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Intel® Extreme Masters Sydney 2023: FaZe Clan crowned the first-ever Counter-Strike 2 Champions following an electrifying Grand Final
The Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM) Sydney 2023 Grand Finals have concluded today, with powerhouse FaZe Clan emerging victorious with a score of 2-1 against Complexity. The first international in-person tournament played on Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) saw a nail-biting final, with FaZe Clan claiming the victory after an exhilarating double overtime final set, in what will surely go down as an iconic IEM final.
IEM Sydney 2023 is both the fastest-selling and largest Australian esports tournament in history. Australian Counter-Strike fans returned in force to the first live IEM Sydney in over 4 years, with 20,000 fans in attendance throughout the Playoffs in the Aware Super Theatre.
Group Stage
The tournament commenced on October 16 with a Group Stage during which the teams were divided into two groups of eight. Group A saw MOUZ dominate the upper bracket, with BetBoom Team coming in a close second. Both teams made it through to the Playoffs, alongside FaZe Clan who fought through the lower bracket for their spot, knocking out Natus Vincere in the process.
In Group B, G2 Esports and ENCE secured the top two spots in the upper bracket, and Complexity beat out Monte in the lower bracket final to claim the final spot in the Playoffs.
Playoffs
The Playoffs kicked off on October 20 with the quarterfinals that saw MOUZ, FaZe Clan, G2 Esports, and Complexity make it to the top four.
FaZe Clan showed their strength early during the Playoffs with a 13-0 win over ENCE, the first time a team has 13-0’d a competitor in a live Counter-Strike 2 tournament. Complexity also started their playoffs run strong with a 2-0 against BetBoom Team.
In the semi-finals, FaZe Clan dominated MOUZ winning 2-0, taking the first set 13-4 on Nuke, before converting a closer win of 13-9 on Vertigo.
Complexity also scored a 2-0 semi-final victory, dispatching G2 Esports, storming home 13-8 on Anubis, before winning the second set more comfortably 13-3 on Ancient, with Ricky “floppy” Kemery posting some impressive stats.
Grand Final
FaZe Clan and Complexity both booked their places in the Grand Final with impressive performances during the Playoffs where neither team dropped a map.
The first set of the Grand Final was incredibly tight, with Complexity eventually edging out a 13-11 win in the final round of the set, following a brilliant comeback. FaZe Clan rallied for set 2, winning it 13-11 and bringing the match to the decisive third set.
The third set nearly saw one of the greatest comebacks of IEM history, with Complexity recovering from 9-3 down, to win six consecutive games to bring it back to 10-9. In a nail-biting final few rounds, Complexity continued their magical form to take the Grand Final to overtime, and then a second overtime. Despite Complexity’s resurgence, FaZe Clan were able to recover, dominating the second overtime to take home the trophy, with Robin ‘Ropz’ Kool taking the title of ESL Pro Tour DHL MVP.
“It feels amazing to be the first CS2 champions,” said Håvard “rain” Nygaard of FaZe Clan. “I want to say thank you to all our fans here and around the world. This was hands down the best crowd I’ve ever played in front of.”
“It feels great, we’ve spent so much time practicing CS2 together before this,” said Robin ‘ropz’ Kool. “The first loss against GamerLegion hurt, but we stuck with it and managed to come back. It’s been a turbulent year for us, but I’ve been playing as much as possible, and CS2 gave us the motivational boost to improve our performance and work harder for this IEM.”
IEM Sydney 2023 saw a peak viewership of more than 463,081* concurrent viewers, over 6.6 million hours watched and attracted more than 20,000 attendees.
THE CACHES IV Showmatch
Ahead of the Grand Final on October 22, THE CACHES IV Showmatch Powered by Intel® and Acer Predator took place, which saw Team Australia and Team UK face off once more following a 4-year hiatus. Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill, Joshua “INS” Potter, Christopher “dexter” Nong, Justin “jks” Savage, Declan “Vexite” Portelli, Chris “GoMeZ” Orfanellis (Coach) represented Australia, while Alex “Hawka” Hawkins, Guy “NertZ” Iluz, Sebastian “volt” Maloș, Vladislav “nafany” Gorshkov and Henry “HenryG” Greer lined up in the British corner.
The match started closely, with both teams taking a few rounds each. However, Team Australia eventually got into a winning rhythm and swept away Team UK 13-7, winning The Caches for the fourth consecutive time. The showmatch also marked the launch of the Intel® Core™ 14th Gen Desktop Processor.
The ESL Pro Tour (EPT) for Counter-Strike continues with the currently ongoing ESL Challenger League Season 46, which will conclude on December 3. The year will be closed off by ESL Challenger Jönköping on November 24-26 and ESL Challenger Atlanta on December 15-17, before kicking off 2024 with a bang with the EPT Championship IEM Katowice 2024 on January 31-February 11.
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Spinomenal marks the start of the holiday season with Majestic Santa
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Leading iGaming content provider Spinomenal has unwrapped its new title Majestic Santa, signalling the start of the festive season.
Spinomenal’s festive-inspired treat is a 5×3 slot that is bursting with Christmas imagery including red stockings, gingerbread men, and glistening golden bells. The reels are beautifully presented within a golden frame amongst snow-covered rooftops, softly glowing windows, candles, and lanterns. A festive, homely soundtrack wraps players snugly into the action as they look to win.
Unwrapping three Christmas wreaths will take players into the Free Spins game. Before the round begins, players spin the Wheel of Fortune to determine both the number of free spins (between 10 and 40) and the symbol that will double during the feature.
Majestic Santa’s bonus feature is triggered when three luxurious gold ribboned presents appear on screen. Players are given three spins to start, and the goal is to complete the metre by collecting Scattered winning symbols.
One segment of the metre is completed with five present symbols and players can win extra spins when they find a +1 symbol. Once the spins end there will be the final payout calculated by the final filled metre cell.
Majestic Santa also includes Stacked Wilds, where Wild symbols can land during spins to elevate the chances of a festive win. In the base game, only Double Symbols can be triggered — transforming all symbols into their double form for even greater payout potential.
Spinomenal CO-CEO, Omer Henya commented: “Majestic Santa is an ode to the magic of the holiday season. Its warming visuals and festive soundtrack perfectly complement the excitement of Stacked Wilds and Double Symbols, delivering unmistakable Christmas cheer and plenty of chances to win.”
The post Spinomenal marks the start of the holiday season with Majestic Santa appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Million Games Launches Rudolph’s Gone Rogue – A Frenzied Christmas Slot of Wild Wins
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Million Games is bringing festive mayhem to the iGaming world with the launch of Rudolph’s Gone Rogue, a fast-paced Christmas slot where Santa’s most famous reindeer takes centre stage in a runaway holiday adventure.
In this 5×3, 20-payline slot, Rudolph bolts into the night sky, dragging the rest of the herd with him and leaving a trail of chaos in his wake. Gifts, sleigh parts, and enchanted carrots scatter across the snowy reels, while the gameplay erupts with Wild Multipliers, Free Spins, and random Wild drops. With an RTP of 96.37% and a maximum win of 2,500x the bet, Rudolph’s Gone Rogue delivers a festive mix of charm, speed, and rewarding volatility.
Features that Drive the Frenzy
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Rogue Reindeer Free Spins: Triggered by 3 Rudolph Bonus symbols, the reels light up under aurora skies as reindeer charge across the screen, dropping extra Wilds and activating Wild Multipliers.
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Snowflake Wilds: Substitutes for all regular symbols to complete wins.
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Wild Multipliers: Multipliers of 2x, 5x, 10x, or 20x add explosive payout potential.
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Extra Wilds: During Free Spins, Rudolph and the herd scatter 1 or 2 extra Wilds on the same reel, creating chaotic, high-energy gameplay.
“Rudolph’s Gone Rogue is all about capturing the wild side of Christmas,” said Thomas Nimstad, CEO of Million Games. “It’s playful, fast, and packed with features that keep players on edge with every spin. We wanted to create a holiday slot that feels unpredictable and fun while still delivering strong replay value for operators.”
With its bold design, electrifying Free Spins, and chaotic mechanics, Rudolph’s Gone Rogue offers a unique seasonal addition to operator lobbies, built to capture attention and drive engagement throughout the holidays.
Rudolph’s Gone Rogue is now available across all Million Games partner platforms.
The post Million Games Launches Rudolph’s Gone Rogue – A Frenzied Christmas Slot of Wild Wins appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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ThrillTech makes three additions to senior team to accelerate ‘explosive’ growth
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ThrillTech makes three additions to senior team to accelerate ‘explosive’ growth
– VP of Growth, Global Sales Director and Head of Technical Compliance recruited
– Additions bring experience from Evolution, Pragmatic Play and Kiron
– Jackpot provider aiming to build on momentum after breakout year
ThrillTech, the global leader in side-bet jackpot technology for iGaming operators and game studios, has strengthened its senior team as it looks to build on a period of “explosive” growth.
Xavier Besseau has been appointed VP of Growth, making the switch from Kiron Interactive. Xavier has more than a decade of experience in iGaming, with previous roles at Sportradar, TrueLayer and Gaming Innovation Group.
Nemanja Grujicic has also joined the commercial team as ThrillTech’s Global Sales Director. Grujicic was most recently head of account management at slots provider Popiplay and was previously in a similar role at Pragmatic Play.
Also joining the ThrillTech team is Rocio Mata, who arrives as the new Head of Technical Compliance. Mata spent more than 10 years with Evolution, most recently as Senior Technical Compliance.
Collectively, the new arrivals bring deep expertise across commercial strategy, compliance and growth acceleration – all core pillars of ThrillTech’s next phase.
Founded in 2023, ThrillTech has enjoyed a successful 2025 and now employs 15 people, working remotely and in offices in Cyprus and Malta.
ThrillTech helps amplify player experiences while boosting GGR for partners with its unique ThrillPots and ThrillDrops products and is now licensed and certified in 10 jurisdictions.
Benjamin Bradtke, co-founder at ThrillTech, said: “A huge indicator that a company is doing well is its ability to attract and retain the brightest minds in the industry, and I am so pleased to say that the three new hires we’ve welcomed across Q4 are an incredible asset to ThrillTech.
“This has been a genuine breakout year for us. We’ve seen explosive growth across our product lines, expanded into new jurisdictions and secured partnerships with operators who are embracing a more creative approach to jackpots and player engagement.
“Bringing Xavier, Nemanja and Rocio into the business now is very deliberate – they’re here to help us accelerate that momentum through the final stretch of 2025 and propel us into an even stronger 2026.”
The post ThrillTech makes three additions to senior team to accelerate ‘explosive’ growth appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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