eSports

EXCEL ESPORTS introduces The Power of Better into major brand update

Published

5 years ago

November 13, 2020

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The leading British competitive gaming brand unveils ambitious manifesto and vision of The Power of Better, incorporating purpose into its brand identity to help improve the gaming and esports industry and looking beyond the esports “lifestyle brand”

EXCEL ESPORTS, the leading British competitive gaming culture brand, with teams participating in the two biggest global video games, Fortnite and League of Legends, has today unveiled a significant brand update, a bold and unique visual identity in esports that will see EXCEL evolve into a professional team that adds purpose to its passion for gaming. The update signifies the next stage of EXCEL’s expansion, growth and its unique vision of The Power of Better; a commitment to improve in everything it does and to use its platform to have a positive impact on the wider gaming and esports community.

Since its inception six years ago, EXCEL has become the most prolific British esports team, making significant strides to represent, support and develop the esports ecosystem.

EXCEL now looks to the future and what it means to be a professional esports team, steering beyond the over-used “lifestyle” esports brand and carving out a new unique path in esports that will see it driven by performance and incorporating purpose, striving to be better and enacting positive change in esports and gaming through its vision of The Power of Better. Centered around two core principles, The Power of Better is the belief that improvement never stops – whether you’re part of an organisation or as an individual, you can be better tomorrow than you are today – and aims to challenge the status quo in the world of esports. It is a commitment by EXCEL to constantly review how it operates, continuously looking inwards and onwards.

EXCEL began its journey of improvement by creating the Performance Playbook, which focuses on the holistic development of its players both physiologically and psychologically as well as the Pyramid of Success, a philosophy for engineering improved levels of performance that is underpinned by its core values and beliefs of trust, respect, dedication, discipline and creating good habits. The Power of Better looks to go further than performance with EXCEL looking to be an inspiration for the wider gaming community by having a positive impact on everything it does.

To start, EXCEL has revealed the launch of the ‘Gaming for Better’ whitepaper series for gamers everywhere, with the first one created by EXCEL’s Head of Performance and sports psychology expert Fabian Broich. The whitepaper, published today, explores the common injuries experienced by gamers and provides advice on how to improve individual performance and become healthier by focusing on physical activity, lifestyle balance, and creating positive habits.

To illustrate its new ambitions and The Power of Better vision, EXCEL has unveiled a completely new visual identity with a new logo, colour palette, website and merchandise line. The logo will retain the ‘X’ and ‘L’ widely used and recognised by EXCEL fans. The design has been simplified to ensure it is easily identifiable and the forward arrow in the X embodies the brands forward thinking approach as well as the dynamic world of gaming. The new diverse and flexible colour palette allows for creativity, fluidity and change, reflecting EXCEL’s ambitions to forge its own path and allowing the brand to evolve as it continues its journey of improvement. The new website will act as a digital destination for fans, the centerpoint where the community can stay up to date with the latest EXCEL news. It will also incorporate a shop with new merch ranges.

“Over the last six years, EXCEL ESPORTS has seen immense growth, transforming from a bedroom hobby into a professional competitive gaming brand with players competing in the world’s biggest esports. When EXCEL was founded we wanted our identity to be motivational, competitive, and allow people to easily support us in-game with the XL tag. As we head into this next phase of our journey, it’s great to be able to showcase our roots and initial passion, whilst developing our brand so that it is fit for our future ambitions”, said Kieran Holmes-Darby, Co-Founder and Chief Gaming Officer, EXCEL ESPORTS.

“At EXCEL we have unlimited ambitions in the games we compete in, what we want to become as a team and as a brand. It’s now time for us to take our next step to grow as a globally recognised, respected and loved competitive gaming brand from Britain. This step is more than just a visual update, it’s our belief in our vision for ourselves, our talent, our community and our culture. We believe that too many try to copy each other, vying to be competitive or lifestyle without further meaning. Today, we will start our journey of The Power of Better with passion, professionalism, performance and purpose. This is more than just a brand update, it is EXCEL’s promise to be better every day and make our contribution to the future of competitive gaming,” said Wouter Sleijffers, CEO, EXCEL ESPORTS.

eSports

Esports Foundation Appoints More Than 700 Game Coaches for the Inaugural Esports Nations Cup 2026

Published

2 hours ago

April 27, 2026

Wladimir P.

esports-foundation-appoints-more-than-700-game-coaches-for-the-inaugural-esports-nations-cup-2026

The Esports Foundation (EF) has confirmed the appointment of over 700 game coaches representing the National Team Partners (NTPs) from more than 100 nations and territories for the Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC), the global nation-based esports competition set to debut in Riyadh from November 2-29, 2026. The announcement marks the start of team roster selections, due by May 10, with coaches now responsible for identifying players, defining team strategy and building competitive lineups.

Drawn from more than 90 leading esports organisations across the globe, the group of coaches spans world champions, established leaders and rising stars building local scenes, connecting team development directly to the highest level of global competition. The list of National Team Coaches is available on the ENC website.

The coaching pool, from seasoned veterans who have faced each other on the biggest stages to a new generation of coaches looking to make their mark, reflects the breadth of global esports. In League of Legends, LEC stalwart and G2 Esports coach Dylan Falco (Canada) will take on rising coaching stars like Quentin “Zeph” Viguié (France) and Jonas “Memento” Elmarghichi (Morocco). In Rocket League, the Netherlands’ Jos “ViolentPanda” van Meurs brings a world-championship legacy, while the youngest coach in the field, Abdulrahman Saad “d7oom-24” Bin Fayez, age 22, will lead a strong contender in Saudi Arabia.

Fans will also see international appointments across borders, including Swedish legend Fabian “Fabian” Hällsten coaching the United States’ Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege team alongside Brazil’s Guilherme “gohaN” Alf coaching Indonesia.

The appointments also highlight a growing group of women coaches who will be shaping teams throughout the world. In PUBG MOBILE, Camila “Mia” López (Chile), a professional manager, analyst and coach, brings experience from the global mobile circuit, while Nikol “Kehayoyo” Kehayova will look to lead Poland. In other game titles, Sabrina “SYA” Starke (Germany) heads up Honor of Kings and Angela “Kaylio” Sun Zhou (Australia) steps in for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, while in VALORANT Felicia “Felly” Cersac (Moldova) and Syeda “Skel” Samman (Pakistan) will lead teams from emerging esports markets.

“The Esports Nations Cup is being built step by step, and appointing team coaches is the next critical layer in that structure. If teams are what make esports intuitive for a mainstream audience, coaches are what make them credible for players and fans. They bring identity, direction, and standards to each team. With more than 700 coaches now in place across over 100 National Team Partners, we’re turning the idea of nation-based competition into something people can understand instantly and believe in — a system that is structured, real, and ready to perform on the world stage,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports Foundation.

Coaches from the remaining nations and territories, including the ones without an NTP, will be announced at a later date. Attention now turns to finalising player selections, as teams take shape ahead of the ENC’s global qualification pathway. Competitors in solo-player games as well as in the remaining team-based titles will be identified through full open qualifiers, with details to be announced in the coming weeks.

The ENC introduces nation-based competition to the global esports calendar in a structured and recurring format. By enabling nations and territories to organise teams, develop talent pathways and compete on a global stage, the ENC creates new opportunities for players while strengthening connections between local ecosystems and international competition.

The post Esports Foundation Appoints More Than 700 Game Coaches for the Inaugural Esports Nations Cup 2026 appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

chess

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

Published

4 days 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

1 week 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.