 in the ‘Challenger vs Defender’ match. The winner will also earn a slot in MPL Malaysia Season 16.    

Overwatch 2 developer Blizzard Entertainment has announced that 6v6 open queue will remain active throughout Season 16 in both quickplay and competitive.

Detailed in the latest Director’s Take blog post, the studio shares that it is exploring how ‘5v5 role queue and 6v6 open queue can coexist’ in the long term.

According to the studio, there was a 3:1 ratio of players choosing 5v5 competitive over 6v6, but the latter ‘remained steady’ throughout Season 15. Despite having a two-tank limit, preventing the GOATS meta from returning, developers acknowledged that 6v6 was in high demand.

In the blog post, Alec Dawson, Associate Game Director for Overwatch 2, said: “We were curious how the two-tank limit would pan out, but most games landed on the classic two-tank, two DPS, two support setup.

“Tank players in 6v6 clearly enjoy having another tank ‘buddy’ in their corner and no matter which role they choose, players are loving shorter queue times and the ability to swap roles within a match. There’s also a heightened sense of chaos that some folks just can’t get enough of.”

6v6 has been one of the most popular and divisive topics in Overwatch 2, and saw demand in esports and casual scenes. It was initially introduced as a limited-time event last December as Overwatch Classic. When it was reintroduced as a mid-season update for Season 15, 6v6 open queue became the third most popular mode according to Blizzard.

Overwatch 2 Season 16 kicks off on April 22nd and will run until July 1st, 2025, marking what may be the beginning of a more permanent stay for the new 6v6 format.

The Director’s Take blog post also shared changes to it’s new perk system, which recently got introduced to OWCS, updating pre-existing perks while adding in new ones.

Here is a brief breakdown of all the perk changes coming in Season 16.

It also shared that Tracer will receive nerfs to her perks that alter her blinks, potentially Blink Packs and/or Flashback. It also teased that one of Mei’s old mechanics will return as a perk, which some speculate might be reintroducing freezing to her primary fire.

Latin American esports organisation Isurus Estral has announced the addition of Korean top laner Park ‘Summit‘ Woo-tae to its roster for LTA South Split 2.

The announcement sees Summit replace fellow Korean player Noh ‘Burdol‘ Tae-yoon in the starting lineup.

The roster change occurs with the LTA South Split 2 already underway, which rarely happens in the modern era of League of Legends. After winning Split 1, Isurus Estral found itself on the backfoot at the beginning of the new split, having lost the two opening matches against paiN Gaming and FURIA.

The team seemingly has had issues adapting to the meta, which heavily revolves around the top lane. Burdol struggled in the opening rounds and is not known for his carry-oriented playstyle, thus the replacement.

Summit’s addition to the roster is expected to change that trend as he has often played top lane carries throughout his career. The Korean player is expected to debut against Fluxo W7M on Saturday and will then face Vivo Keyd Stars on the following day.

Starting out as a sub for Afreeca Freecs in the LCK, Summit started getting recognition during his tenure on SANDBOX Gaming (later renamed to Liiv SANDBOX), where he often played a key role in exerting pressure and finding advantages in the top lane.

His playstyle eventually led him to find a place on Cloud9 in the former LCS. The supposed upgrade over the domestic talents, however, didn’t work out, and Summit was sent to China to FunPlusPhoenix prior to the start of the 2022 Summer Split.

At the start of the 2023 season, he rejoined the LCS with Team Liquid on a full Korean-speaking roster alongside world champion jungler Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon. Once again, the team was unable to get satisfying results and was eliminated in the Swiss round at Worlds 2023.

Joining Movistar R7 in the LLA last year, Summit made it to Worlds back-to-back. Despite the result, the player announced his retirement at the end of the year as he announced his shift to streaming. It seems like that shift didn’t last long, and Summit will make his return to Summoner’s Rift with Isurus Estral after only five months.

BETER, a provider of fast betting content, data, and live streaming, has officially entered the US market through regulatory approval from the Division of Gaming Enforcement (DGE) in New Jersey.

This milestone marks BETER’s first foothold in the United States, unlocking opportunities to deliver its betting solutions to licensed operators in the state.

The company’s debut product in New Jersey is its flagship Setka Cup table tennis tournaments, now live on bet365’s New Jersey platform.

Known for its fast-paced action, Setka Cup hosts over 11,000 matches monthly across 16 arenas worldwide, offering players an immersive experience with 30+ betting markets per event.

Each match is monitored by BETER’s in-house integrity team to ensure transparency and fair play.

BETER’s arrival in New Jersey is just the beginning of its ambitious expansion across the US.

With plans to introduce additional products like its ESportsBattle tournaments featuring eFootball, eBasketball and eHockey, alongside classic sports such as basketball and tennis, BETER is poised to redefine fast betting experiences for American players.

Gal Ehrlich, CEO of BETER, expressed excitement about this pivotal achievement: “This is a milestone moment for the BETER team as we see tremendous potential for our fast betting products and solutions in New Jersey and across the US Setka Cup has cultivated a loyal following worldwide, and we’re thrilled to introduce it to bettors in New Jersey—and soon in other states.”

The company’s Esports Odds Feed further strengthens its portfolio by delivering odds for over 450 tournaments globally.

With more than 40,000 pre-match and live events annually calculated using official data by expert traders, BETER ensures precision and reliability for operators and bettors alike.

With a proven track record across Europe and Latin America, BETER is set to revolutionise the US betting landscape—delivering nonstop action tailored for next-generation players while driving operator engagement and revenue growth.