Esports and sports online bookmaker and casino Rivalry Corp. has just delivered a Q1 2025 update that’s provided some positive news following its new strategic evaluation.

While topline revenue dipped, the numbers beneath the surface tell a story of a company trying to reinvent itself and winning where it counts. This was Rivalry’s first full quarter operating under a leaner, sharper strategy, and the results show a business that’s trading scale for sustainability, and short-term volatility for long-term gains.

The headline figures: Rivalry’s Q1 betting handle hit $58.2m (£43.9m), with net revenue of $1.3m for a margin of 2.3% down from 2024’s 4.4%, thanks to temporary sportsbook hold fluctuations and a pivot toward high-value, VIP players.

But here’s where it gets interesting: operational efficiency skyrocketed by 400%, meaning Rivalry is squeezing far more revenue per user out of every dollar spent on operations. That’s a seismic shift in cost discipline and operating leverage.

Players are responding in kind. Average monthly deposits per player surged 175% compared to before Rivalry’s October 2024 overhaul, and deposit frequency jumped 115%.

Even with a smaller active user base, total deposits kept climbing, up 36% in February and another 12% in March. March also saw an all-time high in monthly betting handle per user, capping off five straight months of record-breaking engagement.

Ontario’s regulated market is a standout, with Rivalry’s average revenue per playing account nearly doubling since the strategic shift, sometimes outpacing the market average by 50%.

All this while Rivalry slashed monthly operating expenses by $1.7m (£1.2m), proving that less can be more when you have the right players and the right product.

Rivalry’s Q1, so far, highlights the company’s strategic reinvention, betting on quality over quantity and building a foundation for sustainable, profitable growth.

BETBY has just thrown down the gauntlet in the iGaming industry, rolling out a unique esports betting tips feature, redefining what it means to offer comprehensive esports coverage.

This isn’t just another incremental update; BETBY’s latest product looks to provide a data-driven spotlight on the esports sector, similarly to sports offerings.

The Betting Tips feature, powered by BETBY’s AI Labs, now delivers actionable insights for popular esports titles like Counter-Strike.

These tips include up-to-the-minute news, player stats, and tournament data, ensuring that bettors get relevant facts for every major event, regardless of the tournament’s prestige.

With 99% of tips now including a supporting statistic or fact, users can bet with the kind of confidence that comes from real, actionable intelligence.

“Integrating esports into our Betting Tips marks a significant milestone in our mission to provide comprehensive and innovative solutions to our clients,” commented Danil Emelyanov, Head of BETBY’s AI Labs.

“As the esports industry continues to grow worldwide, we recognise the importance of offering tailored insights that cater to this dynamic market. This expansion not only reinforces our commitment to innovation but also solidifies our position as a leader in the sports betting sector.”

Moreover, BETBY isn’t stopping at esports. Its Betting Tips platform continues to deliver insights across a staggering array of sports, from soccer and basketball to cricket and table tennis.

This breadth means operators can engage their audiences no matter what sport or esports captures their passion.

The Betting Tips feature now supports 25 languages, from English and Spanish to Japanese and Arabic, making it a global tool for both operators and bettors.

Marvel Rivals Vanguard pro player Zairek ‘Hogz’ Poll has parted ways with one of the scene’s top esports organisations – Sentinels.

After its Marvel Rivals Championship (MRC) win ended Season 1 on a high note, the esports organisation has an uphill battle with the start of the new season Sentinels search for replacements.

The announcement was made yesterday by the pro player himself. Hogz initially joined the team back in March 3rd, 2025 and was part of the initial line-up when Sentinels first unveiled its roster. He has participated in several tournaments such as Marvel Rivals Fight Night, NA Invitationals and more.

“I am no longer a part of Sentinels,” Hogz said on X. “It was a good run and I loved being on the org and with the team for the last year.

“The future is still bright, I’m not giving up! I’ve got something in the kitchen so I’m not LFT, I will see everyone back in the lobby soon enough.”

The official Sentinels Rivals account responded to his post, noticeably absent of any details indicating why Hogz was leaving, but still wishing him the best.

On X, Sentinels said: “A sentinels legend for always bringing the vibe in and out of the server. We’ll be cheering for you Hogz keep crushing it.”

Joining the team as one of it’s Vanguard players, Hogz has increasingly been taking a back seat in recent times. MRC Season 1 saw Hogz take up an interim coach position as Sentinels coach William ‘Crimzo’ Hernandez filled his position – a fact 100 Thieves poked fun at on X.

Hogz shared the main reasoning behind this change on X, stating that the meta was ‘really bad’ for his strengths. Groot was starting to gain traction in the esports scene around this time and other characters, such as The Thing, were becoming less viable. All this was taking place before the Season 2 changes.

The last few weeks of the Season 1 saw Sentinels at its strongest, winning MRC while knocking 100 Thieves down a peg or two. But after reaching major highs, Sentinels must deal with key roster changes.

Hogz departure comes less than one week after Dr Strange main Colin ‘Coluge’ Arai transferred over to ENVY’s Marvel Rivals team right after Sentinels won MRC. This means that, at the time of writing this article, Sentinels is left with no Vanguard mains.

Sentinels for the time being are short-staffed for any future tournaments, such as MRC Season 2, meaning fans may once again see Crimzo on the field.

It will be interesting to see how Sentinels’ roster shapes up in Season 2, if the team manages to sign players in time. MRC saw a lot of novice talent face off against professional teams, so it’s not entirely out of the question to believe they may be on Sentinels’ radar in the search for new recruits — but only time will tell.

Rocket League and esports platform Start.gg have launched a series of monthly cups from April until December 2025 that provide players with more opportunities to win real money.

The Rocket League Monthly Cash Cups will take place at the start of each month and feature prize money totalling $390,000 (~£294,514).

The monthly tournaments will take place on Start.gg, with all players eligible to compete. According to the platform, competitions will take place for the following regions: Asia-Pacific, Europe, MENA, North America, Oceania, South America and Sub-Saharan Africa. The prize pool for each event will vary from region to region.

In addition, Epic Games says the cups will feature different game modes within the car football title, including one-versus-one, two-versus-two and Rocket League’s basketball-inspired Hoops mode.

To determine seeding for each competition, the average rank of each team when registration closes will be used to place them in a double-elimination bracket.

Below is a full schedule for the Rocket League Monthly Cash Cup initiative, which commences from April 21st, 2025:

The 2025 Rocket League season is in full swing. The opening Major of the RLCS took place in Birmingham with French esports organisation Karmine Corp claiming victory.

The event recorded a significant viewership decrease compared to the first Major of the 2024 season, which took place in Copenhagen, Denmark. 2025’s tournament recorded peak viewing figures of 287,987 compared to 2024, which generated 435,503 viewers.

The second Major of the RLCS season takes place in June with Rocket League esports heading to the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. 16 teams from across the world will compete for a share of $351,000 (~£265,300) in prize money.

Before Star Wars makes its return to Fortnite in Chapter 6 Season 3 in May, Epic Games is heading to Japan for the Star Wars Celebration on April 19th.

During the 20th anniversary event, the publisher will make a special announcement and offer a sneak peek at the upcoming Star Wars content set to arrive in Fortnite as part of its annual collaboration.

Tickets for the Star Wars Celebration have already been sold out and the event will also feature major exhibitors including LEGO, Hot Toys, ANA and more.

Fans who can’t fly to Japan can still join the celebration by tuning into the official livestream on Star Wars’ website or YouTube channel from April 18th to 20th.

Though very little is known at the moment, according to a trusted Fortnite leaker ShiinaBR, the next season update is confirmed to bring the following items:

Players are already coming up with theories based on the image posted by Fortnite on X (Twitter).

“The background for the Fortnite X Star Wars announcement features the Star Wars galaxy starmap that was also seen in the Ahsoka Show end credits! In Ahsoka, the path on the map led to Peridea. So perhaps the path in the FN teaser LIKELY leads to Reality-783!” a user observed.

Adding to the celebration, Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith will also be re-released in theaters on April 25th in multiple formats, including 4DX for the first time. However, fans are advised to book their tickets as soon as possible, as they’re expected to sell out quickly.

BLAST has announced that sports fantasy company Underdog will become an official partner of two Counter-Strike events coming up in 2025.

Underdog was an official partner of this year’s BLAST Premier Lisbon Open, and will now feature in BLAST Premier Copenhagen Rivals and the BLAST.tv Austin Major in the US and Canada.

Underdog will be featured on BLAST’s English broadcasts of the three events and will appear frequently on physical and digital assets. Underdog will also be included in BLAST’s Fantasy mini-game, available to US and Canadian users. Fan activations will also be available at Underdog’s booth in BLAST’s Austin Major.

Leo Matlock, Chief Business Officer at BLAST, commented: “We’re really excited about this collaboration with Underdog, They are a brand who’ve been a key player in the innovative and growing, sports gaming space for some years.”

Underdog’s first appearance was at the BLAST Premier Open S1 in Lisbon Portugal. Looking ahead, it is set to feature in BLAST Premier Rivals S1 on April 30th, where the eight best Counter-Strike teams will compete for the lion’s share of a $350,000 (~£277,000) prize pool.

“Underdog has chosen a blockbuster time to partner with BLAST ahead of our sold-out BLAST.tv Austin Major in June,” Matlock said. “Beyond adding to our live broadcasts and events, we are thrilled that our dedicated and committed BLAST.tv fantasy fans will have the opportunity to engage with Underdog over the next few months.”

BLAST.tv Fantasy launched back during the Paris Major in 2023 under the name ‘Major Manager’ before re-launching as Fantasy for BLAST’s Premier Fall Groups that same year. According to BLAST, it has recorded over 250,000 sessions since 2023, and in has seen 10,000 active users throughout the 2025 season so far.

Finally, Underdog will become an official partner for the BLAST.tv Austin Major online tournament, where 24 teams compete across three stages for the largest share of a $1,250,000 (~£990,000) prize pool.

“We’re always looking for innovative partnerships like this one with BLAST Premier,” said Zach Powell, Director of Partnerships at Underdog. “We are excited to be a part of the upcoming events and to engage with a new audience through our first-ever in-person esports tournament.”

GIANTX has announced massive changes to its VALORANT roster midway through the ongoing VCT EMEA Stage 1. The team has removed its initiator Emil ‘runneR’ Trajkovski and duelist Tomás ‘tomaszy’ Machado from the starting lineup.

They will be replaced by Karel ‘Flickless’ Maeckelbergh and Hanceriuc ‘ara’ Eduard-George, both coming from the Challenger team UCAM Esports under the Affiliate Partnership Programme. The duo is set to make their debut for the European organisation against Fnatic on April 17th.

“We see the hard work and the performances they put out in the Challengers League and feel it could be what we need to reignite our performance and competitive momentum,” GIANTX shared on X (Twitter).

This decision is made to help the team regain its footing and improve results in the rest of the season.

“Our results this year have not been a reflection of the standards we want to hold ourselves at in GIANTX. After attempts to rework our current roster, we are now in a position where we feel the need to make more drastic changes,” the team announced.

With these moves, runneR will stay in Berlin as the sixth player, while tomaszy has been benched and will fly back to his home in Portugal.

“We want to thank both runneR and tomaszy for their hard work, individual effort, team contribution, and unwavering commitment to the organization despite the results,” GIANTX added.

So far, GIANTX has delivered an underwhelming performance in both EMEA Kickoff and Stage 1 2025, managing to secure only one series win. 

While the team still has a slim chance of qualifying to the Stage 1 playoffs, it will need to play near-perfect VALORANT and hope that other teams like NAVI lose the rest of its matches. Even then, the squad will need to have a higher map differential to advance further.

Esports and gaming holding company GameSquare Holdings has announced a strategic partnership with GGTech Entertainment.

According to the deal, GGTech will license Gamergy in the United States to GGTech, developing gaming-focused events and operations in the country.

Additionally, the two companies will be working together on GGTech’s IP, University Esports, one of the top collegiate esports organisations in the world, providing universities and students with new gaming experiences.

The partnership will have its focus on the GAMERGY 2026 esports festival, which will take place in Dallas, Texas. GameSquare will provide strategy, event design, talent recommendations, marketing and operation of the event.

Gamergy is one of the largest multicultural esports and gaming festivals in the world, having a large range of enthusiasts and hosting over 20 editions across several countries, including Spain, Argentina, Egypt, Panama, El Salvador and Mexico. In a previous release, GGTech stated it had agreements in 27 countries across four continents, partnering up with global brands such as Riot Games, Amazon, Visa, and Warner Music.

Based in Spain, GGTech Entertainment is a prominent tournament organiser for amateur, semi-pro and educational esports tournaments. The collaboration formed is aligned with GGTech’s strategy on capitalising on mature competitive collegiate scenes, following a $12.4m (~£9.75m) investment to expand in the Americas.

GameSquare Holdings is a digital media, entertainment and technology company headquartered in Frisco, Texas, and is the parent company of esports organisation FaZe Clan, media company FaZe Media, and live streaming analytics company Stream Hatchet, among others. Earlier last year, it secured a $10m (~£7.8m) convertible note deal with investment entity GigaMoon Media.

Juan Diego García, CEO GGTech America, spoke on the deal: “We’ve partnered with leading esports organizations across the globe to produce GAMERGY that has attracted nearly 200,000 attendees in 2024 and through the first quarter of 2025.

“As we looked to expand our efforts to the U.S., GameSquare was the logistical choice because of its proven event production, technology solutions and marketing capabilities. This strategic partnership is a win-win for GGTech and GameSquare, as we combine forces to elevate the power of esports and gaming culture. We are excited to work with GameSquare to bring GAMERGY to Dallas in March 2026.”

If you’ve ever wondered about the ranks in Rainbow Six Siege, then we’re here to help. Ubisoft’s popular competitive tactical FPS has been a dominant force in the esports scene for nearly 10 years. Ranked play is among the most exciting to watch and some of the hardest experiences thanks to the focus on deliberate movement, precise firefights, destructible environments, and a laundry list of Operators to choose from. 

Our Expanse guide covers much more than all ranks in Rainbow Six Siege. We’ll also outline what each division means, how they are calculated, the differences in the previous MMR-based system and the newer Skill and Rank system, as well as how to improve at the game. 

There’s a lot of ground to cover with the game, but we’ve pulled together all the need-to-know information all in one place for your convenience. 

So, what are the ranks in Rainbow Six Siege? 

There are a total of eight Rainbow Six Siege ranks in the game’s competitive meta, which are Copper, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Diamond, and Champions. With the exception of the last rank, every other division has a five-level tier system from V to I, which is an inversion from what we traditionally see from competitive shooters, as the numbers tend to scale upwards, indicating higher-level play. 

All ranks in Siege used to be based upon a hidden MMR (matchmaking rating) because the game used the divisions and levels to gauge who you would play against in the skill-based matchmaking. 

Ubisoft announced with Ranked 2.0 that MMR would no longer define who you’ll play against when the Emerald rank was introduced. Instead, it’s said that your rank will now be determined by RP (ranked points) instead. Below, we’ve included the full R6 rank list (and their rough MMR equivalent). 

The Rainbow Six Siege ranking system changed with the introduction of Ranked 2.0, which was rolled out in December 2022. By adding the Emerald rank, Ubisoft also disincentivized the hidden MMR system, instead replacing it with metrics of Skill and Rank. 

Skill is an outright replacement for MMR, which represents your ability to win games, how effectively you play in a team, and how well your operators do against the rivals, with a rough estimation determined at the end. 

It’s a rough system of determining Rainbow Six Siege ranks because there are many variables, which Ubisoft itself has claimed can be “probabilistic.” 

By playing more games, your Skill rank will be more accurately updated based on the outcome of matches, which can be swayed by consistent (or abnormal) performance. 

Every rank in R6 demonstrates your progression up the competitive ladder, something which has remained consistent throughout the game’s launch in December 2015; only that now, there are eight divisions instead of seven. 

The player base met the changes with a mixed reaction, with some stating that the matchmaking became more unreliable and the linear progression system felt more drawn out with the five more levels of the Emerald rank. 

There have even been situations of Copper V, the lowest rank, being matched up to Champions, the best rank in Siege, which shows that the new system isn’t always perfect. With a shift away from the hidden MMR system to a more transparent one, there were bound to be moments where things were inconsistent. 

Rainbow Six Siege rank distribution follows a similar trajectory to what we’ve seen from Dota 2 ranks and Valorant ranks, in that there’s something of a pyramid shape when analyzing the user base from the lowest to the highest ranks. 

According to Rainbow Six Siege Tracker, there are over 1,566,080 players across the game’s competitive meta, giving accurate statistics of people playing in 2025. 

The average Siege rank is Bronze V, which accounts for 6.3% of the player base (which adds up to around 99,681 users), which is seconded to Bronze IV, where 6% of all players (about 94,898 gamers) play. There’s a steep (but consistent) drop curve going from the latter Bronze levels into Silver and then Gold, with averages of only about 4% into 2% (going from around 70,000 players to just 32,000 players) across the middle of the board. 

As expected, things get even slimmer with some of the best Rainbow Six Siege ranks. The range for Platinum-ranked players spans between 2.1% and 1.3%, with the newer Emerald rank’s five levels split across 1.4% and 0.8% of players. 

It shouldn’t come as a shock, then, to see Diamond be diluted even further with between 0.6% and 0.3% playing at this high level. 

Champions does not have a level or tier system, so this elite rank only accounts for 0.3% of players, with a confirmed number of 5,929 players right now. 

There’s no silver bullet solution to going up the ranks in Rainbow Six Siege. Given the legendary difficulty curve of the tactical shooter, with places an emphasis on steady, controlled close quarters combat and split-second decision making fast-paced over run-and-gun action, the path of progression is equally steady, and should be treated as a consistent journey of improvement instead of something you pick up and play as and when. 

Getting better at Rainbow Six Siege isn’t fast or easy, but our best advice is to focus on improving your fundamentals. Because you have to be Level 50 to play Ranked Siege in the first place, you’ll already have a handle on how to breach, how to control your firearms, get the most out of an Operator’s move sets and arsenal, and basic strategies for winning matches. So, this is more about smoothing out the inconsistencies of your play, learning from your mistakes, and thinking as tactically as possible instead of just being the best shot in the team. 

Pro tip: Adjusting your aim sensitivity and experimenting with how each weapon feels with different mouse DPI settings can be a big help. For some weapons, you’re going to want more of a drag with lower sensitivity if you have to be particularly precise, whereas a weapon with a longer range (or further spread) can be used with a higher mouse DPI, such as the Reaper Mk 2, SMG-11, or the SC3000K. It also means becoming more familiar with what some of the best Rainbow Six Siege operators, such as Blackbeard, Maverick, Ace, Ash, Thermite, and Brava, can do. 

Rainbow Six Siege operators are divided into two categories, Attackers and Defenders. As their namesake suggests, the former is better at going on the offensive whereas the latter is best at defending. 

A huge part of becoming a better Siege player is to understand the objectives and your role within a team. It’s not just about scoring a high K/D ratio or trying to do a team wipe. Instead, high-ranked play is about the mental side as well as the physical playing. 

You’ll earn Siege rank points for winning ranked matches, but there is also consideration made to how many players you eliminate. Remember, your Skill rating is not based on your K/D ratio, but on how many matches you have won. That means going up R6 ranked levels can be done by playing objectives, effectively communicating with your teammates, and trying to survive instead of charging in headfirst. 

As there are no restrictions on which ranks can play together, this could be harder if you’re a lower rank (such as Bronze or Silver) being matched up with Gold, for example. 

Lastly, you can ensure more consistent performance to steadily climb the Rainbow Six Siege ranks by learning the map layouts intimately. While there are 36 maps available in the game, only 10 of them are in the ranked map pool. You won’t get very far if you don’t know where the chokepoints and effective entryways are in the likes of Lair, Nighthaven Labs, Emerald Plains, Bank, Border, Chalet, and Clubhouse. That means you only need 27% of the available maps to get ahead. 

Instead of trying to do this in games, you can go through the Practice Mode (Training Grounds) to do walkarounds of each area (with any operator) at your own pace. There are even detailed YouTube guides on exactly where to go and what to look for, which you should familiarize yourself with before you jump into a ranked game. 

There is no rank decay in Rainbow Six Siege to worry about, meaning that you’ll retain your rank even if you don’t consistently play or try and move up the ladder competitively. 

With that said, Rainbow Six Siege ranks reset as each new season is introduced (which generally happens every three months or so). The visible rank resets to Copper V, and you’ll have to climb your way back up, effectively making ranks completely seasonal. 

With Ranked 2.0, they became more of a visual emblem rather than a denotion of your abilities, as Skill replaced the previously hidden MMR system for skill-based matchmaking. 

The Rainbow Six Siege ranking system is fairly complicated at first, but can be better understood now thanks to our thorough guide. Across the eight divisions (and 36 levels), they act as a rough indicator of how well you play, but are not necessarily indicative of performance. 

That’s because there are no restrictions on who can play together, as Skill now determines who you play against instead of the previously hidden MMR. It’s still worth climbing the ranking ladder in 2025, even if the reformed system with Ranked 2.0 isn’t (generally) as favorably viewed as in previous years. 

For more, we recommend checking out our Rainbow Six Siege esports content, which goes over the teams playing, the tournaments happening now, some of the best players, and more on the ever-evolving meta.