eSports
ALPINE ESPORTS SERIES DRIVER AND TALENT LINEUP REVEALED AHEAD OF FIRST RACE ON APRIL 27TH
Alpine Esports is pleased to present the driver and broadcast lineup for the Alpine Esports Series powered by Binance which kicks off this April 27th. The Alpine Esports Series, now in its third year, gives sim racers from across the world the opportunity to showcase their talent, driving Alpine A110 GT4 cars across six races on three separate circuits.
The Alpine Esports Series Qualifiers took place over two weeks and saw 2,288 drivers sign up to showcase their speed and agility in Assetto Corsa Competizione. Dennis Schöniger came out on top with a 1:50.940 lap time winning $1,500 in Alpine Fan Tokens for the fastest qualified lap around the Hungaroring with the A110 GT4. 2021 champion Jaroslav ‘Jardier’ Honzik and last year’s winner James Baldwin will be returning to the Alpine Esports Series grid, alongside Kamil Pawlowski, the former Ferrari Esports champion.
The quickest 35 drivers are:
- Dennis Schöniger
- Vojtech Fiala
- Tinko van der Velde
- Dominik Blajer
- Kamil Pawlowski
- Mateusz Tyszkiewicz
- Erik Del Fante
- Lucas Müller
- Johan Bergera
- Lukas Mateja
- Geert Fischer
- James Baldwin
- Mathias Kuhn
- Maciej Malinowski
- Mattia Zampedri
- Luke Whitehead
- Fabien Jeanblanc
- Marko Pejic
- Mariusz Tworzydlo
- Isaac Gillissen
- Michael Romagnoli
- Florian Hasse
- David Kalocsai
- Michele Nerbi
- Jaroslav Honzik
- Marc Tol
- George Boothby
- Nikodem Sobczyk
- Victor Nicolae
- Luca Schubert
- Arthur Patat
- Max Wojtyna
- Charlie Crossland
- Michal Nowakowski
- Mathys Leitao
The broadcast lineup for the series has also been unveiled with widely renowned F1 and iRacing sim racing commentator Jack Cunnane leading the broadcast team for all three rounds, with support from two-time VCO Simmy Awards winner Lewis McGlade for round one and Alpine Esports Ambassador Thom ‘THOMB’ Brouwer for rounds two and three, with all three rounds each consisting of an Endurance and a Sprint race.
Played on Assetto Corsa Competizione, the Endurance race, held on Circuit Paul RIcard, will begin at 8:30pm CEST on April 27, with the Sprint race following immediately after. All races will be broadcast on Binance Live as well as the Alpine YouTube and Twitch channels.
The broadcast schedule for the Alpine Esports Series is as follows:
- Broadcast 1 – 2 hours – Paul Ricard (Race 1 & 2): 27th of April – 8:30pm CEST
- Broadcast 2 – 2 hours – Silverstone (Race 3 & 4): 11th of May – 8:30pm CEST
- Broadcast 3 – 2 hours – Valencia Ricardo Tormo Circuit (Race 5 & 6): 25th of May – 8:30pm CEST
In partnership with leading cryptocurrency platform Binance, Alpine Esports is offering $100,000 in Alpine Fan Tokens split between the prize pool and viewer giveaways. Alpine is currently ranked as the 4th highest performing fan token worldwide alongside mainstream football organisations- FC Barcelona, Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain (Coinmarketcap).
The prize pool distribution for the final top ten racers is as follows:
- 1st (Champion of the Alpine Esports Series): $25,000 worth of Alpine Fan Tokens, $3,000 worth of $QANX tokens, and an Alpine A110 GT4 driving and coaching experience
- 2nd Place: $15,000 Alpine Fan Tokens and a Trak Racer Alpine Racing TRX Sim Rig
- 3rd Place: $8,000 Alpine Fan Tokens and an ADEPT gaming chair
- 4th Place: $4,000 Alpine Fan Tokens and a Tobii Eye Tracker 5
- 5th Place: $2,250 Alpine Fan Tokens and an Alpine Esports Merch Bundle
- 6th Place: $1,250 Alpine Fan Tokens and an Alpine Esports Jersey
- 7th Place: $700 Alpine Fan Tokens
- 8th Place: $500 Alpine Fan Tokens
- 9th Place: $200 Alpine Fan Tokens
- 10th Place: $100 Alpine Fan Tokens
$1,500 worth of Alpine Fan Tokens will also be awarded for the fastest lap in the championship, alongside top of the range performance enhancing hardware courtesy of Alpine Esports partners.
Each one of Alpine Esports’ official partners will have their bespoke liveries in the Championship, including Binance, whose livery was chosen from the community voters.
In addition to the prizes available to drivers, $40,000 fan token bundles and free NFTs will be available to win for viewers at home.
Powered by WPeMatico
eSports
Esports Awards adds player-voted EWC Players’ Choice Award, extends Esports Foundation deal
The Esports Awards and the Esports Foundation (EF) on June 18, 2026, announced a three-year extension of their partnership through 2028 and introduced a new player-voted honor, the EWC Players’ Choice Award. The announcement was made in London, with voting tied to Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 in Paris.
The EWC Players’ Choice Award will be decided exclusively by professional esports players. According to the announcement, competitors attending EWC 2026 will vote in person, while a secure digital voting platform hosted by the Esports Awards will allow participation from additional eligible players and clubs.
Eligibility requires players to have competed in at least one qualifying S, A or B-Tier tournament during the official competitive season. Players will not be able to vote for themselves or teammates, with the Esports Awards overseeing the process.
“The talent and innovation of our sector should be getting the exposure it deserves.,” said Michael Ashford, CEO of the Esports Awards. “The Esports Foundation has done an incredible job in generating mainstream attention, and industry exposure outside of the standard circuit. Our partnership has enabled us to expand our operations and footprint and it’s through our continued collaboration that I hope we can bring the Esports Awards to the global community, and provide the industry with better visibility all year round.”
The Esports Awards also confirmed its 2026 ceremony will take place in the United States, starting what it described as a rotating host city model featuring “previously unvisited destinations.” The event previously staged its 2024 awards ceremony and the 2025 Decade Awards in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as part of the Esports World Cup program.
EWC 2026 is scheduled for Paris from July 06 through August 23, 2026, with more than 2,000 players and 200 Clubs from over 100 countries set to compete in 25 tournaments across 24 games. Voting for the EWC Players’ Choice Award will run from July 1 through August 18, 2026, with the winner to be revealed during the Esports Awards ceremony later this year. The Esports Awards said additional details about its 2026 event will be announced in the coming weeks.
The post Esports Awards adds player-voted EWC Players’ Choice Award, extends Esports Foundation deal appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
chess
ENC 2026 chess qualifiers wrap as 82 nations and territories make the field
The Esports Foundation (EF) has completed the online regional qualifiers for the Chess tournament at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC), scheduled to debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 2-29, 2026.
EF said the 128-player chess field is now largely set. 64 players from 64 countries and territories received direct invitations via official Champions Chess Tour (CCT) rankings at the end of May, while 61 players qualified through online regional events operated by Chess.com across North America, South America, Africa, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East/India/Central Asia, and East Asia/Southeast Asia/Oceania.
A further slot was awarded to Amani Alazmi (Kuwait) via the Host Region Wildcard as the next highest-placing competitor from the host region. Two Wildcard Solidarity slots for underrepresented regions remain and will be announced at the end of August after all ENC qualifiers are completed. With qualifiers concluded, EF said at least 82 countries and territories will be represented in chess at ENC 2026.
EF highlighted that Jamaica, Paraguay, Singapore, South Africa, Tajikistan, Tunisia, and Turkmenistan each secured two qualifying slots despite not receiving a direct invitation. Honduras, Mexico, El Salvador, Venezuela, Morocco, Nigeria, Algeria, Jordan, Australia, and New Zealand secured one slot each.
The chess competition runs November 2-8. EF said the event will open with a round-robin group stage featuring 16 groups of eight players, before moving to a 64-player single-elimination playoff bracket. The full list of qualified players and nations is available on the ENC website’s chess page.
The post ENC 2026 chess qualifiers wrap as 82 nations and territories make the field appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
1xBet
HLTV Awards returns to Belgrade on January 9, 2027, adding Lifetime Achievement honor
HLTV will stage the HLTV Awards presented by 1xBet in Belgrade, Serbia on January 9, 2027, returning to the Sava Center. The company said more than 1,000 players, industry professionals, creators, and fans are expected to attend.
HLTV also confirmed Dust2 creator David Johnston will feature as an award announcer. HLTV linked the booking to the 25th anniversary of Dust2.
For 2026, HLTV is updating its Hall of Fame process and eligibility rules. Four players will be inducted again, with “at least two and up to three” slots reserved for players from the Counter-Strike 1.6 and early eras. HLTV also removed the former “neo rule,” allowing players to be inducted for their playing careers even if they remain active in other roles such as coaching.
HLTV is adding a Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be decided by the Hall of Fame Board. The ceremony will also move Community Awards onto the main stage show for the first time, rather than the pre-show segment.
Separately, HLTV will kick off the 2027 Awards season with an invite-only “HLTV Awards by 1xBet Launch Party x GRID” in Cologne during the Major. HLTV said industry members can apply for an invite to the ceremony via its awards page.
The post HLTV Awards returns to Belgrade on January 9, 2027, adding Lifetime Achievement honor appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.
-
América Latina6 days agoLas diferencias locales de Argentina representan tanto un desafío como una oportunidad para el sector del iGaming
-
Africa6 days agoBooming Games signs content deal with World Sports Betting in South Africa
-
Latest News6 days agoConnect with N1 Partners at G Gate Conf 2026
-
game-launch6 days agoMillion Games launches East West Wild slot with progressive multipliers
-
Gmonitor.ai6 days agoGmonitor llega a Latinoamérica: la plataforma de inteligencia de mercado para operadores debuta en seis mercados regulados
-
eSports7 days agoG2 partners with PUBG MOBILE Esports to scale Western Europe competition
-
Latest News6 days agoSportradar Report | World Cup 2026: Opportunities for the Latin American Sports Betting Market
-
AI6 days agoVeikkaus rolls out OpenBet’s Neccton responsible gambling platform ahead of 2027 reform



