April has been a busy month over at the Esports Awards HQ. We announced our return for 2026, hosted another successful golf event and have some exciting things in the works we can’t quite talk about yet. But while all that was going on over at our place, the industry kept on rolling, with more major news and tournaments.
April saw legends announce their retirement, major transfers take place and one of the most impressive charity drives ever. In the competitive world, while it wasn’t a completely packed month, millions were handed out in Counter-Strike 2 while League of Legends saw some big surprises.
As always, we are here with our newsletter full of the biggest news, results and everything you might need to know from the world of esports from the past month.
Industry News
Credit: Adela Sznajder/ESL FACEIT Group
We’re Heading Back To North America
It’s official, the Esports Awards is heading back to North America later this year for the biggest celebration of the esports industry ever. We’ll be providing full details in the coming weeks, but we’re excited to return to the region that has hosted some of our best events in previous years and can guarantee that this year we will go bigger and better than ever. We can’t wait to see you there.
UK Government Launches Esports Advisory Panel
Over in our home country of the UK, the government alongside games industry trade body UKIE has announced a new esports advisory panel that will work alongside the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to help esports in the county. The panel provides the industry with a seat at the table when it comes to national policy decisions, but as with all of these things, it remains to be seen how effective the group can be for the entire UK industry.
ENC Confirms Full Games Lineup
The Esports Nations Cup has announced the full games lineup for the first event that is due to take place this November. The national team competition will feature; Apex Legends, Chess, Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, FATAL FURY: City of the Wolves, EAFC 26, Honor of Kings, League of Legends, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, PUBG Battlegrounds, PUBG Mobile, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, Street Fighter 6, Trackmania and Valorant.
EFG Adds Major Events To Kick
This month EFG announced a major deal with streaming site Kick that will see the company’s biggest Dota 2 and CS2 events streamed on the service, as well as other platforms. Kick will also become the exclusive home of the ESL Challenger League, meaning fans will have to go to the platform if they want to watch live.
FalleN Announces Plans To Retire At The End Of 2026
Counter-Strike legend Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo has announced his intention to retire from pro play at the end of 2026. The two time Major winner has been competing in CS for over 20 years, and has lifted multiple rosters to the very top of the scene, most recently with Brazilian squad Furia, who have risen to become one of the top teams in the world over the past couple of years. FalleN will go down in history as one of the greatest players of all time, and will now get a proper retirement tour over the coming months before he calls it a day.
Riot Reveals New Format For VCT In 2027
Riot Games has revealed sweeping changes to the Valorant ecosystem for 2027 and beyond, with the regional leagues being discontinued in favour of a lot of tournaments. The two Masters events and Champions will remain, but qualification to them will begin with open qualifiers that run into regional cups before heading to the international major events we are used to. It’s the biggest overhaul to a Riot ecosystem potentially ever, but the changes have mostly been welcomed by fans, teams and players.
Ali Rezvan Named On Forbes 30 Under 30 List
Our very own Ali Rezvan was included on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe Sports & Games list this month, an incredible achievement for one of the industry’s best. As Vice President of IP Ali is responsible for lots here at the Esports Awards HQ, and has been the driving force behind our broadcasts for the past few years. This honour is incredibly well deserved and a sickening reminder of just how young Ali still is despite being around the industry for what feels like forever. Congrats Ali, we are all very proud of your accomplishment.
Team Falcons Sings Karrigan To CS2 Roster
Team Falcons has added legendary Counter-Strike player Finn “karrigan” Andersen to its roster, having benched Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski earlier in the month. Karrigan joins Falcons after a disappointing end to his run on FaZe Clan that saw them miss out on the upcoming Major. However, as one of the greatest IGLs of all time, the signing of Karrigan will no doubt be a boost to Falcons who are still looking for a first Major victory.
Keria Signs With T1 Until 2029
T1 League of Legends player Ryu “Keria” Min-seok has signed a contract extension with the organisation that ties him to the squad until 2029. A key member of the team that has won three back to back world championships, Keria has been a cornerstone of the T1 roster since 2020 and will now continue to be so for at least another three years.
Esports Awards Golf Invitational
Anyone who has been around the Esports Awards team for more than 15 minutes knows that a lot of us love a good round of golf, and last month we hosted the Esports Awards Invitational UK golf event at The Belfry Hotel & Resort. Featuring two days of networking, thought leadership and of course, golf, the event was a massive success with some of the biggest names from UK esports and beyond getting together for some golf in a scramble format in teams of 4.
Tournament Results
Credit: ESL FACEIT Group
Vitality Win More CS2 Tournaments Including ESL Grand Slam
Yet again we are covering Vitality winning another CS2 event, but at least this month there is something ever so slightly different to discuss. The French organisation claimed the IEM Rio trophy this month, beating out Team Spirit 3-0 in the final, but the really interesting part is that the win secures Vitality their second ESL Grand Slam, becoming the first team ever to win two. The $1 million bonus for winning four major ESL events within the last 10 is one of the hardest prizes to earn in CS2, so to do it twice is an incredible achievement.
FUT Claims First Top Tier CS Trophy
In other CS news, FUT Esports claimed the PGL Bucharest trophy in what is a major first win for the young squad. After rising through the rankings over the past few months, the young roster has established itself as a contender, and with many top teams skipping the PGL event the opportunity presented itself for FUT to take a victory. Beating out Astralis in the final, FUT only dropped two maps in the whole event, which gives them some great momentum heading into the upcoming Major.
BetBoom Wins PGL Wallachia Season 8
Over in the world of Dota, BetBoom has also found some form at the right time, taking the PGL Wallachia Season 8 trophy in convincing fashion. A dominant 3-0 win over Aurora in the grand final was a somewhat underwhelming end to a great event, with lots of surprise results. After multiple top four placements this season, this is the first tournament win for BetBoom, and with EWC and TI just weeks away at this point they seem to be positioning themselves as a top contender for the biggest events of the year.
Karmine Corp Start LEC Spring Split 6-0 As G2 Stumble
Despite G2 Esports placing second at the First Stand tournament earlier this year, it is Karmine Corp that is currently dominating the LEC Spring Split. The French organisation currently sits 6-0 in the LEC and has already qualified for the playoffs with three games left to play. G2 on the other hand sit in fifth place with a 3-2 record. The two teams will meet in the final week of the split, which could be a crucial match for G2’s playoff hopes.
And Finally…
Polish Streamer, Łatwogang Raises Millions For Charity
A nice wholesome story to end off this month’s newsletter, as Polish influencer Łatwogang raised over £50 million for cancer charities during a nine day live stream. The stream featured donations and cameos from major names such as Coldplay’s Chris Martin, footballer Robert Lewandowski and tennis star Iga Świątek. It is being touted as the largest charity stream ever.
