eSports
Formula 1 drivers line-up alongside footballing stars for Virtual Spanish Grand Prix
Formula 1 drivers Alex Albon, Antonio Giovinazzi, George Russell, Nicholas Latifi, Lando Norris and Charles Leclerc will be joined by football stars Sergio Aguero, Thibaut Courtois and Arthur Melo for this weekend’s Virtual Spanish Grand Prix.
Agüero, a four-time Premier League winner with Manchester City, will race for Aston Martin Red Bull Racing alongside Alex Albon, who won his first Virtual Grand Prix last weekend at Interlagos. The Argentinian forward will be putting his skills to the test against Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who returns for his second Virtual Grand Prix, this time for Alfa Romeo, and FC Barcelona’s Arthur Melo, who joins test driver Pietro Fittipaldi in representing the Haas F1 Team. Golfing icon, Ian Poulter, will make his third appearance for Renault, alongside F3 driver Max Fewtrell.
Sunday’s race will fall on the weekend originally scheduled for the Spanish Grand Prix and will take place at the virtual version of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on F1 2019, the official videogame developed by Codemasters. Drivers will join the race remotely, with a host broadcast live from the Gfinity Esports Arena from 6:00pm (BST) on Sunday May 10.
Last weekend’s Virtual Dutch Grand Prix reached 2.5 million views across F1’s digital platforms, meaning the four events so far have received a total 15.4m views on F1’s own channels. When combined with television estimates, 18.9m people have tuned in for the four races to date.
The broadcast will be available on the official Formula 1 YouTube, Twitch, Weibo, Huya and Facebook channels and is expected to run for 1 hour 30 minutes, with a qualifying period where grid positions will be determined based on the drivers’ fastest lap time, followed by a 33-lap race. The Virtual Grand Prix also be broadcast live with international broadcast partners in over 100 countries including in the UK on Sky Sports, in the US on ESPN, and FOX Sports Asia across Southeast Asia.
The F1 Esports Pro Exhibition race will precede the Virtual Grand Prix – and is set to begin at 5:00pm (BST). The broadcast will be available on the official Formula 1 YouTube, Twitch and Facebook channels as well as selected TV broadcasters and is expected to run for 1 hour. The Formula 2 Virtual Racing event, featuring F2 and F3 drivers, will also be live on the same channels from 4:00pm (BST).
Julian Tan, Head of Digital Business Initiatives and Esports said:
“This week sees one of the most exciting Virtual Grand Prix line-ups we’ve had so far and we are delighted to welcome some of the world’s biggest football stars to compete alongside drivers from the worlds of F1 and motorsport. Their desire to participate is a testament to the continued success and popularity of the F1 Esports Virtual Grands Prix and we are proud we can all stand together through racing to give sports fans a live spectacle to enjoy during these challenging times.”
eSports
Procedure to be followed by school clubs affiliating for the 2025 season
Mind Sports South Africa (MSSA), founded in 1984, is the national federation for Board games, Card games, Esports, and Wargames.
MSSA promotes all the different disciplines equally, although each school may pick-and-choose which discipline it wishes to promote at its school. Some schools will promote the whole gambit, while others will concentrate on only one discipline, and/or even just concentrate on one specific title.
The choice is ultimately up to the school.
MSSA has sent teams with full Protea Colours to international events since 1991 for wargames, 1996 for Morabaraba, 1997 for Checkers, and 2005 for Esports. Many members of the national teams have been scholars, and all have benefited from their involvement in the national Protea Team.
There is still the option open for a school to start a full-blown sub-club on its premises, but bearing in mind the tight regulatory conditions under which accredited schools have to operate in the Republic, the MSSA no longer deems it necessary for a school to start a sub-club.
As long as the school club has the approval of the school, and has an Educator-in-Charge, a school may affiliate by merely completing the Application for Affiliation Form and submitting such to MSSA.
Advantages of having a MSSA affiliated club: There are many advantages of having a MSSA affiliated club, such as:
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Being part of a community where your club has a real say in how things are done
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Being able to apply for National Lottery Funding – MSSA member clubs can apply for up to R800,000.00 in funding
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Being able to get assistance from your local government
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Experience increased media exposure of your events and your gamers
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Become part of the international community through the MSSA Registered players are able to become internationally recognised umpires, etc.
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Enable your gamers to take part in MSSA events, which may qualify them for Regional, Provincial, and National colours, overseas trips, and even sports bursaries at university.
- Private clubs: one vote per every five registered players, and
- School clubs: one vote per every ten registered players.
MSSA’s General Regulations
The General Regulations comprises of decisions made by both Council and Executive Committee Meetings. The General Regulations deals with how sub-committees operate as well as to how teams are selected and development funding is distributed. Please refer to Schedule 10.12 in regard to the rights of clubs in hosting events.
MSSA’s Discipline Specific Regulations
The Discipline Specific Regulations deal with rules concerning the different disciplines. The Disciplines that the MSSA caters for are; Board Gaming, Card gaming, Esports, and Figure Gaming.
When a club applies for membership, the applicant club must complete such form and return the same to the MSSA.Fee note for 2025
The fee note details the Affiliation Fees and Registration fees that are payable.
Player Registration Form
The Player Registration Form needs to be completed by every player that is a member of a club and intends to participate in MSSA affairs.
MSSA’s Letter of Undertaking
The Letter of Undertaking is for all registered players who sit on any MSSA committee.
Asia
Revenant Esports and Team XSpark Join Forces to Form Revenant XSpark, ScoutOP Revealed as Brand Ambassador
Revenant Esports and Team XSpark, two titans of Indian esports, have announced a strategic merger to create Revenant XSpark. This new super organization is set to redefine the esports landscape, combining the resources, expertise, and dedicated fan followings of both organizations.
United under the Revenant XSpark banner, the collaboration aims to compete in multiple popular esports titles, establish original community IPs, deliver engaging fan activations, drive innovative brand partnerships, and expand internationally.
As part of this joint venture, Revenant XSpark has introduced its BGMI lineup, featuring the lineup of Sarang, Spraygod, Shadow, and Joker, with Osmium serving as the team’s coach. These players recently captured back-to-back victories at the BGMI Pro Series and BGMI India Series, making them the only team in the history of the game to win two official BGMI LAN events.
In addition to its BGMI team, Revenant XSpark has been chosen as one of only 10 partnered organizations by The Pokémon Company to compete in the newly launched Pokémon UNITE ACL India League 2025. Fans can look forward to an exciting roster announcement soon.
ScoutOP Joins as Brand Ambassador, Expanding Revenant XSpark’s Reach
Tanmay “ScoutOP” Singh, a legend in the Indian gaming community with over 10 million followers on social media, has officially joined Revenant XSpark as its brand ambassador.
Scout was the mastermind behind the Team XSpark roster, mentoring and nurturing them to their historical back to back victories in BGMI esports. Now, as the ambassador for Revenant XSpark, Scout will bring his vast following, which not only covers India but also extends internationally, to the united brand.
Commenting on the partnership, Tanmay “ScoutOP” Singh, brand ambassador of Revenant XSpark said, “I’ve known Rohit for a while, and I’ve always been a fan of Revenant’s unique approach to content—it’s witty, filled with banter, but still subtle. It’s exactly the kind of vibe I wanted to bring to XSpark. Beyond that, our shared vision for expanding esports with multiple rosters across India and internationally made this partnership a perfect fit. Joining forces to take the Revenant XSpark name global was a no-brainer for me.”
Rohit Jagasia, Founder and CEO of Revenant Esports, commented, “Scout and I have a strong personal connection, and our brands, Revenant and XSpark, naturally share a similar fan base and values. This partnership feels like an organic next step. Scout’s holistic approach to content, spanning gaming and entertainment across multiple platforms, makes him the perfect ambassador for our brand as we aim to establish Revenant XSpark as India’s leading esports organization and expand our footprint globally.”
To celebrate this partnership, Revenant XSpark, including the BGMI team and ScoutOP, will host an exclusive meet-and-greet event in Mumbai in November, giving fans a chance to interact with their favorite players and ScoutOP himself. Stay tuned to Revenant XSpark’s social media handles for more information.
Revenant XSpark will also be working to build esports IPs. Recently, Revenant Esports also partnered with IPL team, Gujarat Titans, to bring BGMI Titans, an open-for-all esports tournament.
Additionally, Revenant Esports has a strong history within the Indian esports scene, having won the VALORANT Challengers 2024: South Asia – Split 2, to be the lone Indian team in the VCT Pacific Ascension. Furthermore, it is the only esports organization to represent India internationally in the Pokemon UNITE World Championship and the Brawl Stars World Finals.
Asia
NODWIN Gaming partners with Japanese gaming company KONAMI for ‘eFootball Diwali Showdown’
The ‘eFootball Diwali Showdown’, a special influencer tournament organised by NODWIN Gaming, a leader in new-age youth entertainment, gaming, and esports, and Konami Digital Entertainment Co., Ltd. (KONAMI), the leading video game developer and publisher from Japan culminated with S8UL Aman being crowned as the champion.
Eight of India’s prominent gaming personalities including Dreamboy, Yes Smarty Pie, Ezio18Rip, Sid, Senpai Spider, K18, Binks, and Aman, competed in both group stage and knockout formats.
In addition to the tournament, KONAMI has also announced special in-game rewards to celebrate Diwali with Indian gamers. Players will have the opportunity to log in to eFootball and earn exclusive Diwali-themed rewards.
This includes unique player packs featuring popular Indian football team stars, giving fans the opportunity to play with homegrown talent while celebrating the festival of lights. Alongside these packs, players can unlock special Diwali-themed jerseys, available only during this festive period.
Tournament participants K18, Senpai Spider, and Yes Smarty Pie will also be streaming the game extensively and hosting matches for fans on an integrated YouTube stream from their individual channels.
These Diwali-focused initiatives are a testament to KONAMI’s commitment to catering to India’s fast-growing mobile gaming market. As a free-to-play title, eFootball provides open access to casual as well as high-level competitive gaming, eliminating any financial and accessibility barriers for gamers from all backgrounds.
Recently, eFootball was selected by FIFA as an official title in the FIFAe World Cup, with India among the 18 countries invited to participate. Additionally, eFootball is also set to be featured in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s WAVES Esports Championship 2025 (WESC), further solidifying its relevance and appeal in India’s gaming landscape.
Earlier this year, Konami announced that eFootball has surpassed 700 million total downloads worldwide.
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