eSports

EXCEL ESPORTS introduces The Power of Better into major brand update

Published

6 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.

BLAST

BLAST partners with MATCH on premium fan travel for 2026-27 events

Published

4 hours ago

June 11, 2026

Wladimir P.

blast-partners-with-match-on-premium-fan-travel-for-2026-27-events

Deal covers travel and hospitality packages across BLAST’s event slate, starting with BLAST Premier Hong Kong Rivals in November.

BLAST has signed a one-year partnership with MATCH to develop premium fan travel experiences and related commercial opportunities across BLAST events in 2026 and 2027, including the BLAST Premier Hong Kong Rivals 2026. The companies said the work will start immediately, with an initial focus on the BLAST Premier Hong Kong Rivals event in November.

BLAST VP of Destinations and Market Development James Woollard said: “We’re thrilled to partner with MATCH, a company with an unrivalled track record in delivering top-tier fan travel experiences at the biggest sporting events in the world. As BLAST continues to grow globally and attract growing numbers of travelling fans, this partnership represents an exciting opportunity to further elevate the live event experience for fans and audiences across esports.”

MATCH is best known for hospitality and accommodation programmes at major sports events, including four consecutive FIFA World Cups from 2010 to 2022, as well as Ryder Cup tournaments, Formula 1 Grands Prix and ATP tennis tournaments. MATCH Director of UK Events and Business Strategy Richard Parker said: “Esports is one of the most exciting growth frontiers in live entertainment, and BLAST stands out as a world-class platform with incredible potential. At MATCH, we see a tremendous opportunity to bring our expertise in creating premium fan experiences into the esports arena. We are very enthusiastic about the possibility of working together with BLAST to deliver innovative, unforgettable experiences for esports fans worldwide.”

BLAST said MATCH will also bring its network of clients, sponsors, federations, agents and media partners to support international attendance and partner activation, alongside MATCH’s technology and operational infrastructure. The announcement follows BLAST’s 2025 live events activity, where the organiser said it delivered 15 arena shows across 10 countries spanning five titles and sold 194,421 tickets.

The post BLAST partners with MATCH on premium fan travel for 2026-27 events appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

Counter-strike

Team Vitality opens V.Hub fan zone for IEM Cologne Major

Published

8 hours ago

June 11, 2026

Wladimir P.

team-vitality-opens-v.hub-fan-zone-for-iem-cologne-major

Team Vitality is launching an official fan zone, V.Hub, to coincide with the 2026 IEM Cologne Major. The venue will run June 18-21 at KWB im Stadtpalais, a short walk from the LANXESS Arena.

Access to V.Hub will be free for fans who sign up, with limited availability. Team Vitality said the space is intended to bring together its community, partners and Counter-Strike fans attending the event.

The fan zone will include dedicated areas hosted by Team Vitality and partners Skin.Club, ASUS ROG, EVNIA and Blacklyte. The club said activations will include hands-on experiences and opportunities to play bespoke Counter-Strike maps.

Team Vitality also plans match watch parties, a pop-up shop for official merchandise and giveaways, including an ASUS ROG x Team Vitality co-branded mousepad. During the playoff stage, the club said V.Hub will be set up for trophy photo opportunities with its Major trophies.

Food and drink will be available on site throughout the event, including vegetarian options.

The post Team Vitality opens V.Hub fan zone for IEM Cologne Major appeared first on EE Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

eSports

Esports World Cup 2026 Opens Registration for Last Chance Qualifiers

Published

3 days ago

June 9, 2026

Wladimir P.

esports-world-cup-2026-opens-registration-for-last-chance-qualifiers

The Esports Foundation (EF) announced the official lineup and details for the Last Chance Qualifier (LCQ) tournaments that will award the final spots in eight different competitions at this year’s Esports World Cup, set to be hosted in Paris, France, from July 6 through August 23.

The programme forms the final stage of qualification for EWC 2026, concluding a global Road to EWC that spans more than 230 tournaments and qualification events worldwide and is expected to engage more than 350,000 competitors across publisher ecosystems, regional leagues and official circuits.

The Last Chance Qualifier series consists of eight open tournaments across Counter-Strike 2, EA FC, Rocket League, TEKKEN 8, Chess, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves and Street Fighter 6.

Held in Paris between July 5 and August 10, the events will award the final qualification spots for 37 solo competitors and six Clubs at the Esports World Cup 2026, including four Clubs in Counter-Strike 2 and one Club each in Rocket League and Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. EA FC qualifiers will advance to the Play-Ins stage, while all other LCQ winners will qualify directly for the main event.

LCQ Schedule and Qualification Slots

• Street Fighter 6 (July 5): 4 players qualify

• Chess (July 9-11): 14 players qualify

• EA FC (July 24-26): 6 players qualify for Play-Ins

• TEKKEN 8 (July 31-August 2): 4 players qualify

• Rocket League (July 31-August 2): 1 Club qualifies

• FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves (August 4-6): 4 players qualify

• Counter-Strike 2 (August 7-9): 4 Clubs qualify

• Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 (August 8-10): 1 Club qualifies

Some of the most remarkable moments in EWC’s history have come as a result of the LCQ. In 2024, EA FC pro João “JafonsogV” Vasconcellos battled through the LCQ before going on to claim the championship, etching his name into esports history. His performance inspired the creation of the Jafonso Award, which is awarded to teams or players that win an EWC championship after qualifying through the LCQ.

In 2025, Team Falcons’ Overwatch roster pulled off that feat to not only claim the first Jafonso Award and the OWCS Midseason Championship, but win what would turn out to be a crucial tournament victory that cemented Falcons’ second straight Club Championship. In the same year, Chess Grandmasters Nihal Sarin and Levon Aronian both reached the playoffs after qualifying for the first EWC Chess main event through the LCQ.

The Esports World Cup 2026 will be hosted at Paris Expo Port de Versailles, in Paris, France, from July 6 through August 23, bringing together more than 2000 players and 200 Clubs from over 100 countries across 25 tournaments and 24 games for a record-breaking $75 million+ prize pool.

The post Esports World Cup 2026 Opens Registration for Last Chance Qualifiers appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.