Interviews
Exclusive Q&A with Phil Hubner Chief Business Development Officer at Challengermode
Retired players become media commentators, or selectors, or coaches, or the sports administrators. That is the trend in most sports.
What about esports? What do esports players do once they retire?
We have with us here Phil Hubner, the Chief Business Development Officer at Challengermode, who was a successful esports player too.
He talks about his esports playing days, his struggles to build a career, his company and the career options available of esports players in the industry.
Q. We shall begin with your esports career. How did your attention turn to esports and how it developed?
A. Like a lot of people in the industry, my introduction to gaming and esports began at a very young age. My first memory of gaming was in 1996. I was 4 years old, sitting in my 21 year old uncle’s lap, watching a screen light up with flash rockets, lasers and machine guns in Quake. And then playing my first ever casual match against my brother and my uncle’s best friend.
By 2005 I’d spent almost all of my free time playing video games, with the whole of 2004 spent perfecting my craft in DotA. That meant watching videos of the best players in the game, spending my days on IRC networks chatting with some of the top players and getting tips and tricks from them. I was part of the professional German esports organization “mousesports” which accounted for my first real experience with esports. There I managed the team’s scrimmage and tournament schedule and substituted as a player on the roster; primarily in practice matches.
A short 4 years later, Heroes of Newerth was released – the first real successor and stand-alone version of DotA. I spent my days playing at a top level, there didn’t seem to be much of a chance of making a living from esports in either game. Teams weren’t very supportive, there were no actual salaries being paid out, and the prize money wasn’t enough to sustain competitors unless they won every single tournament that ran. This was the point I decided that playing, whilst an important part of my free time, wasn’t going to be the career choice for me. I wanted to do something bigger, more impactful, and most importantly something that would allow me to pursue a full-time, paying career within this industry.
Q. Could you narrate your transition from an esports player to an industry professional? What are the challenges that you faced?
A. The first step towards making a career outside of being a player involved turning my industry knowledge into a stint in journalism. In 2010 I wrote an email to the up-and-coming esports publication ESFIWorld (now sadly defunct), arguing they should consider reporting on MOBA games like Heroes of Newerth and League of Legends. The CEO welcomed the idea and I joined the team there as a Content Director – an unpaid position – whilst finishing high school.
In 2011 I covered my first industry events – “The International”, and CeBIT, where the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship took place. I threw myself into these events, striking up conversations with the tournament operators, commentators, hosts, players and more. I recorded interviews, wrote articles, and attended after-parties – producing over 130 content pieces in a span of just 5 days. But this still fell short of “making a living” in esports. Like many people who want to turn their passion into their career, the main challenge was finding a role that could support me financially. In 2011 I was still a broke student with hardly enough money to buy food at these events. One night, our hotel room got cancelled, forcing us to go back to the hostel we had stayed the night before, who allowed us to sleep on the floor in their storage room – not the best example of a successful esports career!
But this experience did allow me to make a name for myself within the European esports industry. I wasn’t famous by any means, but I knew people. One of these people was Michal Blicharz (as of my writing this the VP of Pro Gaming at ESL Gaming) who was the man with the plan on the Intel Extreme Masters. I asked whether there were any openings for internships or junior positions within their company. Within a week I got an offer, quit school and in March 2012 – exactly a year after my first ever live esports event – I attended my first event as an intern under Michal, where I would soon become a Junior Product Manager. With a paying role under my belt, the main challenge became embedding myself fully in the rapidly growing and constantly changing industry, an industry at the forefront of digital marketing.
Moving away from the editorial side of the esports industry – In 2015 I started working with Ben Goldhaber at the time Content Director at Twitch, handling content marketing for Twitch in Europe and managing their mighty social media accounts with millions of followers. I moved to London, and shortly after pitched a new role and department to the current VP of Marketing at Twitch: International Marketing. Following this I saw many opportunities in both the rising esports industry, and the newly discovered land of opportunities that was influencer marketing – managing half a dozen streamers and influencers. This led me to my first role in Business Development in helping build up the Italian esports organization QLASH.
Q. Let’s now move to your career at Challengermode. What exactly does Challengermode offer and what’s your role as Chief Business Development Officer?
A. Challengermode is an esports platform with a big focus on the grassroots levels of competitive gaming, and a vision to make esports as accessible as possible. In effect, that means we build technology that makes playing in and offering esports competitions seamless. I joined Challengermode in 2017 as Head of Business Development, where I was largely responsible for onboarding the very first partners at the company, as well as devising the company’s partnerships and business strategy. I came to this after working in a wider variety of positions around esports, from marketing and communications to product management to business development and strategy. In my current role as CBDO I draw on a lot of that experience to translate greater accessibility in esports into greater value for stakeholders all across the esports ecosystem. I also manage two key departments within the company that deal with acquiring and then supporting partners such as game developers, tournament organizers, esports teams and brands.
Q. A number of young people become esports wizards. Could you tell us the career options available to them once they hit the esports peak and start the downhill journey?
A. I wouldn’t call it a downhill journey. I think it’s more of a natural evolution to go from player to industry professional. Hopefully my previous answer goes some way to highlighting the breadth of roles that are available in the industry away from the bright lights of being a competitor!
My experiences may be a few years old now, but if you look at the esports industry today, there are a few obvious steps one can take after putting down the mouse and keyboard (or controller) and wanting to fulfill a role within the industry with the background of being a professional player. There are many living examples of players that have turned to commentary and analysis for example. Using their in-depth knowledge of their game to dissect other players’ performances.
Another route that many have gone is to become a coach. Much like in traditional sports – years and years of playing will have honed your understanding of the game, problems for individual players to overcome and will have given you a keen read on other teams, their strategies, and their weaknesses. Similarly though, this is only the correct path for the few players that in their playing careers tend to be actively engaged in strategy and tactical choices.
For those with a more entrepreneurial nature, a common trend you’ll see is the formation of a new esports team or a company within esports that solves a problem they may have uncovered during their days as a player. You’ll find many, many such examples dating all the way back even to some of the oldest esports organizations such as SK Gaming or Ninjas in Pyjamas, but even more so in newcomers such as TSM, G2 Esports or 100 Thieves.
If none of those are the right way to go, luckily the rise of Twitch and the continued success of YouTube have provided any retiring player with an outlet and opportunity to continue their careers even beyond their competitive days. For many viewers, there’s little more entertaining (and educational) than watching players who play at the top level of their game. What’s better than getting an opportunity to directly engage with, chat, and ask questions to a retired star player?
Q. From a personal point of view, what are the advantages an esports player looking for a career in the gaming industry has, compared to a non-player?
A. Put simply – industry knowledge. Esports is still a very young industry and every year more companies enter the sector than there is talent available to staff them. Professional players, retired or not, will have some of the keenest eyes when it comes to authentically speaking to the esports audience. It’s not just an audience for them after all, it will have been their life for the past few years. This means there will always be in-roads for these individuals when looking to move into the business of esports.
Many of them however will experience a heavy reality check when starting this next step of their journey: while they may have a keen understanding of the audience, they might not have many skills directly applicable to their new roles. Be these in marketing, operations, recruiting or what have you. There’s good news though: their diligence, discipline and ability to become the best at something will easily translate into other fields outside of the games they played for so long. Besides from the industry knowledge, the soft skills are easily transferable.
Q. Again from a personal perspective, is the industry welcoming enough to the esports players? Any comments on that?
A. Whenever a professional player retires, that person should be seen as a top candidate not necessarily to join your executive team and lead the charge, but at the very least someone that will no doubt be a fast learner and someone that can intently focus on whatever is put in front of them. It is up to the universities, colleges and companies in the space to provide these paths for these players; but likewise up to these players to identify and accept where they stand within a professional context, how applicable their skills are, and where they may be lacking.
I have no doubt that anybody capable of being the best out of millions of players in any given game will likewise be capable of being the best at many other jobs and tasks thrown at them; that they will learn them quickly and learn how to excel at them, and if we do a good enough job at telling the stories of former professional players and their careers, we can give hope and inspiration to current and future pro players, whilst reassuring companies that former professional players are likely to be top-tier hires if provided the right guidance and opportunity.
Q. What are the potential roles and positions in the gaming industry that particularly suit esports players?
A. Using some of the roles I mentioned previously as examples, commentators and analyst roles lend themselves well to the kind of esports competitors that are naturally charismatic and have an ability to speak concisely. Players choosing to go down this path are often at the mercy of the audience. When it comes to coach roles oftentimes this is a natural fit for team captains, those who have been on the frontline in leadership positions before have an understanding of what different team members need and how to handle group dynamics.
Many retired players have found ways into game balance and later game design teams either for the very same games that they were once competitive in, or for new games in the same, unexplored genre. After all, who understands MOBAs better than someone who has played one for tens of thousands of hours?
Ultimately what roles in the games industry that suit esports players depends greatly on the player themselves. What skills they have and what interests them. There are myriad roles out there for players with a solid industry knowledge base to get involved across art, design, marketing, communications, business, finance etc. It all comes down to what they want to do.
Q. Finally, as someone who has experienced it from both ends of the spectrum – as a player and then as an industry professional – what are the changes you would like to have in the esports vertical in the future?
A. What may be missing today is a safety net catching and training those players that don’t fall into the categories I’ve mentioned above. Those that aren’t as entrepreneurial or self-driven, and those that maybe want to step one further step away from the game itself than a role as a commentator, analyst, coach or game designer would allow them to. I’d like to see more organisations taking responsibility for the futures of their current talent. Not just for the sake of the competitors themselves, but for the sake of the industry as a whole.
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Powering the Next Generation of Online Casinos: Inside DSTGAMING’s Scalable iGaming Ecosystem
Interview with John Tan, Digital Marketing Analyst at DSTGAMING
Ahead of HIPTHER Prague Summit 2026, we speak with John Tan, Digital Marketing Analyst at DSTGAMING, to explore how their white label, turnkey, crypto-ready platforms, and powerful game aggregation solutions empower operators – from rapid launch and unified game integration to risk management, payments, and next-generation crypto deployment.
From your perspective, what are the biggest operational barriers new casino operators face today – and how does DSTGAMING address them through technology and infrastructure?
New casino operators often underestimate the complexity of launching and sustaining an iGaming operation. Beyond platform development, they face challenges related to licensing alignment, payment integrations, risk management, game provider negotiations, fraud prevention, and ongoing technical maintenance. Each of these components requires expertise, time, and significant capital investment.
DSTGAMING addresses these barriers by delivering a structured, technology-driven ecosystem that consolidates critical operational components into a single, unified infrastructure. Instead of managing multiple vendors and fragmented systems, operators gain access to a centralized platform that integrates game aggregation, payment gateways, compliance-ready frameworks, and backend management tools. This significantly reduces operational friction and allows operators to focus on market growth, branding, and player acquisition rather than technical troubleshooting.
DSTGAMING provides White Label solutions enabling casinos to go live in as little as a few weeks. What operational processes and technical frameworks make such rapid deployment possible?
Rapid deployment is made possible through a pre-configured yet flexible platform architecture. DSTGAMING’s White Label solution is built on a modular infrastructure where essential systems — player management, payment integrations, risk control, reporting dashboards, and game aggregation — are already technically optimized and tested.
Instead of building from scratch, operators plug into an established framework that supports domain setup, branding customization, provider configuration, and payment integration within a structured onboarding workflow. Automated compliance tools, ready-made back-office dashboards, and scalable cloud infrastructure further streamline the process. This approach minimizes development cycles while maintaining operational stability and performance.
The Turnkey solution focuses on full branding flexibility, user-friendly management, and extensive game libraries. How does this differ strategically from White Label in terms of operator control and long-term scalability?
Strategically, the White Label model is ideal for operators seeking speed-to-market with lower upfront investment and reduced technical responsibility. It provides a comprehensive operational framework where much of the infrastructure and maintenance is centrally managed.
The Turnkey solution, however, is designed for operators who require greater autonomy and long-term strategic control. It offers full branding flexibility, deeper system customization, independent licensing alignment, and enhanced scalability options. From a business standpoint, Turnkey allows operators to build their own technology identity while retaining access to DSTGAMING’s infrastructure backbone. This structure supports expansion into multiple jurisdictions, diversified payment ecosystems, and tailored player engagement strategies over time.
DSTGAMING’s Casino Game Aggregator provides access to more than 10,000 games from 100+ providers – how do you approach game content management, performance consistency, and provider diversity to ensure long-term player engagement?
Managing a large-scale aggregation portfolio requires structured curation rather than simple volume expansion. DSTGAMING focuses on performance analytics, regional player preferences, and technical optimization when onboarding providers.
Game content is continuously monitored for performance indicators such as session duration, retention rates, and conversion metrics. Low-performing titles can be rotated, while trending categories — whether slots, live casino, or crash games — are strategically highlighted. Provider diversity is carefully balanced to include established industry brands alongside emerging studios offering innovative mechanics.
From a technical standpoint, standardized API integration protocols and server optimization ensure latency consistency and stable gameplay across regions. This combination of analytics-driven curation and infrastructure reliability supports sustained player engagement rather than short-term spikes.
DSTGAMING also offers crypto-focused casino deployment. How is cryptocurrency reshaping payment flows, compliance considerations, and global player acquisition strategies?
Cryptocurrency is fundamentally reshaping cross-border transaction efficiency and player accessibility. Traditional payment systems often involve processing delays, regional banking restrictions, and high transaction fees. Crypto payments reduce these friction points by enabling faster settlement, lower costs, and broader global reach.
However, crypto integration also requires structured compliance frameworks. Responsible implementation includes wallet verification systems, AML alignment, transaction monitoring, and jurisdictional risk assessment. DSTGAMING integrates crypto-ready infrastructure within a controlled environment to balance operational efficiency with regulatory awareness.
From a growth perspective, crypto expands access to digitally native audiences and markets where conventional banking infrastructure may limit participation. Operators can position themselves competitively by offering both fiat and digital asset payment options within a secure and scalable ecosystem.
What key iGaming technology or business trends should operators watch most closely heading into 2026?
Heading into 2026, operators should closely monitor three primary areas: infrastructure scalability, payment diversification, and data-driven personalization.
First, scalable cloud-based architectures will become increasingly important as competition intensifies and multi-market expansion accelerates. Second, payment ecosystems will continue diversifying, including alternative payment methods, regional wallets, and cryptocurrency adoption. Third, advanced data analytics and AI-driven personalization will play a central role in player retention, segmentation, and responsible gaming monitoring.
Additionally, regulatory adaptability will remain critical. Operators must design systems that allow compliance updates without disrupting operational continuity.
DSTGAMING is joining the HIPTHER Prague Summit 2026 as the Lanyard Sponsor. What would you like operators and partners to take away from engaging with your team there?
DSTGAMING’s participation at the HIPTHER Prague Summit 2026 as Lanyard Sponsor reflects its long-term commitment to industry collaboration and technological advancement.
At the summit, the objective is not simply to present solutions, but to engage in strategic discussions with operators and partners about sustainable growth models, market expansion strategies, and infrastructure optimization. Visitors should walk away with a clear understanding that DSTGAMING provides more than a platform — it delivers a structured ecosystem designed to support rapid launch, scalable expansion, diversified payments, and long-term operational stability.
The focus remains on building partnerships grounded in technology reliability, strategic flexibility, and measurable business outcomes as the industry moves into its next phase of evolution.
The post Powering the Next Generation of Online Casinos: Inside DSTGAMING’s Scalable iGaming Ecosystem appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
In an industry where margins are thin and player loyalty is fleeting, customer experience has become a key differentiator for operators. As AI becomes a core operational requirement, leadership teams face a clear choice: build proprietary technology in house, or partner with purpose built AI CX providers.
Alex Gould, CTO at Conduet, explains why more operators are choosing the latter.
What industry-specific CX challenges can an exterior solution address ‘out of the box’ compared to a generic build?
Generic AI struggles in sports betting and iGaming because player inquiries are shaped by complex, domain-specific rules and edge cases. Questions about settlements, promotions, withdrawals, or cash outs are rarely straightforward. They depend on wager structure, timing, eligibility criteria, and operator-specific logic.
Over 80% of player inquiries require pulling live, account-specific information from the PAM and applying it correctly within that broader rule set. Without purpose-built logic to interpret both the data and the edge cases around it, responses quickly become incomplete or incorrect.
This limitation is reflected more broadly in enterprise AI adoption. Research from MIT found that 95% of enterprise AI initiatives fail to deliver measurable business impact, often because broadly trained models are pushed into live environments without the domain context needed to handle real-world variability. What appears to work in controlled testing breaks down once exposed to operational complexity.
Purpose-built platforms are designed around this reality. By training on gaming-specific data, workflows, and failure modes, they can interpret live PAM data in context and handle both common and complex inquiries accurately from day one, without relying on extensive rules, manual escalation, or post-deployment patchwork.
How would you characterise the current skills gap within operator teams regarding AI implementation?
Operator CX teams are closest to the customer and understand where friction exists. The challenge is not identifying opportunities, but delivering AI that performs reliably in production. Turning insight into production-ready capability requires technical depth, dedicated ownership, and sustained iteration that sit outside the remit of most CX organisations.
Deploying AI in gaming requires expertise across model evaluation, conversation design, failure handling, and real-time interaction with PAMs and ticketing systems. It also requires ongoing investment to monitor performance, manage edge cases, and improve outcomes as volumes and player behaviour change. CX teams are structured to run day-to-day operations, which makes sustaining this work in parallel difficult.
As a result, many internal AI CX efforts stall or remain narrow in scope, not because the opportunity is unclear, but because the execution burden is too high.
What is the average time to market using a specialist platform, versus a full in-house build?
In-house AI efforts typically take 18 to 36 months to reach enterprise-ready scale. The delay is driven by the need to coordinate across CX, product, data, and engineering while establishing new ownership and operating models inside live CX environments.
A specialist platform compresses this timeline materially. With gameLM, operators can move from concept to live inbound CX in six to 12 weeks. Operators achieve 60%+ resolution within 90 days, scaling toward 80%+ shortly thereafter.
Why does a purpose built partnership model matter in iGaming & OSB CX?
In iGaming and online sports betting, the challenge is not adopting AI, but making it work reliably at scale. Generic platforms often shift the burden onto operators after deployment, requiring significant time and internal effort to adapt the technology to gaming-specific realities. That effort compounds as complexity grows.
A purpose built partnership model changes that dynamic. Instead of operators spending months closing gaps, AI is deployed using operating patterns already proven in live gaming CX. Common failure modes, escalation paths, and performance tradeoffs are understood upfront, reducing the need for downstream rework and ongoing firefighting.
Conduet applies this approach through gameLM, informed by operating a 500+ agent gaming CX organisation. That operating knowledge functions as an embedded R&D capability, shaping how the platform is tuned, prioritised, and extended alongside each operator’s environment. Inbound CX performance today directly informs the development of additional, gaming-specific capabilities such as reactivation, payments optimisation, and fraud prevention.
The result is a partnership model that delivers strong outcomes without transferring the hidden cost of adaptation and maintenance back to the operator, allowing CX capability to keep pace as the industry evolves.
Alex Gould is the CTO at Conduet, where he leverages his technical and strategic background to guide technology strategy and innovation. He is also the Founder and CTO of Everyday AI and previously founded computer vision company ViewX. Alex’s earlier experience includes roles at Primary Venture Partners and Bain & Company, and he holds an MBA from Columbia Business School and a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) from the University of Canterbury.
The post Why operators are choosing to buy in their AI strategy appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
As the only iGaming awards originating from Norway, the Kongebonus Awards are decided entirely by open player voting, offering a rare, unfiltered view into what truly resonates with a dedicated gaming community. Kongebonus Editor-in-Chief, David Nilsen, explains how this year’s results reflect shifting player expectations, highlight both emerging and established studios, and contribute to wider industry conversations around quality, innovation and long-term engagement.
The Kongebonus Awards are now in their fourth year. How have you seen them evolve since the first edition?
Since the first edition, the Kongebonus Awards have grown both in reach and in significance. What started as a way to highlight standout games for our Norwegian audience has developed into a recognised annual moment where player sentiment is clearly reflected back to the industry. Each year we see greater engagement from the community and more awareness among studios and suppliers about what the awards represent. The structure has also matured, with categories that better capture the diversity of modern game development. Most importantly, the awards have become a consistent reference point for which games and providers have truly connected with players over the past year, giving the results increasing weight within the wider iGaming conversation.
This year’s awards were presented in connection with ICE Barcelona. How important is it to connect a Norwegian, player-driven initiative with the wider international industry?
Connecting the awards to an international event like ICE Barcelona helps bring local player insight into the global industry spotlight. While the voting comes from Norwegian players, the studios and games involved operate across many markets. Presenting the results in that setting underlines that player preferences in Norway are part of wider trends in iGaming. It also allows international stakeholders to see how a Nordic audience responds to different styles of games, mechanics and themes. That perspective can be valuable for product planning and market strategy.
This year’s winners were decided through open public voting. Why is it important that the results reflect the voice of players so directly?
Having the winners decided through open public voting ensures the results are grounded in real player experience. The recognition comes directly from the people who have spent time with the games, formed opinions and chosen their favourites. That gives the awards a strong sense of authenticity. It moves the focus away from internal industry perspectives and places it firmly with the end users. For studios, this kind of recognition signals that their work has genuinely resonated with players, not just performed well commercially. Player-led results offer a clear and transparent indicator of which games and providers have built lasting appeal, and that makes the outcomes especially meaningful within the industry.
The awards focus not only on commercial performance, but also on quality, innovation and player experience. From this year’s winners, what stood out most to you?
What stood out most was the balance between creativity and accessibility. Players clearly reward innovation, but only when it is paired with strong execution and an enjoyable overall experience. Many of the recognised titles combine distinctive mechanics with clear game identity and smooth gameplay. There is also evidence that consistency matters. Studios that repeatedly deliver engaging, reliable experiences tend to build strong followings, and that loyalty is reflected in the voting.
How do categories such as Rising Star Game Developer and the Readers’ Hall of Fame help ensure the awards spotlight both emerging studios and more established names?
These categories make sure the awards reflect the full spectrum of achievement in the industry. The Rising Star category gives visibility to newer studios that are already making a strong impression with players through innovation and creativity, even if they do not yet have the scale of the largest providers. In contrast, the Readers’ Hall of Fame recognises games that have achieved lasting popularity and become long-term favourites. Including both perspectives shows that excellence is not limited to one stage of growth. It highlights that players value both fresh ideas and proven experiences.
Looking ahead, how do you expect the awards to continue growing, and what role do you see Kongebonus playing in shaping player-led conversations in the industry?
As player expectations continue to change, the awards will develop alongside them. The aim remains to document and highlight the studios and games that genuinely stand out from a player perspective. Over time, this may mean refining categories or exploring new ways to reflect emerging trends, while keeping open voting at the core. Kongebonus will continue to act as a bridge between players and the industry, translating community sentiment into insights that studios and suppliers can learn from. By keeping the focus on player experience and feedback, the awards can play a growing role in encouraging the industry to prioritise quality, innovation and long-term player engagement.
To find out more about this year’s Kongebonus Awards and see the full list of winners, visit: https://www.kongebonus.com/nyheter/vinnere-av-kongebonus-awards-2025/
The post Inside the Kongebonus Awards: What Norway’s Players Are Telling the iGaming Industry appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
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