Riot Games Announces VALORANT Esports EMEA Partnership With Unilumin

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The veteran offlaner and captain will serve as the cornerstone for Tundra Esports’ Performance Management Team

Tundra Esports is delighted to announce the addition of Ludwig ‘Zai’ Wahlberg to its Dota 2 Performance Management Team, taking on the role of General Manager.

A household name in the competitive scene to both fans and peers alike, Wahlberg brings over tens years of experience, numerous championships and four top-three finishes at The International to the Tundra Esports tribe. Alongside his impressive tenures on some of the highest profile rosters in Dota’s history, he retains the impressive record of a 66.6% win rate across his 2,000+ game career; the highest of all pro Dota players*. For someone with such an intimate relationship with success in Dota 2, Wahlberg is expected to bring about a new level of excellence to the team’s management style and gameplay.

*With more than 200 pro matches played

Wahlberg’s addition further cements Tundra Esports’ commitment to growing and evolving its performance management team and the move marks a significant milestone for the organisation’s continued journey towards competitive success in the world of Dota 2.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Ludwig ‘Zai’ Wahlberg to Tundra Esports as the Dota 2 General Manager and support his journey into management after his illustrious playing career,” the co-founder and Esports Director for Tundra Esports, Anthony Graham, said. “We are doubling down on our approach to Dota and I don’t think there is a better person to lead our Dota operations going forward than Wahlberg.”

Wahlberg joins the already star-studded 2024 Tundra Esports Dota roster, consisting of:

1 – Ivan ‘Pure-‘ Moskalenko
2 – Topias ‘Topson’ Taavitsainen
3 – Ivan ‘MinD_ContRoL’ Ivanov
4 – Edgar ‘9Class’ Naltakian
5 – Matthew ‘Whitemon’ Filemon

“After an extensive break from the game, I’m very excited to be involved with Dota again but in a different capacity,” Wahlberg said. “I’m looking forward to stepping into a new role as General Manager for Tundra Esports and to use my previous experiences and insights as a player to manage and influence its Dota division.”

Fans will get to witness his impact on the team’s performance first-hand in its upcoming match against The International 12 champions Team Spirit this Sunday at DreamLeague Season 22.

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Esports is raising its position among top sports by bets in 2023. The product team of the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, a top sports betting software provider, reflects on the past year.

Esports Unstoppable Rise

Over the past three years, the top three sports by bets remain unchanged, with football, tennis and basketball maintaining their leadership. In contrast, esports has demonstrated a consistent upward trend, progressing from the seventh position in 2021 to the fourth in 2023. Notably, Counter-Strike stands out, claiming the sixth position among the top ten disciplines by the number of bets.

Alexander Kamenetskyi, Head of SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, comments: “Considering the rise of esports, we guide our partners to focus on cyber disciplines, engaging audiences beyond traditional betting demographics. Highlighting the cybersports potential for operators, Newzoo’s report projects 640 million viewers by 2025.”

Mobiles Drive 92% of Operator GGR

Another notable trend in sports betting, which has remained unchanged for several years, is the consistent growth in bets made from mobile devices. According to the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook, 80% of bets in 2023 were placed via mobile versus 70% in 2022 and 68% in 2021. This trend solidifies as players increasingly opt for mobile convenience, especially in live betting scenarios. More importantly, it was mobile devices that contributed 92% to the operators’ GGR.

Kamenetskyi adds: “Mobile betting is one of our main focuses in product development. We put much effort into improving our mobile application and mobile website. It is specifically important for locations facing challenges with internet connectivity and regions like LatAm and Africa where internet coverage is still growing.”

Casino Turnover Drops During Major Sports Events

The SOFTSWISS Sportsbook team has repeatedly emphasised shifts in player behaviour around major sports events. Specifically, there was a 10–20% drop in online casino turnover, coinciding with the World Cup 2022. This highlights a dynamic wherein a significant portion of casino players redirect their focus towards sports betting based on seasonal patterns. Considering audience preferences, reinforcing casinos with sportsbooks is a logical step.

Kamenetskyi adds: “This pattern underscores the strategic imperative for iGaming stakeholders to recognise the synergistic relationship between casino ventures and sportsbooks. Combining these options not only enhances casino appeal but also maintains player engagement, especially during sports events. In this context, it is worth mentioning that the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook is compatible with any casino platform on the market.”

Additionally, the SOFTSWISS Sportsbook team notes the strengthening of other trends like regulation and responsible gambling that have recently been highlighted in the iGaming Trends 2024 report by SOFTSWISS. The SOFTSWISS Sportsbook team will be glad to discuss all learnings during the first SBC Summit Rio at the stand D360.

About SOFTSWISS 

SOFTSWISS is an international tech company supplying software solutions for managing iGaming projects. The expert team, which counts over 2,000 employees, is based in Malta, Poland and Georgia. SOFTSWISS holds a number of gaming licences and provides one-stop-shop iGaming software solutions. The company has a vast product portfolio, including the Online Casino Platform, the Game Aggregator with thousands of casino games, the Affilka affiliate platform, the Sportsbook Platform and the Jackpot Aggregator. In 2013, SOFTSWISS was the first in the world to introduce a Bitcoin-optimised online casino solution.

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UNIVERSITY Esports Masters (UE Masters) announces the launch of Season 2024, featuring competitive gaming tournaments for university students across Europe. The season includes tournaments in League of Legends, VALORANT, Rocket League, Teamfight Tactics, and Clash Royale.  

UNIVERSITY Esports Masters is the international competition for university students, where students from all over Europe compete for the title of European University Champion. The 2024 edition will be the 8th season of the competition, and will have a total prize pool of €14,000.  

More than just an esports competition

The main goals of UEMasters are to foster a sense of community among players across Europe, give them the opportunity to compete in high quality international tournaments and provide opportunities to the next generation to take esports further.

In addition to supporting players in a potential career as esports players, the event is an opportunity for many students to take paid organisation and broadcast roles – both on camera and behind the scenes. This presents the next generation of grassroots talent, not just players, with valuable chances to get their first professional experience in the burgeoning esports industry.

How can UK students qualify?

Open Tournaments

The single player games included in UEMasters – Teamfight Tactics and Clash Royale – are now open to students to sign up. To participate, students must be enrolled in universities registered with the associated national competitions (in the UK, this competition is UNIVERSITY Esports), and not be professional players.  

Registration is open until March 6th, and interested players can register via the following links:

Teamfight Tactics: https://uemasters.com/competition/tournament/university-esports-masters-2024-teamfight-tactics

The Teamfight Tactics competition will take place on March 9th and 10th, distributing a prize pool of €550 among its top players. The Clash Royale tournament will be held on March 16th and 17th, with a prize pool of €350 for the top players.

Team-Based Games

Teams will be formed from each country’s national qualifiers, allowing students to represent their country in the competition and vie for the European Champion title.

The teams representing Great Britain in League of Legends, VALORANT, and Rocket League  will be the winners of the Spring seasons of UNIVERSITY Esports, a competition organised in the UK by NUEL, and the British University Esports Championship, organised by NSE.

Teams from universities in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are not able to qualify through UK competitions, but instead can qualify for UEM through the Ireland Collegiate Esports Series.

Rocket League

The dates for the Rocket League tournament are as follows: the Swiss Round will take place on May 4th and 5th, followed by the Playoffs and Final on May 11th and 12th. The prize pool for the top teams totals €2,100.

League of Legends and VALORANT

For the League of Legends competition, the Swiss Round is scheduled for April 20th and 21st, followed by the Playoffs on May 18th and 19th.