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.

SOFTSWISS, a global tech provider of iGaming software solutions, releases a new regulated market overview, ‘iGaming in South Africa 2025’. The report serves as a comprehensive guide to South Africa’s online gambling landscape, offering operators and stakeholders insights into the market’s size, regulatory framework, and emerging trends. 

South Africa’s iGaming sector is experiencing robust growth, driven by digital adoption and evolving player behaviour. While the broader gambling market in South Africa is projected to generate approximately €3.63 billion in gross gambling revenue (GGR) by the end of 2025, betting already dominates, accounting for about 60.5% of the total earnings. 

Mobile wagering, in particular, now generates the lion’s share of online betting turnover – roughly 81% of bets are placed via smartphones and tablets – a trend fueled by South Africa’s high smartphone penetration and the convenience of on-the-go betting. Together, these factors point to a developed digital betting ecosystem driving the overall gambling industry’s expansion.

“With this SOFTSWISS market report, we highlight our commitment to the dynamic potential of South Africa’s iGaming market. Backed by our global expertise and local insight, SOFTSWISS is well-positioned to address the region’s unique needs and opportunities. These insights will help shape our strategy and ensure our solutions stay aligned with the evolving South African iGaming landscape,” said Vitali Matsukevich, Chief Commercial Officer at SOFTSWISS.

The ‘iGaming in South Africa’ report also highlights the complex regulatory landscape that operators must navigate. Gambling in South Africa is governed by both the National Gambling Board and nine provincial licensing authorities, each with its own rules and requirements. This layered system means companies need careful compliance strategies to enter and operate across different provinces. 

Despite the regulatory fragmentation and challenges such as a 15% VAT on betting transactions, South Africa remains highly attractive to local and international investors. The report notes that trends in player engagement are reshaping the market: operators are increasingly incorporating gamification and social play elements to appeal to younger, digital-savvy bettors. 

Popular casino-style games are introduced in fixed-odds betting formats to comply with current laws, which prohibit traditional online casinos nationally. These innovative adaptations – for example, number-based games and ‘crash’ games presented as sports wagers – allow players to enjoy casino-like content within the legal betting framework, reflecting a creative industry response to regulatory constraints.

This new market analysis follows SOFTSWISS’ recent expansion in South Africa. Earlier in June, the company made its first major public appearance in the country in the tech field as a partner of Africa Tech Week 2025 in Cape Town. At the event, SOFTSWISS showcased its technology solutions and shared insights on digital resilience and innovation in African markets.

About SOFTSWISS

SOFTSWISS is an international technology company with over 15 years of experience developing innovative solutions for the iGaming industry. SOFTSWISS holds a number of gaming licences and provides comprehensive software for managing iGaming projects. The company’s product portfolio includes the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with over 30,000 casino games, the Affilka Affiliate Platform, the Sportsbook Software and the Jackpot Aggregator. In 2013, SOFTSWISS revolutionised the industry by introducing the world’s first Bitcoin-optimised online casino solution. The expert team counts over 2,000 employees.

An expanded focus on talent-led media and live events complements Better Collective’s broader strategy of diversifying revenue streams, engaging sports fans, and strengthening its position in key growth markets such as North America.

Talent-led media has become a core strategic focus for Better Collective, providing new ways to engage fans and create value for the company’s partners. Through shows hosted by world-class athletes and personalities such as Shaquille O’Neal, Jalen Brunson, Angel Reese, and Jeff Marek, Better Collective is able to reach highly engaged audiences across North America. These trusted voices not only help Better Collective stay relevant with younger sports fans but also offer partners authentic, direct access to these communities. Since the beginning of last year, content from Better Collective’s talent-led media brands have generated over one billion views and downloads and were significant contributors to the company’s global sponsorship revenue of more than 45 mEUR in 2024. Talent-led media has also further strengthened the commercial opportunities for partners and reinforces Better Collective’s position as a leading digital sports media group.

Karl Pugh, Group SVP of Revenue at Better Collective, said: “As a market leader operating at the intersection of sports media and sports betting, Better Collective provides partners with unparalleled global reach and commercial opportunities. Through our brands and their shows, we are not only reaching millions of engaged sports fans, but creating meaningful value for our partners by offering them direct access to these highly relevant audiences. With more than one billion views and downloads from fans across North America since the start of 2024, our brands have proven over time to be in high demand and an essential platform for partner activation. I look forward to continuing to grow these partnerships and unlocking new ways to drive revenue, audience engagement, and long-term business value together.”

All three of Better Collective’s leading North American brands, Playmaker HQ, Action Network and The Nation Network, have increased their audience with the help of talent-led media and live events.

• All five of Playmaker HQ’s shows have crossed 2 million total followers on social media, total over 15 million hours of consumed content on YouTube, and average 75 million monthly views across all accounts. The shows have gone viral several times, such as when Unapologetically Angel was named one of Spotify’s best new podcasts of 2024.
• Action Network’s content from leading betting experts has spurred growth as well, evident from its 600k+ hours of consumed content from fans this year. Additionally, the brand’s podcasts totalled 6 million downloads during the last NFL season, and will total 8 million total downloads in 2025.
• Within Canada, Better Collective has also experienced growth among its users thanks to The Nation Network (TNN), which has firmly entrenched itself as the leading destination for premier, digital sports coverage. Across its content this past year, TNN saw 71 million total streams, 5 million total watch hours, and 342 million total impressions on YouTube. These numbers reinforce Better Collective’s belief in Canada as a massive growth opportunity and market with immense potential.

North American brands are providing additional avenues for partner success

These three North American-based brands have each contributed to the company’s rise in the talent-led media space, growth in audience, and value generated for both endemic and non-endemic partners. Across the three brands, leading consumer and sportsbook partners include StockX, Dove Men’s+Care, Tommy John, DraftKings, bet365, Ford, Tim Hortons, Coca-Cola and Budweiser, exemplifying the value Better Collective offers its wide variety of partners in reaching new audiences in modern, engaging ways. These partners are not only getting value out of sponsoring podcast episodes, but also by helping create live activations that form deeper connections and more awareness among fans and potential consumers. Listeners and fans are also highly engaged with each brand’s content, leading to elevated brand exposure, increased content consumption, and higher turnouts at events. Examples of this can be seen with Action Network’s over 75% completion rate of its podcasts – above the average industry standard – as well as Playmaker HQ and TNN’s attendance at their live events, showing not only that fans have an appetite for the content, but that partners will get more exposure through their sponsorships and branded activations.

Live events have given our brands more ways to engage audiences 

In addition to the popular podcast shows, Playmaker HQ, Action Network, and The Nation Network are all using their strong brand platforms to host live events. These include meet and greets, live shows, watch parties, and fan experiences that bring audiences closer to their favorite shows and stars. A standout example was last year’s live Roommates Show in Central Park, where thousands of fans gathered to meet Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart, enjoyed the show, and took part in branded experiences and giveaways from partners.

These events not only deepen fan engagement but also offer partners unique opportunities to connect with audiences beyond digital channels. Previous events have been held in major cities during some of the biggest sporting moments of the year, including the Super Bowl, the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Final Four, and the 4 Nations Face Off. Throughout the rest of the year, our brands will continue to host exciting events for fans and partners alike, including the upcoming NBA Summer League.