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Everything you need to know ahead of ESL Pro League Season 19

Published

1 year ago

April 19, 2024

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The ESL Pro League (EPL) returns to St. Julian’s, Malta, for Season 19 on April 23 – May 12, 2024. The world’s biggest Counter-Strike league will see teams from around the world arrive on-site for three weeks of non-stop action, and only one team will emerge victorious as Champions.

Here is all you need to know about ESL Pro League Season 19

The 19th Season of the ESL Pro League will see the 32 best Counter-Strike teams compete for a total prize pool of $750,000, a win in the race to secure Intel® Grand Slam V, and a spot at IEM Cologne 2024. Commencing on April 23, contenders from around the globe will face off in Malta for a spot in the Playoffs. There, the six best teams will compete live in front of an intimate live audience at the InterContinental Malta on May 10 – 12, 2024.

Starting with the upcoming season, EPL will see some improvements to its schedule. While the number of teams and the tournament structure remain the same compared to recent seasons, the duration of the tournament has been adjusted to three weeks instead of five. To accommodate this change, two groups will be played simultaneously during the Group Stage, resulting in a more intense story for fans to follow.

Schedule and Format

Group Stage (April 23 – May 5):

Four groups of eight teams will compete in separate triple-elimination brackets
- All matches are best-of-three
The top four teams from each group will advance to the Playoffs
- Group Stage winners advance to the Quarterfinals
- The Group Stage runner-ups advance to the Round of 12
- The Group Stage third and fourth-place teams advance to the Round of 16

Playoffs (May 7 – 12):

The top sixteen teams will compete in a single-elimination bracket
- All matches will be best-of-three, excluding the Grand Final which will be best-of-five
- The third and fourth Quarterfinals, as well as both Semifinals and the Grand Final will be played out live on stage in front of an audience

Teams Attending

Astralis (Partner Team)
BIG (Partner Team)
Complexity (Partner Team)
ENCE (Partner Team)
FaZe Clan (Partner Team)
Fnatic (Partner Team)
FURIA (Partner Team)
G2 Esports (Partner Team)
HEROIC (Partner Team)
MOUZ (Partner Team)
Natus Vincere (Partner Team)
Ninjas in Pyjamas (Partner Team)
Team Liquid (Partner Team)
Team Vitality (Partner Team)
Monte (ESL Challenger Jönköping winner)
Virtus.pro (ESL Challenger Atlanta winner)
SAW (ESL World Ranking)
Team Falcons (ESL World Ranking)
GamerLegion (ESL World Ranking)
BetBoom Team (ESL World Ranking)
Eternal Fire (ESL World Ranking)
3DMAX (ECL S46 Europe winner)
FORZE (ECL S46 Europe runner-up)
M80 (ECL S46 North America winner)
BOSS (ECL S46 North America runner-up)
The MongolZ (ECL S46 Asia-Pacific winner)
TYLOO (ECL S46 Asia-Pacific runner-up)
Imperial Esports (South American Qualifier winners)
Sharks Esports (South American Qualifier winners)
Pera Esports (European Conference winner)
Bad News Kangaroos (Oceanic Qualifier winner)
FlyQuest (ANZ Champs winner)

Prize Money (USD)

TOTAL	$750,000
1st	$170,000
2nd	$80,000
3rd-4th	$45,000
5th-8th	$32,000
9th-12th	$23,500
13th-16th	$17,500
17th-20th	$12,000
21st-28th	$7,000
29th-32nd	$3,500

Broadcast Talent

Hosts
- “Tres “stunna” Saranthus
- Freya “Freya” Spiers
A Stream
- Jason “moses” O’Toole
- Janko “YNk” Paunović
- Mathieu “Maniac” Quiquerez
- Harry “Harry” Russell
- Hugo “Hugo” Byron
- Henry “Henry” Greer
- Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill
- Alex “Machine” Richardson
B Stream
- Neo “Ne0kai” Caine
- Harvey “Skriv” Rodgers
- Lucy “LucyLuce” Eastwood
- Brandon “BDog” Rawlings
- Travis “Trav” Landaw Mott

Where to Watch

The live broadcast will be available on FACEIT Watch, ESL FACEIT Group’s premier esports viewing platform created by esports fans for esports fans and open for all.

Featuring a unique multi-perspective view selector where users can watch their favorite player’s perspective directly next to the main event stream, a live chat, a kill cam, live-generated replays of key moments, a sound mixer, a rewards program, and more, FACEIT Watch revolutionises esports streaming by putting fans in control of their viewing experience.

Fans can also watch the action on the ESL Counter-Strike Twitch and YouTube channels. For those unable to tune in live, all matches will also be available to watch on-demand for free via YouTube.

For more information about ESL Pro League Season 19, and the latest updates on the event, please visit the official website, and follow ESL Counter-Strike on X, Facebook, and Instagram.

The post Everything you need to know ahead of ESL Pro League Season 19 appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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Affilka by SOFTSWISS Wins at EGR B2B Awards for Second Year Running

Published

2 minutes ago

July 7, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Affilka by SOFTSWISS, an affiliate management software platform, has secured the title of Affiliate Software Supplier at the prestigious EGR B2B Awards for the second consecutive year. The awards ceremony took place on 3 July at London’s iconic The Roundhouse, where the iGaming industry gathered to celebrate the most successful and innovative companies of the past year.

The consecutive win reinforces Affilka’s growing leadership in iGaming affiliate marketing software. Over the past 12 months, the product has consistently evolved, launching a series of powerful new features.

Among the recent updates is the Cross-Brand Player Duplicate Detection tool, which identifies overlapping player accounts across different casino brands within a single affiliate program. The platform also introduced the new Traffic Report, which provides real-time, click-to-registration and click-to-FTD metrics with multi-dimensional filters. Another new feature allows affiliates to access data on their marketing campaigns and tracking links directly via API, enabling automated data extraction and custom integrations.

At the end of last year, Affilka rolled out the Geo-Distributed Redirect feature, which boosts site visits by reducing redirect times from 1.5 seconds to 300–500 milliseconds, and the Cohort Analysis Report, which offers deeper insights into player behaviour.

Anastasia Borovaya, Head of Affilka by SOFTSWISS, commented on the recognition: “Winning this award two years in a row is an incredible achievement for our team. It reflects our hard work, creativity, and deep commitment to the continuing improvement of our platform. What makes this win special is knowing that the tools we build are already helping our partners solve real challenges. Whether refining traffic strategies or making smarter, data-driven decisions, we’re proud Affilka plays a part in their success.”

Thanks to ongoing updates and the introduction of new innovative features, Affilka by SOFTSWISS now supports over 450 brands, 400 thousand affiliate accounts, and 98 million player registrations.

Earlier in June, SOFTSWISS won two prestigious trophies at another EGR Ceremony – Marketing & Innovation Awards 2025. The company’s marketing department received the Marketing Team of the Year Award for its bold creative approach and effective use of new technologies and data analytics. In addition, Valentina Bagniya, CMO at SOFTSWISS, was named B2B Marketer of the Year for transforming the company’s marketing function into a powerful brand engine within the iGaming industry.

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.

The post Affilka by SOFTSWISS Wins at EGR B2B Awards for Second Year Running appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

Latest News

WOWPartners Launches Spinbara: The Couch King of Spinning

Published

2 minutes ago

July 7, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: < 1 minute

WOWPartners, feeling that there might be not enough chill in the world, introduces their new brand Spinbara — fun, cheeky, and truly unbothered. The star of the show is a laid-back capybara with a love for sports, snacks, chicks, and slot wins. A spiritual cousin to The Dude (yes, we mean The Big Lebowski), Spinbara leads an unapologetically relaxed lifestyle — or, to put it simply, he’s chillin’ like a villain.

Built on KickerTech’s powerful platform and featuring over 65 top-tier providers, Spinbara combines top-notch sportsbook, live betting, virtuals, and casino entertainment with a distinctive brand voice that players will absolutely love.

This new WOWPartners’ brand isn’t just chill — it’s smart. With a full suite of gamification, tournaments, promos, and player retention tools, including cashback, reloads, and exclusive challenges, Spinbara is designed to keep players logging in.

A spokesperson for WOWPartners shares:

“Spinbara is our most relatable brand yet — he’s lazy, lovable, and just, you know, loves living a good life. Who doesn’t, right? Play lazy, win crazy, that’s the motto. We’ve paired this laid-back vibe with a top-shelf product and powerful engagement mechanics. The result is Spinbara, and we can’t wait for players to come chill with the Dude.”

In short, if you’re all about kicking back, playing your favourite games, and not taking life too seriously — Spinbara’s your kind of place.

Play lazy, win crazy!

For partnership opportunities and more information, contact [email protected].

The post WOWPartners Launches Spinbara: The Couch King of Spinning appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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iQOO Becomes Official Title Sponsor for S8UL’s Historic Esports World Cup 2025 campaign

Published

1 hour ago

July 7, 2025

George Miller

Reading Time: 2 minutes

S8UL Esports, a global powerhouse in esports and gaming content, today announced that iQOO, the high-performance smartphone brand, has been onboarded as the official title sponsor for its Esports World Cup (EWC) 2025 journey in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This strategic association marks one of the most significant brand commitments in the Indian esports space and builds on iQOO’s ongoing association with S8UL’s BGMI division, Team iQOO SOUL.

As title sponsor, iQOO will be integrated across S8UL’s team jerseys, on-ground activations, city events, and digital content throughout the Esports World Cup. As part of the collaboration, S8UL will also host weekly EWC watch parties, while the S8UL Gaming House will open its doors to fans, transforming into a dedicated fan hub during the tournament. The partnership with iQOO represents a powerful synergy between a high-performance, innovation-led brand and a high-performance team, both driven by excellence, fueled by ambition, and rooted in India, further reinforcing iQOO’s commitment to supporting Indian esports on the global stage.

Animesh Agarwal aka 8Bit Thug, Co-founder and CEO, S8UL, said, “Our journey with iQOO began almost two years ago with our BGMI roster and it’s grown alongside our ambitions ever since. Partnering once again for the Esports World Cup 2025 is a significant step forward for both of us. Having iQOO as our title sponsor highlights our shared vision of growing Indian esports and competing with the best on the world stage. Together, we’re proud to carry the hopes of an entire nation.”

S8UL has officially qualified for the grand finals in Apex Legends, , and EAFC 25 at EWC 2025, making it the first Indian esports organisation to represent the country at one of the world’s biggest esports tournaments. The organisation’s Chess stars Nihal Sarin and Aravindh Chithambaram will be competing in the Last Chance Qualifier from July 24 to 26, while EAFC player Aaron Rivera (Happy) will vie for one of the four remaining spots at the EWC in the FC Pro 25 Play-Ins.

Nipun Marya, CEO, iQOO, commented, “Esports in India is evolving rapidly, and we’re proud to strengthen our association with S8UL as they represent India on one of the biggest international stages. Our collaboration reflects iQOO’s focus on connecting with the performance centric community and supporting talent that’s redefining competitive gaming in India.”

Taking place from July 8 to August 24, the EWC 2025 features a record-breaking $70 million (approx. INR 598 crore) prize pool and hosts the world’s best talent across console, PC, and mobile titles. S8UL’s participation across different titles underscores the organization’s depth, diversity, and ambition.

As S8UL’s global journey continues, the partnership with iQOO represents a powerful synergy between a high-performance brand and a high-performance team both driven by excellence, fueled by ambition, and rooted in India.

The post iQOO Becomes Official Title Sponsor for S8UL’s Historic Esports World Cup 2025 campaign appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.