eSports

The Largest Esports Championships Come to an End

Published

4 years ago

December 12, 2022

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The International Esports Federation (IESF) concluded the 14th World Esports Championships Finals, after ten days of thrilling competition, social programs, and a spectacular medal ceremony in Bali, Indonesia.

Over 600 players representing a historic 105 countries competed at the 14th WE Championships across six games: CS:GO, Dota 2, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, eFootball ™ 2023, Tekken 7, and PUBG Mobile. After the national and regional qualifiers, play-in stages, finals, and Grand Finals, 7 teams emerged triumphant, winning the $500,000 prize pool. Indonesia shocked the world by winning three of the seven titles and as a result becoming the 2022 WE Champion Nation.

The 492 hours of fierce competition currently has surpassed 10 million views from a record-breaking 497 matches, also reaching more than 3 million views on TikTok and 185.4 M impressions across other social media platforms. The final detailed media report has been commissioned to Nielsen to understand the full reach of the 53 clean feeds provided for localized broadcasting.

During the Closing Ceremony, the winners were crowned and all of the athletes were celebrated for their endurance and sportsmanship. The re-elected president of IESF Vlad Marinescu presented the champions with the WE Championships trophy and delivered closing remarks to conclude the historic event.

IESF President Vlad Marinescu said in his speech: “Congratulations to Indonesia for hosting the Esports Family and becoming the 2022 WE Champion Nation, and our gold medalists; Indonesia, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, Pakistan, and Poland. We are grateful to experience the Bali hospitality and grateful to the nation for making History! IESF’s values of respect, friendship, and courage were on full display throughout these ten days of competition. We thank the athletes for their passion and human values displayed at the World Esports Championships Finals – you have broken barriers and borders displaying the union and unity between 105 competing nations, Bali we have made History!”

Indonesia’s passion for esports energized every competition, with emotional and enthusiastic athletes, families, and fans gathering together to cheer on all of the action, particularly the first-ever women’s CS:GO tournament, which proved to be a significant step towards creating more opportunities for women in esports and building a more inclusive World Esports Family.

At the conclusion of the Closing Ceremony, Bali officially handed over hosting rights to Iași, Romania, who will host the 15th WE Championships Finals in 2023. The next edition of IESF’s flagship event is set to feature over 130 nations and 800 athletes. This marks the second time Romania will host IESF’s flagship event.. Iași is the historical capital of Romania and is well-known as home to multiple prestigious universities. The city offers an exciting opportunity for IESF to engage with a new generation of esports fans and grow the World Esports Family.

IESF General Secretary Boban Totovski said: “Esports has the power to empower and unite people. The Flag Handover Ceremony from Bali to Iasi is a beautiful representation of this and IESF’s vision of a united World Esports. The culturally rich and youth-centric city is ready to welcome the World Esports Family. Iași has our full confidence and support to deliver an exceptional championship in 2023.”

Iași Deputy Mayor Daniel Juravle said: “Iasi is a dynamic and full of energy city. We have the youngest population in Romania, a creative youth passionate about everything esports entails. As a city that is the heart of culture and history in Romania and at the same time an IT&C hub in remarkable growth, we have all the prerequisites to organize the 15th edition of the WE Championships in a memorable way. We are excited to develop together the future of the esports industry with the International Esports Federations!”

eSports

Esports Awards adds player-voted EWC Players’ Choice Award, extends Esports Foundation deal

Published

2 days ago

June 19, 2026

Wladimir P.

esports-awards-adds-player-voted-ewc-players’-choice-award,-extends-esports-foundation-deal

The Esports Awards and the Esports Foundation (EF) on June 18, 2026, announced a three-year extension of their partnership through 2028 and introduced a new player-voted honor, the EWC Players’ Choice Award. The announcement was made in London, with voting tied to Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 in Paris.

The EWC Players’ Choice Award will be decided exclusively by professional esports players. According to the announcement, competitors attending EWC 2026 will vote in person, while a secure digital voting platform hosted by the Esports Awards will allow participation from additional eligible players and clubs.

Eligibility requires players to have competed in at least one qualifying S, A or B-Tier tournament during the official competitive season. Players will not be able to vote for themselves or teammates, with the Esports Awards overseeing the process.

“The talent and innovation of our sector should be getting the exposure it deserves.,” said Michael Ashford, CEO of the Esports Awards. “The Esports Foundation has done an incredible job in generating mainstream attention, and industry exposure outside of the standard circuit. Our partnership has enabled us to expand our operations and footprint and it’s through our continued collaboration that I hope we can bring the Esports Awards to the global community, and provide the industry with better visibility all year round.”

The Esports Awards also confirmed its 2026 ceremony will take place in the United States, starting what it described as a rotating host city model featuring “previously unvisited destinations.” The event previously staged its 2024 awards ceremony and the 2025 Decade Awards in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as part of the Esports World Cup program.

EWC 2026 is scheduled for Paris from July 06 through August 23, 2026, with more than 2,000 players and 200 Clubs from over 100 countries set to compete in 25 tournaments across 24 games. Voting for the EWC Players’ Choice Award will run from July 1 through August 18, 2026, with the winner to be revealed during the Esports Awards ceremony later this year. The Esports Awards said additional details about its 2026 event will be announced in the coming weeks.

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chess

ENC 2026 chess qualifiers wrap as 82 nations and territories make the field

Published

3 days ago

June 18, 2026

Wladimir P.

enc-2026-chess-qualifiers-wrap-as-82-nations-and-territories-make-the-field

The Esports Foundation (EF) has completed the online regional qualifiers for the Chess tournament at the Esports Nations Cup 2026 (ENC), scheduled to debut in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from November 2-29, 2026.

EF said the 128-player chess field is now largely set. 64 players from 64 countries and territories received direct invitations via official Champions Chess Tour (CCT) rankings at the end of May, while 61 players qualified through online regional events operated by Chess.com across North America, South America, Africa, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Middle East/India/Central Asia, and East Asia/Southeast Asia/Oceania.

A further slot was awarded to Amani Alazmi (Kuwait) via the Host Region Wildcard as the next highest-placing competitor from the host region. Two Wildcard Solidarity slots for underrepresented regions remain and will be announced at the end of August after all ENC qualifiers are completed. With qualifiers concluded, EF said at least 82 countries and territories will be represented in chess at ENC 2026.

EF highlighted that Jamaica, Paraguay, Singapore, South Africa, Tajikistan, Tunisia, and Turkmenistan each secured two qualifying slots despite not receiving a direct invitation. Honduras, Mexico, El Salvador, Venezuela, Morocco, Nigeria, Algeria, Jordan, Australia, and New Zealand secured one slot each.

The chess competition runs November 2-8. EF said the event will open with a round-robin group stage featuring 16 groups of eight players, before moving to a 64-player single-elimination playoff bracket. The full list of qualified players and nations is available on the ENC website’s chess page.

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1xBet

HLTV Awards returns to Belgrade on January 9, 2027, adding Lifetime Achievement honor

Published

4 days ago

June 17, 2026

Wladimir P.

hltv-awards-returns-to-belgrade-on-january-9,-2027,-adding-lifetime-achievement-honor

HLTV will stage the HLTV Awards presented by 1xBet in Belgrade, Serbia on January 9, 2027, returning to the Sava Center. The company said more than 1,000 players, industry professionals, creators, and fans are expected to attend.

HLTV also confirmed Dust2 creator David Johnston will feature as an award announcer. HLTV linked the booking to the 25th anniversary of Dust2.

For 2026, HLTV is updating its Hall of Fame process and eligibility rules. Four players will be inducted again, with “at least two and up to three” slots reserved for players from the Counter-Strike 1.6 and early eras. HLTV also removed the former “neo rule,” allowing players to be inducted for their playing careers even if they remain active in other roles such as coaching.

HLTV is adding a Lifetime Achievement Award, which will be decided by the Hall of Fame Board. The ceremony will also move Community Awards onto the main stage show for the first time, rather than the pre-show segment.

Separately, HLTV will kick off the 2027 Awards season with an invite-only “HLTV Awards by 1xBet Launch Party x GRID” in Cologne during the Major. HLTV said industry members can apply for an invite to the ceremony via its awards page.

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