Middlesbrough Foundation set to benefit as principal partner Kindred donates front-of-shirt sponsorship in support of life-changing work across Teesside

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It doesn’t matter whether you’ve been naughty or nice this year because Booming Games is delivering the perfect Christmas gift for everyone: the shiny, new Holly Jolly Cash Pig.

Luxury is everywhere you look on this 5×4, 30-payline slot. The reels are rich with all the shiny, sparkly things you could ever dream of – gold rings, expensive watches, sports cars and even private jets.

The Piggy Bank feature triggers popular Cash Collect mechanics. Land value symbols and a collect symbol in the base game, and you’ll be collecting coins with multipliers of up to 50x your bet. It’s like Christmas has come early!

You’ll want to trigger the Free Spins feature by landing 3 scatters on reels 1, 3 and 5. This festive feature will gift you 12 spins plus an extra six if you land three scatters in-game.

In Free Spins, any win triggers the cascade. Minor symbols in the win get eliminated until the end of the bonus, while Major symbols get boosted and pay double. This makes for the clear win potential exposure, as well as he chases to eliminate the Minors as soon as possible and boost the Majors so each cascade can bring a double win!

As with all of the provider’s titles, Holly Jolly Cash Pig has been certified for launch in core regulated markets, including the UK, Sweden and all Malta jurisdictions.

Nemanja Živić, Director of Games at Booming Games, said: “Tis the season for slots and Holly Jolly Cash Pig is the perfect gift to keep you warm this winter – a game rich with fun, features and festivities. Merry Christmas from Booming Games!”

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The 16th World Esports Championship (WEC), held from November 11 to 19, once again proved Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) as one of the standout titles of IESF competitions. Both the Open and Women’s categories delivered exceptional competition; with live audiences and online viewership worldwide, this year’s tournaments stood as one of the most-watched MLBB tournaments of the year.

The MLBB Open tournament delivered one of the most exciting playoffs in WEC history. For the third consecutive year, a new champion was crowned, as Malaysia triumphed in dominant fashion. In a great run, Malaysia stunned the MLBB giants by defeating Indonesia, the 2022 champion, in the semifinals and then the Philippines, the 2023 champion, in a thrilling final.

• Gold: Malaysia

• Silver: Philippines

• Bronze: Indonesia

The tournament reached a peak viewership of 613k, making it one of the most-watched MLBB Open tournaments in WEC history.

A Historic Year for Women in Esports

The debut of the MLBB Women’s Tournament marked a new milestone for the World Esports Championship. Teams from across the world displayed extraordinary talent and competitiveness, with Indonesia, the pre-tournament favorite, securing the first-ever MLBB Women’s World Esports Championship title.

• Gold: Indonesia

• Silver: Cambodia

• Bronze: Egypt

The Women’s tournament reached a peak viewership of 258k, presenting the growing interest in women’s Esports. This debut exceeded all expectations and set the stage for more successful tournaments in the future, proving the Women’s category deserves its rightful place on the biggest stage.

Record-Breaking Prize Pool

This year’s tournaments also had the largest prize pool in MLBB history throughout WEC, totaling $280,000 across both categories:

• $160,000 for the MLBB Open Tournament

• $120,000 for the MLBB Women’s Tournament

The success of this year’s MLBB tournaments is a result of the strong partnership between IESF and MOONTON Games. Together, we have elevated MLBB into one of the most iconic and recognizable elements of the World Esports Championship.

“We are proud to have delivered such an impactful and pleasant MLBB experience for our fans and athletes. The incredible performances and viewership this year reaffirm our goal to growing MLBB’s presence on the international Esports stage,” said Igor Nedeski, IESF’s Esports Manager.

Ray Ng, Head of Ecosystem at MOONTON Games, said: “Congratulations to the whole IESF team for another great event that achieves a new milestone together with MLBB. We share the same beliefs of excellence and inclusion and are excited to build on this momentum to create even more unforgettable moments for MLBB fans around the world.”

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To better serve clients in the target Asian region, GR8 Tech has expanded its technical infrastructure with new, automated server setups. The upgrade enables rapid platform deployment across markets, delivering optimized, high-performance experiences for Asian users with 99,96% uptime even during top sporting events such as the World Cup or IPL.

“Our expansion into Asia is not merely a strategic move, but an opportunity to set a new standard in iGaming. The initiative allows us to better meet client needs, providing reliable performance that builds trust and boosts engagement,” said Yevhen Krazhan, CBDO at GR8 Tech.

Previously, product load times in Asia were hindered by reliance on centralized servers in Frankfurt, leading to delays that affected user experience. In response, GR8 Tech deployed the platform’s main frontend as a standalone solution and established a new data center in Asia, which has significantly reduced load times and enhanced service delivery to clients across the region. As a result, web performance metrics have improved by 25% in the region.

To further enhance performance, GR8 Tech selected an optimal content delivery management provider to bring services closer to clients and improve access speed. The platform also implemented front-end optimizations to boost operational efficiency. The migration will continue with backend infrastructure improvements, reducing the number of frontend-to-backend calls and further enhancing service reliability and speed.

“The migration to Asia is a pivotal project for GR8 Tech, with our SRE, Sportsbook, and Platform teams working closely to deploy the solution, achieving significant improvements in web performance and enabling faster market launches. The project embodies the kind of collaboration that excites us – harnessing our combined strengths to build high-performance infrastructure and establish our leadership in key Asian markets,” said Artur Ashyrov, CTO and Deputy CEO at GR8 Tech.