eSports
Full team line-ups and event details announced for 2021 F1® Esports Series Pro Championship presented by Aramco

Ahead of the highly anticipated 2021 F1® Esports Series Pro Championship presented by Aramco, which begins next month, the full driver line-ups and event details were announced in Wednesday’s Preview Show, as teams’ get set to battle it out once again for a piece of the huge $750,000 prize pot – one of the biggest in Esports.
F1® Esports Series’ flagship competition continues to exceed expectation and shatter records along the way with last year’s Pro Series, as it was then called, achieving 10.6m views across TV & digital, as well as a record 291m social impressions and 23.8m video views throughout the campaign. The ever-rising popularity of the competition was even more evident as nearly half a million people attempted to qualify for this year’s championship, an increase of 108% from 2020.
As per the 2020 competition, due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, drivers will continue to race from team factories or bespoke Esports facilities, or their own homes, whilst broadcasts will be filmed from the Gfinity Arena in London. Drivers will compete on the official F1® 2021 video game, developed by Codemasters and EA.
Aramco return as the presenting partner of the Pro Championship for a second year, and long-term partners DHL and Fanatec also continue to be a key part of the F1® Esports Series. Fanatec will supply hardware to all drivers for this year’s campaign, as it had done since 2018, while three new drivers will compete in the 2021 season after qualifying through the DHL Time-Trial qualification route, including prominent sim-racer Sebastian Job, who joins Alpha Tauri.
HUGE MOVES ACROSS THE GRID
Since last year’s Championship wrapped up in December, there have been a number of high-profile moves around the grid as two world champions switched allegiances in the off-season. Reigning champion Jarno Opmeer, who secured his first title with Alfa Romeo, has joined Mercedes, filling the spot left by Brendon Leigh. Two-time world champion Leigh, who has been recruited by the FDA, joins the only other drivers champion, David Tonizza.
Reigning teams’ champions Red Bull have retained duo Marcel Kiefer and Frederik Rasmussen, who will both be in contention for a shot at this year’s individual honour, whilst Opmeer’s teammate Dani Bereznay, who helped Alfa Romeo to a second-place finish in the teams’ championship has joined McLaren as they prepare for the new season with a completely new three-driver roster, with last year’s ‘Rookie of the Year’ Dani Moreno also heading to Mercedes.
There will be ten new drivers on this year’s driver line-up, with a third of the grid having been scouted through this year’s Pro Exhibition after qualifying via one of F1® Esports Series’ qualification routes.
Team |
Number |
Driver |
Nationality |
D.O.B |
Alfa Romeo Racing ORLEN F1 Esports |
30 |
Simon Weigang |
German |
28/10/1997 |
38 |
Filip Prešnajder |
Slovakian |
27/11/2002 |
|
73 |
Thijmen Schütte |
Dutch |
25/08/2004 |
|
Scuderia AlphaTauri Esports Team |
51 |
Joni Törmälä |
Finnish |
15/08/1996 |
13 |
Sebastian Job |
British |
22/03/2000 |
|
28 |
Dario Iemmulo |
Italian |
28/01/2003 |
|
Alpine Esports Team |
40 |
Nicolas Longuet |
French |
06/08/2002 |
8 |
Fabrizio Donoso |
Chilean |
19/06/1999 |
|
80 |
Patrik Sipos |
Hungarian |
30/04/2003 |
|
Aston Martin Cognizant Esports Team |
88 |
Lucas Blakely |
British |
15/07/2001 |
92 |
Daniele Haddad |
Italian |
12/08/1992 |
|
79 |
Shanaka Clay |
British |
04/02/1999 |
|
FDA Esports Team |
95 |
David Tonizza |
Italian |
14/01/2002 |
72 |
Brendon Leigh |
British |
07/08/1999 |
|
29 |
Domenico Lovece |
Italian |
29/06/2001 |
|
Uralkali Haas F1 Team Esports |
2 |
Cedric Thomé |
German |
26/02/1998 |
15 |
Samuel Libeert |
French |
12/11/1992 |
|
48 |
Matthjs van Erven |
Dutch |
03/03/2003 |
|
McLaren Shadow |
12 |
Daniel Bereznay |
Hungarian |
28/05/2000 |
20 |
Bardia Boroumand |
Iranian |
17/04/2003 |
|
52 |
Josh Idowu |
British |
10/02/2003 |
|
Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Team |
34 |
Jarno Opmeer |
Dutch |
11/04/2000 |
26 |
Dani Moreno |
Spanish |
09/01/2001 |
|
94 |
Bono Huis |
Dutch |
04/12/1994 |
|
Red Bull Racing Esports |
24 |
Marcel Kiefer |
German |
24/08/1998 |
19 |
Frederik Rasmussen |
Danish |
18/06/2000 |
|
59 |
Liam Parnell |
German |
05/09/2002 |
|
Williams Esports |
21 |
Álvaro Carretón |
Spanish |
21/07/2001 |
53 |
Michael Romanidis |
Greek |
07/09/2003 |
|
23 |
Alessio Di Capua |
Italian |
10/04/2002 |
TWO CIRCUIT DEBUTS, AND OLD FAVOURITES RETURN
This year’s campaign, the fifth season of the competition, will begin on Wednesday 13 October with the first two races of Event 1, as drivers’ replicate the 2021 FIA Formula One World Championship by starting off at the Bahrain International Circuit. Whilst the real-world F1® drivers couldn’t travel to China this year, the Shanghai International Circuit will be brought to life virtually, before the always popular Red Bull Ring rounds off the season-opening Event on the following day.
While most of the chosen venues remain the same as last year, including Zandvoort where F1® returned earlier this month, there are three new tracks for drivers to get to grips with this season. The ‘rollercoaster’ in Portimão makes its debut in the Pro Championships, as does Imola, whilst the Circuit of the Americas returns to the calendar. As has been the case for the past two campaigns, the season finale will see competitors battle it out at Interlagos.
Event # |
Date |
Round # |
Circuit |
Event 1 |
13-14 October |
Round 1 |
Sakhir, Bahrain |
Round 2 |
Shanghai, China |
||
Round 3 |
Spielberg, Austria |
||
Event 2 |
27-28 October |
Round 4 |
Silverstone, Great Britain |
Round 5 |
Monza, Italy |
||
Round 6 |
Spa, Belgium |
||
Event 3 |
24-25 November |
Round 7 |
Portimão, Portugal |
Round 8 |
Zandvoort, Netherlands |
||
Round 9 |
Austin, USA |
||
Event 4 |
15-16 December |
Round 10 |
Imola, Italy |
Round 11 |
Mexico City, Mexico |
||
Round 12 |
Interlagos, Brazil |
EIGHT LIVE SHOWS ACROSS THE SEASON
F1® Esports fans will be happy to hear that following the increased coverage of last year’s Pro Series, the format will remain the same for 2021, where there will be live racing on Wednesday and Thursday of each Event week, as well as livestreamed qualifying sessions on both days. The Pro Championship will be broadcast on the official F1® social channels (Facebook, YouTube, Twitch and Huya), as well as select TV broadcast partners.
Ben Pincus, Director of Commercial Partnerships at Formula 1®, said:
“There’s huge excitement building ahead of the new season of the F1 Esports Series Pro Championship, and we can’t wait to get started, and with so many big moves around the grid, this year’s title really is anyone’s for the taking! As always, we want to thank our partners Aramco, DHL and Fanatec for their continued support which enables us to bring elite sim-racing to fans around the world.”
Paul Jeal, F1 Senior Franchise Director at Codemasters, said:
“The 2021 F1 Esports Series Pro Championship promises to be the most exciting and unpredictable season to date. There have been some exciting driver moves with former double F1 Esports Champion Brendon Leigh joining another ex-champion David Tonizza at Ferrari, and our current F1 Esports Champion Jarno Opmeer moving to Mercedes. We also welcome new exciting talent from the Challengers, and it will be fascinating to see how Alessio Di Capua and Josh Idowu compete on the biggest stage. On behalf of the F1 team at Codemasters and all our players worldwide, good luck to the 2021 drivers. Let the racing begin.”
John Clarke, CEO at Gfinity, said:
“Anticipation is building for the new season of the F1 Esports Series Pro Championship presented by Aramco. It has become a must watch competition for both existing, and an ever-growing army of new, virtual racing fans. The bar is raised each year with new talent emerging and spectacular racing. The Gfinity production team will also be raising the bar with more storytelling and high-octane coverage of the races. It’s time to sit back and enjoy the show!”
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BETBY
BETBY CONTINUES UPWARD TRAJECTORY WITH SOLID Q3 2025 PERFORMANCE RESULTS

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BETBY, a leading sportsbook supplier, has reported another strong quarter, with its Q3 2025 performance underlining consistent growth and sustained engagement across its global partner network. The results highlight the provider’s continued expansion, innovation, and ability to deliver competitive value to operators worldwide.
During the third quarter, BETBY’s sportsbook recorded a 56.07% year-on-year increase in Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR), a 24.92% rise in total bets placed, and a 19.45% increase in active players, aligning with the solid upward trend seen in the company’s H1 results.
Importantly, these results were achieved despite a non-idyllic September, which was marked by uncompetitive margins due to sporting outcomes. This resilience further underscores the company’s ability to maintain growth momentum even in unfavourable market conditions.
This performance further demonstrates the scalability and reliability of BETBY’s sportsbook solution, which continues to attract new partners and drive growth across regulated markets. The supplier’s investment in proprietary trading models, AI-powered tools, and tailored partner support remains central to its strategy.
Betby.Games, BETBY’s proprietary esports feed, also delivered a positive quarter, achieving an 8.43% year-on-year increase in Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR), a 6.18% rise in total bets placed, and an 11.85% growth in active players compared to the same period last year.
Leonid Pertsovskiy, Chief Executive Officer at BETBY, commented: “Q3 once again demonstrates the strength of our products and the trust we’ve built with our partners. We continue to deliver solid results across both sportsbook and esports verticals, driven by innovation, user-centric solutions, and our commitment to excellence. As we approach the end of the year, our focus remains on accelerating growth and reinforcing our position as a Tier-1 provider in the iGaming industry.”
To find out more about BETBY’s cutting-edge sportsbook solution visit booth 4045 during SiGMA Central Europe. Attendees will have the opportunity to engage with BETBY’s team, and discover how the company’s solutions and services can be their winning aspect for their iGaming project.
The post BETBY CONTINUES UPWARD TRAJECTORY WITH SOLID Q3 2025 PERFORMANCE RESULTS appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Beşiktaş Esports
HAVIT Partners with Three Top International Esports Teams to Expand Global Presence

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HAVIT, a leading global consumer tech brand, officially announced strategic partnerships with three internationally renowned esports teams: Brazil’s Vivo Keyd Stars, Turkiye’s Galatasaray Esports and Beşiktaş Esports. This marks a new stage in HAVIT’s global esports expansion, further strengthening its influence in the global esports ecosystem.
HAVIT has achieved remarkable results in the esports sector across both the Turkish and Latin American markets.
In Turkiye, HAVIT’s gaming headsets consistently rank No.1 on the leading platform Trendyol. To further integrate into the local esports ecosystem, HAVIT partners with Galatasaray Esports and Beşiktaş Esports, celebrated for their prestigious legacy and youthful energy, each with a massive fan base. This collaboration not only reinforces HAVIT’s market leadership but also deepens its connection with the local esports community.
Moreover, HAVIT enters the second year of its partnership with Vivo Keyd Stars, Brazil’s leading esports team, providing high-performance gaming gear to support the team’s play. With HAVIT’s gear and their own relentless drive, VKS won the championship in LTA South 2025 Split 3 and will represent Brazil at the 2025 League of Legends World Championship. This partnership underscores both the team’s strength and HAVIT’s commitment to empowering Brazil’s esports development.
Brand Vision: Build a Global Esports Network
This strategic partnership across Brazil and Turkiye is a key step in HAVIT’s regional market expansion and lays a solid foundation for HAVIT’s future presence in wider esports ecosystems of Europe, the Americas and beyond.
“Partnering with these teams is a crucial implementation of HAVIT’s ‘For Fun. For Games. For Champions’ vision. By merging technology with esports, we aim to inspire gamers worldwide to break boundaries and shape the future of gaming,” Doug Pollard said.
The post HAVIT Partners with Three Top International Esports Teams to Expand Global Presence appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
2XKO
DATA.BET the First to Launch 2XKO Offering

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Introducing Riot Games’ newest title to the esports landscape
DATA.BET, the award-winning sports betting solution supplier, has pioneered the betting market by launching 2XKO, a new dynamic competitive format.
2XKO marks a new addition to the global esports scene. With its fast-paced, double-elimination structure, it brings a distinctive rhythm of short yet high-stakes matches — a setup that potentially opens new avenues for betting engagement and audience retention as the format evolves.
At this stage, DATA.BET’s coverage focuses on key pre-match markets, including Winner and To Reach the Final for overall tournament outcomes, as well as Winner within individual matches. During the final stages of the competition, the company also plans to expand its offering with Map Winner markets for each map.
What makes 2XKO unique is the combination of short-form, high-intensity gameplay. This setup maximizes player engagement, mirroring the popularity of competitive fighting games worldwide while translating seamlessly into a betting environment.
DATA.BET debuted its 2XKO betting coverage at the upcoming 2 NICE KO tournament in Nice, France (Oct 10–12, 2025), featuring nearly 300 players across top fighting titles.
Bogdan Holovnov, Head of Esports at DATA.BET, said: “Esports thrives on creativity and innovation, and 2XKO is the perfect example of how new formats can drive excitement for players and bettors alike. At DATA.BET, we’re proud to be the first to bring this to market — giving our partners exclusive access to content that captures the speed, intensity, and global appeal of fighting games. This launch reinforces our commitment to expanding esports betting with fresh, high-impact experiences.”
The post DATA.BET the First to Launch 2XKO Offering appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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