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Team Heretics enter LEC Summer with three new starters in the five
Team Heretics go into the 2026 LEC Summer Split with Hype at AD carry beside Way and Daglas. Only Serin and Tracyn remain from the five that started the year.
TournamentsUNLIMIT Win the ALGS Split 1 Playoffs After a Last-Minute Comeback
UNLIMIT came from outside the top nine to win the ALGS Year 6 Split 1 Playoffs at the Esports World Cup 2026, beating ZETA DIVISION in a decisive final fight.
TournamentsUNLIMIT Win the Apex Legends Global Series Split 1 Title in Paris
Japan's UNLIMIT won the Apex Legends Global Series Split 1 Playoffs at the Esports World Cup 2026, taking the title in a 10-game Match Point Finals.
TechnologyCS2 update turns the bomb blast into a shockwave stopped by walls
A Valve update reworks the C4 explosion in Counter-Strike 2 and opens Premier Season 5, while Cache replaces Overpass in the Active Duty pool that ESL events follow.
LeaguesLEC Summer 2026: four-day weeks, no break and Finals in Nice
Riot Games has set the LEC Summer Split from July 24 to September 20: six regular-season weeks played Friday to Monday, Roadtrips in Paris and Madrid, and Finals in Nice.
SponsorshipsESL FACEIT Group shuts skin and case-opening sponsors out of CS2 events
ESL FACEIT Group has rewritten the sponsor rules of its Counter-Strike 2 rulebook, Dot Esports reported on July 8, 2026: skin and case-opening sites can no longer back its events.
Media RightsFrance Televisions puts the Esports World Cup on public TV each night
The Esports Foundation and France Televisions have agreed a media partnership for the Paris edition: a daily program on France 4 and France 2 for seven weeks.
IntegrityVAC bans and the CS2 Major: who is eligible and what a Banned Team is
How Valve's Major rulebook treats players with VAC bans: written approval, the Banned Team rule, forfeited winnings, discretionary disqualification and checks at the venue.
PlayersESL's July 2026 rulebook: CS2 players stay seated and comms rules tighten
ESL's second 2026 rulebook update for the ESL Pro Tour, published July 7, keeps players in their seats during maps, polices team voice chat and counts VAC bans for five years.
SponsorshipsEsports World Cup in Paris keeps Qiddiya City and adds a host-city partner
As its Paris edition opens, the Esports World Cup has Qiddiya City back as Founding Partner with a stage in its name, and the city's tourism brand as host-city partner.
RostersHEROIC change two of five in a day: yxngstxr out, xfl0ud benched
On July 7, HEROIC benched xfl0ud, saw yxngstxr step down from the active roster and were briefly left with three players before naming a new five by the evening.
SponsorshipsTwisted Minds Sign Americana Foods and Biofit Ahead of EWC 2026
The Saudi organization announced two new sponsorships, a food and beverage deal with Americana Foods and a wellness partnership with Biofit, before EWC 2026.
CoachesHEROIC replace coach TOBIZ and analyst R0nic with doto
HEROIC named its former academy coach doto head coach on July 6 and parted ways with TOBIZ and analyst R0nic. A day later, the five he was to lead had changed too.
TechnologyXSE admits it was not ready for tech failures at Pro League Guangzhou
The organizer of the US$1 million XSE Pro League Guangzhou says a power outage delayed day two, dismissed the lead admin responsible and replaced practice PCs.
BettingESIC names Runestone its official data partner for integrity monitoring
The Esports Integrity Commission announced a multi-year deal on July 1 under which Runestone flags suspicious activity and supplies evidence-based reports to its investigations.
OrganizationsLuminosity returns to Counter-Strike 2 with four Monte players and lux
Luminosity confirmed on July 1 a Counter-Strike 2 roster built on four Monte players and the Brazilian captain lux, its first team in the game since 2019.
RegulationHow a 2019 Scandal Reshaped Esports Player Rights in Korea
South Korea's esports player protections, built after the 2019 Griffin scandal, now include standard contracts, arbitration and an international tribunal.
TransfersBC.Game sign Magisk as in-game leader alongside s1mple and electroNic
BC.Game announced Magisk as its new in-game leader on June 30. The Counter-Strike 2 team now has four players and a caller after two months without one.
TechnologyValorant at the EWC 2026: peripherals, Paris servers and round rollbacks
Supplied PCs, a Paris tournament server, three kinds of pause and a coach's challenge: how the Esports World Cup rulebook handles the technical side of Valorant.
National TeamsFourteen nations qualify for Valorant at the Esports Nations Cup
Eight regional qualifiers have filled the last 14 places of the Esports Nations Cup Valorant event. France, Japan and Vietnam are through; Indonesia and Hong Kong are not.