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Staffordshire University makes history in college esports
Students of Staffordshire University have achieved a unique success: becoming the UK’s first winning university team in Europe’s premier esports competition between colleges. Players of ‘Korean Pop Superstars (KPS)’ emerged victorious last weekend in VALORANT (Riot Games’ shooter title) at the Grand Final of UNIVERSITY Esports Masters (UE Masters), where they defeated their rivals from National University of Physical Education and Sport of Ukraine (NUPESU) by a score of 3-2.
It was not an easy road to glory. British representatives had to overcome the continuous returns from the Ukrainian players, who demonstrated a tough competitive spirit throughout the Grand Final. However, it was a great sporting experience in which fair play prevailed between the two teams. In fact, students of KPS waited over an hour for their NUPESU’s counterparts due to a problem with the venue where they were competing.
All the clashes at the Grand Finals of UE Masters (both VALORANT and League of Legends) were played entirely in online format. Live streams of the showdowns on Twitch and X (formerly Twitter) accumulated more than 40,000 views throughout last weekend on two official social channels with over 11,000 followers.
A great victory for the UK
The win of KPS is a meaningful milestone for college esports in the UK. For the first time, a British team has been crowned as Champion of UE Masters, the most important esports tournament in the college ecosystem across Europe. Since the first edition of the competition in 2016, Great Britain has had representatives, but none had been able to lift the Championship title.
This group of five students from Staffordshire University, integrated by Diarmuid McGirr, Josh Green, Zain Lim, Stanley Lebon, and Ignas Kantauta as the main squad, have completed a successful performance in this edition of UE Masters: overcoming qualifiers, beating the best opponents, and positioning the UK at the top of the university esports in the continent.
One of the KPS integrants, Zain Lim, said: “Playing as a team has definitely been fun, competing with friends just created such an atmosphere where it felt like we would beat teams due to just having better vibes than them. I would recommend university esports to others. I felt it made gaming a more social-able hobby, as over 5 years of university, at two different unis, I have met a bunch of people.”
Find out more about VALORANT, the victory’s game
What is VALORANT? What does it consist of? It is one of the most wanted esports-games globally. This shooter title, developed by the giant Riot Games and released in 2020, is a 5v5 character-based tactical FPS where precise gunplay meets unique agent abilities. It also includes a lot of effects and advanced weapons to offer players a better first-person experience.
Millions of people have tested their tactical skills on VALORANT over the past few years. According to the specialized website Tracker Network, over 16 million active users have played VALORANT so far in July worldwide.
Beyond of a video game competition
UE Masters, supported by Riot Games, is the conclusion of the UNIVERSITY Esports season, a global program with a presence in 26 countries on four continents and involving more than 100,000 students from 2,000 universities.
The main objectives of UNIVERSITY Esports are to create a sense of community among players from all over Europe, to give them the opportunity to compete in high quality international tournaments and to provide avenues for young people to develop a career within the esports world, as well as to find a place to learn and enhance their skills.
In the UK and Ireland, UNIVERSITY Esports, a project organized by NUEL (a GGTech Entertainment’s company), has celebrated its 13th Season. The winners of its Winter Split, such as Staffordshire University, have been the national representatives in the outgoing edition of UE Masters.
The post Staffordshire University makes history in college esports appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.

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FairPlay joins Mastercard Start Path, shaping the future of AI-driven finance
Mastercard just announced the latest cohort of Start Path, its award-winning startup engagement program, and FairPlay has been selected as one of the eight companies pioneering the next generation of financial technology.
Why does this matter? AI is playing an increasingly critical role in financial decision-making—determining who gets approved for a loan, what terms they receive, and even how compliance is maintained. But without the right infrastructure, AI models can reinforce old biases instead of driving better, more inclusive outcomes.
“My vision for the future of financial technology is to build fairness infrastructure for financial services, allowing all financial institutions to de-bias their digital decisions in real time,” says Kareem Saleh, CEO of FairPlay.
As part of the Start Path New Networks program, FairPlay will work with Mastercard and its partners to scale solutions that help financial institutions refine their AI models, fix blind spots, and ultimately improve both revenue and outcomes for consumers.
With AI decision-making under increasing regulatory and public scrutiny, this collaboration raises important questions about the future of financial technology that Saleh can speak on:
- How can AI-driven decisioning improve financial inclusion without increasing risk?
- What role will open banking play in making AI models more accurate and transparent?
- How should financial institutions prepare for a future where AI accountability is a market expectation, not just a regulatory requirement?
The post FairPlay joins Mastercard Start Path, shaping the future of AI-driven finance appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Official Game Titles for 2025 IESF Season
The International Esports Federation (IESF) is thrilled to unveil the official game titles for the 2025 IESF Season.
This year’s tournaments will feature five of the most popular Esports titles: Counter-Strike 2, Dota 2, eFootball™ series, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, and PUBG MOBILE. This marks the third consecutive year that IESF has maintained the same lineup, reflecting the consistency and popularity of these titles in the Worls of Esports.
With 136 member federations organizing National Qualifiers, the road to the 2025 IESF Season is set to be bigger and more competitive than ever. Around the world, national tournaments are already underway, as each federation seeks to crown their nation’s champions who will go on to compete at the highest level.
Igor Nedeski, Esports Manager at IESF, said: “We are proud to continue our collaboration with leading game publishers to ensure the highest quality of competition for the 2025 season. The excitement among athletes is already incredible as they prepare to represent their nations on the grand stage. This year, we anticipate an even higher level of competition as teams and players push the boundaries of Esports.”
The 17th edition of the IESF Season will not only highlight the competitive excellence of esports athletes but also reinforce IESF’s commitment to inclusivity, diversity, and fair play within the Esports ecosystem. Stay tuned as IESF continues to bring together the best esports talent from around the world for an unforgettable tournaments. For more updates, follow IESF’s official channels and witness the journey to the 2025 season unfold!
The post Official Game Titles for 2025 IESF Season appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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Imagine Live Receives ONJN License
Imagine Live, the live casino provider has been approved by ONJN – the Romanian regulator
Imagine Live is thrilled to announce that it has successfully obtained the Class II license in Romania through its subsidiary ImagineLive Ro for the streaming of Live Casino games.
Martin Martirosyan Imagine Live Group CEO, commented: “Imagine Live is an established brand committed to delivering exceptional products and gaming experiences by putting the player at the centre of the live gaming experience. Imagine Live is equally committed to providing premium and customised live dealer solutions with bespoke tables and studios for our Romanian operator partners to ensure a complete brand experience that players enjoy and return, which drives deeper engagement and revenue opportunities.
The successful regulatory Class II approval from the Romanian ONJN regulatory authority further underpins our company’s growth plans and investments for state-of-the-art live dealer studios and customised live dealer product experiences.”
The post Imagine Live Receives ONJN License appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
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