eSports

Alfa Romeo and Jarno Opmeer lead F1 Esports Pro Series after races in Bahrain, Vietnam & China

Published

6 years ago

October 16, 2020

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The first round of the F1 Esports Series presented by Aramco got underway with three thrilling races in Bahrain, Vietnam and China, as drivers set their sights on the huge $750,000 prize pot, in what is poised to be the biggest and best season yet.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic drivers are racing remotely for the first time this year, but the popular live shows continue to be broadcast from the Gfinity Esports Arena in London, as we ensure fans don’t miss a moment of the action.

On Wednesday evening drivers took to the Bahrain International Circuit for the season opener, competing at the increased 35% race-length for the first time this year. Alfa Romeo dominated in the only ‘night race’ on the calendar, with Jarno Opmeer and Daniel Bereznay finishing P1 and P2 ahead of Red Bull’s Marcel Kiefer, who joined them on the podium for the first time this season.

Wednesday’s double-header continued with an F1 first as the drivers became the first to race competitively on the brand-new Hanoi Street Circuit in Vietnam, albeit on the F1 2020 official video game developed by Codemasters, rather than the real thing. The multiple long straights and sharp turns made for dramatic racing, which saw last year’s champion David Tonizza come out on top for Ferrari in a tense battle with Renault’s Nicolas Longuet for the win; Jarno Opmeer rounded off the top three.

This year’s first event ended in style with a third and final race in China on Thursday evening, as Jarno Opmeer raced home at the Shanghai International Circuit for his second win of the season. Marcel Kiefer and Daniel Bereznay finished P2 and P3 respectively to crown a successful first round.

This week’s results mean Jarno Opmeer leads the way in the driver standings, whilst Alfa Romeo top the team’s championship.

Attention now turns to the second event, on 4-5 November, as we get set to race for the first time at the Zandvoort Circuit and visit a fan favourite in Canada, the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, before finishing at the Red Bull Ring in Austria, where this year’s revised F1 2020 schedule began with an entertaining double-header.

Following the first round of action, the overall standings are as follows:

DRIVER STANDINGS
Position	Driver	Team	Points
1	Jarno Opmeer	Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN F1 Esports	65
2	Marcel Kiefer	Red Bull Racing Esports	41
3	Daniel Bereznay	Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN F1 Esports	33
4	Nicolas Longuet	Renault Vitality	28
5	Frederik Rasmussen	Red Bull Racing Esports	28
6	David Tonizza	FDA Hublot Esports	25
7	Joni Törmälä	Scuderia AlphaTauri Esports	20
8	Brendon Leigh	Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports	18
9	Álvaro Carretón	Williams Esports	14
10	Lucas Blakeley	BWT Racing Point F1 Esports	9
11	Enzo Bonito	FDA Hublot Esports	6
12	Daniel Moreno	McLaren Shadow	6
13	Fabrizio Donoso	Renault Vitality	5
14	Cedric Thomé	Haas F1 Team Esports	4
15	Daniele Haddad	BWT Racing Point F1 Esports	1
16	Bono Huis	Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports	0
17	Bardia Boroumand	Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports	0
18	Michael Romanidis	Williams Esports	0
19	James Baldwin	McLaren Shadow	0
20	Salih Saltunç	Williams Esports	0
21	Manuel Biancolilla	Scuderia AlphaTauri Esports	0
22	Simon Weigang	Haas F1 Team Esports	0

TEAM STANDINGS
Position	Team	Points
1	Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN F1 Esports	98
2	Red Bull Racing Esports	69
3	Renault Vitality	33
4	FDA Hublot Esports Team	31
5	Scuderia AlphaTauri Esports Team	20
6	Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Team	18
7	Team Williams Esports	14
8	BWT Racing Point F1 Esports	10
9	McLaren Shadow	6
10	Haas F1 Team Esports	4

The live show was streamed online via F1’s official channels on Facebook, YouTube, Twitch and Huya, as well as broadcast by international television partners such as ESPN (US), Sky (UK) and Ziggo (Netherlands).

Following a huge year for F1 Esports, which saw over 30 million people tune in to the Virtual Grand Prix Series, more people than ever want to get involved. The first qualifying event for the 2021 F1 Esports Series is now open until the end of October on F1 2020, the newly-released official videogame developed by Codemasters. For more information visit www.f1esports.com.

Julian Tan, Head of Digital Business Initiatives & Esports at Formula 1 said:

“We’re thrilled to see the Pro Series back underway and to do it safely and remotely as the world continues to navigate the global pandemic. The first event has shown exhilarating racing with three fantastic races giving us five different podium finishers. We’re definitely in for a thrilling season with it all to play for as the F1 teams battle it out for our huge $750,000 prize pot. We can’t wait to see what the rest of the championship has in store for us!”

Frank Sagnier, CEO at Codemasters said:

“The F1 Esports Series presented by Aramco is back with the bang. We have our most competitive line-up to date, and the drivers didn’t disappoint for the opening series of races. Time will tell if a new rival will emerge to break the dominance we’ve seen from the likes of David Tonizza, Frede Rasmussen & Daniel Bereznay last year, or if Brendon Leigh can roar back and reclaim his crown. We’re off to an incredible start, and we can’t wait for the next round of races.”

John Clarke, CEO at Gfinity said:

“What a start to our biggest season so far, we’ve got a great new game, amazing drivers, thrilling racing, all delivered live and remotely. F1 is once again leading the way in delivering great entertainment for fans from around the world who love gaming and motorsport. Everyone involved has risen to the challenge of having the drivers spread across the globe. Get ready for the best season of racing yet.”

For more information on the F1 Esports Series presented by Aramco visit www.f1esports.com.

chess

Team Vitality re-signs Javokhir Sindarov for 2026–2027 chess roster

Published

9 hours ago

April 23, 2026

Wladimir P.

team-vitality-re-signs-javokhir-sindarov-for-2026–2027-chess-roster

Team Vitality has re-signed chess player Javokhir Sindarov to its Chess roster for 2026 and 2027, bringing the 2025 FIDE World Cup winner back to the organisation.

The club said Sindarov is coming off a win at the 2026 Candidates Tournament, positioning him for a potential world title match against reigning champion Gukesh Dommaraju.

“We are incredibly proud to welcome Javokhir back to Team Vitality. He represents the new generation of chess: bold, ambitious, and unafraid to make big moves. His trajectory speaks for itself, and we know he has everything it takes to become the next World Champion,” said Danny Engels, Chief International Officer at Team Vitality. “This signing is a natural step in our ambition to be at the forefront of chess and esports, and to bring the game to new audiences around the world.”

Team Vitality also pointed to Sindarov’s interest in gaming—specifically Counter-Strike—as a fit with the organisation’s esports positioning. His next scheduled appearance under Team Vitality is the Chess.com Open, running April 23–26.

The post Team Vitality re-signs Javokhir Sindarov for 2026–2027 chess roster appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

creator-economy

Red Bull runs one-day Balatro speedrun event, Boss Rush, on April 17

Published

6 days ago

April 17, 2026

Wladimir P.

red-bull-runs-one-day-balatro-speedrun-event,-boss-rush,-on-april-17

Eight creators compete across five timed stages with eliminations, broadcast on Red Bull’s Twitch and YouTube channels.

Red Bull will stage a one-day Balatro speedrun competition, Red Bull Boss Rush, on April 17, 2026. The event brings together eight creators for timed runs in the roguelike deckbuilder, with viewers able to follow via individual creator POV streams and a central hub broadcast.

The competitor lineup includes Red Bull Player Ludwig, plus The Spiffing Brit, FrostPrime, Feinberg, Adef, Yahiamice, mbtyugioh and dreads. Red Bull said live commentary will be provided by esports host Yinsu ‘Yinsu’ Collins, card-game specialist Blake ‘Rarran’ Eram, and DrSpectered.

Boss Rush is structured as five 30-minute stages, with players ranked by completion time. Red Bull said the opening three stages use a shared random seed with unlimited resets, and points are awarded by placement each stage; the bottom four are eliminated after stage 3. Stage 4 determines the finalists, followed by a final winner-takes-all matchup.

The event also includes a downloadable Red Bull Boss Rush mod featuring a custom-branded deck and new Red Bull-themed Jokers, Bosses and Skip Tags. Red Bull highlighted additions including ‘Witch’, ‘Princess and Frog’, ‘Zebra’, Old Dog, ‘Pirate’, ‘Genie’, ‘Prince Charming’, and ‘Jester’, each designed to alter scoring or run economics.

Red Bull Boss Rush will stream on twitch.tv/redbull and Red Bull’s YouTube Gaming channel. Scan is supplying gaming PCs for the competition, according to the company.

Relevant data as follows:

Red Bull Gaming on Twitch; https://www.twitch.tv/redbull Primary broadcast destination for the event.
Red Bull Gaming on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/redbullgaming Secondary broadcast destination cited in the release.
Red Bull Gaming: https://www.redbull.com/ Official Red Bull site for event context and confirmation.
Balatro on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2379780/Balatro/ Authoritative reference for the game featured in the competition.
Scan Computers: https://www.scan.co.uk/ PC supplier mentioned as providing systems for the event.

The post Red Bull runs one-day Balatro speedrun event, Boss Rush, on April 17 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Asia

S8UL signs Team Question Mark roster for PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS ahead of EWC 2026

Published

1 week ago

April 16, 2026

Wladimir P.

s8ul-signs-team-question-mark-roster-for-pubg:-battlegrounds-ahead-of-ewc-2026

The CIS-based EMEA lineup brings past EWC experience and titles including PUBG Global Series 8 as S8UL targets Riyadh qualification.

S8UL has signed the Team Question Mark (QM) roster to represent the organisation in PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS on PC ahead of the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026. The deal was announced April 16 from Mumbai as S8UL prepares for the tournament in Riyadh, scheduled for July 21 to 26.

The CIS-based EMEA lineup includes:

captain Roman Zinovev (ADOUZ1E),
Andrey Ionov (Bestoloch),
Mansur Tsimpaev (f1lfirst),
Nikita Odobesku (Molodoct),
and coach Yermek Torebekov (Ermaak).

S8UL said the roster will compete through the qualification pathway for a place in the 24-team event, which has a $2 million prize pool.

S8UL is adding a roster with a proven record in top-tier PUBG competition, including wins at PUBG Continental Series 7 Europe 2022 and PUBG Global Series 8 in 2025. The team has also posted a Top 3 finish at PUBG Global Series 2 in 2023 and a Top 7 finish at PUBG Global Championship 2022. The organisation said the roster has competed at both previous editions of the EWC in 2024 and 2025 and has amassed approximately $713,000 in total prize winnings.

Commenting on the move, Naman Mathur, Co-founder, S8UL said, “Signing the QM roster is a significant step for us as we continue to strengthen our presence in global esports. PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS is one of the most competitive titles in the world, and this team has consistently proven itself against the very best. At a broader level, this move reflects the direction S8UL is heading in. Over the past year, we have focused on building depth across our rosters and competing consistently at the highest level. As we prepare for the Esports World Cup 2026, we are committed to providing the team with the right support and resources as they aim to make a strong impact in the qualifiers as well as on the global stage.”

Roman Zinovev aka ADOUZ1E added, “Becoming part of S8UL is a big opportunity for us as a team. As a team, we’ve always believed in our ability to compete with the best in the world, and having the backing of a global organisation allows us to push even further. With the Esports World Cup coming up, we’re focused on working through the qualifiers and making sure we deliver performances that match our potential.,”

S8UL said the announcement follows its selection as a Club Partner by the Esports Foundation (EF), placing it among 40 global organisations. The organisation has also listed 13 titles it plans to enter for EWC 2026, including PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS, Apex Legends, Battlegrounds Mobile India (BGMI), Call of Duty: Warzone, Chess, EA Sports FC, FATAL Fury, Fortnite, Honor of Kings, MOBA Legends 5V5, Street Fighter 6, TEKKEN 8, and Trackmania.

Relevant data as follows:

S8UL Esports: https://s8ul.gg/ Official organisation site for roster and announcement verification.
PUBG Esports (PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS competitive updates): https://pubgesports.com/ Authoritative source for PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS esports circuits, event results, and qualifiers.
Esports World Cup (official site): https://esportsworldcup.com/ Event organiser site for EWC 2026 schedule, formats, and prize pool confirmation.

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