Esports tournament organiser ESL has announced that the finals of ESL Pro League Season 23 will take place in front of a live audience.

Taking place from March 13th to 15th, 2026, at Stockholm’s Annexet, fans will have an opportunity to watch the world’s best Counter-Strike 2 teams in action.

Eight teams will earn a place at the arena, which has a capacity of 3,950 people, and compete for a share of a $1m (~£750,940) prize. The ESL Pro League also contributes to the ESL Grand Slam, an initiative providing teams competing on the ESL Pro Tour a chance to win an additional $1m prize.

The quarter-finals and semi-finals will use a best-of-three series to determine the winners, while the Grand Final will feature a best-of-five series to decide the ESL Pro League Season 23 champion.

“We’re excited to bring ESL Pro League back to this setting, as Counter-Strike is best played in front of a live audience when the stakes are at their highest, and the trophy needs to be hoisted,” said Marc Winther, Director of Esports – Counter-Strike at ESL FACEIT Group.

ESL Pro League Season 23 marks the first time the long-standing Counter-Strike league has taken place in front of a live audience since 2019. Over the past six years, ESL has held the event within its Stockholm-based studio.

ESL continues to cement its place among the leading esports tournament organisers. In November, it shared details on qualifiers for next year’s Pro Tour events along with further integrity measures to ensure fair play is maintained in online matches.

While the tournament organiser continues looking ahead, ESL continues to streamline its operations. October saw it undergo layoffs as part of a strategic realignment aiming to ensure sustainable growth.

In addition to layoffs, the tournament organiser revealed the indefinite suspension of ESL Impact, the largest women’s Counter-Strike 2 circuit.

G2 Gozen’s Initiator, Petra ‘Petra’ Stoker has announced her retirement from competitive VALORANT, bringing her four year Game Changers campaign to an end.

Her decision to retire comes after both parties failed to reach a mutual contract agreement ahead of the 2026 season.

“After many years competing at the highest level in esports, I’m announcing my retirement and honestly, this has been the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make,” Petra shared on X (Twitter). “G2 and I weren’t able to find an agreement on a new contract, and after a lot of thinking, I’ve decided not to continue my career with a new team.”

That said, she plans to stay connected with the community through streaming on her Twitch channel.

Switching from CS:GO, the Dutch player began her VALORANT career in 2021 with XSET Female before getting picked up by G2 Gozen later that year. She was an integral part of the G2’s active roster for over three years before being briefly benched for two months. 

Known for her high IQ plays in high-pressure situations, Petra is one of the most decorated and experienced players in the VALORANT Game Changers scene. She lifted the inaugural Game Changers Championship trophy and has won Game Changers EMEA nine times.

“Winning 10 titles in Valorant is something I will always be proud of, and I will never forget my CSGO career. That’s where it all began, and those moments shaped me into the player and person I am today,” Petra added.

G2 Gozen hasn’t announced Petra’s replacement in the roster; however, fans can expect an update in December.

Since the team qualified for Game Changers Championship 2025, it will receive a direct invite to its local Challengers League qualifier, which is set to take place in January 2026.

Riot Games has announced that the 2025 LCK Awards will take place on December 19th at the CJ ENM Center in the Mapo District of Seoul, South Korea.

The annual ceremony will celebrate the best LCK players and coaches throughout the 2025 LoL Esports season.

According to previous editions, this year’s awards are expected to be presented to one player for each in-game role — top, jungle, mid, bot, support — as well as the Best Overall Player. Additional categories might include Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year.

The event will be supported by official LCK partners and sponsors, including Upbit, Logitech G, SecretLab, LG, beer brand Cass, and more. The ceremony is expected to be broadcast through the LCK and SOOP‘s YouTube channels.

Based on both domestically and internationally results of the LCK teams, this year’s awards are expected to be contested between the two League of Legends powerhouses, Gen.G and T1.

The latter ended up lifting the 2025 LoL World Championship trophy once again, becoming the first team to complete a three-peat in LoL esports history. Gen.G, on the other hand, was dominant for the majority of the season, winning the LCK Championship and its second Mid-Season Invitational, as well as finishing in the top four at the World Championship.

Among individual categories, the standout players for Gen.G are top laner Kim ‘Kiin‘ Gi-in and mid laner Jeong ‘Chovy‘ Ji-hoon for their contributions to the team’s achievements. On T1’s side, jungler Mun ‘Oner‘ Hyeon-jun and bot laner Lee ‘Gumayusi‘ Min-hyeong, along with the League of Legends GOAT Lee ‘Faker‘ Sang-hyeok, are likely to be the main contenders.

The Coach of the Year award is expected to be contested between T1’s Kim ‘kkOma‘ Jeong-gyun and Gen.G’s Kim ‘KIM‘ Jeong-soo. For Rookie of the Year, the debate will likely be between Dplus Kia’s top laner Jeon ‘Siwoo‘ Si-woo and BNK FearX’s ADC Nam ‘Diable‘ Dae-geun, as both of them were key players in shaping their teams’ 2025 season.

The Last Stage of PUBG Global Championship has concluded, meaning that the top 16 teams for the Grand Finals have been decided.

The remaining squads will compete from December 12th to 14th, 2025 at Siam Paragon, Bangkok, to claim the lion’s share of its $1.5m (£1.12m) prize pool.

The Grand Finals are comprised of the top 10 teams from the Group Stage, the top five teams from the Last Stage, and the host invite team.

These are all 16 teams that will compete to be crowned this season’s world champion:

All participating organisations will compete in 18 matches across three days, climbing the leaderboards with each round. Teams will be seeking to place as high as possible while earning as many eliminations.

There are various teams to keep an eye on in the Grand Finals of the PUBG World Championship 2025, from frontrunners to promising underdogs.

The previous year’s champions, The Expendables, are among the top squads to watch in the final stage of the tournament. The Vietnamese team topped its respective group during the Group Stage with 157 points in total, cementing itself as one of the favourites to win.

Team Falcons is also a top contender after topping its Group Stage with the highest score in the tournament, ending with 160 points in total. Team Falcons has come third in multiple tournaments in the 2025 season, including PUBG Global Series seven to nine, and the Esports World Cup. Only time will tell whether Team Falcons can break the curse and finally secure a win.

With any tournament in esports, there is always a chance that an underdog or dark horse steals the spotlight and takes home a surprise win. Nemiga Gaming, an organisation that hasn’t competed in PUBG since 2018, topped the Last Stage and outperformed established brands such as FaZe Clan, Team Liquid, and partnered teams like Gen.G Esports. It will be heading into the Grand Finals hoping to achieve similar results.

European esports organisation Alliance has announced a partnership with cryptocurrency gambling platform Gamdom.

The Apex Legends and Counter-Strike 2-focused partnership will see Alliance feature Gamdom in its community and content initiatives, such as giveaways and video content series. Moreover, the company’s branding will be featured on Alliance’s official jersey. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

According to a release, the financial resources from the partnership will be invested in Alliance’s Apex Legends and CS2 teams, further accelerating their growth. Both teams will be able to run more bootcamps going forward, with Apex Legends also receiving performance coaching to boost the team’s level of play.

For CS2, the team will also have expanded support staff and the travel budget to compete in offline Regional Major Rankings (RMR) and LAN qualifiers.

Founded in 2013, Alliance is a long-standing esports organisation in Europe and has competed across several games. Aside from Gamdom, the esports organisation counts on the support of partners such as Shikenso Analytics, peripherals brand Razer, blockchain company Socios.com, and telecommunications firm Tele2.

Alliance’s Apex Legends team has been the top team in EMEA this season, having won both splits of the ALGS Pro League. After winning Split 2 in October, the team will compete in the ALGS: 2026 Championship, which is set to take place next month in Sapporo, Japan.

On the CS2 side, Alliance has recorded regional success, having recently won the Svenska Cupen in November. The team is ranked 40th in the VRS Europe. and is currently competing in the CCT Season 3 European Series.

Jonathan Berg, CEO and Co-owner of Alliance, commented: “Gamdom isn’t just slapping a logo on a shirt; they are providing the resources we need to bootcamp, travel, and focus entirely on the server.”

“Alliance has always been about doing it our way. We fight harder, and we grind longer. Gamdom respects that mentality. This partnership gives us the ammo to keep pushing boundaries in Apex and CS2. With Gamdom at our back, we will also be able to find new ways to engage and entertain our ALLfam worldwide.”

Riot Games has unveiled the winners of the 2025 VCT Awards, acknowledging competitive excellence throughout this year’s VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT).

The awards honour individual achievements across nine categories, such as Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, for every VCT region (EMEA, Americas, Pacific, China).

Like in previous years, winners were selected based on votes from each region’s broadcast team, media representatives, as well as one player, coach and streamer from each regional team. 

Every voter proposed a first, second and third place for each category, which counted as three, two or one point towards an individual. However, teams were not allowed to vote for their own members.

Fnatic’s Kajetan ‘kaajak’ Haremski dominated EMEA’s VCT Awards, winning Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, Duelist of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year. The duelist prodigy joined Fnatic ahead of the 2025 season after having won VCT EMEA Ascension 2024 with his previous team Apeks.

Despite the challenge of replacing VALORANT legend Nikita ‘Derke’ Sirmitev, kaajak showed steady improvements throughout the year, helping his team reach second place at Masters Toronto and VALORANT Champions Paris.

Considering Fnatic’s international performance this year, it is unsurprising that kaajak is not the only member of the roster to receive a VCT Award. 

Fnatic veterans Emir ‘Alfajer’ Bederand and Jake ‘Boaster’ Howlett won in the categories Sentinel of the Year and  In-Game Leader of the Year, respectively. Moreover, the team’s Head Coach, Milan ‘Milan’ de Meij, was awarded Coach of the Year.

The remaining two categories were won by NAVI’s Uğur ‘Ruxic’ Güç and Team Heretics’ Enes ‘RieNs’ Ecirli. Although NAVI did not make any global events this season, Ruxic was named Controller of the Year for his consistent regional performance.

RieNs became the region’s back-to-back Initiator of the Year thanks to his proficiency with scan-initiators Sova and Fade and reliably fragging out for his team.

In Americas, 2022 VALORANT Champion, Erick ‘aspas’ Santos was awarded Player of the Year and Duelist of the Year.

During his first season with MIBR, the duelist attended both Masters Toronto and VALORANT Champions. In Paris, aspas also broke the record for the most kills at a VCT global event with a kill-death ratio (KDA) of 80/42/6 against NRG.

Aspas’ teammate Gabriel ‘cortezia’ Cortez was also recognised by the Americas community, receiving the award for Most Improved Player of the Year.

All other VCT Americas Awards went to NRG and G2 Esports. While NRG gained momentum towards the end of the season to win Champions 2025, G2 secured all three regional titles (Kickoff, Stage 1 and Stage 2).

NRG player and notorious Odin user Brock ‘brawk’ Somerhalder received two awards, Rookie of the Year and Initiator of the Year. Ethan ‘Ethan’ Arnold won In-Game Leader of the Year after becoming the first player to lift two Champions trophies (2023 and 2025).

Ethan’s successful transition to the IGL role this year can be attributed in part to the strategic insight and guidance provided by NRG’s Head Coach, Malkolm ‘bonkar’ Rench. This could have been a contributing factor to Bonkar’s award as Coach of the Year.

Meanwhile, G2’s Nathan ‘leaf’ Orf and Jacob ‘valyn’ Batio won Sentinel of the Year and Controller of the Year, respectively. As a high-fragging IGL, valyn combines intelligent calling and utility usage with reliable aim. Similarly, leaf is known for his game sense and consistent fragging potential.

The team with the most VCT Pacific 2025 Awards is Paper Rex (PRX), by far, as every member except Jinggg received individual recognition.

The award for Player of the Year went to Jason ‘f0rsakeN’ Susanto, who established himself as a multi-talented flex player this season. He also became the Masters Toronto MVP after helping his team secure its first international trophy.

Fellow veteran PRX members Ilia ‘something’ Petrov and Khalish ‘d4v41’ Rusyaidee were honoured in the categories Duelist of the Year and Sentinel of the Year, respectively. Moreover, Head Coach Alexandre ‘alecks’ Sallé won the award for Coach of the Year.

The team’s youngest member, Patrick ‘PatMen’ Mendoza, won both Rookie of the Year and Initiator of the Year. 

PatMen joined PRX during VCT Pacific Stage 1, when the organisation was still struggling at the regional level. However, PatMen helped his new roster make a miraculous bounce-back to qualify for Masters Toronto and VALORANT Champions later in the year.

The VCT Pacific Awards also recognised two players from DRX. Similar to PRX, the Korean team made a surprising run at Champions Paris to finish third. DRX’s longest-standing member, Kim ‘MaKo’ Myeong-kwan, was crowned Controller of the Year, while rookie Song ‘HYUNMIN’ Hyun-mi was awarded Most Improved Player of the Year.

The final Pacific award was given to Ngô ‘crazyguy’ Công Anh from Rex Regum Qeon (RRQ). Leading his squad towards Masters Toronto and VALORANT Champions qualifications, crazyguy received the award for In-Game Leader of the Year.

The VCT Awards for the circuit’s youngest region, China, have yet to be announced. The article will be updated accordingly once all Chinese winners have been revealed.

Southeast Asian esports organisation BOOM Esports has announced the closure of its Dota 2 division, parting ways with its entire roster.

This has brought its eight-year tenure in Valve’s MOBA title to an end, with the team’s last appearance at a LAN tournament being The International 2025, where it scored a top-15 finish.

Announced on December 8th, BOOM Esports has competed in Dota 2 since 2017, climbing its way through regional tournaments to reach the highest tier of the esport in 2022. The organisation hasn’t revealed the reason behind its Dota 2 departure, but it follows a turbulent 2025, where it has struggled to achieve strong results.

In 2022, the organisation scored a top-12 placement at the ESL One Stockholm Major and a top-eight finish at the PGL Arlington Major, cementing its place as one of Asia’s most notable names.

“Today, we say farewell to our Dota 2 division,” wrote BOOM Esports on social media. “Thank you to every player who wore the BOOM jersey with pride. Thank you to the Hungry Beast for standing beside us through every high and every low. This legacy will forever be part of who we are. This chapter closes, but our story in esports continues.”

Despite the lack of results on the international stage, the organisation achieved plenty of success in Tier 2 and Tier 3 tournaments. In 2023, it won The Arena Anthem and DPC SEA 2025 Tour 2: Division II.

Outside of Dota 2, BOOM Esports currently competes in VALORANT and was promoted to VCT Pacific through Ascension Pacific 2024 after Bleed Esports’ removal for failing to comply with obligations outlined by Riot Games’ Team Participation Agreement. However, the organisation couldn’t retain its spot in the International League and hence, it has been relegated back to Challengers.

Elsewhere, the organisation continues to field rosters in Honor of Kings and PUBG Mobile. July saw BOOM Esports’ Honor of Kings roster secure victory in the Philippines Kings League Spring 2025, its first win in the mobile MOBA title.

Katsuhiro Harada, the Executive Director and Producer of the Tekken series, has shared that he will be leaving Bandai Namco at the end of 2025.

The announcement comes as Tekken celebrates its 30th anniversary, adding that it was ‘the most fitting moment’ to step away from the FGC franchise.

Harada said: “I’d like to share that I’ll be leaving Bandai Namco at the end of 2025. With the Tekken series reaching its 30th anniversary, an important milestone for a project I’ve devoted much of my life to, I felt this was the most fitting moment to bring one chapter to a close.”

In the statement, Harada noted how he gradually handed over all ‘responsibilities’, including stories and worldbuilding, to the team at Bandai Namco in the past ‘four to five years’.

Harada added that while he is leaving Bandai Namco at the end of the year, he will appear at the Tekken World Tour Global Finals. He will meet the community during the Last Chance Qualifier and Top 20 Finals in Malmo, Sweden, from January 31st to February 1st, 2026. Furthermore, he has released a 60-minute Tekken DJ-style non-stop mix that he himself edited, which is available on Soundcloud.

It’s a shocking turn of events for the FGC community as Harada ends his 31-year-long tenure working on the Tekken franchise. However, it is not the end for the director, sharing that he will release plans for what comes next at a ‘later date.’

Bandai Namco also released its own statement regarding Harada’s departure, while commenting on what fans can expect from Tekken in the future.

Bandai Namco wrote: “We will continue to take community feedback on the game and its content to heart to ensure that we uphold the vision and spirit built by Harada-san, dedicating our utmost efforts to ensure the legacy of the Tekken series continues as a fighting game franchise beloved worldwide.”

As Tekken has evolved as a franchise over the years, so too has its esports scene as competitors gather across various tournaments.

The franchise has stood out as one of the most celebrated competitive titles in the fighting scene, standing shoulder to shoulder with other brands such as Street Fighter. It has forged several tournament series, including the Tekken World Tour, which held its inaugural season in 2017.

Bandai Namco’s latest entry, Tekken 8, has been featured across multiple international events this year, including FGC tournament festival EVO France 2025, and was included in the 2025 Esports World Cup line-up.

Los Angeles Thieves and OpTic Texas have already opened the 2026 Call of Duty League (CDL) season on the front foot, winning their first two Major 1 qualifying matches.

After the first week of matches, the pair top the table with a 2-0 record, putting both teams in a strong position to secure a place in the winner’s bracket of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7‘s first LAN of the season.

Following the signing of Tyler ‘aBeZy’ Pharris and Kenny ‘Kenny’ Williams, Los Angeles Thieves kicked off its Black Ops 7 season with a hard-fought 3-0 sweep over FaZe Vegas, generating some early momentum.

The Riyadh Falcons handed LA Thieves its first map loss of the new campaign, grabbing a 250-236 win on Scar Hardpoint to secure an early series lead. However, Los Angeles bounced back with a 6-0 sweep on Den Search and Destroy, before dominating Den Overload 5-1 to take the lead.

The Falcons put up a fight on Exposure Hardpoint, but Los Angeles held firm to take the map 250-207 to round off a 3-1 victory and another 10 CDL Points.

Defending Call of Duty League champion OpTic Texas headed into the Black Ops 7 season as the only franchise not making a roster change.

Its opening match against the Riyadh Falcons demonstrated that the Green Wall remained strong. A 3-0 sweep of the Falcons cemented its place as a frontrunner, building on its Monster Energy Launch Invitational triumph in November.

A new-look G2 Minnesota looked to give the defending champion a run for its money with a 250-197 win on Scar Hardpoint to kick off the best-of-five. OpTic Texas showcased its clinical teamwork across Raid Search and Destroy and Den Overload to move within one map of a second victory.

The Green Wall avenged its earlier Hardpoint defeat on Exposure, winning 250-113 to secure a 3-1 victory and a place at the top of the table alongside Los Angeles Thieves.

Following defeats to OpTic Texas and Los Angeles Thieves, two of the strongest franchises competing in the CDL, Riyadh Falcons already finds itself on the back foot.

Matches against the Carolina Royal Ravens and Boston Breach in week two act as an opportunity for the franchise to score its first win as it looks to secure a place in the Major 1 winner’s bracket.

The second week of Major 1 qualifiers begins on December 12th, with the 12 franchises in action once again as the battle for the top eight begins to heat up. Fans can tune into the action across the Call of Duty League’s YouTube and Twitch channels.

Too many junglers get bedazzled by clips of assassins going on killing sprees. While montages are fantastic, jungling isn’t only about that kill tally.  Jungling in MLBB isn’t that hard, especially compared to other MOBAs. It’s certainly easier than Dota and League of Legends, thanks to the “buy items anywhere” mechanic. All you need to do is clear your jungle fast and gank lanes that are struggling. 

Picking the right jungler, targeting the right enemy at the right time, is key to being a successful jungler. Picking Miya for jungle, regardless of team composition, won’t show you the victory screen. Here’s how to jungle in MLBB, timing your moves, and you’ll reach high ranks in no time. 

It begins with the character select screen. Look at what MLBB role your team needs and communicate. If the team is short a fighter, pick a sturdy jungler with good sustain. I usually pick Cici as she has excellent lifesteal. The team is lacking a tank; you can choose a tanky hero to compensate, but you’ll need help from the roamer in early jungle clearance. Don’t forget to pick the Retribution skill as it’s essential in jungle clearance. 

Even with a balanced team composition, you still have choices. Lacking magic damage in the team? Go with a magic jungler like Harley. Yes, you can play Helcurt too if the team is balanced. Communication is the key here; if your team trusts you, they’ll help you whenever you need it. I recommend Karina, Saber, and Harley if you are starting jungling in MLBB. 

In the early game, your only task is to clear your jungle as fast as you can. Buy jungling boots and rust to the Orange or Blue buff monsters, then clear the two creep clusters around it. By the time you clear the second buff, you’ll hit level 4. That’s when you attack the lane closest to you and try to secure a kill.

Run away as soon as you or a teammate gets a kill. As a jungler, you don’t get any Gold or experience from lane minions, so no need to waste time. Get the Turtle with the help of your team to snowball extra hard. Taking down the Lord is also one of your duties, but you should at least have the marksman or Exp laner to help you. A roaming tank can also help soak up the damage.

Mid-game is where a jungler in MLBB shines the most. If you’ve been clearing your jungle every 2 minutes, you’ll have enough gold to buy at least one or two key items. You don’t need to visit the base to purchase items like in LoL. So, continue purchasing items whenever you have enough gold.  

I recommend buying items that help you clear the jungle faster first. The quicker you kill jungle monsters, the sooner you can get the power spike. You can also invade the enemy jungle if you are confident, but bringing the roam along is always a safer choice. 

Spot a lane that’s struggling, that lane is yours to babysit in the mid-game. We highly recommend going after the enemy mid-laner or the marksman, both of whom can be easy targets for your damaging skills. Hinder their ability to farm and punish them whenever they overextend their push. They should fear the jungle and think twice about roaming solo. 

Yes, be a lane bully, no matter how many paragraphs the enemy types in the chat. Make sure you don’t let them get a consistent farm. The enemy jungler will attempt to gank your buffs. Call your team for help if that happens frequently. As soon as the enemy jungler is dead, you are to take their buffs. Be the nightmare that disrupts enemy compositions, flank from the back, take out easy targets, and run away. 

You will struggle in the late game as a jungler in MLBB. Most junglers lack AOE damaging abilities and can target a single enemy. The “assassin” abilities are the most significant drawback in the late game when teamfights are frequent. 

By the late game, you’ll have all your items but still get the two buffs from the jungle. Stay hidden and attack from behind, targeting the enemy damage dealers or the jungler. If you can take out at least one enemy, that can help your team take out the rest. 

Your role can also shift depending on the hero you pick. If you are a fighter, you can still gank the enemy backlanes. If you are a tank, you need to be taking all the damage for your team. I recommend Hylos for pure tanking as his abilities aid in jungle clearance. You should aim to end the game by mid-game, because if the enemy carries get fed, it will be hard for you to take them down.

Play around with junglers against AI to get the feel for a character. Not every jungler plays the same, so it pays to have at least three junglers shortlisted for mastery. I suggest having five dedicated junglers ready if you are serious about jungling in MLBB. 

Pick two reliable assassins, ideally one with stealth abilities. Get two fighters, I love Cici and Minsitthar, as both can confuse enemies. And lastly, have an oddball pick. I use Hylos or Uranus as tanks, Yi Sun-shin as marksman,  and Cyclops or Harley as mages. Yes, these can work, but only if you are playing with a premade team. This was how to jungle in MLBB. Hopefully, you’ll dominate the bushes and take your game to the next level.