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IEM Katowice 2024: Team Spirit and BASILISK’s Joona “Serral” Sotala BASILISK’s Joona “Serral” Sotala crowned champions

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The Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice 2024 Grand Finals have concluded, with BASILISK’s Joona “Serral” Sotala named the new StarCraft® II Champion and Team Spirit being crowned the Counter-Strike 2 Champions. While BASILISK’s Joona “Serral” Sotala returns for a second time, Team Spirit joins the legendary Hall of Heroes for the first time in history.

Team Spirit’s dominance in the Counter-Strike 2 Grand Finals saw an epic display of the young team of prodigies as they took down the veterans and one of the favorites to win the competition, FaZe Clan. Ranked #19 in the ESL World Ranking, Team Spirit beat the #1 ranked FaZe Clan in a decisive 3-0 victory. Making his tier 1 competition debut, teen superstar Danil “donk” Kryshkovets took fans’ breath away in what many are calling the best individual performance in history.

The fastest-selling IEM Katowice tournament in history, the event saw a peak viewership of over 972,000* for Counter-Strike 2 and more than 77,000* for StarCraft® II. The sold-out Spodek Arena and MCK Auditorium welcomed over 65,000 fans across four days of live StarCraft® II competition, and three days of Counter-Strike action, complemented by IEM Expo.

The return of the IEM Expo gave esports and gaming enthusiasts from Poland and beyond the opportunity to test the latest Intel® powered gaming hardware, get involved in partner activations, try out the newest games, marvel at cosplay costumes, and much more.

Counter-Strike 2

Play-In Stage & Group Stage

The tournament commenced on January 31 with the Play-In Stage, during which 16 teams battled it out for eight of the 16 spots available in the Group Stage. Local heroes ENCE proceeded to the second stage of the tournament, amongst others.

The Group Stage ran from February 3 – 6 and saw teams divided into two groups of eight, where the top two teams from the upper bracket and the top team from the lower bracket advanced to the Playoffs. Group A saw Team Spirit dominate the upper bracket, with FaZe Clan coming in second and Team Falcons emerging victorious in the lower bracket.

In Group B, G2 Esports beat out HEROIC in the lower bracket final to claim their spot in the Playoffs. In the upper bracket, MOUZ and ENCE secured the final two spots, meaning that IEM Katowice 2024 marks the first time in eight years that a majority Polish team has reached the Playoffs.

Playoffs

The final stage of the competition kicked off on Friday, February 9, with a quarterfinal clash between IEM Katowice 2023 Champions, G2 Esports, and IEM Katowice 2022 Champions, FaZe Clan. After many close rounds, the determination and teamwork of FaZe Clan proved to be stronger, leading to a 2-0 win and a spot in the semifinals.

The second quarterfinal was also an emotional rollercoaster for the Polish fans as ENCE faced off against Team Falcons. Despite having the full backing of the arena, it was ultimately Team Falcons who claimed the victory with a narrow win on map 3 and a final score of 2-1.

Saturday, February 10, saw the semifinals take place, with the top two teams from the Group Stage up against the quarterfinal winners. FaZe Clan proved themselves against MOUZ as they secured their spot in the Grand Final with a flawless 2-0 score, and Team Spirit dominated Team Falcons 2-0 to secure the other spot.

Grand Final

Following impressive performances in the Playoffs where neither team dropped a map, FaZe Clan and Team Spirit geared up on Sunday and took the stage for the Grand Final.

The first game of the day saw an even 6-6 score at half-time before Team Spirit managed to pull ahead and secure a 13-9 victory over FaZe Clan, in large part thanks to Danil “donk” Kryshkovets’ incredible performance.

The second game was closer, with FaZe Clan narrowly missing out on a win and the game ending in a 13-11 victory for Team Spirit.

The third and final game, however, saw Team Spirit dominate, winning round after round and concluding the match with a 13-3 score. Team Spirit were an unstoppable force, claiming the title of Champion with an impressive 3-0 final score in the best-of-5 Grand Final.

“I’m very happy. ” said Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov of Team Spirit. “We beat FaZe Clan 3-0. For me, it’s a really, really big achievement.”

With their win, Team Spirit will take home $400,000 of the $1,000,000 total prize pool, while also securing their spot in the IEM Cologne 2024 Group Stage and entering the race to secure the Intel Grand Slam V.

One of the best professional Counter-Strike debuts of all time, Danil “donk” Kryshkovets received a lot of praise from his teammates as well as from the wider esports community. Furthermore, for his achievements, the young Rifler has been awarded the ESL Pro Tour DHL MVP.

The ESL Pro Tour (EPT) for Counter-Strike continues with ESL Challenger League Season 47 commencing online on February 13 and IEM Chengdu 2024 taking place on April 8-14, with the final three days being played out live in Chengdu, China.

For more information and the latest updates about ESL’s Counter-Strike esports ecosystem, head to the official ESL Pro Tour website, and follow ESL CS on X, Instagram, and Facebook.

StarCraft® II

Group Stage

The Group Stage ran from February 8 – 10 and saw 24 players split into four groups of six to compete in a Round-Robin format live in front of their fans at the MCK Auditorium.

After two and a half days of fierce battles, HeRoMaRinE (Group A), SHIN (Group B), Serral (Group C), and Dark (Group D) topped their respective groups and secured themselves a direct spot in the quarterfinals.

Surprisingly, reigning World Champion Oliveira and Gamers8 Champion Reynor fell short in the Group Stage and it was Solar, GuMiho (both Group A), Cure, Clem (both Group B), ByuN, SKillous (both Group C), Dark and herO (both Group D) who advanced to the Playoffs, following some close battles that kept the community on the edge of their seat.

Playoffs

With the Group Stage concluded, the second- and third-placed teams of each group continued their fight for victory in the Round of 12, with Clem, Dark, ByuN, and Cure coming out on top.

In the quarterfinals, Serral continued his reign without dropping a single map by beating Clem 3-0, while Dark and Maru beat their countrymen SHIN and Byun 3-1 and 3-2 respectively. In the fourth quarterfinal, Cure proved to be dominant over HeRoMaRinE, who, until then, had not yet lost a map in the competition

The first semifinal was a clash between Zergs as Serral and Dark entered the final part of the competition with Serral taking out Dark 3-1. During the second semifinal it was Maru and Cure’s turn to show who was the strongest Terran, with Maru eventually claiming a 3-0 victory.

The long-longed-for Grand Final between Maru and Serral promised some spectacular action, yet already early on Maru’s dedication and diligence showed to be no match for Serral’s unparalleled level of gameplay, leading to a 4-0 win on Serral’s behalf.

“It feels amazing to play in front of the Polish crowd,” said Joona “Serral” Sotala of BASILISK. “I think I gave this one my everything, and I didn’t really leave anything in myself. This was my full performance, I don’t think I can do much better.”

With his victory, Serral takes home $150,000 of the $500,000 total prize pool, on top of an additional $2,500 awarded to him for map wins in the Group Stage. For their top placementsMaru, Dark, and Cure received a direct invite to the Esports World Cup – the 2023/2024 ESL Pro Tour season’s Championship event – later this year, joining Serral and Clem who secured his spot by winning ESL SC2 Masters 2023 Summer and Winter respectively.

Next up in the ESL Pro Tour for StarCraft® II is the ESL SC2 Masters: Spring season concluding with live Finals at DreamHack Dallas in Dallas, Texas, USA, on May 31-June 2.

George Miller (Gyorgy Molnar) started his career in content marketing and has started working as an Editor/Content Manager for our company in 2016. George has acquired many experiences when it comes to interviews and newsworthy content becoming Head of Content in 2017. He is responsible for the news being shared on multiple websites that are part of the European Gaming Media Network.

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N1 Partners launches a promo for N1 Bet: earn extra payouts for your FTDs!

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N1 Partners has just launched a new campaign for its flagship brand – N1 Bet. Until the end of November partners can boost their payouts by up to +7% when driving traffic to two key Tier-1 GEOs: Australia and Germany.

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  • 500–899 FTDs → +5% payout on CPA
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* Results for Australia and Germany are combined, as well as all accounts of one participating team within the affiliate network.

Why is it worth focusing on Australia and Germany with N1 Partners?

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N1 Bet is a part of a top iGaming affiliate program and one of N1 Partners strongest and most consistent brands, that offers solid conversion, flexible promos, and smart analytics to help affiliates earn more. With an updated design and an optimized retention funnel, the brand performs equally well across online affiliate programs (slots & live) and sports betting segments.

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SOFTSWISS Deepens Safer Play as Platinum Partner of Responsible Gambling Summit 2025

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SOFTSWISS, an international technology provider with over 15 years in the iGaming sector, has partnered with South African entities for the Responsible Gambling Summit 2025, reinforcing its commitment to safe, sustainable play in one of its key growth regions. The two-day summit, organised by the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation, brings together regulators, operators, and experts to advance harm minimisation and industry collaboration.

The Responsible Gambling Summit 2025 will take place from 13 to 14 November in Johannesburg, South Africa, and will include an awards gala dinner recognising initiatives in safer gambling. The programme spans policy, compliance, innovation, and public education, with sessions on illegal market impacts, regulatory development, and technology’s role in prevention and intervention. A SOFTSWISS representative will join the panel discussion ‘Innovation, Technology, and Responsible Gambling’, which explores emerging risks and mitigation strategies in digital environments.

“Industry partnership is essential to keep responsible gambling and player protection visible, effective, and evidence-based across channels. We greatly value the commitment and partnership of prominent international companies, such as SOFTSWISS, whose support brings expertise and resources to these important initiatives in South Africa,” said Sibongile Simelane-Quntana, Executive Director at the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation.

“South Africa is a priority market for SOFTSWISS, and we are proud to support this summit’s mission to advance safer play through collaboration and technology,” said Miranda Guliashvili, Head of Regional Growth at SOFTSWISS. “We continuously apply responsible gambling best practices in our products to help operators build sustainable, compliant growth.”

Building on this commitment, the SOFTSWISS Anti-Fraud team has delivered measurable results: from January to August 2025, it prevented over 15 million euro in fraudulent transactions, resolved more than 56,000 tasks, and processed 70 player complaints submitted to gaming regulators and forums. As fraud tactics evolve – including attempts to use AI-generated deepfakes during verification – SOFTSWISS is strengthening its tools and processes to help operators maintain a secure, transparent environment.

 

About SOFTSWISS

SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience in developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS provides comprehensive software for managing iGaming projects. The company’s product portfolio includes the Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with over 35,000 casino games, Affilka Affiliate Platform, the Sportsbook Software and the Jackpot Aggregator. The expert team, based in Malta, Poland, and Georgia, counts over 2,000 employees.

The post SOFTSWISS Deepens Safer Play as Platinum Partner of Responsible Gambling Summit 2025 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Week 42/2025 slot games releases

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Here are this weeks latest slots releases compiled by European Gaming

PG Soft, a world-class digital mobile games company, has released its powerful new title, Kraken Gold Rush. PG Soft’s game invites players to embark on the perilous high seas and navigate past The Kraken’s monstrous tentacles, desperate to drag ships into the abyss. Sticky Wilds and multipliers reaching x100 help players hunt down a legendary haul of 10 million gold coins.

Evoplay has launched Velvet Gems, a glamorous slot filled with sparkling stones, seamless gameplay, and high reward potential. The game immerses players in a luxurious realm of shimmering rubies, emeralds, and sapphires, where each spin radiates opulence. Striking visuals and a refined soundtrack create a premium atmosphere, making it a perfect choice for players seeking an elegant, feature-rich experience.

The authorities thought they’d finally locked away The Syndicate, the most notorious crew of fugitives in history. But in Nolimit City’s latest release, Breakout, not even a maximum security prison can hold them. This jailbreak-themed slot adds to the list of this year’s releases; Dead Men Walking, Tsar Wars and Kill Em All.

Think you are brave enough to return to the Castle of Terror? This lab experiment-horror sequel from Big Time Gaming is a bone-chilling adventure packed with electrifying features designed to give you the fright of your life. This is a slot where players find themselves in a spooky lab where they must brace themselves for Bonus Respins that are triggered by landing Scatters.

BGaming brings the party to the reels with the release of its latest slot, Fiesta Clusters. This vibrant, highly volatile slice of action combines the celebratory spirit of Cinco de Mayo with the expressive artistry of Día de los Muertos, delivering vibrant thrills for players and a seasonal spike potential for operators around Halloween.

Push Gaming is set to deliver twice the thrills this Halloween with the release of two new seasonal titles, Tarot Treasures and Tricky Treats. Both games highlight the recent launch of Push Gaming’s new product segmentation. Push Action delivers titles with enhanced layers of mechanics and player interaction, a category which Tarot Treasures proudly joins.

Spinomenal has launched Buffalo Rampage – Hold & Hit 3×3, a 3×3 reel, 5 lines video slot. Buffalo Rampage – Hold & Hit 3×3 unfolds across a sun-scorched desert at dusk, framed by towering cacti and brought to life with a slow-paced and Western-inspired soundtrack that immerses players in the action.

TaDa Gaming, has added some dark magic to its TriLuck slots series with its five reels, three rows and 50 fixed paylines new game, 3 Witch’s Lamp. Green, Purple and Blue Potion Pot Scatters can trigger the bonus game’s free spins, five fixed jackpots, ignite coins for wins and increase the bonus prizes.

Blueprint Gaming has introduced a new four pots mechanic and enlarged 5×3 grid to its latest release, Cash Strike Power Force 5marking an innovative double debut for the internationally recognised series. With various iterations from the Cash Strike family consistently ranking in the supplier’s top 10 revenue-generating markets, the new title builds on the impressive momentum from its predecessors.

Play’n GO invites players underwater in Bubblin’ Riches, a 6×4 slot where golden coins and greedy fish collide for submerged surprises. Set in a playful underwater reef, Bubblin’ Riches brings a burst of colour and charm to the reels. At the heart of the action is a bloated Goldfish with a hoarding habit – every Coin Scatter that lands could feed its fortune, or set off a surprise payout.

Playson turns up the heat in its scorching new release Flaming Bells: Hold and Win, where nostalgic gameplay is reinspired with a 5,000x Grand Jackpot, Extra Bonus Game and valuable Multipliers. Collect symbols gather all visible cash values from the reels, including other Collect icons and the three in-game Jackpot symbol values.

ELA Games beckons players to step into a shadowy realm of sorcery and mystery with its newest release: Witches’ Book. Bathe in the magic as a powerful coven of three witches conjures their spells across the reels, revealing mysterious rewards and surprises. Each spin is a step toward ultimate strength, where massive riches and bubbling magic await.

Amusnet has released its latest online video slot, 27 Wild Shots. This vibrant slot game blends the style of classic fruit games with the charm of a fairytale twist, led by none other than the Little Red Riding Hood herself. The three reels burst with familiar symbols of juicy fruits, reimagined in a lively forest theme.

The post Week 42/2025 slot games releases appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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