Trent Murray
- Strategy Lead, Vortex Games
North Carolina
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Articles by Trent Murray
Plans for 25,000-seat London Colosseum to host esports events
Plans for a new 25,000-seat ‘London Colosseum’ venue have this week been revealed by a business consortium. If it goes ahead, the arena will be housed at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, East London. This is also where the existing Copperbox Arena is situated, a venue that has hosted esports events for years, including Apex Legends ALGS, Rocket League RLCS and League of Legends MSI events, as well as the upcoming VALORANT Masters London in June 2026.
The End of the Pointless Olympic Esports Saga?
Virtually any sport would be devastated to hear that it’d been quietly put aside by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). But when first reported by the Japanese site Kyodo News, the esports community largely responded to this U-turn with apathy. While presented as little more than a sudden structural shift by incumbent president Kirsty Coventry (who favors established sports), it is a perfect cap to almost a decade of painful flip-flopping.
New industry panel forms to help UK Government ‘get esports right’
UK games industry trade body Ukie has today announced the members of its UK Esports Advisory Panel, designed to bridge the sector with government.
UK gamers’ spend on streaming and game culture up 42%
UK consumers are spending more money on video games and the cultures surrounding them, including streaming subscriptions, donations and movies. They spent £66m on watching games, streaming and video content in 2025, an 8.3% increase from the £61m spent in 2024. This contributed to a total of £566m spent on game culture in the UK in 2025, a 42% year-on-year increase from £397m in 2024.
G2 Esports Selects Skin.Club as CS2 Skin Partner
Berlin-based esports organization G2 Esports has announced a new partnership with Skin.Club. The Counter-strike platform will serve as G2’s official skin partner for Counter-Strike 2. The partnership will include logo placement on G2’s CS2 team jerseys, content collaboration, and “live experiences”. “Partnering with Skin.Club marks an exciting step forward for our G2 CS team,” said G2 Esports CEO Alban Dechelotte in a release.
Huge Changes Coming to VCT in 2027
Riot Games has announced a suite of changes to the Valorant ecosystem coming in 2027. The franchise league-structured esport will move to a tournament-based system, opening the game’s ecosystem for the first time in years. According to the announcement, teams will first compete in open qualifier events to advance to regional tournaments that replace the current league play structure.
USA Esports President Sees Olympic Recognition as “North Star”
In late March, a cavalcade of flag bearers was unveiled as the first batch of Esports Nations Cup (ENC) partners. The contrast was stark: some countries will be represented by actual government branches, while others will have a single, presumably right person for the job. For the United States, one of the largest and most influential esports territories, the chosen organization was almost unheard of.
Former NLC operator Leagues ApS shuts down
Leagues ApS, the esports tournament operator that ran the UK and Nordics Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC), is shutting down, senior sources have confirmed to The Esports Advocate. The Danish company, which operated esports platform Leagues.gg and media subsidiary Leagues Media, recently told Riot Games it is ‘no longer in a position to run’ the NLC.
GRID Teams With NAVER to Bring LoL Esports Data to CHZZK Platform
South Korean tech company NAVER has announced a partnership with esports data platform GRID to integrate real-time League of Legends match data into the former’s livestreaming platform CHZZK. The partnership will kick off on April 1 with the start of the LCK season.
Fnatic, The FA and others to represent GB as ENC announces 100+ partner nations
Several esports entities in the UK have joined forces to represent Great Britain at the inaugural Esports Nations Cup. London-headquartered esports organization Fnatic has teamed up with The English Football Association (FA) via England Gaming, the British Esports Federation, Esports Wales, Scottish Esports and the UK Esports Team Committee (UKETC) to form a collective National Team Partner.
USA Esports Named ENC National Team Partner
USA Esports has been selected to build and send national teams representing the United States to the inaugural Esports Nations Cup (ENC) later this year in Riyadh. Their esports director, Daniel Clerke, has also been named the U.S. national team manager and will lead the team selection process.
DreamHack Birmingham Announces Samsung as Official Partner, Outlines Full Esports Line-Up
DreamHack Birmingham 2026 has announced Samsung as an official partner for the event and the esports tournaments running there. The event, taking place March 27 – 29 at the Birmingham NEC, will feature a Galaxy Café bespoke activation hub designed ‘to blend world-class mobile gaming with a premium festival atmosphere’. This booth will feature new Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra mobile devices and Samsung TVs for attendees to try, along with a variety of community competitions.
Esports Awards Parent Elevates Producer to Senior Leadership
The Mobile, Esports and Gaming Alliance (MEGA), the company behind the Esports Awards, has formally announced the promotion of long-time show producer Morgan Tremaine to its senior leadership team. As Executive Producer, Tremaine will oversee publisher, commercial, and strategic partner relations across MEGA’s events. He will also support the agency side of MEGA’s operations. Tremaine has served as a producer for the Esports Awards since 2023.
NLC organizers ‘no longer in a position to operate the league’
League ApS, organizers of the Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC), have told Riot Games they are ‘no longer in a position’ to run it. This comes just weeks ahead of the NLC Spring 2026 season, and follows a tumultuous period for the league. Leagues Media, the marketing and organizer arm of League ApS, let some staff go last year as part of its decision to centralise business operations in Copenhagen.
ExpressVPN Announces Widespread Esports Push
VPN service ExpressVPN has announced a four-part push into some of the biggest esports events in the ecosystem. Today, the company announced official partnerships with the LEC, VCT EMEA and Americas, Berlin-based esports organization G2 Esports, and European competitive World of Warcraft guild Method. ExpressVPN will be the official VPN partner for each entity in the group. This also marks a renewal of ExpressVPN’s deal with the LEC, which was first signed in August of 2025.
Capcom’s Big Bet on Paid Esports Streaming Has Fans Frustrated
Capcom is doubling down on its controversial move to make its annual Street Fighter championship a pay-per-view product. Yesterday, the popular fighting game publisher released a series of guidelines for restreaming and creating clips from the upcoming Capcom Cup 12 and Street Fighter League World Championship.
Streamer Team Continues to Shake Up Tier 2 League of Legends
The Los Ratones project might be over, but their impact as a player/creator-led entity, rather than a traditional esports organisation structure, has arguably changed tier 2 esports forever. Last year, Los Ratones dragged the Northern League of Legends Championship (NLC) viewership to unprecedented new heights. The EMEA Regional League (ERL) for the UK, Ireland and Nordics was one of the least-watched ERLs in 2024, with just over 2,000 peak viewers in its Spring split, according to Esports Charts.
G2 Esports Expands into New Strategy Game
G2 Esports has announced its entry into another Riot Games-owned competitive title. The organization that has established a legacy in League of Legends and Valorant will now compete in Riot’s autobattler title Teamfight Tactics. On X, G2 announced the signing of four French players: Laurent ‘Pas de Bol’ Cidere, Muhammed ‘Canbizz’ Canbaz, alongside Emre ‘Double61’ Demirtas, and Enzo ‘Enzosx’ Bordonzotti. Canbaz and Demirtas previously competed for French organization Karmine Corp.
Insomnia Gaming Festival 74 Cancelled
The UK’s major gaming and esports festival, Insomnia, will not be making its return after all, with Insomnia 74 officially cancelled. The event was due to take place at the Staffordshire County Showgrounds from April 30th to May 3rd 2026. It was set to host esports tournaments, a BYOC LAN area, cosplay competitions, an expo, pub quiz and other activities as usual.
Astralis Names New Betting Partner
Long-running Danish esports organization Astralis has announced a strategic partnership with crypto-based online gambling brand Stake. As indicated by the photo posted by Astralis to accompany the announcement, Stake will become the main jersey sponsor for the legendary Counter-Strike brand.
Marvel Tokon Releases More Closed Beta Invites: How to Check if You Got In (You Didn't)
The fighting game closed beta wave has officially kicked off. There are at least some people who are playing Marvel Tokon, the highly anticipated new tag fighter from Arc System Works, right now. You're probably not because Closed Beta invites were remarkably scarce, but perhaps you have one more chance before the weekend is over. The official Marvel Tokon Fighting Souls twitter account announced at 5am ET on Saturday, Sept.
Hollow Knight Silksong Beats Battlefield 6 Beta: Launch Day By The Numbers
We all knew that Hollow Knight: Silksong was going to be popular. It has been one of the most anticipated indie games for the last five years running. That hype only built further when a release date was announced and we found out the delays were just due to the devs having a really good time making a fun game. Then, that hype exploded even further when Team Cherry dropped the bombshell price for Silksong. Only 20 bucks for a potential Game of the Year contender?
Mega Hawlucha Rules, So Why Was Its Trailer So Bad?
Mega Evolution reveal season kicked off in a huge way with the reveal of Mega Dragonite. Then, everyone's expectations were raised even higher with the stunning found footage horror film that introduced the world to our perfect blobby prince Mega Victreebell. Earlier this week, when The Pokemon Company teased the arrival of Mega Hawlucha, the hype train ramped up again. Was every new mega going to get a trailer of that calibur?
2XKO: Blitzcrank Abilities Teased by Fighting Game Pros
Thanks to a surprise leak, we now know the full 2XKO roster for the closed beta set to begin on September 9. Blitzcrank is set to be fully revealed on Sepetmber 2 as the final cap on the hype buildup for when Riot Games puts its fighting game online - forever this time they've assured us. Given the bot's most famous ability from League of Legends, it's no surprise that the character is going to fill the missing grappler archetype in 2XKO.
2XKO's Grappler Character Has Been Leaked...By Riot Games
The 2XKO Closed Beta, theoretically the moment the game comes online forever and always, is just a few weeks away. The internet has been debating effectively since the beta announcement whether or not the highly-anticipated fighting game would receive another of its 10 launch characters for the start of the beta. While we don't have a concrete answer yet, we likely now know what that 9th character will be thanks to some character art that appeared early on the 2xko Riot Games support page.
We are Now in the Best World of Warcraft Race to World First Ever, and it's This Guy's Fault
The World of Warcraft Race to World First is a truly unique and special esports event. It can only happen whenever Blizzard releases a new raid into its groundbreaking MMO, and once the final boss falls the raiding esports scene is effectively dead until the next race gets underway. This is why raids like the Liberation of Undermine cause so much disappointment among fans of the race.
The FGC is Conflicted Over New Evo Ownership After Sony Interactive Sells Stake
It's already been a huge year for fighting games. Between the upcoming tests for 2XKO and Marvel Tokon, plus more big releases such as Invincible Vs on the horizon, there may never have been a better time to be a fighting game fan. The FGC also recently held its biggest event of the year, Evo, in Las Vegas Nevada. Now, Evo has added yet another announcement to the never ending train of fighting game news.
Riot Shuts Down New VCT South America Rumors
Franchising remains one of the most controversial topics in all of esports. From the birth of the Overwatch League to its tragic end, the battle between sustainability and the open ecosystem fans love has been ceaseless. The debate flared up again today as reports from a Brazilian Valorant esports news account kicked fans into a frenzy. Now, Riot has stepped in to directly refute these reports.
Fortnite Leak: Iconic Power Rangers Villain Will Offer a Powerful Boon
It's a Power Rangers summer. The Mighty Morphin' heroes are front and center in the new Fortnite season with new skins, pickaxes, and a ton of content headed to the game over the coming months. The rangers are playing such a pivotal role in the story of Fortnite in Chapter 6 Season 4 that Epic Games lovingly recreated a classing Power Rangers battle for the season reveal trailer.
AI Apology Has Fans Furious at this Fortnite Pro
AI has become ubiquitous in the modern world, but among gamers it remains an extremely divisive topic. Game studios have had their projects review bombed for incorporating AI assets Pokémon and Street Fighter have struggled to keep AI art out of fan contests. Earlier this week, Activision Blizzard came under fire for using AI art in the background of a promotional image for a new Youtooz.
Why is College Football 26 Offline? Server Status Explained
Madden 26 just dropped in Early Access, but there are still plenty of college football fans playing the scholastic version of the beloved football sim. College Football 26 is still receiving its own maintenance and patches to keep the game fun and competitive. Unfortunately, this means that some times the game needs to come down for a quick round of maintenance. If you're having issues logging in to CFB 26, it could be because the devs are currently pushing an update.
Will Marvel Rivals Have a Franchise League? Esports Lead Responds
In a year of canceled projects and failed launches across the shooter landscape, Marvel Rivals has been perhaps the lone bright spot. The game has been a breakout success since its launch in late 2024, drawing a number of high profile esports teams into its burgeoning esports ecosystem. Now, as teams like 100 Thieves and Sentinels take the stage for the first-ever Marvel Rivals major, there's one question on every fan's mind: what does the future of Marvel Rivals esports look like?
Valkyrae Completes Legendary Loser's Run to Win Pokémon Nuzlocke Invitational
From Twitch Rivals to Pogchamps Ludwig's own events like Streamer Games, pitting popular content creators against each other for gaming glory is a proven strategy. Over the weekend, Pointcrow and Pchal proved this once again with an epic finale to their month-long Nuzlocke Invitational event. The tournament put eight content creators together with experienced Nuzlockers to complete a unique challenge: complete a Fire Red randomizer Nuzlocke with a team that can compete in a VGC-style tournament.
The Pointcrow and PChal Nuzlocke Invitational: How to Watch, Schedule, Teams
Pokémon Nuzlockes have been a time-honored tradition in the streaming and YouTube space for years. Whether it's JaidenAnimations' popular Emerald Nuzlocke video or Ludwig banning his entire chat after throwing a gym battle, the hardcore format raises the stakes of a Pokémon playthrough to unprecedented heights.
Ninja Has a New Fortnite Skin and Gets Crowned Blitz Lord
It's been a while since Ninja and Fortnite were so synonymous. Back in 2018, the rise of both the king of Twitch and the king of the Battle Royale genre were intrinsically linked. Today, however, Ninja is taking a break from raging at Marvel Rivals or grinding League of Legends to give nostalgic Fortnite fans a taste of that former glory. Ninja's new Black and Gold skin will drop into Fortnite on July 29 with the next game update.
The Arcane Siblings Reunite in 2XKO, Closed Beta Announced
2XKO has been the most anticipated fighting game for what feels like years now. While players are frustrated by the initial roster of just 10 characters, every character reveal has been epic and added a new gameplay style to the cast. Today, while she may be the least surprising addition to the roster, players are hyped to see Vi join the 2XKO roster. As expected, Vi is a bruiser who uses her massive gauntlets to close the distance and deal massive damage to opponents.
MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls Heads to Evo for In-Depth Panel
On a day filled with surprise reveals and first looks from Pokemon, 2XKO and Gekishin Squadra, Arc System Works joined in on the chaos by announcing the first chance players will have to get their hands on its highly anticipated new tag fighter. MARVEL Tōkon: Fighting Souls will have a playable demo at Evo 2025, which will be held in Las Vegas, Nevada on August 1-3.
Mang0 Unbanned on Twitch After 1 Week
Super Smash Bros. pro player Mang0 has been unbanned on Twitch today. The esports legend's Twitch channel was banned for one week following the controversy surrounding his actions at a Mario Kart event hosted by Ludwig Ahgren on June 23. The Twitch ban occured after Mang0 was banned from Ludwig's future events and removed from his longtime esports team Cloud9. As is usually the case, the length of the ban and the specific reason were not disclosed to the public.
EA Sports Bringing Back Another Beloved College Game Franchise
After the breakout success of EA Sports College Football last year, the game publisher has just teased the return of another highly requested series. Based on the most recent post from the official account, EA Sports is bringing back NCAA Basketball. On June 30, the official EA Sports Twitter account tweeted a picture of a basketball with its logo emblazened on it. The tweet simply reads "Bring the Madness.
Since its Open Beta launched last November, SUPERVIVE has attracted a legion of fans and drawn closer to an official release. Today, Theorycraft Games announced the title's full global release date. Let's explore everything about SUPERVIVE's final Global Launch, its free pre-launch rewards and what it means for esports. Supervive's gameplay is fast-paced and precise.
When Does Fortnite Chapter 6 Season 4 Start? New Release Date Explained
Fortnite's superhero season is off to a hot start. Between the overwhelming success of Blitz Royale and the hype surrounding big IP collabs like Squid Game and Superman, Chapter 6 Season 3 is universally regarded as a top season for the current era of Fortnite. Dataminers have already discovered easter eggs and details of the themes for upcoming seasons, and it seems like we had a pretty clear sense of the timing and schedules for the next several major updates coming in 2025.
Riot Explains New Sports Betting Sponsor Policy in Open Letter
Days after crowning a new champion at the VCT Masters Toronto tournament, Riot Games has issued a statement explaining a new policy that will open up betting as a sponsorship category for Valorant and League of Legends teams. On Thursday, June 26, 2025, Riot posted an open letter from its President of Publishing & Esports John Needham explaining the decision. You can read the full statement via Twitter below.
New Leaked Fortnite Blitz Royale Themes Include Dragon Ball, Mortal Kombat
Fortnite Blitz Royale recently became the first game mode to overtake the main battle royale playstyle as the most popular mode in Epic's third-person shooter. The game studio is already responding to the mode's overwhelming popularity by extending how long players will have to experience Blitz Royale. Plus, dataminers have found a few new themes that gamers will be excited to get their hands on. Here's what we know: Blitz Royale was intended to be a short-lived mode that lasted about a month.
Israel faces missile barrage from Iran after US airstrikes intensify the conflict
Israel remains on high alert following overnight airstrikes by the United States aimed at Iran's nuclear infrastructure. Early Sunday morning, around 30 ballistic missiles were launched by Iranian forces targeting Tel Aviv and the country’s third largest city. Some missiles evaded Israel's multi-layered air defense system, resulting in significant destruction on the ground.
Streaming With the King: How to Watch the Kai Cenat x LeBron James Livestream on Twitch
The titans of two distinct industries are about to collide in one of the most highly anticipated streaming collabs of the year. The reigning king of Twitch, Kai Cenat, will be broadcasting an IRL stream with Los Angeles Lakers star and NBA legend LeBron James this weekend. Kai has already revealed details of the broadcast and some potential guests who could appear while he's live. According to Kai, the livestream will begin some time between 12:30 to 1pm ET on Saturday, June 21.
Street Fighter Returns to Fortnite: Skins, Pricing, Release Time
One of the most requested skin lines in Fortnite collab history is officially returning tonight. Fans have been asking for Epic Games to bring back the Street Fighter skin bundles ever since they first left the shop. After weeks of rumors and leaks from dataminers, Fortnite has finally dropped a trailer confirming that every Street Fighter bundle is headed back to the shop. The skin bundles should become available when the Fortnite Item Shop updates tonight at midnight UTC / 8pm ET.
Cristiano Ronaldo is Now an Esports World Cup Global Ambassador
World-renowned soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo has become an official global ambassador for this year's Esports World Cup taking place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia next month. “Sport is always evolving – and esports is one more frontier,” said Ronaldo in a release. “The commitment, drive, talent, and intensity I have been able to see in esports athletes is no different from what I’ve experienced on the pitch.
Pokémon Announces Twitch Trivia Show Featuring Droupout Star at NAIC 2025
While hundreds of Pokemon fans gathered to compete for World Championship points and prestige at NAIC 2025, The Pokemon Company had a surprise announcement for fans that grabbed the attention of even the best players. In the morning during a teaser broadcast, the NAIC organizers played a video that featured popular internet personality and Droupout cast member Brian David Gilbert.
NAVI Returns to League of Legends, Acquires Rogue LEC Slot
European League of Legends is about to see a big change as one of the longest-standing members of the LEC has bowed out while a legacy esports organization returns to the game. Natus Vincere, best known for its success in Counter-Strike, has acquired the LEC slot of Rogue and will join the European League of Legends pro scene next split. Additionally, music service Napster will sign on as a title sponsor for NAVI's LoL and Valorant rosters.
OTK Teams Up With Kick to Broadcast Exclusive New Events
After one of its most famous former members started streaming on the platofrm, esports and content organization OTK has just announced a new partnership with Kick. The deal will see Kick and OTK team up to create a series of livestreamed events as part of Kick's new production intiative, Kick Studios. The first event of the deal is scheduled for Friday, June 13. OTK will host a livestream celebrating its Kick collab live from Austin, Texas where the organization is headquartered.
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