Foo Zen-Wen

Today, the Esports Foundation (EF) announced the selected 40 esports clubs for the 2026 Club Partner Program. The program, a $20M dollar initiative, provides funding and support for all the selected clubs. Now in its 3rd year, over $100M has been reportedly invested to date.

A CS2 developer has confirmed that nearly 1 million accounts have been banned in one of the largest VAC waves of recent memory. The bans were issued and carried out within a single day against confirmed farming bot accounts, marking it as one of the most monumental efforts by Valve to clean up their game’s ecosystem. 

For many, gaming is a passion. To find a career connected to that passion is a worthwhile pursuit in the eyes of more than a few.  Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyliev is widely considered one of the greatest Counter-Strike players of all time and the undisputed GOAT for CSGO. Even in his declining years, he still commands the largest salary in Counter-Strike, thanks to his past accolades, reported at $130,000/month. On the other side of that same plane, we have Félix “xQc” Lengyel, a goliath in the streaming space and one of the highest earning streamers in the world. Back in 2023, he signed a 2-year deal with Kick, with valuations somewhere between a base of $70 million with a potential upward figure of $100 million when including the bonuses. One valuation placed xQc with a net worth of about $50 million in 2026.

Yesterday, the Esports Foundation (EF) awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories. The concerted effort was all in preparation for the Esports Nations Cup (ENC) in November, a global nation-based esports competition. UK now joins the growing assembly of countries set to compete later this year in Riyadh.

The success of League of Legends First Stand 2026 to whet our appetites has delivered with exciting matchups and entrancing storylines. As we march towards the final match day, updates for the remaining slew of internationals this year have arrived. Both the locations and dates for Worlds and MSI this year are now confirmed.

In their latest bid to circumvent modern EU regulations, Valve are introducing Germany to a tried and tested mechanic, the “X-Ray Scanner”. Previously only utilized in France, its introduction in Germany will see case openings only be enabled via the scanner, with the key system done away with. The implementation is set to start on March 16th with no current news of further rollouts in other countries and regions for now.