Esports Trade Association

Esports Trade Association We are the National trade association for esports business leaders. https://linktr.ee/esportsta

EsportsNext Magazine — Summer 2026 is out.A Guess or a Bet. More than 1.7 million fans played Riot's Crystal Ball and Pi...
07/27/2026

EsportsNext Magazine — Summer 2026 is out.

A Guess or a Bet. More than 1.7 million fans played Riot's Crystal Ball and Pick'Ems at MSI without staking a dollar. One click away: $10.7B in annual wagering on LoL and VALORANT, a four-year ban for a CS2 player who kept walking into fires, and a legal map that redraws itself at every state line.

Renting Attention, Buying Belonging. Lamborghini and DHL pass the test the industry now applies — take the brand out, and see if a fan still wants what's left. Six weeks after Lamborghini signed, EA switched on advertising across a billion matches a month. Both are betting on the same audience. Only one is trying to be loved.

Outplayed by a Nut. A California pistachio grower bet the orange-dust gamer snack stereotype was wrong. Three years into its run at Combo Breaker, there's still no stunt and no capsule drop — just a sampling booth and the discipline to keep coming back. The proof shows up in a currency no brand can buy: attendees who stop by to say they're glad it's back.

Engagement isn't purchased. It's designed.

Read the full issue at esportsta.org/magazine

The Long Game — the new strategic report from the Next Gen Esports Leadership Lab, powered by SHI and Intel — is here.Mo...
06/11/2026

The Long Game — the new strategic report from the Next Gen Esports Leadership Lab, powered by SHI and Intel — is here.

Most academic esports programs feel stable. New programs keep opening, scholarship dollars keep growing, and the headlines are mostly good news.
So why did the field just record its first net decrease in collegiate programs?
The report brings together administrators, faculty, coaches, students, and industry leaders to answer the question the field has been putting off: not how to launch an esports program, but how to make one last.

Read it here → https://esportsta.org/resources/the-long-game/

The Spring 2026 issue of EsportsNext is here. Inside: how BLAST's Austin CS event drove $102M in economic impact, the ES...
05/04/2026

The Spring 2026 issue of EsportsNext is here.

Inside: how BLAST's Austin CS event drove $102M in economic impact, the ESTA Award winners redefining the industry, and the cities, companies, and builders setting the terms for what comes next.

Download your copy today at esportsta.org/magazine

The next esports capital isn't waiting to be discovered — it's being built right now. Drew Hays, Executive Director of t...
04/09/2026

The next esports capital isn't waiting to be discovered — it's being built right now.

Drew Hays, Executive Director of the Fort Worth Sports Commission, is taking the stage at EsportsNext — powered by GameSquare — to explore The Regionalization of Esports: why local markets are the next frontier of competitive gaming and how cities are turning regional advantages into global stages.

As the leader who helped establish Fort Worth as a nationally recognized sports destination — attracting 90+ events a year and hosting world-class competitions across the sports spectrum — Drew knows exactly what it takes to put a city on the map. Now he's bringing that playbook to esports.

📅 April 29–30 | Fort Worth Botanic Gardens
🎟️ Every ticket includes a 1-Day Pass to BLAST Premiere Rivals

Learn more & register → esportsta.org/esportsnext

Esports didn't just grow — it built an entirely new world. And the best are still just getting started. Jorrel Batac, Fo...
04/09/2026

Esports didn't just grow — it built an entirely new world. And the best are still just getting started.

Jorrel Batac, Founder & CEO of SXNGA, is taking the stage at EsportsNext — powered by GameSquare — to explore The Evolution of Esports: how gaming culture's unique DNA — community, interactivity, and creator economies — is reshaping entertainment for a digital generation.

With 20+ years of ecosystem-building experience spanning gaming, education, and international governance, Jorrel brings a rare global lens to the conversation — one that goes beyond the highlights to examine the frameworks and cross-border alignment that make esports growth sustainable and scalable.

📅 April 29–30 | Fort Worth Botanic Gardens
🎟️ Every ticket includes a 1-Day Pass to BLAST Premiere Rivals

Learn more & register → esportsta.org/esportsnext

04/03/2026

Esports doesn't just need more players. It needs what comes next — the educators, the programs, and the institutions building the pipeline from passion to profession.

The three Esports Scholastic Impact finalists are leading that charge.

Cleverlike Studios has 80 million+ content plays and two decades of work turning gaming skills into real career pathways — their "Game-based Creation" model is rewriting how schools approach esports education. PlayVS brought Gaming Concepts to 400,000+ downloads across 40+ countries, backed by peer-reviewed research proving esports improves student GPA and attendance. Syracuse University built the industry's most complete scholastic-to-career pipeline — a first-of-its-kind B.S. degree program, three world-class facilities, and a stage that hosts New York State's largest high school esports championships.

Join us at EsportsNext Powered By GameSquare on April 29 to find out the winners. Register today at esportsta.org/esportsnext.

04/03/2026

205 million impressions. Campaigns localized across 5 countries. A podcast that bridges youth leagues and industry operators.

Meet the 2026 ESTA Esports Marketing Excellence Award finalists.

Electronic Arts — Apex Legends Global Series is redefining what global esports marketing looks like, city by city and culture by culture. FlyQuest hosted a funeral for the haters — and the "League is Dead" x Von Dutch collection sold out in under 24 hours. XP League Frisco brought broadcast-level production and a genuine content strategy to grassroots esports.

Join us at EsportsNext Powered By GameSquare on April 29 to find out the winners. Register today at esportsta.org/esportsnext.

04/03/2026

Community isn't a metric. The 2026 ESTA Esports Community Engagement Award finalists prove it.

ASUS Republic of Gamers reaches 1,000+ collegiate institutions and tens of thousands of student-athletes as the official PC provider of three major collegiate esports organizations. Electronic Arts — Apex Legends Global Series brought 38,000 fans into a city-wide championship experience in Sapporo that turned pros into heroes and attendees into participants. Gold Star Gamers runs a 24/7 trauma-informed community for 3,500+ children of fallen military personnel — and their peer mentor model has saved lives.

Join us at EsportsNext Powered By GameSquare on April 29 to find out the winners. Register today at esportsta.org/esportsnext.

04/03/2026

Three leaders. Three very different models. One award.

Meet the 2026 ESTA Esports Leadership Award finalists.

Brandon Tschacher built Wisconsin's esports ecosystem from nothing — no venture capital, no controversy, just community. Jeffery Harrison turned a single district program into Louisiana's first statewide scholastic esports federation. Jon Chapman scaled PlayVS to 68,000+ schools across North America and dismantled the barriers that kept underserved communities out of the game.

Join us at EsportsNext Powered By GameSquare on April 29 to find out the winners. Register today at esportsta.org/esportsnext.

04/03/2026

The 2026 ESTA Industry Award finalists for Esports Innovation are here.

BETER's ESportsBattle Series has built a fast-format, PvP-only ecosystem running 35,000+ events a month with integrity infrastructure that rivals traditional sports. BlueBottle GmbH created LeagueBroadcast — the first tool to write data directly into the League of Legends game world during a live broadcast. GameSquare is proving what a publicly traded, vertically integrated esports business actually looks like: FaZe Esports, Stream Hatchet, and a platform that's built to last.

Join us at EsportsNext Powered By GameSquare on April 29 to find out the winners. Register today at esportsta.org/esportsnext.

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