Another month is in the books, and it has been headlined by a couple of major transfers in the world of esports. Team Falcons has made what could easily be the biggest signing of the year in the world of CS2, while we have signed an industry veteran to the Esports Awards team. Some may say they are not quite on the same level, and we have to agree, Falcons have nothing on us.
Elsewhere, the Esports World Cup has confirmed its line up along with a mammoth prize pool, Marvel Rivals continues to grow and there has even been a role reversal in the usual traditional sports and esports relationship. It has been a busy one to say the least, so let’s get down to business with all of the biggest esports news and results from April that you need to know about.
Industry news
Image Credit: Esports World Cup
Team Falcons Sign m0NESY In Blockbuster CS2 Transfer
Team Falcons has completed yet another blockbuster transfer in the world of Counter-Strike, signing Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov from G2 Esports. Considered one of the hottest rising talents in the world, m0NESY has long been a target for the Falcons, with reports stating their interest many months ago. However, he now joins former G2 teammate Nikola “NiKo” Kovač on the roster, and the team has already found some success, reaching the final of IEM Melbourne this past weekend.
Discord Gets A New CEO
Long time Discord CEO and co-founder Jason Citron has stepped back from his position leading the company, with Humam Sakhnini, the former Activision Blizzard Vice Chairman, taking over at the top of the company. Citron will stay on the board and serve as an advisor to Sakhnini, but this certainly signals a new era for the communication platform, with some users concerned at what the future now holds for one of the most used platforms on earth.
StarCraft II Added To Esports World Cup Line Up, But ESL Pro Tour Shuts Down
StarCraft II has endured an up and down month, to say the least. ESL announced the discontinuation of its ESL Pro Tour, citing concerns regarding “sustainability”. However, it’s not all doom and gloom for StarCraft II players, as the iconic game has been added to the Esports World Cup line up for 2025 and will feature a massive $700,000 prize pool.
Esports World Cup 2025 To Feature $70m Prize Pool
Speaking of the Esports World Cup, the 2025 event is set to feature a whopping $70,000,000+ prize pool. That’s a $10 million increase on the prize pool for the inaugural 2024 event, with $27 million being allocated to the Club Championship, while the remainder will be split amongst the various tournaments taking place on site and qualifying events. The increase sees the event break its own record for the biggest esports prize pool ever.
Riot Games Gets New President
Another major company has made changes at the top, with Hoby Darling taking the role of President over at Riot Games. Having previously worked at places such as Logitech, Skullcandy/Astro Gaming, Nike, and Volcom, Darling joins Riot to steer the ship and manage all the ongoing projects at the developer. As Riot continues to expand beyond LoL, this will likely be an appointment to manage a lot of change over the coming years. One of those changes is the release of Riot’s physical card game, Riftbound, which has recently broken cover and is set to launch later this year.
BLAST Partners With RISE And Alienware
BLAST, the host of the upcoming Counter-Strike 2 Major, has partnered with both RISE and Alienware as the event nears. Alienware have joined the event as the PC and monitor sponsor for the BLAST Austin Major, providing players with 500hz monitors for the tournament to make sure they have the best possible equipment at the biggest event of the year. Meanwhile, RISE will help expand BLAST’s presence in India, partnering to help them build a new production studio in the country.
NetEase Announce Changes To The Marvel Rivals Championship For Season 2
Marvel Rivals developer NetEase Games are continuing to commit to the esports scene for their smash-hit game, stating they will announce esports plans to “further enhance the gaming ecosystem” and invest for “10 years and beyond.” Additionally, they have already made changes to the Marvel Rivals Championship for Season 2 by expanding the regions for the competition. The new regions are Europe, Americas, Middle East, Africa, and Pacific.
Rahul Uppal Joins MEGA
MEGA, the parent company of the Esports Awards, this month announced the hiring of industry veteran Rahul Uppal as the Program Lead for the Esports Awards. Rahul previously worked on the very first Esports Awards back in 2016, as part of the social media department, and also has had experience at the likes of Dexerto, Kairos Media and streaming platform Noice. We’re incredibly pleased to have Rahul on board.
Competitive results
Image Credit: Esports Awards
Virtus Pro Dominate In Marvel Rivals
Marvel Rivals continue to develop in the esports scene and it already looks like there’s a team to beat. Virtus Pro have been in incredible form in April, taking part in four European Rivals Fight Night events and winning all four in dominant fashion. They also wrapped up the Marvel Rivals Championship Season 1, taking down Luminosity Gaming 4-0 in the final. It may still be early days, but they are quickly establishing themselves as the best in Europe at the very least.
Team Vitality Wrap Up ESL Grand Slam At IEM Melbourne
What a year it’s shaping up to be for Team Vitality in Counter-Strike. After winning their first IEM Katowice back in February, the team has won three more events on the bounce, including their latest at IEM Melbourne. Featuring a thrilling five-map final against Team Falcons, the win in Australia also cements Vitality as ESL Grand Slam champions, adding a crisp $1,000,000 onto the $125,000 they already earned for winning the event. That will surely please their new partner, Nescafé, who joined the team at the start of the month.
PARIVISION And Team Liquid Win Big In Dota 2
There were two big Dota 2 events this past month, with ESL One Raleigh bringing LAN Dota back to NA for the first time in years and PGL Wallachia Season 4 offering yet another $1 million tournament. PARIVISION claimed the first, defeating Team Spirit 3-1 in the final over in North Carolina. But despite then reaching the final at PGL Wallachia Season 4, they couldn’t make it two trophy wins this month, as Team Liquid got the better of them in a tense 3-2 game to become back to back Wallachia champions.
LA Thieves Triumph At Call of Duty League 2025 Major 3
LA Thieves have won their first event in Call of Duty Black Ops 6 with a win at the Call of Duty League 2025: Stage 3 Major. The 100 Thieves-owned organisation were in top form during the event, only dropping two maps across the four series they played. The final itself was a sweep, they took down the Vancouver Surge for the second time in the event with a 4-0 scoreline.
Dallas See’s the Return of Counter-Strike and Call of Duty in the same Month
DreamHack returns to Dallas this month, and features not one, but two major level esports events. Counter-Strike 2 returns to one of the game’s most historic locations in May for IEM Dallas. 2024’s tournament saw hometown hero Stewie2k lift the trophy, but all eyes will be on Team Falcons this year as they look to build on impressive performances at PGL Bucharest and IEM Melbourne. Then the next Call Of Duty League Major will take place, with the top teams battling it out for valuable CDL points. The event will also feature an EWC qualifiers for Chess and StarCraft, as well as a massive open Halo tournament.
And finally…
Image Credit: G2 Football Club & G2 Esports
G2 Enter Football With G2 Football Club
After 10 years at the top of the esports industry, G2 Esports has expanded into traditional sports with the founding of G2 Football Club. The new team has already been competing in Kings League Germany with the hopes of qualifying for Kings World Cup Clubs 2025, which will take place in France in May and June. Maybe this signals the start of a role reversal, where the biggest names in esports start to invest in more traditional sports opportunities.
