The lineup of modes in League of Legends doesn’t change as often as some esports games, but LoL does receive regular updates to introduce new experiences for its dedicated fan base. 

Riot Games is releasing a new mode called Brawl in the latest 25.10 Patch, and it’ll be a new dawn for casual players.

Brawl is a very different mode compared to classic League of Legends, so we’re bringing you a guide to explain how it’ll work and when you can expect to jump into the fun. Here’s everything you should know before diving into LoL’s new game mode.

Brawl is the latest experience in League of Legends. Designed as a casual, fast-paced game mode, each Brawl match only lasts around 10 minutes. In their official blog post, Riot Games made it clear that Brawl is supposed to be LoL’s equivalent of team deathmatch, in that you can jump right in and quickly understand the core mechanics.

The main goal in Brawl is to reduce the enemy team’s HP to zero. Two teams of five will start with 250 health each, while player eliminations and minion takedowns both deal varying amounts of damage. There’s no Tower or Nexus; Brawl is a mode made for simplistic combat. Unlike other game modes in League of Legends, you’ll find that Brawl isn’t based around complex strategy.

The impact that Brawl will have on the LoL community could be huge, as a new casual experience will help onboard beginners. For competitive fans, Brawl offers an opportunity to test different champions and gameplay mechanics in a relaxed environment.

Brawl’s release date: May 14, 2025

Patch 25.10 will launch alongside the new Brawl mode, which is planned to be released on May 14th, 2025. The official release date is still a month away, so the timeline could change between now and May. 

In a Reddit Q&A, Riot Games explained that Brawl will initially be a limited-time experience, lasting until Patch 25.13, which would be around six weeks.

Compared to other modes in League of Legends, Brawl is simple to understand. Each team consists of five players, and the matches last about ten minutes. There aren’t any core objectives, so strategy is less important. Brawl is the perfect opportunity to test new champions in a controlled setting.

Both teams have 250 HP by default. Player takedowns deal five damage, while eliminating a minion will deal one point. Pushing your minions into an enemy portal also deals a point of damage. The team that reaches zero HP first loses.

Luckily, the gameplay mechanics in Brawl are simple to understand. We’ve compiled a list of the core attributes for LoL’s newest mode so that you can jump straight into the action when it launches in May.

Bandle City is the map accompanying Brawl, so you’ll explore a colorful locale with a unique shape. Riot Games has described it as small but wide. You can jump back into the fun pretty quickly after a takedown, though Bandle City’s wide layout allows for multiple concurrent battles.

Each team has a Bandle Portal, and you can push your minions into the enemy portal to deal a point of damage to the opposing team. Overall, Bandle City is a tiny map, but it’s just big enough to feel open.

There are multiple ways to get power-ups in Brawl. If your team is losing, you can gain a comeback buff to deal more damage and gain extra protection. The comeback power-up is only available to players who are on the losing team, which will hopefully help prevent snowballing.

If you’re on the winning team, you’ll need to explore the camps on each side of the lane. Camps also offer gold, so it’s worth visiting them in each Brawl match. Power-ups from camps could include damage buffs or enhanced protection against the enemy team.

Modes like Summoner’s Rift and ARAM are wildly different from Brawl since the newest experience is designed for casual gameplay, not competitive matches. 

Brawl is unique in that it prioritizes the fun factor over strategy and defined objectives, so it’s perfect for beginners or any player wishing to relax.

The list below details how Brawl differs from a few of the other common game modes found in League of Legends.

Brawl mode was designed for new players and seasoned fans alike, though it’ll probably be more useful for beginners due to its low-stress gameplay and lack of strategic objectives. Riot Games has conveyed that they aimed to create a low-stakes mode where all players could enjoy a match, regardless of skill or knowledge.

Additions like the comeback buff help less-skilled teams hold their own, offering numerous chances to win even if you’re falling behind. Everybody has a fair shot in Brawl, which is exactly what Riot Games intended.

According to the official developer blog post, Brawl is an experimental mode focused on creating a fast-paced experience for beginners and pros alike. Fun is the primary objective, as opposed to the typical competitive gameplay that League of Legends is known for in 2025. The developers said: 

“We’re excited for you to jump into Brawl. Modes like this represent a newer direction for us – smaller, faster experiments that focus on fun first, not perfect polish.”

It’s evident that Brawl won’t be perfect at launch, especially for fans who enjoy hardcore gameplay. However, it’ll help transition beginners into more prominent game modes, like Summoner’s Rift.

Summoner’s Rift and other popular modes in League of Legends have dominated for years, so Riot Games is finally taking steps to implement more low-stress options. Brawl will present unique opportunities to gain a better understanding of LoL’s expansive roster since it’ll be easy to jump straight into using a new champion.

If you’re a beginner, Brawl will offer the chance to compete in a casual setting, granting your team a powerful buff whenever you fall behind the opposition. If you’ve always wanted to try League of Legends but felt too overwhelmed, this new game mode might be a good starting point.

Despite its growing popularity and cultural relevance in 2025, esports is still hard to define. The relationship between gaming and esports – where one stops and the other begins – is often murky. As a result, there are many interpretations of what counts as esports. To define what makes a video game esports material, we must go back to the basics.

Esports, or electronic sports, is sometimes colloquially referred to as competitive gaming. However, not all competitive gaming is considered esports. Despite its popularity with FPS gamers, the Titanfall franchise has never had a major esports league, for example. 

This article will dive into what makes a video game an esport and how leagues are started.

Even in video games considered esports, like League of Legends and Counter-Strike, online ranked matches played between ordinary gamers are typically not considered esports. This stands in contrast to traditional sports, where even friendly matches between amateurs are widely considered to be a sports activity.

While exact wording differs, esports is most commonly defined as organized video game competitions played for spectators. These are usually online virtual tournaments or in-person events, played for online viewers or a crowd.

However, not all games that feature competitive gameplay are considered esports titles in popular conception. Rather, the label of esports is typically reserved for games that have sustained established esports scenes surrounding them.

This usually takes the form of regular leagues, tournament circuits, or other competitions that attract large audiences. Games that get updated regularly are prime material for a new esports league, as balancing patches are essential for any multiplayer title.

Though the game itself and its popularity are both important factors in becoming an esport, the way athletes and coaches interact with fans can have a huge effect, too. Games with athletes and streamers who interact with their audiences may help increase viewership for a potential esports league.

Professor Jason Chung is a sports researcher who offered unique insight about the development of competitive video games during the Sports & Active Nutrition Summit in 2022. Chung explained that North American esports are centered around popular personalities, who may help grow the esports industry as a whole. He said:

“In North America, esports is all about gamers’ personality and how they engage their audience.”

Game industry expert Alan Chou explained how he believes esports was born in a LinkedIn post from 2019, which includes the addition of popularized story arcs for athletes and teams. He wrote:

“Established sports do a great job of painting a story arc for viewers. There is a beginning, middle, and end. There are heroes and villains, and there are ups and downs. In today’s short-form dominated media, it is harder to do storytelling in a compressed amount of time. But if done correctly, this leads to an emotional payoff at the end. People like that.”

If a community of online personalities can bring a multiplayer game to the forefront of platforms like YouTube and Twitch, viewers can easily transition between watching their favorite streamers casually and rooting for them in a competitive setting.

Minecraft allows for player-vs-player combat, which can become competitive, but Minecraft is not generally considered an esports title because the competitive scene in the game is minor. Though individually-owned servers might host the Hunger Games or other casual tournaments, this still isn’t enough to earn esports status in 2025.

Meanwhile, League of Legends is indisputably a dominant esports title as its competitive ecosystem consists of various tournaments and leagues that scale from national to global events, with some of its tier-one competitions attracting millions of spectators.

Gambling and betting, while not an essential criterion for esports, are another factor that helps solidify a game’s presence on the global stage. The most notable leagues will typically appear on esports gambling sites, which bolster their popularity.

Another common criterion is whether the video game has a core focus on competitive game modes. Counter-Strike, Dota 2, VALORANT, Street Fighter, and other leading esports titles all have competitive player-vs-player modes as their core gameplay, for which numerous popular tournaments and leagues exist. 

Nonetheless, modest esports scenes have developed around some games without competitive PvP game modes at their core.

Ultimately, the question of how big an esports scene has to be before it is considered an esports title is subjective and varies according to the whims of popular opinion. While the subjective elements above are informally agreed upon by many, the consensus of which games count as esports changes over time. 

As esports has grown as an industry and phenomenon, the concept has broadened to become more inclusive. These days, many games that are not considered esports titles are developing competitive communities of their own. 

Unconventional forms of competition, like speedrunning, are increasingly seen as esports. Speedrunners compete to complete a game or piece of in-game content in the quickest time possible. An example is World of Warcraft’s Race to World First, where players race to beat computer-controlled characters rather than each other.

Niche, not-traditionally-competitive games are developing dedicated esports communities, including Farming Simulator and even GeoGuessr. As chess is more frequently played and broadcast online, the 1500-year-old game is also increasingly seen as an esport.

Yes, esports popularity is on the rise internationally. More viewers are tuning in to each competition, especially for popular games like League of Legends and Counter-Strike. 

According to Esports Charts, the League of Legends Worlds in 2024 reached a peak viewership of 6.94 million, up from 2023’s Worlds, which reached around 6.4 million.

A near 10% increase in viewership is massive if it occurs each year. As esports grow in popularity, we may see the creation of additional leagues for less-popular competitive titles, like anime fighters and Nintendo games. Overall, esports viewership is projected to increase in 2025, so this phenomenon should only keep getting bigger.

DemandSage reported that the esports audience is expected to reach a new high of 640 million in 2025, as the total viewership has increased each year. Smaller esports leagues still retain limited viewers, but they’ll likely grow with the industry.

Technically, competitive PvP video games with significant tournament infrastructure form the core of what are considered esports titles. However, players have found ways to make almost any form of video game competitive. 

Speedruns are becoming a solid way to compete against other players, while games like League of Legends still occupy the forefront of the esports industry.

Ultimately, it is up to the fan bases that surround each game to decide whether it meets esports criteria, but organizers also need to be involved for new leagues to gain popularity. 

Many more games may be considered esports in the future, but for now, they are generally titles that have a large multiplayer scene for solo or team-based competition.

Very few things embody the love/hate relationship that esports players have with game developers more than patch notes. 

Every time a big update comes to a competitive title, some players rejoice, as it may be fixing a problem they find particularly troublesome, while some get infuriated because a beloved character, item or ability is not the same as it was before. Meta changes, strategy shifts and roster rebalancing are all a big strain on a player’s mental load, leading often to frustration and possibly burnout.

Fighting games are a prime example of this dynamic. Professional players usually main one or two characters, which means that they know every move, every combo and every possible situation that the character can find themselves in throughout a match. When the developers introduce something new or change parameters to balance the game, one or two characters can become much more viable in the new metagame, and so those who main him can find more success.

If a character stays in a dominant position long enough, it could become the new frontier for learning and mastering, like Luke was in the first year of Street Fighter 6. 

“When I looked at the patch notes of the first big update to the game,” Wong ‘Chris Wong’ Yuk-cheung told Esports Insider at the Red Bull Kumite, “I knew I had to work on Luke because everyone was going to be using him.”

It could be a single ability of a character in a fighting game or a MOBA, a weapon in a shooter, the number of frames an ability is in effect, or even the layout of a map in tactical games like VALORANT. When the devs change something, the competitive player base has to get to work to stay updated. 

In recent years, being prepared for the arrival of patch notes has caused its fair share of burnout in the competitive scene, so different approaches have started to emerge on both the developers’ and players’ sides.

The majority of the developers release the patch notes of an upcoming update a few weeks before launch, so players have time to theorycraft, test and experiment. These notes can come in a variety of levels of specificity: from Blizzard’s detailing changes down to the fraction of a second of a cooldown, to Marvel Rivals’ more general buffs and nerfs. 

The publication of these patch notes usually leads to frantic testing in each community to optimise strategy and find what works best with the new changes. The stories of burnout following a big update are not hard to find in forums and Discords, as the pressure to arrive with abundant knowledge at a competition is always high.

Sometimes, in the case of League of Legends, for example, there are so many updates that a competition needs to specify on which patch each stage will be conducted on, leading to players training on out-of-date versions of the game because the newest patch will not be featured in the tourney.

The Pokémon Company, on the other hand, has a completely different approach: when something changes, only the Pokémon or the specific move affected are mentioned; no numbers, no percentages, only if it’s a buff or a nerf. This practice is both beloved and hated by players because it leads to a lot of testing but also allows for secrets to be kept among teams and friend groups to gain an advantage in battle.

Patching a game is fundamental to ensure fairness, competitiveness and to shake things up when matches at the highest level have become too similar to one another. Sometimes, however, devs intervene in a game to pull it closer to the playerbase. The most recent example of this is the incoming anti-lane-swapping rules of League of Legends. 

This series of punitive drawbacks targeted at support players that roam a little too much in the jungle at the highest levels of play has one specific objective: “Bring the sport as close as possible to the players’ experience,” League of Legends Producer Chris ‘Auberaun’ Roberts said in a recent developer presentation. In practice, the pros are using tactics that the developers deem not-replicable by the audience so they have decided to limit them.

Patch notes have also sparked intense uproar from communities, leading developers not to release entire updates or walk some of them back very fast. Marvell Rivals’ Season 1 was supposed to have a mid-season rank reset, but the outcry from players was so loud that developers changed course within 24 hours of releasing the patch notes.

Whether they love them or hate them, pro players have to face the patch notes of their favourite game. Sometimes there will be joy (the video of the popular Overwatch streamer Flats rejoicing after a particularly hated character got a deserved nerf is still viral on TikTok), but sometimes there will be a total ruination of a game, like what’s happening with the second season on Tekken 8. 

Overall, most players prefer having them as it gives them the chance to not get blindsided at their next big event. Ideally, a game changing patch should arrive once or twice a year, so pros have time to adjust, some games, however, have a much tighter schedule opting for more, smaller updates. This has proven to be a stressful strategy for athletes and teams but is the most efficient to root out unbalanced interactions and exploits.

Australia’s battle against illegal online gambling is heating up, with the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) ordering internet service providers to block four more rogue websites: Megabet Prize, Mega Medusa, TF2Royal, and Casino Intense.

These platforms, found in breach of the Interactive Gambling Act 2001, are the latest additions to a growing blacklist designed to shield Australians from unregulated betting and gaming.

Since kicking off its blocking campaign in 2019, ACMA has restricted access to 1,210 illegal gambling and affiliate sites, a staggering number that reveals just how persistent offshore operators have become.

The regulator’s efforts don’t stop at website blocks; since 2017, about 220 illegal services have exited the Australian market entirely, a testament to the pressure ACMA continues to apply.

ACMA warns that even slick-looking sites can leave bettors exposed, lacking basic customer protections and putting their funds at risk.

Casino Intense, for example, is run by a Belize-based company licensed in Curaçao, while TF2Royal is known for its skin betting, a controversial practice often linked to unregulated markets in the esports gambling scene.

This latest move comes as online gambling remains a hot-button issue in Australia’s political landscape. With a federal election looming, parties are pledging tougher regulations, from establishing a national gambling watchdog to banning gambling ads during live sports.

For now, the Australian Communications and Media Authority urges Australians to verify the legitimacy of any online gambling service before placing a bet. As the regulator ramps up enforcement, the message is clear that the days of easy access to offshore gambling sites in Australia are numbered, and the risks of ignoring the rules have never been higher.

The most successful esports teams have the potential to make a lot of money in competitive video games. Esports is a growing industry; every year, new opportunities are available for players aiming to compete professionally.

The revenue streams for esports teams vary heavily, as do their income ranges. For esports competitors seeking a career, the money made through professional tournaments can be significant. This guide will walk you through everything you should know about how esports teams generate revenue to support their players and coaches.

The main way that esports teams generate revenue is by winning the biggest esports tournaments. Even teams that don’t finish in first place have a chance to earn large cash prizes. Unfortunately, this income source is unreliable since there’s no guarantee of finishing high enough to win prize money.

The most successful esports teams have a better chance of winning tournaments, but underdogs simply can’t rely on random income. Some leagues even offer revenue sharing, which allows teams to net a percentage of the league’s overall profit.

A better way for esports teams to generate reliable revenue is by partnering with big brands, like Monster Energy or Red Bull. Athletes promote the brand’s product, and then the company pays their team for the advertising. Sometimes the advertising is posted on an esports team’s social media, while jerseys provide another avenue to promote third-party products.

Esports players can even earn money by partnering with games like Rainbow Six Siege. The developers create in-game items based on major teams, who then receive a percentage of the sales.

These are the primary income sources for the most successful esports teams:

Lastly, esports teams can make money by selling merchandise and creating paid fan subscriptions. T-shirts, books, and gaming chairs are often sold on an esports team’s online shop. All of these options offer a service to fans, so a personal store can often be the best way to generate reliable income for big esports organizations.

If a player has a big enough online presence, they can also make money by streaming on Twitch or posting to YouTube. Plus, players who decide to retire from esports will have another income source to rely on.

Esports teams have to pay many expenses to keep their organizations afloat. Most notably, a team’s coaches, players, and general staff all need salaries. Hotels, travel, and food expenses can get expensive for an entire team, too. Benefits, like life insurance and health insurance, are another extra expense.

Tournaments often require fees to enter, plus any unexpected incidents that may occur during a competition, like replacing equipment. It takes a lot of revenue for teams to reach the big leagues.

Compared to traditional sports leagues, esports teams simply don’t generate that much profit. Like the NBA or NFL, esports competitors require constant training to stay at the top of their game, so they usually rely on the salaries provided by their teams.

The income range for esports players is wide, with some competitors earning millions of dollars while others only bring in thousands. The richest esports teams, like FaZe Clan and Team Liquid, have earned tens of millions throughout their organization’s existence. Once a team gains fame by repeatedly winning major tournaments, they often gain a larger online presence, offering new opportunities to sell merchandise or partner with big brands.

European esports organization, Team Liquid, earned millions in 2024. At the International 2024, Team Liquid secured first place and won over $1.1 million, netting them a significant source of revenue. However, it’s worth considering that the biggest esports teams also participate in more tournaments, greatly increasing their chances of scoring a big win.

For Team Liquid or OG, competitions are often a way to earn big, but smaller esports teams can’t rely on such life-changing income. Many lesser-known teams only manage to earn $10,000 or less from tournaments, so they have to rely on secondary income sources, like merchandise shops or Twitch streaming.

The biggest esports prize winnings often go to the largest organizations. We’ve listed a general idea of how much an esports team will generate per year based on its notoriety and size.

There’s a major disparity between how much money esports teams make per year, especially at the top compared to the bottom. Smaller esports teams, like Beyond Gaming, have only made tens of thousands of dollars from tournaments. These teams not only have less funding, but their players also need to focus on other aspects of their career, like YouTube, to make a stable income.

On the flip side, organizations like Team Liquid have more resources to contribute towards training players and hiring talented coaches. Smaller esports teams are at a major disadvantage, as the biggest organizations earn more than twice as much. As esports gains popularity and teams organize more professionally, the income disparity may shrink.

Esports players are rarely wealthy, and only those at the top regularly win huge cash prizes. Luckily, the nature of esports gives every competing team a chance at victory, even if they’re an underdog. According to Statista, the highest-paid esports player, Johan Sundstein, has earned more than $7 million throughout his esports career, but that’s not feasible for everyone.

Teams with more income can hire better coaches and provide more resources to their players, while those at the bottom may need to train harder for an equal income. Esports teams might find new ways to bring in revenue in the future, which could help lower the income gap. For now, athletes need to focus on winning tournaments, selling merchandise, and third-party advertising to turn a profit.

London-based sportsbook and casino operator Midnite has clinched a $10m (£7.7m) Series B funding round, drawing heavyweight backing from Discerning Capital, The Raine Group, and Play Ventures

In addition, Venrex and Big Bets where also named as investors in the round.

This latest injection brings Midnite’s total funding to over $35m, fuelling ambitions to go beyond being just being another name in the crowded UK market.

What sets Midnite apart isn’t just the size of its war chest. Founded in 2018 by Nick Wright and Daniel Qu, the company has built its own technology platform from the ground up, a rarity in a sector dominated by cookie-cutter white-label offerings.

This homegrown approach gives Midnite the agility to innovate and adapt, a point not lost on its new investors.

Discerning Capital’s David Williams, now a board member, calls Midnite “one of the most compelling challenger brands anywhere in the world,” citing its rapid growth and marketing efficiency as proof of its unique positioning.

The timing couldn’t be better. Midnite recently landed its first major sports sponsorship as the official UK betting and casino partner of the 2025 World Snooker Championship, and its first TV ad campaign has already hit Sky, Channel 4, and Channel 5. The team has swelled from 60 to 110 in just a year, signaling real momentum behind the brand.

Co-founder Nick Wright isn’t shy about the company’s ambitions: “Our goal is to disrupt the UK betting market and become a tier-one operator with a challenger brand platform for a new generation of players. With this backing, we can move faster, be bolder, and continue to bring fresh, exciting experiences to the market”.

With fresh capital and an appetite for disruption, Midnite is betting big on a future where innovation, not imitation, wins the day.

Top Tekken 8 pro Arslan Ash shocked the FGC when he revealed that visa complications will keep him from Evo Japan and Riyadh Clash this year.

Arslan Ash shared the unfortunate news on X (formerly Twitter), where it was met with frustration from fans who wanted to see him compete as much as possible. These two big events are part of the Tekken World Tour.

“I will not be able to attend Riyadh Clash and Evo JP this year,” Arslan Ash wrote. “I made every effort to go, but unfortunately, I encountered visa problems again. It’s fine, I’ve learned to live with passport limitations; maybe one day, things will change.”

The Pakistani player has continued to deal with travel-related issues over the past few years of competition. Pakistan’s passport is considered weak due to its international restrictions. Many fans urged Arslan Ash to get citizenship elsewhere or apply to different visas.

Takayuki Kudo, President of Global Sense, sponsored Arslan Ash’s trip to Evo Japan in 2023. Arslan Ash ended up winning the event. After hearing of Arslan Ash dropping out of Evo Japan 2025, Kudo replied: “I regret that I should have been the one to make the move to ensure you came to Evo Japan, which would have increased your chances of obtaining an entertainment visa.”

Arslan Ash thanked Kudo for his words but told him not to blame himself. He added: “We will succeed next year.”

Without Arslan Ash present, Evo Japan 2025 has a lot of hungry pros that could rise to the top of the Tekken 8 tourney. This includes Kakeru, Daigo Umehara and Tokido from Japan, Big Bird, AngryBird and EndingWalker from Europe and the Middle East, and Punk, Nephew, NoahTheProdigy, and MenaRD from the Americas. It’s still bound to be a wild tournament for the FGC to watch.

Evo Japan 2025 is coming May 9th to May 11th, 2025.