
Why Ziggs' Popularity at MSI and EWC 2026 Doesn't Match His Performance
Among these mages there is one standout pick: Ziggs. The mad bomber became the second most picked “ADC” at both tournaments, showing up as the biggest alternative to traditional AD carry champions. But, was the pick really effective? Let’s find out.

Prophecy Fulfilled: CS2 Major Sticker Profits Just Fell x10
HLTV’s report on Cologne 2026 confirms what earlier Strafe analyses of CS2’s new sticker shop and revenue ladder suggested: Major sticker profits for some teams have dropped from around $600,000 to about $60,000, turning a former safety net into a fragile income line and pushing more clubs to question their place in Counter-Strike.
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Dplus KIA Dominate Karmine Corp in Paris to Win the Esports World Cup 2026
It's been a long time coming, but Heo "ShowMaker" Su and Dplus KIA have finally risen to the top of the League of Legends esports scene once more. The Korean side ran right through Karmine Corp in the Grand Finals of the Esports World Cup 2026, sweeping the Frenchmen in front of their home crowd in Paris.

Team Nemesis and PlayTime Affected By EWC 2026 Elimination
The Esports World Cup 2026 is one of the biggest points of interest for organizations, and getting eliminated affects rosters almost as much as The International. Team Nemesis and PlayTime were both affected by their elimination from EWC 2026.

Karmine Corp Eliminate T1 to Make the Grand Finals at the Esports World Cup 2026
Karmine Corp just blew all predictions out of the water at the League of Legends Esports World Cup 2026. The French squad took down T1 in the Semifinals against all odds, booking their spot in the Grand Finals in front of their home crowd in Paris.

"Esport is not a phenomenon anymore. It's the entertainment of the new generation." - François-Xavier Deniele of Ubisoft
It's been 10 years since the launch of the professional scene of Rainbow Six: Siege and its esports scene continues to thrive. Despite the classic ups and downs, the FPS tac shooter remains one of the most popular esport titles to date, reaching a peak viewer count in 2024 at Six Invitational of over 520,000. Following the opening press conference at EWC 2026, Strafe managed to speak with François-Xavier Deniele, VP, Marketing & Esports at Rainbow Six. With a 17-year tenure at Ubisoft and counting, the François was happy to share insights on the 10 years of sustainability of Rainbow Six, how the team operates to draw in more new players and viewers, as well as giving a more general view on esports and esports events.

Dplus KIA to be Sold Amid Financial Turbulence
Dplus KIA have announced the organization is in the middle of a sale process as the club has "reached a point where it needs even greater capability and support to grow to the next level." Growing operational costs in esports and recent reports surfacing regarding unpaid wages at Dplus all seem to indicate that the move will be in the best interest of everyone involved, including players and fans of the organization.

PTime Players Suspended From EWC 2026 Due to ESIC Investigation
PTime was forced to forfeit their Survival Stage matchup against Vici Gaming due to an ESIC integrity investigation that came along with provisional suspensions issued to Juan "Vintage" Angulo and Oswaldo "DarkMago" Herrera.

LØS Sends LYON Packing From EWC 2026
The Esports World Cup 2026 League of Legends group stage just delivered a rough gut punch for LYON. The LCS side, fresh off one of the best runs of its history, was swept 2-0 by MIBR.LOS in Group D, ending its run at the Esports World Cup 2026 before it even had a chance to build momentum.

Team Vitality CEO Neo: "For Us to be a Global Leader Means Being a Contender at EWC"
Team Vitality remains one of the most influential and well-known esports organizations to date. The Paris-based org fields over 20 esports teams in various esports, though their immensely impressive results in Counter-Strike take center stage. Being one of the organizations present at Esports World Cup 2026 in Paris, we managed to speak with Fabien "Neo" Devide, Co-Founder and CEO of the Hive, just after an interview with Mike McCabe, COO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, at the opening press conference at EWC. Neo provided a ton of insight into the organization's participation at this year's edition of EWC in Paris. He expressed his desire for the org to perform to the highest standards, but also highlighted that rivalry is key to grow the ecosystem. Additionally, Neo gave strong opinions on the growth of mobile esports following last year's Vitality's takeover and merger with Indonesian side Bigetron, stressing the need for innovation and following ideas in the east, as much as the west.

Mages in the Bot Lane at MSI 2026: Threat or Hype?
Mages showing up in place of traditional AD carry champions in the Bot Lane is not necessarily a new phenomenon, but the fact that so many of them were picked at MSI 2026 has been turning a lot of heads recently. Are mage champions in the Bot Lane really a problem, though? Let's dive a little deeper to find out more.

VALORANT Declares War on Boosting and Smurfing
Riot Games is done playing nice with rank manipulators. Starting with Patch 13.01, the studio is rolling out sharper detection tools built to catch boosting, win-trading, and stream sniping, and this time the punishments are landing on everyone involved, not just the person paying for the service.

Mike McCabe COO of EWC Foundation: "The Home Is Always Going to Be Riyadh"
The Esports World Cup 2026 (EWC) had its grand launch on July 8, commemorating the official start of the event with an opening press conference at the Hotel de Ville in the heart of Paris. With many speakers kicking off the event, like the CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation, Ralf Reichert, Emmanuel Grégoire, the mayor of Paris, and others, taking center stage. Following an opening ceremony with multiple speakers, media were given the opportunity to chat with representatives of the Esports World Cup Foundation, game publishers, or even reps of prolific esports organizations such as Team Vitality. We managed to speak with Mike McCabe, the COO of the Esports World Cup Foundation.


























