PC Gamer: “Electronic Arts has announced that, because of Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, esports players and teams based in Russia and Belarus will no longer be allowed to compete in Apex Legends and FIFA 22 pro leagues.”

“We continue to be shocked at the conflict that is unfolding in Ukraine and join so many voices around the world in calling for peace and an end to the invasion,” EA tweeted. “We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.”

“EA’s decision to ban Russia and Belarus from its pro leagues comes two weeks after ESL suspended Russian teams(opens in new tab) Virtus.pro and Gambit from ESL Pro League season 15. Smaller pro league operators Blast(opens in new tab) and Elisa(opens in new tab) have also imposed bans on Russian-based organizations.”

“ESL said it would allow Russian teams and players to take part in its competitions using “neutral” names, with no team logos or national colors—a compromise that Virtus.pro eventually accepted.” It is still to be seen whether EA will do the same.

NME: “Russian esports organisation Gambit Esports has said it will allow its Valorant players to compete as an “independent team”. Gambit Esports made the announcement on Twitter earlier today (March 14), saying it will allow its players to compete in the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) competition as an independent team of players outside of the organisation (via The Loadout).”

“Last week (March 11) Gambit announced that it would allow its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players to participate in a tournament under a “neutral name” after Gambit itself was forbidden to participate.”

PC Gamer: “Ukraine’s deputy prime minister has urged “all game development companies and esports platforms” to halt any business in Russia following Vladimir Putin’s ongoing invasion.”

“Mykhailo Fedorov—who is also Ukraine’s minister of digital transformation—published an open letter to Twitter, addressing the games industry as a whole but specifically targeting Xbox and PlayStation in his tweet (Axios). Fedorov implored the industry to block Russians from accessing any gaming accounts, as well as dropping any Russian teams from esports events and cancelling any tournaments due to be held in the country. “In 2022, modern technology is perhaps the best answer to the tanks, multiple rocket launchers and missiles,” the letter read.”

SVG: “The esports industry was among the first to get live broadcasts rolling again after the pandemic arrived, but the events have largely been online and without fans. That changes this weekend: ESL Gaming’s Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice event has taken over the Spodek arena for the largest LAN esports event with in-person fans in nearly two years. And, despite the current fraught scene in Eastern Europe, fans have flocked to the Polish city to experience the event first-hand.”

“We can safely say that this is the biggest LAN event with fans since the pandemic began at the same event back in 2020,” says ESL Gaming Senior Broadcast Engineer Adrian Segarceanu, who is serving as EIC in Katowice.

Formula 1: “Following today’s announcement of the 2021 F1 season’s audience and attendance figures, F1 can confirm that the 2021 F1 Esports Series presented by Aramco has broken viewership and engagement records – building upon the huge momentum gathered in 2020.

The full series, which ran throughout 2021, achieved over 23 million views across digital platforms, a 103% Year on Year increase.”

“The Series’ flagship event, the Pro Championship, was the main contributor to the large proportion of the 23m digital views with 13.8m views, representing a 47% increase from 2020.”

“In addition to digital viewership, the cumulative TV audience for the whole of the Pro Championship and the Preview Show, reached an estimated 858k – more than three times the total audience for the 2020 series (269k).”

“Across the Pro Championship events in 2021, there were 10.5m engagements on the official F1 Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Twitch and Huya channels – more than double the 4m total in 2020. The content also received 458m impressions, and 4.1m video views, increasing on 2020 by 93% and 71% respectively.”

The Guardian: “An inaugural Commonwealth esports championships is to be held in Birmingham when the city hosts the Commonwealth Games this summer.”

“The event will take place at the International Convention Centre between 6-7 August. It has been sanctioned by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) executive board to happen at the same time as Birmingham 2022 while being independent of the Games and its program.”

“The Commonwealth Games themselves are scheduled to last from 26 July to 8 August, with an anticipated 5,000 athletes from 72 countries competing.”

“I am delighted that we are announcing the first Commonwealth esports championships and Commonwealth esports forum to take place in Birmingham this summer,” said CGF president, Dame Louise Martin. “Esports is continuing to grow dramatically in terms of popularity and participation, particularly amongst young people, and we are continuing to look at ways to explore how it can align with the Commonwealth Sports Movement.

CNN: “While the industry as a whole is still male-dominated, organizations have launched projects in the hope of creating a more diverse gaming environment.”

“An example of this is the Valorant Game Changers initiative which looks to provide a platform for marginalized genders to compete and develop into professional players.”

“Riot Games’ Senior Brand Manager Vera Wienken says representation is key to attracting and maintaining female participation in Valorant and esports in general.”

“Valorant itself is a relatively new game and Wienken thinks its format and narrative open itself up to a more diverse audience. ‘The characters you can play as, for example, don’t necessarily conform to gender stereotypes and this helps make the game more accessible’, says Wienken.”

Why does the Esports industry attract fewer females? Wienken believes it is because of the lack of role models: “What we would like to see and what’s happening already, which is amazing, is these women pro players are becoming role models for others and sharing their path, sharing their story so that women know and find their entry points.”