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PaiN Beats FaZe in ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 2

PaiN has secured its first win of the ESL Pro League Season 23 Stage 2, beating FaZe with a 2-1 scoreline. Following a crushing defeat on the opening day, the Brazilian side has recovered and now will need two more rounds to book a playoff berth.

VETO

  • paiN removed Ancient
  • FaZe removed Inferno
  • paiN picked Nuke
  • FaZe picked Dust2
  • paiN removed Overpass
  • FaZe removed Anubis
  • Mirage was left over

Map 1: Nuke; Pick: paiN; Winner: paiN

FaZe started the defense with a clean pistol conversion, putting them on the winning path before paiN converted the first gun round to hit the board. The poorly organised defense got easily picked apart round after round as paiN systematically pulled in 8 rounds, as FaZe only managed two more to close the half with only 4 rounds. Following a poor defensive display, FaZe found their footing on offense, managing to level the score and build on it to take the game to OT. Starting OT on their offense, FaZe failed to secure a single round as paiN switched to their defense with a perfect half. paiN’s perfect half gave them the much-needed buffer as they closed the game after losing one round on their offense in OT to win the game with a 16-13 scoreline. Topping the charts with 25 kills, frozeN’s efforts went in vain against a more organised paiN side.

Map 2: Dust2; Pick: FaZe ; Winner: FaZe

Following a close defeat, FaZe secured 4 rounds to start their T-side on Dust2 before paiN could hit the scoreboard. 8 rounds in a row from paiN, not only gave the Brazilians the lead, but they went on to secure a 4-round lead before switching sides. paiN extended their lead by winning the pistol before FaZe converted the first gun round of the half, as they started mounting a lead. Winning 3 back-to-back rounds, paiN hit the board once again by converting a round in the A site. FaZe regained control in the following round before a quick mid to B split on their eco gave paiN the much-needed 12th round, only for FaZe to convert back-to-back rounds to take us to OT for the second time in this series. Losing the first but winning all the remaining rounds, FaZe dominated overtime this time around to take us to a 3rd map. Broky on the AWP delivered the much-needed push that FaZe would have wanted for them to secure the deciding map.

Map 3: Mirage; Pick: Decider; Winner: paiN

6-0 start for paiN after a difficult loss on Map 2, put them on winning ways as FaZe’s offense crumbled right from the get-go. Putting together a streak of 3 rounds in from the 7th round saw their side cut down on the lead before closing out the half with a 9-3 lead. Both teams trading blows to start the second half saw FaZe fall further behind before paiN converted all their full-buy rounds by the end of the map to take home a convincing win over an out-of-favor FaZe Clan. Nqz shining on the AWP with 23 kills stopped FaZe from getting started in the map, let alone challenge paiN as they now find themselves closer to elimination than qualification.

The safety cushion is all over for FaZe as the next loss will see them head home having already suffered from two unexpected defeats. With the names under their banner, one would assume that FaZe would roll over the likes of paiN, but the roster is on the verge of breaking, and karrigan still seems to be searching for a solution.

BLAST Bounty Season 1 2027 to Take Place in Malta

Tournament organizer BLAST has confirmed that the BLAST Bounty Season 1 2027 Counter-Strike 2 event will take place in Malta.

BLAST Bounty Season 1 2027, which is set to be the first Tier-1 event of the year, will kick off on January 11 and will feature two weeks of competitive CS before a winner is crowned on January 27.

This iteration of the BLAST Bounty event will adopt an entirely new format, ditching the online phase and taking place entirely on LAN. The number of participating teams has also been cut in half, dropping from 32 to 16.

BLAST Bounty Season 1 2027 Format

Featuring a $1,250,000 USD prize pool, the event will see a brand-new three-stage Bounty format, including a play-in stage, a Last Chance Qualifier, and the playoffs.

The play-in stage will split the 16 participating teams into four groups of four teams each. The teams will then duke it out in a double-elimination bracket, with the group winners advancing to the quarter-finals. Teams that end up in the second and third places will need to go through the last chance qualifiers, while the last-place teams are eliminated from the tournament.

The last chance qualifiers will see eight teams fighting for one of the top four spots. Winners will secure playoffs, while the losers will be eliminated.

The BLAST Bounty Season 1 2027 playoffs will feature a single-elimination bracket, with the grand final being a best-of-five.

Drafting

BLAST has confirmed that drafting will remain in Bounty Season 1 2027, but with a couple of interesting twists.

For the play-in stage, the top four seeds are automatically placed into separate groups, while the remaining teams draft which group they want to join, starting with the lowest seeds.

  • Seeds 13–16 pick first, starting with seed 13
  • Seeds 9–12 pick next, starting with seed 9
  • Seeds 5–8 pick last, starting with seed 5

Drafting will also affect the playoffs: group winners get to choose how LCQ matches are placed in the bracket. The highest-seeded group winner will pick the RO16 match that precedes their Quarter Final, moving across the group winners one by one. The lowest-seeded group winner can then choose which side of the bracket they play on.

Be sure to check out the official blog post by BLAST for further details on the event.

BGIS 2026 Tickets to Go Live Soon, Krafton Confirms

Fans waiting to attend the BGIS 2026 Grand Finals may not have to wait much longer. KRAFTON India has confirmed that BGIS 2026 tickets will go live soon, with sales expected to begin on Swiggy Scenes. While the exact date has not been revealed, the tickets are expected to be released sometime next week.

The announcement comes as excitement builds for the upcoming LAN event, where the best teams from across India will compete live in front of fans.

BGIS 2026 Tickets to Be Sold on Swiggy Scenes

KRAFTON India has already named Swiggy Scenes as the official ticketing partner for the BGIS 2026 LAN Finals. This means fans will need to visit the Swiggy Scenes platform to purchase their entry passes once ticket sales go live.

The company has stated that ticket details will be available soon, but it has not provided a fixed timeline yet. Based on the latest update, ticket sales are expected to begin within the next week, giving fans enough time to secure their seats before the finals begin.

BGIS 2026 Grand Finals Venue and Dates

The BGIS 2026 LAN Finals will take place at the Chennai Trade Centre from March 27 to March 29, 2026. The event will bring together the top-performing teams from the tournament for a three-day live showdown.

This will be one of the biggest offline esports events in India this year, with thousands of fans expected to attend and watch the action unfold live in the arena.

Free and Paid Tickets Expected

Based on previous editions of Battlegrounds Mobile India Series, fans can expect both free and paid BGIS 2026 LAN Finals tickets. In earlier seasons, spectators had to purchase tickets to attend the event, while limited free passes were distributed through promotions and special campaigns.

Premium seating options may also be available for fans who want a better viewing experience inside the arena. However, KRAFTON India has not yet confirmed the ticket prices or seating categories for BGIS 2026.

With the BGIS 2026 LAN Finals just weeks away, fans should keep an eye on official announcements as ticket sales are expected to begin soon. Once the tickets go live on Swiggy Scenes, demand is likely to be high.

Fans planning to attend the Chennai event are advised to book their BGIS 2026 LAN Finals tickets early to avoid missing out on one of the biggest BGMI esports events of the year.

G2 Defeats FaZe in ESL Pro League Season 23

G2 has rolled over FaZe Clan to open their ESL Pro League Stage 2, beating them with a 2-0 scoreline. Total domination in the first map, followed by a well-fought, convincing win, saw back-to-back solid performances from G2 as they get one step closer to the playoffs.

VETO

  • FaZe removed Inferno
  • G2 removed Nuke
  • FaZe picked Dust2
  • G2 picked Ancient
  • FaZe removed Anubis
  • G2 removed Overpass
  • Mirage was left over

Map 1: Dust2; Pick: FaZe; Winner: G2

A 7-0 start for G2 sent FaZe packing to kick off their own map pick before FaZe won their first and only round of the map. As they made it 7-1, FaZe’s poorly structured offense gave G2 the much-needed headway to make a dominant start to the game, as the first half closed with an 11-1 scoreline. Swapping sides with an insurmountable lead, G2 won two back-to-back rounds on their offense to close out the game with a dominant scoreline. 20 kills from SunPayus gave the upper hand in terms of AWP battle to G2 to dominate FaZe and force them into an embarrassing defeat.

Map 2: Ancient; Pick: G2; Winner: G2

Following a crushing defeat in their own map pick, G2 got off to a 5-0 start before FaZe managed to hit the board. Winning their first round, FaZe recovered on their defense, leading to a levelled scoreline by the end of the half. Starting their defense with 6 rounds, G2 got their eleventh following a 5-round streak, which they built on. FaZe hit the board on the 18th round, leading to them cutting down on the lead before G2 hit back. Preventing FaZe from getting their 11th, G2 stopped the comeback in its tracks and won back-to-back rounds to close out the map, which otherwise could have gone to OT if FaZe had been given the room. 25 kills from malbsMd showed why Ancient has been his best map since joining G2, as FaZe’s best efforts were washed away by his dominant performance.

G2’s dominant win can be attributed to a very poor showing by FaZe, as the roster has been in turmoil since Rain’s departure. With the new pieces failing to settle, one can argue that only a roster change can save this team, but with Karrigan’s history of making rosters work, only time can tell if Finn’s got another miracle up his sleeve before he hangs up his mouse.

S8UL Elite Eliminated from FFMIC 2026 Spring

S8UL Elite have been eliminated from the FFMIC 2026 Spring Group Stage. This is a shocking result for a team that looked like one of the strongest squads in the tournament just days ago. S8UL Elite finished at the bottom of their Week 2 group and exited the tournament, marking their second consecutive major Free Fire MAX exit following FFMAI 2025 last December.

S8UL Elite’s Performance in FFMIC 2026 Spring

Week 1:

S8UL Elite entered the FFMIC 2026 Spring Group Stage as one of six directly invited teams, based on their performance in the previous India Cup. In Week 1, S8UL Elite landed in Group B and delivered a dominant run.

They finished first in the group with 167 points, 3 Booyahs, and 117 eliminations. No other team in Week 1 came close to that elimination count. Their aggressive playstyle worked perfectly, and they looked every bit like title contenders heading into Week 2.

Week 2:

Week 2 was a different story. S8UL Elite played in Group A alongside teams like Godlike Esports and iQOO Total Gaming Esports. Only the top 6 teams from each group of 12 would advance to the Knockout Stage.

S8UL Elite finished at the bottom of Group A and failed to qualify. The team that had looked untouchable in Week 1 could not replicate even a fraction of that form. As a result, they exit the FFMIC 2026 Spring without reaching the Knockout Stage.

This is not S8UL Elite’s first high-profile crash. In December 2025, the team received a direct invitation to the Free Fire Max Asia Invitational (FFMAI) 2025 Main Event, one of the most prestigious international Free Fire MAX tournaments in Asia. They were eliminated without reaching the Grand Finals.

S8UL Elite had averaged around 8 kills per round in earlier stages, but that dropped to just 4 kills per round in the Main Event.

Two major events. Two early exits. The FFMIC 2026 Spring elimination officially makes this a back-to-back failure at major tournaments.

Team Spirit Opens EPL S23 Stage 2 with a 2-0 Win

Spirit has closed its first game of the ESL Pro League Season 23 with a quick 2-0 win over 3DMAX. Heavy favorites coming into the game and producing expected results dominantly. The CIS side will now need just 2 wins to make it to the playoffs.

VETO

  • 3DMAX removed Mirage
  • Spirit removed Inferno
  • 3DMAX picked Nuke
  • Spirit picked Overpass
  • 3DMAX removed Ancient
  • Spirit removed Anubis
  • Dust2 was left over

Map 1: Nuke; Pick: 3DMAX; Winner: Spirit

Winning the pistol round, 3DMAX on the offense managed to put Spirit on the backfoot to kick off the map. Winning only 1 before giving away 4 rounds to the French side, Spirit recovered later in the game, winning 6 in a row to take the lead and losing the final round of the half before switching sides. Winning the pistol on their offense and converting 3 subsequent rounds, Spirit managed to hit 11 before 3DMAX found something of a footing on their defense. Putting together a streak of 4 rounds, the 3DMAX defense finally broke in the 17th round, leading to Spirit taking the momentum back and winning the two rounds they needed to take home their opponents’ map pick. Usual suspect donk came up huge with 24 kills to put down 3DMAX with relative ease.

Map 2: Overpass; Pick: Spirit; Winner: Spirit

Winning the pistol round, Spirit converted the force buy on their offense to take control of the game. Winning the force buy, Spirit managed to win 3 in a row, setting the pace of the game. For the entirety of the first half, 3DMAX managed to only win 4 rounds, but they were few and far between as teams switched sides with an 8-4 scoreline with the CIS side leading. 3DMAX cut the lead short by winning the pistol and 2 more off the back of it before Spirit found their footing on the defense. The first-full buy round saw Spirit effortlessly closing out the game with a flawless defense, winning 5 in a row. Another masterclass of a team performance with donk leading the charts with 22 kills and 1.5 IR to close out the game.

3DMAX has effortlessly fought through situations when its back has been against the wall, as we saw in Stage 1. While a loss on the opening day may break their morale, it would be foolish to write them off, especially after the surge in performance they have shown with the addition of misutaaa.

Arcane Season 1 Limited-Time Skins are Coming to Valorant Mobile

Missed your chance to grab the limited-edition Arcane Sheriff in Valorant? You might just get another shot at them, this time in Valorant Mobile. Recent leaks suggest that the Arcane Season 1 Collector’s Set could be making its way to the mobile version of the game in the near future.

The leaks were initially put forward by prominent Valorant dataminer “VALORANTLeaksEN,” who shared a brand-new trailer for the limited-edition cosmetic bundle in an X post, claiming that the Arcane Season 1 Collector’s Set is coming to Valorant Mobile.

When is the Arcane Bundle Coming to Valorant Mobile?

The leaker has not provided an exact release date for the Arcane bundle in Valorant Mobile.

Riot Games has yet to confirm this news, either, which means fans may have to wait a while before they can grab the Arcane-themed cosmetics in the game.

Valorant Mobile Arcane Bundle Contents

While the contents of the Valorant Mobile Arcane Bundle have not been officially confirmed, it will most likely mirror the contents of the original bundle that appeared in Valorant during the Riot x Arcane event.

Should that be the case, the Valorant Mobile Arcane Season 1 Collector’s Set would likely include the Arcane Sheriff along with themed accessories like a Gun Buddy, Spray, Player Card, and Title.

Marvel Rivals Devs Crack Down on Players Throwing Matches for Cash, Enhances Regulations for “Negative Gameplay”

In a recent statement posted on the official Marvel Rivals X handle, NetEase has confirmed that it is aware of the growing trend within the community where players are deliberately throwing matches in exchange for third-party incentives.

Earlier this week, a third-party website made headlines after players discovered it was offering real cash “bounties” to individuals who deliberately threw their ranked games when matched with specific players.

“We have recently identified a disturbing trend within our community: ‘incentivized throwing,’ where players are enticed by third-party bounties to deliberately sabotage matches,” NetEase said in a statement. “This behavior not only undermines the integrity of our game but also tarnishes the experience for honest players who are committed to fair competition.”

NetEase further said that it has a “strict zero-tolerance policy” on this kind of malicious behavior, reassuring players that a “specialized investigation protocol” has been implemented, focusing on identifying negative gameplay linked to these external bounties. 

“Accounts found to be violating our policies will face serious repercussions, including, but not limited to, permanent bans.”

The devs behind the hero shooter also confirmed that they have enhanced the regulations regarding negative gameplay in Marvel Rivals.

“Accounts found to be engaging in disruptive behaviors, such as malicious idling (AFK) or intentionally throwing matches, will incur significant penalties following reporting and verification,” the statement reads.

Lastly, they have also requested players to report any kind of malicious activity they come across when playing Marvel Rivals.

While the developers are now taking a firm stance against disruptive behavior, whether these measures will be enough to curb the problem still remains to be seen.

Xbox CEO Confirms Next-Gen Console Codenamed Project Helix

The official unveiling of Microsoft’s Project Helix, the next-generation Xbox console, has been confirmed by the new Xbox CEO, Asha Sharma.

In her social media post announcing the news before GDC 2026, Asha Sharma, the new Xbox CEO, said, “Project Helix will lead in performance and play your Xbox and PC games. Looking forward to chatting about this more with partners and studios at my first GDC next week.” This is a move towards the hybrid system, similar to the PC system, which supports multiple storefronts with vast games available.

This is quite different from Microsoft’s approach, which appears to be moving toward greater flexibility and access, potentially including AMD hardware with a Windows-based architecture and a console-friendly interface. This might force gamers to choose between closed and open systems.

Project Helix is still in its early stages, and we may learn more about it at GDC 2026 next week. There have been rumors that it will be quite powerful, but how will they sell hardware without exclusives? This is especially true as gaming is changing, and Xbox is looking to be a single platform that merges console and PC gaming, which might redefine what next-gen means.

KRAFTON Lays Off 271 Employees in January 2026 With RisingWings Losing 40% of Its Workforce Under Voluntary Exit Program

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According to a recent report by InvenGlobal, a total of 271 employees exited the KRAFTON group in January 2026 as part of a company-wide workforce reduction. The departures were primarily driven by a voluntary resignation program that KRAFTON had announced in November 2025 alongside its new “AI First” initiative. The final count reportedly came in lower than what the company’s management had originally expected.

The 271 figure covers KRAFTON’s headquarters and all of its domestic subsidiaries in South Korea. KRAFTON CFO Bae Dong-geun confirmed during a conference call that the resignation process was completed by January 31, 2026. He also noted that roughly KRW 40 billion (approximately $27 million USD) in related costs would be reflected in the company’s first quarter financial results.

RisingWings Records Highest Attrition Rate at 40%

Among all KRAFTON subsidiaries, RisingWings suffered the steepest losses relative to its size. The studio, known for developing Defense Derby and Archer King, saw 41 employees leave. With only 102 staff remaining, that translates to a 40.2% attrition rate, the highest across the entire group.

Bluehole Studio Loses 51 Employees

Bluehole Studio, the team that previously worked on Dark and Darker Mobile and is currently preparing TERA 2, recorded 51 departures. The studio now has a remaining headcount of 200, putting its attrition rate at 25.5%. This makes Bluehole the subsidiary with the second-highest departure ratio.

KRAFTON HQ and PUBG Studio See Largest Absolute Departures

On a raw numbers basis, KRAFTON headquarters saw the most resignations. A total of 158 employees left from HQ, which includes the internal PUBG Studio. However, given the much larger team size, the remaining headcount still stands at 2,072. That puts the departure ratio at 7.6%, well below the levels seen at RisingWings and Bluehole.

inZOI Studio, Dreamotion, and Smaller Teams

The inZOI Studio, which is currently developing the life simulation game inZOI, lost 13 employees. With 140 staff remaining, the attrition rate sits at 9.3%.

Dreamotion, the developer behind Road to Valor and My Little Puppy, saw three employees leave from a total team of 31, resulting in a 9.7% departure rate. Meanwhile, 5minlab, the studio behind the action title Smash Legends, also recorded three departures from its 109-person team, a much lower rate of 2.8%.

Neptune Company, which operates casual gaming and advertising platform businesses through its subsidiaries, reported just two departures from 121 employees, placing its attrition rate at 1.7%.

ReLU Games Reports Zero Departures

ReLU Games stood out as the only KRAFTON subsidiary with no departures at all. The AI-focused game development studio maintained its full workforce of 38 employees. This is notable given that KRAFTON’s broader restructuring is built around an “AI First” strategy, suggesting the company sees this unit as central to its future direction.

Voluntary Resignation Program: Up to 36 Months of Salary

KRAFTON first announced the voluntary resignation program in November 2025. The program was part of a larger restructuring effort that also included internal transfers and job reassignments to retain key talent. Employees who chose to leave were offered support payments worth up to 36 months of salary.

Unlike traditional voluntary retirement programs, this one had no restrictions based on rank, tenure, or years of service. Any employee across the KRAFTON group was free to apply.