

eSports
G2, Team Liquid, NiP and more to compete in Home Ground by Red Bull this weekend!
· The final eight teams who will battle in the VALORANT invitational are locked as FrenzyGoKill secures a spot through open qualifiers, alongside special guest invited squad Monkey Business with a newly revealed roster.
· NiP will face Futbolist and G2 will take on FrenzyGoKill in day one match ups as the competition kicks off on January 28th on twitch.tv/redbull from 11:30am (GMT)
· The unique Home Ground by Red Bull format puts emphasis on map picks and bans, allowing for exciting upsets and unpredictable twists, whilst retaining the core VALORANT meta
Home Ground by Red Bull, in Partnership with AOC, a new VALORANT competition kicks off on Thursday, and will see Europe’s fiercest teams go head-to-head across four days, competing for £24,000, and to be crowned the inaugural Home Ground by Red Bull Champions. G2, Team Liquid, Guild Esports, SUMN FC, Futbolist, Ninjas in Pyjamas, FrenzyGoKill, and Monkey Business, will battle in a unique format where early map dominance is the key to success. Monkey Business and their newly revealed roster have been announced as the special guest invited team, and FrenzyGoKill secured the final spot in open qualifiers that took place last week.
Home Ground by Red Bull is the brand’s first pro VALORANT event, following the recent reveal of Red Bull Campus Clutch, a global VALORANT university competition which will see teams from more than 50 countries compete, marking the further evolution of the brand’s global work with Riot Games.
Ahead of Home Ground by Red Bull, special guest invited team Monkey Business has revealed their new VALORANT roster:
- Dylan “aKm” Bignet
- Benjamin “uNKOE” Chevasson
- Kevin “TviQ” Lindström
- Theo “OniBy” Tarlier
- Dragan “Elllement” Milanović
- Coach: Julien “daemoN” Ducros
Looking forward to the competition, the team said “Monkey Business got together quite a bit later than the other teams, we’ve been busy stacking bananas ahead of this important day. We’re looking forward to creating havoc among the top teams and producing great moments for the Valorant community. Please cheer for our monkeys during their first competitive appearance!.”
Schedule (beginning at 11:30 GMT/12:30 CET each day):
- January 28th – Quarterfinal 1
- A) NiP vs Futbolist
- B) G2 vs FrenzyGoKill
- January 29th: Quarterfinal 2
- C) Team Liquid vs Guild Esports
- D) SUMN FC vs Special Guest
- January 30th: Semifinal
- E) Winner of A vs Winner of B
- F) Winner of C vs Winner of D
- January 31st: Final
- G) Winner of E vs Winner of F
Format:
- The eight Home Ground by Red Bull teams will battle across a best-of-five, single-elimination bracket. Adding an additional layer of strategic depth to map picks, teams will select their strongest map as their “home ground” ahead of each match.
- Home Grounds get played first. If one team wins on both Home Grounds, they instantly win the 2-0 victory, and progress to the next round, meaning reverse sweeps are off the table and early game pressure is high.
- If both teams dominate their home grounds, the entire best-of-five is played to determine the winner.
- An explainer video can be seen here.
Broadcast talent:
- Host: Frankie Ward
- Casters:
-
- Lauren “Pansy” Scott
- Mike “hypoc” Robins
- Mitch “MitchMan” Mcbride
- James Banks
Streams:
- Home Ground by Red Bull will be broadcast in a series of languages for fans around the world:
- English – tv/redbull
- French – tv/redbullfr
- Turkish – tv/redbulltr
- French – tv/1pvalorant
- German – tv/agentsrange
- Spanish – tv/Giants
eSports
Esports World Cup Foundation Renews Partnership with Albaik

The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) has announced the renewal of its partnership with Albaik for a second consecutive year, aimed at enriching the experience of both visitors and players participating in the Esports World Cup (EWC). With a deep-rooted history in Saudi Arabia since 1974, Albaik will continue supporting the Kingdom’s gaming and esports sector through this prestigious partnership, aligned with its broader mission to empower youth and foster local talent in line with Saudi Vision 2030.
This partnership is built on a shared commitment to the future – bringing diverse entertainment offerings to the largest esports and gaming event in history. With audiences attending from across the globe, EWC 2025 offers visitors an exciting mix of competitive matches, immersive experiences and cultural programming.
Albaik’s continued involvement in EWC 2025 reflects its long-standing commitment to social, sporting and economic development in the Kingdom. It also reinforces the company’s belief that meaningful community impact is a core part of doing business – a principle that shapes its contributions to national development and youth empowerment.
Returning to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 7 to August 24, 2025, the Esports World Cup will unite global gaming communities for a celebration of esports culture. With 25 tournaments across 24 games, 2000 elite players and 200 Clubs from over 100 countries, the EWC will feature the largest prize pool in esports history, over $70 million. Fans can expect exclusive experiences, from high-stakes competition to live music, anime cafes, retro arcades, cosplay and more, drawing millions of fans online and in person.
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eSports
Esports World Cup Foundation and Lenovo™ Partner to Power the Next Generation of Esports Champions

Lenovo’s Legion premium gaming brand joins the world’s largest esports event to fuel elite performance and elevate the fan experience through world-class hardware
The Esports World Cup Foundation (EWCF) and Lenovo, announced a partnership to make Lenovo’s Legion brand of gaming devices the Official PC & Gaming Hardware partner of the Esports World Cup 2025 (EWC). Lenovo Legion is the one of the world’s leading gaming ecosystem brands, and will be bring its relentless commitment to innovation and performance to the global stage, empowering EWC athletes to compete at their highest level.
From training rooms to tournament zones, EWC athletes will be equipped with Lenovo Legion Towers, Lenovo Legion laptops, and peripherals – built for elite esports play with advanced thermal systems, high-performance silicon, high refresh-rate displays and low latency keyboards and mice that meet the demands of top-level competition.
Key models such as the Legion Tower 7i and Legion Tower 5i will feature across the event’s player infrastructure, delivering the reliability and power needed to perform under the intense pressure of elite competition. Designed for esports, both towers offer expansive I/O for a complete gaming setup and Legion Coldfront: Liquid cooling thermal solutions. The Legion Tower 7i boasts advanced cooling and an NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5080 Desktop GPU for the extreme performance that top-tier esports athletes rely on, while the Legion Tower 5i pairs intelligent cooling with the RTX 5070 Ti Desktop GPU to deliver focused, winning gameplay.
EWC will also feature Legion Pro 7i laptops to give attendees the full Lenovo Legion experience. Legion laptops untether elite-level gaming experiences from the desk, allowing gamers to win anywhere they find themselves in competition for the top spot with up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPUs and Legion Coldfront: Vapor thermal systems, allowing the laptop to deliver up to 250W TDP that brings the most demanding games to life on the 16” PureSight OLED display.
“We’re building the Esports World Cup to set a new global standard — in both competition and the technology behind it,” said Mohammed Al Nimer, Chief Commercial Officer at Esports World Cup Foundation. “Lenovo’s Legion brand understands what elite players need: speed, efficiency, and reliability under pressure. These machines deliver the competitive edge required on the world’s biggest stage, and together we’re pushing the limits of performance — while delivering an experience that meets the expectations of athletes, fans, and the future of global esports.”
“Lenovo Legion equips gamers around the world with outstanding devices to help them achieve their goals and reach their impossible,” said Volker Düring, VP, PC Gaming Business, Lenovo. “The Esports World Cup is the ultimate forum for the world’s best gamers to showcase their mettle and emerge at the top of the world leaderboards, and when the best gamers compete on Lenovo Legion devices, anything is possible.”
As part of the partnership, Lenovo’s Legion branding will appear across EWC’s global broadcast, digital content, and onsite experiences, including fully equipped festival zones with PCs, gear, and laptops available for attendees to play on-site, helping drive deeper engagement with fans while highlighting the ecosystem that supports world-class gaming.
Fans can expect exclusive content, player-focused storytelling, and digital activations across Lenovo Legion’s social channels, offering an inside look at the road to victory – and the technology that powers it.
Returning to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, from July 7 to August 24, 2025, the Esports World Cup will unite global gaming communities for a celebration of esports culture. With 25 tournaments across 24 games, 2,000 elite players, and 200 Clubs from over 100 countries, the EWC will feature the largest prize pool in esports history, over $70 million. Fans can expect exclusive experiences, from high-stakes competition to live music, anime cafes, retro arcades, cosplay, and more, drawing millions of fans online and in person.
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eSports
BETBY REDEFINES CHESS BETTING WITH EXPANDED MARKET OFFERING AHEAD OF ESPORTS WORLD CUP DEBUT

BETBY, the innovative sportsbook supplier, is redefining how chess is experienced in the betting world, launching an innovative suite of markets designed to deepen engagement and bring fresh energy to one of the world’s oldest strategy games.
Marking a new chapter for chess within the iGaming space, BETBY’s upgraded betting content portfolio goes far beyond traditional markets like outright winner or total moves. Bettors can now engage with detailed, event-specific outcomes including the first move made, the first piece captured, number of checks, castlings, and whether a game will feature a pawn promotion, an en passant, or end in stalemate. Several markets also focus on the timing of critical moments, such as whether a checkmate will occur before a certain move, offering more dynamic, real-time decision-making for players.
This launch follows six months of dedicated product development across BETBY’s chess vertical and reflects the company’s long-term vision for the game as a core part of its sportsbook strategy. With chess now officially included in the Esports World Cup, the timing marks a natural convergence of two verticals where BETBY continues to strengthen its position: esports and traditional chess.
As part of this expansion, BETBY is also introducing another exclusive: live betting on the Top Chess Engine Championship (TCEC), a prestigious AI-based tournament. While the event follows a defined schedule, it opens up a new betting experience through intense matchups between powerful engines, enriching the overall chess offering.
Currently, BETBY offers pre-match coverage for around 20 chess tournaments per month, totaling approximately 400 matches. The addition of these expanded markets marks a strategic leap forward in delivering a modern, high-engagement chess product to sportsbook partners and players.
“Chess has always been a passion of ours, and today we’re proud to announce the launch of a truly comprehensive chess offering,” said Kirill Nekrasov, Head of Sportsbook Product at BETBY. “By expanding our market depth and introducing innovative tournaments, including both traditional and AI-driven formats, we’re giving our partners and players a completely new way to engage with the game. Our vision is ambitious: we want chess and betting to become synonymous, to the point where no modern sportsbook feels complete without chess markets. We’ve already done this with Betby.Games and esports, now it’s time to do the same with chess.”
BETBY’s long-term global brand ambassador, five-time world chess champion Magnus Carlsen, will represent Team Liquid at the Esports World Cup. His participation in the tournament, which begins on July 7th, reinforces chess’s growing presence in global esports and its potential as a premium betting vertical.
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