eSports

Team Nigma and Galaxy Racer Announce Merger

Published

4 years ago

September 20, 2021

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Team Nigma will head up the esports team division of Galaxy Racer, the fastest growing gaming and lifestyle organisation from MENA, to become Nigma Galaxy, which will house rosters across all major esports titles and will look to create better opportunities for players in the Middle East and become a globally recognised brand

Galaxy Racer, the biggest esports, content and lifestyle organisation, based in the Middle East, North Africa and South-East Asia, and Team Nigma, the biggest competitive gaming team in the MENA region, which was founded by The International 7 Champions, today announce they are merging to become Nigma Galaxy, a new esports powerhouse.

Based in Abu Dhabi, Team Nigma will become Nigma Galaxy, heading up the esports team division of Galaxy Racer which currently carries rosters across all major titles with over 60 players from over 20 countries. The merger will unite both brands, including their ambitions for the MENA region and international growth, while also allowing each to retain their visual identity.

Together the new organisation will look to build an authentic voice for the MENA region, establish itself as the #1 esports organisation in the world and give its players an international platform. Nigma Galaxy will look to become a household name for players of the region to be proud of, and with aspirations to become a global player it will also use existing resources from Galaxy Racer to expand further within Europe, South and North America, Southeast Asia and China.

Galaxy Racer launched in 2019 and has already become one of the biggest esports organisations globally, and the only entity in the MENA region with a significant international presence. The organisation prides itself on having five separate business offerings; Esports Teams, Content Creators, Tournaments Management, Merchandising and Lifestyle and GXR Records, a newly established record label that already carries two signed artists from MENA.

Within its first year of opening, Galaxy Racer onboarded some of the biggest content creators in the MENA and Asia regions and currently carries over 80 creators with a reach of over 370 million followers across all platforms. Its content creators roster includes some of the biggest YouTube channels with over 2 billion views across all platforms; Abo Flah, the biggest and fastest-growing gaming channel in the Arabic speaking world. Galaxy Racer also carries esports rosters across all major titles including League of Legends, VALORANT, CS:GO, Free Fire, PUBG MOBILE, BGMI and Fortnite.

Paul Roy, CEO and Founder of Galaxy Racer, commented: “We are excited to announce our merger with Team Nigma to transform our competitive esports division into Nigma Galaxy. Team Nigma’s leadership team carries vast experience as professional players, which we believe will be a great asset to building and supporting all the teams under the Nigma Galaxy banner.

“Celebrating and nurturing the untapped gaming community around the world is what Galaxy Racer was founded on. With this merger, we believe we will be able to truly unlock this potential and shape the future of esports on a global scale.”

Team Nigma, a professional Dota 2 esports organisation, was founded in 2019 by former Team Liquid members Mohamed Morad and Christoph Timm as well as four out of five of the champions of The International 2017, Miracle-, Gh, MinD_ContRoL and KuroKy. Within the space of a year, Team Nigma secured a landmark partnership with Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, becoming the first esports team to be sponsored by an airline. Based out of Abu Dhabi, Team Nigma also recently partnered with one of the largest telco providers, Etisalat, hosting the biggest Dota 2 tournament in the MENA region – ‘Rising Stars’.

The merger will see Team Nigma become Nigma Galaxy, the esports team division of Galaxy Racer which will be led by Team Nigma’s co-founders, Mohamed Morad, Christoph Timm and Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi. Leveraging Team Nigma’s vast experience, they will help to nurture the development of each roster with players from Nigma’s current Dota 2 roster also joining the new division.

Mohammed Morad, Co-Founder of Team Nigma commented: “We are thrilled to announce our merger with Galaxy Racer. Galaxy Racer has a brilliant understanding of the entertainment business and together we share a mutual passion for supporting and nurturing talent within the MENA region. There is also a lot of natural synergy between our brands with Nigma meaning “star” in Arabic. Before this merger, Nigma was a single star. By becoming Nigma Galaxy, we will have a Galaxy full of stars.”

Nigma Galaxy will operate as a standalone entity with its own budget, brand, direction and identity, retaining the current Team Nigma colours. While Galaxy Racer will also retain its brand identity and will be able to focus on developing its already-robust content creator structure and additional branches to the business. Nigma released its first apparel line last year and will be updating their merchandise in line with the brand update. The organisation will be sending free merchandise to all fans who purchased its first line.

Nigma Galaxy and Galaxy Racer share a common goal of creating better opportunities in the Middle East and Asia to support home-grown talent. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and MENA region is considered to be one of the fastest-growing gaming sectors globally, with 100 million gamers playing in 2020 alone.

According to a recent YouGov study, while familiarity with esports in the MENA was lower compared to Asian countries like China, the population had much higher engagement compared to Western countries like the United States and United Kingdom. The study went on to highlight that in the Middle East, Egypt has the highest gamer population (68%) followed by the UAE (65%), Saudi Arabia (61%) and Iraq (57%) – these four countries have bigger gaming populations than France, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

However, without the infrastructure, funding and support within the region, most competitive gamers have been forced to forge their careers abroad. This merger will enable Nigma Galaxy to create a better support structure and provide upcoming talent with the resources needed for them to be able to pursue a career in the esports and gaming industry. This includes plans to create and develop the Nigma Galaxy Academy, which will help nurture young gamers’ talent within the region.

Nigma Galaxy will also join Abu Dhabi Gaming (AD Gaming), a new initiative that launched earlier this year. Pioneered by twofour54 Abu Dhabi, the initiative will champion the development of regional talent and bring a calendar of year-round gaming events to Abu Dhabi, and aggregates the emirate’s drive to build a thriving gaming and esports ecosystem.

Brazilian Carnival

Esportes da Sorte transforms Carnival 2026 into a nationwide immersive experience

Published

1 week ago

February 17, 2026

Wladimir P.

esportes-da-sorte-transforms-carnival-2026-into-a-nationwide-immersive-experience

Leading Brazilian iGaming company Esportes da Sorte has transformed Carnival 2026 into a nationwide immersive experience, activating urban art installations, hydration stations and large‑scale attractions across nine cities in Brazil. As part of its expanded cultural engagement strategy, the brand is serving as an official sponsor in key Carnival locations and delivering experiential initiatives designed for revelers in the streets and major public spaces.

Esportes da Sorte’s nationwide platform builds on its history of investing in popular culture and public events, moving beyond traditional branding to create meaningful on‑site activations that enhance the urban environment and respond to the unique character of each city’s Carnival celebrations.

In Rio de Janeiro, the company’s efforts focus on the street Carnival experience with hydration points, cool zones and shaded areas in high‑traffic celebration routes. São Paulo’s megabloc circuits feature water trucks, hydration stations and on‑site urban support.

In Recife Antigo, one of Carnival’s cultural centers, Esportes da Sorte installed a standout Ferris wheel at Marco Zero, offering panoramic views of the festivities and historic landscape. Urban transformations like video mapping on iconic buildings and aerial installations along Rua Marquês de Olinda further blend public space with the Carnival experience.

Other cities such as Olinda and Salvador also feature tailored activations, including sensory design, refreshment tunnels and themed artistic displays that align with local traditions and festival dynamics.

In addition to physical structures, the initiative includes a robust communications strategy, sensory activations, public well‑being supports and content campaigns that amplify the carnival‑street experience across digital and traditional media.

According to Germana Casal, Production Coordinator at the Esportes Gaming Brasil Group, the goal is to “be present in a meaningful way at the country’s biggest popular celebration,” respecting each city’s identity and delivering initiatives that improve the Carnival experience for participants.

Esportes da Sorte’s Carnival 2026 project builds on the brand’s presence at more than 100 Carnival parties and street blocos in 2025, reinforcing its leadership role in Brazil’s largest cultural event and deepening its connection with urban celebration culture nationwide.

The post Esportes da Sorte transforms Carnival 2026 into a nationwide immersive experience appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

chess esports

Team Vitality announces E.Leclerc as new Main Partner

Published

1 week ago

February 17, 2026

Wladimir P.

team-vitality-announces-e.leclerc-as-new-main-partner

Team Vitality, one of France’s leading esports organizations, has announced a strategic new partnership with French retail giant E.Leclerc, naming the supermarket chain as the club’s Main Partner for 2026.

Under the agreement, E.Leclerc’s logo will feature prominently on Team Vitality’s international team jerseys, including rosters for League of Legends (LEC and LFL), Valorant (VCT EMEA), Rocket League, Rising Bees and Chess.

Shared Values and Fan Initiatives

The partnership aims to promote accessibility, wellness, and nutrition within the esports community, while bringing gaming culture into E.Leclerc retail spaces through immersive experiences, tournaments and activations designed to engage fans across France.

Team Vitality’s holistic wellbeing program, KARE, which supports performance, nutrition and mental health, aligns closely with E.Leclerc’s focus on responsible lifestyle initiatives. Together, they plan to champion inclusivity, provide unique gaming opportunities, and celebrate esports culture in both digital and physical environments.

With a global audience exceeding 10 million followers, Team Vitality’s influence in competitive gaming makes this partnership a landmark moment for both brands. E.Leclerc’s commitment to youth engagement and cultural connection positions the retailer as a significant non‑endemic supporter of the growing esports ecosystem.

Nicolas Maurer, CEO and Co‑Founder of Team Vitality, described the alliance as a historic milestone that will broaden esports’ reach across everyday life in France and reinforce its cultural legitimacy.

The post Team Vitality announces E.Leclerc as new Main Partner appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.

AI chatbot esports

G2 Esports and Theta Labs Launch AI Agent Sami

Published

1 week ago

February 17, 2026

Wladimir P.

g2-esports-and-theta-labs-launch-ai-agent-sami

G2 Esports has partnered with Theta Labs to launch “Sami,” a next-generation AI agent designed to enhance fan engagement across multiple competitive esports titles.

The AI-powered assistant will provide G2’s global fanbase with instant access to match schedules, player stats, team rosters, tournament standings, and real-time competitive updates. Sami supports major titles including League of Legends, Counter-Strike 2, VALORANT, Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, and Call of Duty.

Accessible via the official G2 website and Discord starting February 17, Sami is built to deliver accurate, always-on responses to fan queries in natural language. From tournament updates to player performance metrics and G2-specific trivia, the AI agent reflects the organization’s unique brand voice and competitive culture.

AI-Powered Fan Engagement at Scale

Sami is trained and deployed using Theta EdgeCloud’s hybrid cloud-edge infrastructure, which integrates over 30,000 distributed edge nodes with cloud services from Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services. The system delivers approximately 80 PetaFLOPS of GPU compute power, enabling real-time processing and analysis at significantly reduced costs compared to traditional centralized cloud platforms.

The AI infrastructure dynamically assigns workloads to high-performance GPUs, including NVIDIA A100 and H100 cloud GPUs, as well as RTX 3090 and 4090 desktop GPUs, optimizing performance and cost efficiency. This decentralized architecture allows G2 to scale fan engagement globally while maintaining low latency and high reliability.

Strengthening Esports AI Innovation

Theta Labs has rapidly expanded its presence in the esports industry, powering AI-driven fan experiences for organizations such as Cloud9, FlyQuest, Evil Geniuses, NRG, Gen.G, Dignitas, 100 Thieves, Method, and Team Heretics.

According to Mitch Liu, CEO of Theta Labs, esports fans increasingly demand instant access to team data and competitive updates. AI agents like Sami enable organizations to provide 24/7 automated engagement while maintaining a unique community personality.

Sabrina Ratih, COO of G2 Esports, emphasized that Sami is more than a standard chatbot. Built to reflect G2’s playful and competitive tone, the AI assistant combines advanced machine learning with brand-driven communication to deliver both entertainment and functionality.

The Future of AI in Esports

The launch of Sami positions G2 Esports at the forefront of AI-driven fan engagement in competitive gaming. By leveraging decentralized GPU infrastructure and blockchain-powered cloud computing, the partnership with Theta Labs signals a broader industry shift toward scalable, cost-efficient AI solutions for esports organizations.

As AI integration becomes a competitive differentiator in esports, solutions like Sami are expected to redefine how teams interact with their global communities in real time.

The post G2 Esports and Theta Labs Launch AI Agent Sami appeared first on Eastern European Gaming | Global iGaming & Tech Intelligence Hub.