Blast has announced its debut arena event in mainland China with the Dota Slam Chengdu from December 5–7 at the Wuliangye Chengdu Performing Arts Centre.

The event will be delivered as part of a multi-year agreement with Chengdu Television and Media Company, with follow-up tournaments to be confirmed for in the future. Chengdu joins the Blast circuit of esports destinations for events this year that includes Rio, London, Lisbon, Austin, Boston, Singapore and Hong Kong.

“We are incredibly proud to bring Blast’s first ever event in mainland China to Chengdu,” said James Woollard, director of market development at Blast. “Entering the buoyant and growing Chinese esports and gaming space — one of our fastest growing viewership markets — is hugely important, and partnering with Chengdu Television and Media Company allows us to combine our global competitive entertainment pedigree with trusted local expertise to deliver something truly special. The Phoenix Mountain Sports Park Arena is a phenomenal venue,and we can’t wait to create landmark esports moments there this December as part of a multi-year partnership.”

Dota 2 teams will battle for a $1 million prize pool at the Wuliangye Chengdu Performing Arts Centre, a 12,000-seat venue. Chengdu is also set to host the 2025 League Of Legends World Championship Final in November and has hoted esports events dating to 2009.

“We are very glad to cooperate with Blast and bring a world-class esports experience to Chengdu,” said Zhou Wenwen, general manager of Chengdu Broadcasting Film and Television Group. “The Blast Slam is not only a competitive feast for fans all over the world, but also an important opportunity to showcase Chengdu as an international cultural, sports and entertainment destination.”

The Esports World Cup Foundation will organize the Esports Nations Cup, a new tournament where top esports players will compete to represent their countries. The event will be hosted every two years, with the first edition planned for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in November 2026. The event is then expected to rotate to different host cities around the world.

“Nation versus nation competition is the ultimate expression of sport,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation. “The ENC makes this a reality for esports, giving every fan a flag to rally behind and every player the pride of representing their country. It’s a stage to create heroes, inspire the next generation, and, together with our partners and stakeholders, build the national ecosystems that will accelerate the growth of esports worldwide.”

The inaugural edition will be co-developed with several of the industry’s major publishers and video game companies — Electronic Arts, Krafton, Tencent and Ubisoft — who are expected to offer competition in their various game titles. Each one is expected to shape their game’s national ranking systems, qualification pathways and event formats.

The format will feature national teams from North America, South America, Europe, MENA, Africa, Asia and SEA & Oceania, competing in team-based and solo-player formats. The qualification model is expected to combine global rankings, regional qualifiers and wildcard entries, including solidarity placements, to ensure a broad and representative competitive stage in every game. All players will receive guaranteed prize money, with equal placement rewards across all games.

Blast has announced a multi-year partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board to host four arena esports events in Singapore over the coming years following the sellout of the Blast Premier World Final in 2024.

“Blast has major global ambitions as a leader in esports and competitive entertainment and we are delighted to expand our partnership with Singapore,” said Blast Chief Business Officer Leo Matlock. “We are incredibly excited to be making a long-term commitment to the region through this new partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board. Singapore is already recognised as a hub for international sports and entertainment — this partnership will help ensure it becomes a leading destination in the global esports calendar, and is one of our biggest commitments to a market.”

Blast is set to return to Singapore in November for the Dota Slam Singapore, the company’s first-ever Dota 2 arena event with a $1 million prize pool. Singapore joins a global calendar that includes London, Lyon, Austin, Hong Kong and Rio.

“Following the success of last year’s Blast Premier World Final, we are delighted to forge this new multi-year partnership with Blast that anchors a regular pipeline of esports events in Singapore and strengthens our position as Asia’s leading esports and entertainment hub” said Jean Ng, assistant chief executive, experience development group at the Singapore Tourism Board. “Large-scale international esports events create significant opportunities for our tourism ecosystem, benefiting local businesses and growing the local events and esports industries. We look forward to welcoming players and fans from around the world to Singapore this November and in the years ahead, where they can experience our vibrant culture and diverse offerings beyond the arena.”

Saudia has announced the signing of a partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation, becoming the Official Airline Partner of the tournament that is currently taking place in Riyadh.

“This partnership with Saudia is a key pillar in connecting esports fans and professionals to the Kingdom and in strengthening the international profile of the tournament,” said Mohammed Al-Nimer, chief commercial officer at the Esports World Cup Foundation. “It reflects the Kingdom’s ambition to become a global hub for major esports.”

The second edition of the global tournament started July 7 at Boulevard City and will host 25 tournaments across 24 game titles with a prize pool of over $70 million. The agreement was signed virtually using an interactive digital platform.

“Saudia is proud to be the Official Airline Partner of the Esports World Cup 2025, an event that underscores the Kingdom’s rise as a global hub for world-class sporting events,” said Khaled Tash, group chief marketing officer at Saudia. “This partnership reflects our ongoing commitment to supporting national initiatives that drive tourism growth and promote the development of sports tourism. We are leveraging our expertise and capabilities to deliver a seamless and elevated travel experience for tournament guests that embodies the quality of our services, the warmth of Saudi hospitality, and the Kingdom’s global appeal.”

Global esports company Blast has announced the appointment of Charlie Cowdrey as chief executive officer of JioBlast, the recently announced joint venture between Blast and Rise, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited.

Cowdrey has held multiple senior leadership roles at Blast over the last four years, including chief of staff and most recently program director for Epic Games, where he played a role in managing one of Blast’s publisher relationships and competitive titles in Rocket League and Fortnite Competitive.

“I’m incredibly honored and excited to take this role in spearheading JioBlast,” Cowdrey said. “We will be focused on bringing together Jio’s unrivaled reach, Rise’s commercial prowess and Blast’s esports expertise and global publisher relationships. Bringing this all together, there is no doubt that JioBlast will supercharge the Indian esports industry. India is one of the most vibrant and promising gaming markets in the world, and working alongside Jio offers us a unique opportunity to build something extraordinary.”

As part of the appointment, Cowdrey will relocate to Mumbai from London in September to lead the joint venture’s Indian operations, marking a major milestone in the company’s global expansion into India. The joint venture with Rise will bring Blast’s production expertise and international tournament IPs to India while building localized formats, mobile esports offerings and fan engagement initiatives through JioGames.

“Charlie has been a key figure behind Blast’s growth and publisher operations over the past few years,” said Robbie Douek, chief executive officer of Blast. “He is a trusted leader who understands our culture, our partners and our ambitions. India represents an enormous opportunity for Blast and we believe Charlie is the perfect person to take this vision forward. We’re proud to have someone of his caliber opening this important new chapter for us alongside our partners at Reliance and Rise.”

British Esports has been given approval for its flagship Gaming and Esports Arena, a 15,000-square-foot arena alongside the National Esports Performance Campus in Sunderland which is set to open in early 2026.

The first of its kind esports arena in Europe will become a training and education hub. It will be equipped with a 200-seat theatre, a 17m-wide LED screen, broadcast, content and editing studios, retail and hospitality, performance rooms and an outdoor activation space.

“This is our St George’s Park for esports, a national home with world-class performance spaces that will help train the next generation of esports talent and help grow the region to be a key leader in esports in the UK,” said Andy Payne OBE, the chair of British Esports. “The arena completes a multi-year vision to develop a campus that’s built to develop esports athletes, deliver first-class events, and support entrepreneurs and creators.

“This significant development marks another crucial step forward in British Esports’ mission to champion grassroots esports development and elite athlete performance across the nation and globally. It will help generate new jobs and drive economic prosperity for the North East, forming a key part of the expansive Riverside Sunderland initiative.”

The Gaming and Esports Arena will sit alongside the National Esports Performance Campus, which opened in 2023. Work begins on the arena in September. The arena will be a multi-use venue available for private bookings, events, games industry and esports community events, national competitions and more.

“We are thrilled to see work progressing on the development of British Esports’ Gaming and Esports Arena at Riverside Sunderland, which is held up as one of the most ambitious regeneration schemes in the UK right now,” said Michael Mordley, leader of Sunderland City Council. “It is a game-changing development which will cement Sunderland’s reputation as the home of esports in the UK, while providing a major boost to the regional economy, creating high skilled jobs for local people and attracting visitors from across the globe to our transforming city.”

The 2025 EsportsTravel Summit in Bloomington, Minnesota, provided educational programming that gave insight into the health and trajectory of the esports industry.

The event, hosted by Bloomington Minnesota Travel and Tourism, took place at the JW Marriott at Mall of America. The opening session titled “The State of In-Person Esports Events” discussed how esports events are evolving from the professional ranks to the grassroots.

Economic pressures have posed recent challenges for parts of the esports events industry but also provided new opportunities, as growth remains steady at the collegiate and amateur levels. In this opening discussion, the panelists included Jaycee Dubyuh, founder of The Telligent Agency; Jake Utities, head of esports at Fenworks; and Matt Basta, director of DKC Esports.

Basta said the main word he would use to describe the current state of the esports industry is recalibration.

“We were at the peak of excitement during the pandemic, but then we had some esports teams that didn’t deliver what they were supposed to. So now, we are recalibrating as an industry,” Basta said. “There’s a lot of positive, forward progress in the industry. It’s a young sport that’s still becoming a business, and we have to build it carefully and strategically. The NFL was founded in 1920 and the NBA was founded in 1949. So our industry is still very young.”

Utities works predominately in the high school esports space and points out that the benefits of academic esports are the same as any after school program. Collegiate esports are experiencing a period of explosive growth, which has led to colleges and universities offering scholarships, giving students new pathways to college that they’ve never had before.

“Overwatch is just like hockey — you have your team and you have your friends, and you see the ways that students can grow through esports,” Utities said. “They’re learning things like marketing and social media. It’s not just about economic impact, but also social impact in your community when you host an esports event.”

“A lot of colleges and universities are looking at esports as not only a recruiting tool, but a retention tool on their campuses,” Basta added. “They can develop a community on campus and invite high school players to come to campus as well and get them interested in attending that college.”

Dubyuh brings esports events to many destinations and says the key to hosting a successful event is to make sure participants leave with a smile.

“You want everybody involved in your event to leave with a positive experience. These events have now become mainstream and can take us from playing in our basement to the consumer market,” Dubyuh said. “You don’t have to restrict it to a ballroom — you can have players experience a destination overall and not just be gaming the entire time. And once players enjoy your event, they put it into their budget and want to attend every year. Organizers need to think of what’s uncommon and work with a destination to put on an event that’s an outlier.”

All three panelists agreed the future of esports is in a strong position, but there’s room for improvement.

“We need to figure out a new revenue structure for esports, but the future is very bright,” Utities said.

“Organizers need to do a better job of getting out there and promoting their event. And be willing to go to different cities. But overall, the industry is growing,” Basta added.

“Esports is in a place of transition, but we’re starting to see which parts of the industry are strongest,” Dubyuh said. “There are a lot of amazing organizers in this room today, and we can approach this with a vision and structure. Playing and winning isn’t the end of the road for esports players. They learn so many lessons as they play that set them up for life.”

Education Sessions

Attendees were able to experience a variety of educational programming throughout the two days at the Mall of America. Members of the esports community and the destinations that host their events were able to give updates on the industry.

• The session “E-chat: The Latest Research in Esports-Related Travel” featured Tyler Othen, project manager at Conventions, Sports and Leisure International giving insight into what esports fans want. CSL has been surveying esports fans on their preferences and their willingness to travel for years, and this session dove into those insights.
• “Professional Case Study: Fortnite and Rocket League” provided an inside look at a wild two weeks in Fort Worth in 2024. James Woollard, director of market development and consumer revenue at Blast, was joined by Cassie Poss, interim executive director at the Fort Worth Sports Commission, to discuss two consecutive weekends that the city’s Dickies Arena hosted the Fortnite World Championships followed by the Rocket League World Championships.
• The session “E-Chat: What Your Events Can Learn from the Mayo Clinic” featured Jane Konidis, founder of the Gaming & Esports Medicine Clinic at the Mayo Clinic. Konidis discussed how the most prestigious medical organization in the world is investing in the industry to help esports organizations train their players and ensure that their health and wellness needs are met.
• The session “Case Study: Positioning Your Region to Host Multiple World Championships” included Todd Harris, CEO of Resurgens Gaming, and Timothy Ray, sports sales manager at Cobb Travel & Tourism and Cobb Sports Alliance. The duo explained how their partnership in Georgia has been beneficial for both the esports brands and the destination that hosts major events.
• The panel for “Collegiate Case Study: Midwest Battleground” included Igor Bakovic, director of sports at the DuPage Sports Commission; Joey Gawrysiak, executive director of esports at Syracuse University; and David White, project manager at LANFest. Earlier this year, the second Midwest Battleground was held in DuPage, attracting more than 40 college teams in an event that also included a high school and grassroots component. This session provided a road map of how the destination launched the event, lessons learned, challenges faced and what a destination needs to know about launching an esports event.
• The closing luncheon “Merging Esports and Traditional Sports” featured Adam Mierzejewski, head of operations at Rally Cry, talking about the Championship Tour, which saw the company activate a mobile gaming truck and travel to high-profile college football games last season. Mierzejewski discussed how a destination can think about activating esports at sporting events that are already being hosted.

Bloomington, Minnesota, is a shining example of what a destination can do with their own unique assets when it comes to esports.

From successful activations at the Mall of America to a grassroots gaming festival that attracts visitors from around the word, Bloomington has leaned into its civic treasures to plant a flag in the industry, panelists described during the spotlight session at this year’s EsportsTravel Summit at the Mall of America.

Bloomington (Minnesota) Travel and Tourism started an esports grant program in 2015, said Destination Sales Director Todd Lehrke, to market, promote and help event organizers bring their events to town. Grants start at $2,500 and Lehrke says they have proven to be popular.

“We take every event on a case-by-case basis,” he said. “We’re happy to support these events with activations really starting at the airport, however we can grow and support the event is always the goal.”

Another thing Bloomington does is work to partner esports with its traditional sports events whenever possible. The destination will be hosting the Special Olympics USA Games in June 2026 and the region will host the IIHF World Junior Championships that start December 26, 2025, and last through early January 2026.

“One other thing we’ve done is activating esports events at our traditional sports events, hockey and basketball youth sporting events at destination,” Lehrke said. “It’s been really nice to enhance those events and tie in the esport component with that. … It’s great to get everybody coming into the destination and to promote and benefit the Mall of America.”

One activation the Mall of America did was a Mt. Drew AMP Game Fuel esports lounge for nearly a month in 2019. The lounge was set up in an unused space at the Mall and gave people the opportunity to try the drink as well as compete in games.

“We’re always trying to do events that are fun and entertaining for people,” said Kevin Robb, director of corporate partnerships for the Mall of America. “Having really cool events is what we’re about. Esports works hand in hand with what we do.”

Robb says the Mall’s Rotunda area is a natural place for esports events to be held and it connects those who come for esports with those who are walking around the Mall on a given day and are intrigued by it.

“We’re big on connecting our built-in traffic with the brands or the gaming event,” Robb said. “You’re going to reach a lot of people who don’t even know if they’re at a gaming event.”

The esports industry does continue to grow, as shown by Tyler Othen’s presentation of CSL’s analysis of the market. He said Tuesday that there were 430 events in 2034, nearly double the 234 events held in 2018.

CSL also highlighted 10 in-person, U.S.-based esports events in 2023 and split them into two categories, grassroots and world/large event. The world/large event numbers averaged 12,360 in attendance with around a third visiting a destination through an airport and 45% coming from more than 250 miles away. For grassroots and smaller events, the average in-person attendance was 7,500 with 18% visiting from more than 250 miles away.

2D Con is a Bloomington-based event organizer that has grown in scale over the years and has done 50 tournaments per year currently, utilizing venues around the region.

“It’s one of the best areas to try and get tourists to an esports area,” said Joe Opsahl, president and founder of 2D Con. “It’s a very wonderful place to have events at. When we started doing events we started in Bloomington. We’ve always been kind of Bloomington born and Bloomington based. This city is perfect for events.”

“You can do esports events anywhere, you can do gaming anywhere,” added Kiki Snell, 2D Con’s chief marketing officer.

Blast has announced a three-year partnership with GamingMalta, an independent non-profit foundation set up by the government of Malta, with Blast debuting in Malta with the BLAST Premier Bounty S2 in August.

“Our partnership with GamingMalta makes a major milestone for BLAST having secured a multi year partnership to elevate esports and gaming in Malta,” said Robbie Douek, chief executive officer of Blast. “We are excited to bring live output, a new studio and competitive entertainment to the island.”

The partnership will initially host nine major international esports tournaments in Malta, including the Blast Premier and Blast Slam circuits. In addition to these headline events, Blast will establish a permanent esports broadcasting facility on the island.

“This partnership with Blast aligns perfectly with the Government of Malta’s Vision 2050, which places digital innovation, youth engagement and the creative economy at the heart of our national strategy,” said Silvio Schembri, Minister for the Economy, Enterprise & Strategic Projects for Malta. “It reflects our ongoing commitment to positioning Malta as a hub for future-facing industries, while also creating real opportunities for our young people through education, careers, and international exposure.”

As part of the collaboration, GamingMalta will benefit from global visibility across all Blast Premier and Blast Slam broadcasts. Blast will support GamingMalta’s mission by investing in local esports initiatives to position Malta as a global esports destination.

“At GamingMalta, we are committed to nurturing every level of the gaming ecosystem — from grassroots to global,” said Ivan Filletti, chief executive officer of GamingMalta. “This multi-year partnership with Blast is a bold step forward in our relentless journey to continue establishing Malta as a world-class esports hub. We will continue to champion our ‘Home of Gaming Excellence’ vision by delivering top-tier events and creating new opportunities for the next generation of esports talent.”