Four-time Formula One World Champion Max Verstappen has launched his own racing team for the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe season.

Verstappen, a keen sim racer, has recruited British Team Redline sim racer Chris Lulham as one of the team’s three drivers.

Verstappen.com Racing will compete in 10 rounds of GT World Challenge Europe, which begins April 11th, 2025 at the French circuit Paul Ricard. Notably, the team will also run in the 24 Hours of Spa at the end of June for the first time.

According to a press release, Verstappen ‘handpicked’ Lulham to be part of the team, marking the Team Redline driver’s transition to real-world racing after representing the team since 2021. Lulham will continue to participate in sim racing competitions alongside the real-world driving.

In addition to a full season of GT World Challenge Europe, Lulham will also compete in the GT3 Sprint series under the Emil Frey Racing banner.

Alongside Lulham, Verstappen’s racing team in the GT World Challenge Europe championship will feature Thierry Vermeulen and Harry King.

Team Redline is one of the most successful names in all of sim racing. Lulham was part of the driver line-up, which won the 2023 Spring season of ESL R1, a competition operated by ESL FACEIT Group.

More recently, Lulham and Team Redline achieved a third-place finish in the IMSA Esports Global Championship on the iRacing platform.

Sim racing is one esport that contains several skills that transfer over to real-world sports — motorsports.

The most famous example of sim racers becoming real-world drivers is Jann Mardenborough, the winner of the inaugural GT Academy in 2011.

After winning the competition, Mardenborough finished on the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2013, along with competing in several open-wheel and sportscar disciplines.

With Verstappen actively supporting sim racers’ transition onto the real race track, it will be interesting to see if Lulham can become the next virtual racer to make a successful switch.

FIFAe, the esports division of global football governing body FIFA, is looking for esports companies to help develop technologies for football esports and gaming.

Specifically, FIFAe is looking for companies in the industry to help develop technologies that can track the biometric data of esports athletes and translate it into live graphics for broadcasts.

This is not the first time that FIFAe has looked to utilise biometric technology for its esports broadcasts. Service provider Mix Effect Media has previously worked with the company to create a graphic that displays players’ heartbeats during FIFAe events, such as the 2023 finals. 

FIFAe’s new ‘innovation challenge’ will, therefore. focus on expanding this offering. As such developing technologies to measure biometrics such as eye movement, brain waves and reaction time have been mentioned by FIFAe. 

Interested companies can apply for the change via Inside FIFA’s website. Moreover, the esports division has noted that solutions and proposals from companies must be fully self-funded.

According to FIFAe, developing a new type of technology for FIFA esports events will help ‘enrich the viewer’s overall experience’ by showcasing how much pressure can be created in high-performance situations for an esports player. 

Moreover, the challenge aims to enhance the broadcast and viewing experiences of its football esports events, which FIFAe notes is goal three of FIFA’s Strategic Objectives of the Global Game 2023-2027.

Following its split from EA, the football governing body’s esports division has expanded into various games such as Football Manager, eFootball and Rocket League. This included hosting its FIFAe World Cup 2024 event in Rocket League last December. 

In November 2024, FIFA and game developer Mythical Games also unveiled FIFA Rivals, a new mobile football game set to come out later this year. Launching on Mythical’s platform, FIFA Rivals will be an arcade-style game that allows its players to build a football club.

The 2025 edition of the Madden Bowl is heading to London, marking the first time a Madden NFL 25 Championship Series (MCS) event has taken place outside of the United States.

The final for the largest tournament circuit of EA Sports‘ American football game franchise will see Jonathan ‘JonBeast‘ Marquez and Jacob ‘Fancy‘ Worthington clash on March 3rd, 2025.

The new date for the NFL 25 Madden Bowl was revealed after the final was delayed on February 8th due to server-wide issues with the PlayStation Network. Aside from announcing the event in London, exact details on the location haven’t been revealed.

JonBeast and Fancy qualified for the event through online competitions organised by tournament platform Challengermode.

In addition to the online competitions, Full Sail University hosted six regular season events from its dedicated esports arena.

The two players will compete for a share of $400,000 (~£315,128) in prize money. The winner will take home $250,000 (~£196,955) while the runner-up receives $150,000 (~£118,189).

“We’re looking forward to bringing our community a new and exciting experience from London with our first Madden NFL esports final,” commented Monica Dinsmore, Head of Esports at Electronic Arts (EA).

“It’s a great chance for our finalists to get the Championship moment they deserve while also celebrating the growing passion for American football on the world stage.”

The final will begin on March 3rd at 7 PM ET (midnight GMT) and will be broadcast on EA’s Madden Twitch and YouTube channels.

Viewers tuning into the action can earn Twitch drops by linking their EA and Twitch accounts.

Players can claim a Madden Ultimate Team player with a rating of 95 or higher. EA Sports says there are more rewards up for grabs but has yet to share details.

The Olympic Council of Asia has announced the games that will feature as part of the esports portion of the 2026 Nachi-nagoya Asian Games.

The esports part of the event will feature several titles spanning multiple genres including sim racing, MOBA, and battle royale

In total, players from across Asia will compete in eleven esports games with the aim of winning an official medal.

In 2023, the Council decided that esports would remain part of its flagship event which will hold its 20th edition in 2026.

The games that have been chosen to form part of the 2026 Nachi-nagoya Asian Games are as follows:

The decision to select these games was made by a dedicated title selection task force with three experts tasked with picking a variety of games across several genres.

The 19th edition of the Asian Games in 2023 saw esports events in EA Sports FC, Dota 2, and Arena of Valor take place. For 2026, the three titles have been replaced with eFootball, NARAKA: Bladepoint, Honor of Kings, Mobile Legends: Bang Bang and Puyo Puyo Champions.

To highlight the popularity of the Asian Games’ esports portion, Esports Charts noted that last edition’s League of Legends and Dota 2 events recorded peak viewing figures of 146,000 and 78,000, not including Chinese viewership.

Taking place in the Nagoya and Aichi Prefecture in Japan across September and October 2026, the 2026 Asian Games will be supported by the Asian Electronic Sports Federation, the esports governing body for the region.

The involvement of esports in Olympic projects has continued to grow in recent years.

In 2027, the International Olympic Committee will host the inaugural edition of the Olympic Esports Games in partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation, the organisers of the Esports World Cup.

On February 11th, 2025, it was revealed the Olympic Esports Games was pushed back from its initial year of 2025.

Williams Esports has set up four sim racing rigs available for fans to use at The O2 Arena’s ‘Virgin Media Gamepad’ in London.

According to Williams Racing’s esports division, the rigs will provide professional racers and newcomers with the opportunity to experience F1 racing free of charge all week.

The initiative coincides with the upcoming F1 75 Live season launch event, taking place today from  8pm GMT at The O2 Arena. For this year’s season kick-off, Formula 1 has invited all 10 teams to unveil their new car liveries in front of a live audience.

Compared to other esports disciplines, especially mobile titles, sim racing has a relatively high entry barrier due to the required specialised gaming equipment. In recent years, however, several stakeholders have made attempts to increase its accessibility, launching more sim racing opportunities.

Similarly, some stakeholders are promoting the inclusion of disabled and neurodiverse drivers, such as UK racing team Quartermass Motorsport with its Para Racers Academy.

With the eyes of many F1 fans on The O2 Arena, providing racing rigs to all launch event attendees could be an opportunity for Williams Esports to promote sim racing to racing and esports communities.

Its parent company, Williams Racing, has been a driving force in the sim racing world after becoming the first F1 team to establish its own esports team in 2018. Since then, the organisation has created a content creator ambassador programme as well as a Student Racing League.

Last year, Williams Esports also recorded major competitive successes. The team ended the 2024 eNASCAR Coca-Cola iRacing Series at the top of the team and individual driver leaderboards, with Williams driver Parker White becoming the Season champion.

The 2025 F1 Sim Racing World Championship is making its return with Event 2 later this month.

In total, 10 F1 esports teams will be racing across four rounds to earn crucial points for the championship. Ahead of the competition, here’s a brief guide to give you all the information you need for F1 esports’ Event 2.

Firstly, it is important to note what is at stake.

The winner of the 2025 F1 Sim Racing World Championship will take home $50,000 (~£40,361) in prize money.

An additional prize pool is given to the constructors’ championship, with the first-place team receiving $130,000 (~£104,939).

The second event of F1’s esports competition will follow a similar format to the first round. Taking place on February 11th-February 13th, the 10 teams will compete in races across four circuits (Silverstone, Spa-Franchorchamps, Zandvoort and Circuit of the Americas).

One round is hosted on the first and third day, with two rounds taking place on day two.

Each round will consist of a full qualifying session and a 50% distance Grand Prix. Unlike the traditional F1 teams, each team will field three drivers, meaning there are 30 participants in each race.

To account for the increased number of participants, the first qualifying session (Q1) will see the top 16 drivers with the best-timed lap enter Q2, and Q3 will have a top 10. For the race, pitstop, and compound change are compulsory.

On Day 1 and Day 3, qualifying will kick off at 5 pm GMT and will be followed by the race at 8 pm GMT. On Day 2, the first race will start at 2 pm and the second one at 8 pm.

The races will be broadcast live via the official F1 YouTube esports, Twitch, and Facebook channels, as well as the dedicated F1 Esports social media channels.

After the first four rounds in Event 1, Williams driver Ismael Fahssi is leading the driver championship with 65 points. Not only did he win the opening round in Australia, but the Spanish driver maintained good consistency in all the following races.

He is followed by Red Bull racing driver Jarno Opmeer on 57 points. The two-time champion won Round 2 and came second in the latest race (Round 4) on the Jeddah circuit. Aston Martin driver Otis Lawrence is third at 47, having just won the last round and becoming the youngest driver to win a race at the age of 16 and 9 months.

For the constructors’ championship, Mercedes leads the way at 87 points thanks to strong performances by its three drivers, followed by Williams Esports and Red Bull Sim Racing.

Esports has a vast ecosystem that spans across a variety of games, each with its own unique structures and calendars. As such, fans of multiple esports are treated to major tournaments and events throughout the entirety of the year.

To help navigate esports’ hectic calendar, Esports Insider has created a month-by-month list of events that are taking place in 2025. These competitions range from annual World Championships to major leagues that cover entire regions. 

This list will be updated periodically as more major esports events and dates are announced. First published: 13/01/25.

League of Legends and VALORANT kick off esports’ competitive calendar with their international respective leagues all commencing. However, the first month of 2025 also concludes Apex Legends’ latest season as the 2024 ALGS Championship heads to Japan.

February sees some of the best teams across Rainbow Six Siege, VALORANT and Counter-Strike 2 collide with the Six Invitational 2025, VALORANT Masters Bangkok 2025 and PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 all taking place, respectively. Meanwhile, Fortnite’s esports ecosystem takes centre stage across the world with its online Major 1 Grand Finals.

League of Legends’ esports ecosystem will debut its new tournament, First Stand, in March. Meanwhile, Capcom Cup 11, Street Fighter 6’s biggest event of the year, and Rocket League’s RLCS 2025 Birmingham Major stand out within a very busy month in esports.

Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 largely dominate April 2025, with the likes of PGL Bucharest, BLAST Rivals Spring 2025, IEM Spring, ESL One Raleigh and PGL Wallachia Season 4 all starting in the month. Call of Duty League’s Stage 3 Major and ESL Snapdragon Pro Series: Mobile Masters 2025 are other stand-out events in April.

Counter-Strike 2 continues to dominate the 2025 esports calendar with four significant events happening in May alone. Notably, this includes ESL Impact League Season 7, Counter-Strike 2’s women’s-only esports competition.

June is jam-packed with international events. VALORANT, Counter-Strike, Rocket League and League of Legends will host notable global competitions to find the best teams in their respective games at 2025’s mid-way point.

July marks the start of the 2025 Esports World Cup, a multi-title esports tournament in Saudi Arabia. As such, a range of major esports events will be scheduled throughout the month. As of right now, the biggest events announced are the PUBG Mobile World Cup 2025 and its new Chess competition.

Alongside the continuation of the Esports World Cup, August will see titles such as Pokemon UNITE and GeoGuessr conclude their respective esports ecosystems.

September sees various Counter-Strike 2 competitions commence, including the ESL Pro League and the StarLadder StarSeries. However, headlining this month is the RLCS 2025 World Championship, which has yet to reveal its location.

So far, very little has been announced for October. However, the 2025 League of Legends World Championship, one of esports’ biggest events of the year, is set to be held in China with PGL hosting another significant Counter-Strike 2 tournament in Serbia.

November sees the conclusion of PUBG Mobile’s esports ecosystem, whilst Rainbow Six, Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2 all host notable competitions.

Written by: Tom Daniels & Olivia Richman

The Rocket League World Championship and Fortnite Global Championship will take place in Lyon, France in 2025.

Both events — operated by tournament organiser BLAST — will occur across back-to-back weekends in September.

Fortnite’s season-ending event will be held from September 6th to 7th, 2025, at the LDLC Arena in Lyon. Rocket League’s largest tournament will take place a week later, from September 9th to 14th, 2025.

The 2025 Fortnite Global Championship will feature 33 teams competing for a share of a $2m (~£1.6m) prize pool. The qualification process requires teams to achieve high placements at its three Major competitions taking place throughout the year.

Rocket League’s World Championship sees 20 teams from around the world playing for its $1.2m (~£965,188) prize pool. France has seen plenty of success in the car football game with seven former world champions hailing from the country.

This is not the first time that BLAST has hosted FNCS (Fortnite Championship Series) and RLCS’ (Rocket League Champion Series) biggest events of the year in the same location. 2024’s tournaments took place at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Fortnite pair of Peter ‘Peterbot ‘ Kata and Miguel ‘Pollo’ Moreno claimed first place in 2024, securing £400,000 (~£321,900).

Last year’s Rocket League World Championship was won by Swiss esports organisation Team BDS which defeated G2 Esports in the Grand Finals to win $300,000 (~£241,419).

In recent years, France has expanded its involvement in hosting esports events after revealing plans to launch a national ecosystem in 2023.

Since then, the country has hosted a Counter-Strike Major in Paris and the LEC Season Finals in Montpellier.

In addition to Rocket League and Fortnite World Championships, 2025 will see the Evolution Championship Series (EVO) host an event in Nice in October, marking the first time the tournament organiser has hosted an EVO event in Europe. Moreover, VALORANT Champions 2025 will be hosted in Paris.

2025 is the first year that the RLCS is using a new format. The tournament circuit will consist of two major events, the addition of a one-versus-one format, and a $5m (~£4.02m) prize pool split across the entirety of the season.

Legendary Gaming Group (LGG), the parent company of esports organisation Team Singularity, has expanded into sim racing and expanded its ownership group.

Alongside the expansion, the esports-focused investment company will open a new headquarters in Parken Stadium, the home of Danish football club F.C. Copenhagen.

Founded in July 2024 by former Arsenal footballer Nicklas Bendtner, LGG’s recent expansion aims to position the company as a ‘future global leader’ within the gaming and esports industries.

Its expansion into sim racing involves acquiring a stake in the Scandinavian sim racing team Fyra SImsport. The Danish team has competed in several sim racing competitions, including the Le Mans Virtual Series.

In addition to its sim racing expansion, Legendary Gaming Group’s 450-square-metre facility at the Parken Stadium will act as the company’s headquarters. Called Legendary Arena Copenhagen, the venue will feature 38 gaming stations, sim racing rigs, a media studio and will act as the home for Denmark’s national esports team.

Moreover, the pace will be utilised for corporate events, product launches, boot camps, and professional training and educational esports programmes.

“Legendary Arena is where professionals play,” noted Legendary Gaming Group Co-founder Bendtner. “It’s a hub for talent, innovation, and community – all in the heart of Denmark’s premier stadium.”

Outside of esports, LGG has revealed former professional footballer Peter Ankersen has become the company’s latest member of its ownership group. According to the company, Ankersen’s involvement in LGG aligns with its mission to bridge the gap between traditional sports and esports.

In addition to acquiring a stake in Fyra Simsport and bolstering its ownership group, LGG also closed its pre-seed investment round. With backing from Saxo Bank founder Lars Seier Christensen, the funding will be used to execute strategies to continue the growth of LGG.

UK gaming and esports organisation Endpoint has partnered with TikTok to launch Endpoint Live, a new creator network designed to help live streamers grow their audience growth and strengthen monetisation.

As part of the Endpoint Live creator community, creators may keep 100% of the revenue earned on TikTok LIVE and gain access to guidance and growth opportunities. This includes 1:1 creator management, quarterly networking events and brand activations.

The initiative is divided into three tiers, providing additional benefits for committed members with a larger, more established following. For instance, tier-two creators may access Endpoint’s headquarters and studio, while tier-one streamers also receive career management support and the offer to become an Endpoint Group Ambassador.

“We are thrilled to announce the launch of Endpoint LIVE, our new creator network in partnership with TikTok,” said Endpoint Co-owner and COO Peter Thompson. “This platform is designed to empower creators by providing them with the tools, resources, and support needed to thrive on TikTok LIVE and as a creator.

“By leveraging our state-of-the-art facilities and the expertise of our dedicated staff, Endpoint is committed to adding real value to creators’ experiences. Our goal is to build a community where creators can grow together and unlock new opportunities.”

Endpoint’s existing creator team has already joined the new network. Moreover, the organisation has signed a group of Rocket League streamers to broadcast and compete in the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS), the game’s tier-1 league.

Creators of all sizes and experience levels are eligible to join as long as they are at least 18 years old and committed to streaming for at least 15 hours per month. Further details as well as the application form, can be found on the Endpoint Live webpage.

Founded in 2017, the Endpoint Group is a collection of UK-based gaming, esports, media and technology brands, such as creative agency Loadout Media and esports bootcamp facility provider Pracrooms. Last April, the organisation also launched a console repair service in the UK with its long-standing partner CeX, a second-hand electronics company.

Endpoint’s esports rosters currently compete in Counter-Strike 2, Quake and Rocket League, attending regional and global stages, including several ESL Premiership CS events as well as the Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) Fall Split Major during the 2021-22 season.