Month: October 2025

Whether you’re an avid gamer, a high-stakes tournament winner, or a fan watching from the stands, there’s no denying that esports is the world’s fastest growing sport. With annual viewer numbers set to exceed 500 million by 2024, eSports is poised to break through the “5 billion value barrier.”

Professional players compete in organized video game competitions, usually governed by a formal organization with standardized rules and massive prize pools. Teams can represent organizations, sponsors or cities and compete in a schedule of regular season matches, playoffs and championship events. They are ranked and promoted or demoted based on their performance throughout the season, similar to traditional sports leagues.

With competitions involving a wide variety of popular video games and genres, esports have become a global industry that attracts millions of fans. The highest profile events are broadcast live online and on major television networks, and sell out arenas such as New York City’s Madison Square Garden.

Some esports are run by game publishers, while others have established governing bodies on a regional or global basis. Esports governing bodies can play several roles, from acting as regulatory agencies to offering financial support or acting as a public face for the industry.

Esports’ biggest event is the annual League of Legends World Championship, hosted by Riot Games. This year’s finals drew more than 100 million viewers worldwide, beating the Super Bowl. Other prominent events include the Counter-Strike tournaments at ELEAGUE and Intel Extreme Masters, and Valorant’s top-tier matches. Notable esports teams include Astralis, whose dominance of the CSGO scene has earned them hundreds of thousands of dollars in prizes; OG, who broke through at the Frankfurt Major in 2015 and won The International back-to-back in 2018 and 2019; and Team Liquid, who pushed for the top spot in Dota 2 with an impressive $2 million payout in 2024.

Combat Sports captivate audiences worldwide with their combination of raw athleticism, strategic depth, and fast-paced action. From the ancient art of judo to modern-day MMA, each discipline has its own rules and techniques, but all emphasize respect for one’s opponent and an ethic of personal growth.

Behind the glamor of the arena, a meticulously orchestrated production brings together athleticism, entertainment, and logistics. From judging to medical staff, every aspect is regulated to ensure the safety of participants and spectators. In addition, training regimens and nutrition strategies optimize performance and mitigate injury risk.

Despite the risk of injury, many combat athletes still choose to pursue their passion, overcoming fear and doubt while striving for excellence. Their stories of triumph over adversity transcend sport and speak to the heart of humankind.

As the popularity of combat sports continues to rise, safety concerns remain a top priority for fans and participants alike. In particular, the recent surge in MMA has led to concerns about head trauma and long-term neurological damage. A number of studies have identified the potential for repetitive head trauma to alter neuroplasticity, a key driver of cognitive function.

Aside from the physical benefits of training, such as increased muscle tone and stress relief (due to the release of endorphins), martial arts help people develop a mindset that allows them to deal with conflict in a more constructive way. They also become better at recognizing potential threats and reacting appropriately to them, whether in the form of verbal exchanges or sudden movements that could indicate an attack.

Athlete endorsements leverage the reach, influence, and authenticity of sports stars to boost brand awareness and drive sales. Unlike sponsorship, which associates broadly with a sports entity or event, endorsement deals focus on product integrations that align with athletes’ personal brands and long-term goals.

Athletes often work with agents and attorneys to source and negotiate endorsements. Attorneys provide legal analysis, draft and review contracts, and help ensure compliance with applicable laws and industry rules. They also define usage rights, protect intellectual property, and structure the deal to limit exposure to liability or future disputes. Endorsement agreements typically classify athletes as independent contractors rather than employees. This designation has financial implications, including the obligation to manage income taxes and lack of employee benefits, such as healthcare and retirement plans. Agreements also require clear compensation structures, with a mix of guaranteed fees and performance incentives. They may also include specific requirements around approval rights, rights of refusal, re-approval of legacy content, and protections from alignment with controversial or high-risk product lines.

Genuine partnerships are the cornerstone of effective influencer marketing. Athletes who genuinely believe in and use the products they endorse lend credibility to the campaigns, increasing audience trust. For example, Serena Williams’s partnership with Nike is strengthened by her authentic use of the company’s products in her training and competitions.

Athlete endorsement contracts must be carefully crafted to comply with FTC disclosure standards, which carry substantial civil penalties for non-compliance. Contracts should clearly require that paid promotions be identified as ads and should contain authenticity clauses requiring athletes to use the products they promote and base their promotional claims on actual experience. Attorneys can also help mitigate risk by ensuring that termination provisions set forth specific thresholds, timelines, and evidentiary standards to reduce the likelihood of unanticipated disputes.

This past few weeks have brought us a flurry of athlete retirement news. From Super Bowl hero Nick Foles retiring to women’s soccer legend Alex Morgan hanging up her cleats, a number of elite athletes have decided that it’s time to step away from the sport that made them famous. For many athletes, this can be a very difficult transition. Not only do they have to switch from training around the clock to surviving on minimum wages, but they also have to find their self-identity outside of their sport.

This can be particularly hard for elite athletes, who often have their lives centered around their sport. In fact, research has shown that elite athletes struggle with retirement because they lose their sense of identity in the non-sport world. In other words, they feel like they are a fish out of water, with no idea who they are without their sport.

But it’s not just athletes who suffer from this problem, parents, partners and coaches can be negatively affected by an athlete’s retirement. Parents and partners will miss going to competitions, while coaches will miss having a student to lead.

It’s therefore important for athletes to start saving and investing early, says Wally Chapman, divisional director at RBC Wealth Management – U.S., a division of RBC Capital Markets, LLC. Investing early means that you can build your wealth over time and benefit from compound interest. It can also help reduce your tax bill when you retire.

The US Open is the fourth and final Grand Slam tournament of the year. The event was first played in August 1881 on grass courts, but the tournament moved to a hard court format in 1978. Today, the US Open is held at Flushing Meadows, and it’s one of the most popular tournaments in the world.

The 2025 US Open begins on Aug. 24 and is scheduled to run through Sept. 7. Qualifying matches begin on Aug. 18. The tournament will feature three weeks of tennis, and tickets can be expensive, especially in Arthur Ashe Stadium and Louis Armstrong Stadium.

A US Open schedule full of star power makes this a tournament to watch. Defending champion Jannik Sinner is in the top seed, and he’s got a good chance of reaching another final in New York. But he could face some stiff competition along the way, including Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic.

On the women’s side, top seed Aryna Sabalenka faces a tough draw. She’ll start against Rebeka Masarova, and could also play Wimbledon winners Elena Rybakina and Marketa Vondrousova.

There’s a deep American contingent in New York, led by 2024 runner-up Madison Keys and the rising talents of Learner Tien and Alex Michelsen. Taylor Fritz, last year’s semifinalist, and Frances Tiafoe round out the group, and each has a shot at making the quarterfinals.

The US Open is more than just tennis, though, and it features plenty of food and drinks, as well as special events throughout the city. Hotel Seville NoMad, a part of the Hyatt Unbound Collection, will host a sip-and-shop with UomoSport and Dunlop Tennis on Friday, as well as cocktail hour at Honey Deuce.

The Asian Games 2026 — the third to be hosted by Japan, after Tokyo in 1958 and Hiroshima in 1994 — will be held from September 19 to October 4 with Nagoya as its focal point. The organizing committee has decided to include cricket and mixed martial arts in the programme, while open water swimming has been dropped.

The addition of cricket and MMA will help attract younger audiences. E-sports — which was introduced to the Games at the Hangzhou edition in 2018 — will also make a return with a new arena designed to accommodate thousands of fans and bring the action closer to spectators. Other changes include the inclusion of surfing and karate as well as the reinstatement of sepak takraw and kabaddi from previous editions.

Aichi-Nagoya 2026 aims to bring people together through sports by showing the power of “ONE ASIA” through the eyes of the athletes, who are the heart of the Games. The mascot, Ai-na, was created by artist Yuji Sakamoto, who has previously developed catchphrases, slogans and product names such as electronic money card WAON and the AEON supermarket chain.

All 45 National Olympic Committees who are members of the Olympic Council of Asia will be able to send delegations. The exception is Israel, which has been excluded since 1976 due to its disputed political status. However, the country will send a delegation in 2026 as it is allowed to compete in the Games based on its membership in the OCA.

Sports organizations rely on social media to spread team news and keep fans engaged. Whether it’s an injury to a star player or the lineup for a new game, fans can instantly get the latest updates on their favorite teams through their feeds. As a result, social media has become the go-to source for sports fans, and it’s time for all sports leagues, teams, and individual athletes to leverage the platform’s rapid rise.

Social media allows athletes to connect with fans in real-time and build their personal brands beyond the confines of the sports field. Athletes can share behind-the-scenes content, training sessions, and locker room banter on their social platforms to humanize themselves and establish loyalty with their audience. As a result, fans are more invested in athletes’ careers and feel like they’re part of the team, driving long-term engagement for sports leagues and teams.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many athletic competitions were suspended, but athletes found innovative ways to continue training and engage their audiences on social media. For example, triathlete Jan Frodeno used a countercurrent pool in his home and a treadmill to complete his race—raising more than $22,000 for hospitals and the Laureus Foundationopen_in_new along the way. Athletes can use their social platforms to announce new races and events, promote tickets or merchandise, or create interactive challenges for followers. In addition, social media platforms allow athletes to connect directly with their followers and respond to comments or questions in real-time.

The Champions League is the most prestigious club competition in European football. It is contested by the national league champions (and, for some nations, one or more runners-up) of their respective UEFA associations and is played in a group stage before a single-elimination knockout tournament. It is considered to be the top club competition in the world, and has produced some of the game’s most iconic figures from Johan Cruyff and Lionel Messi to Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar.

In 2024–25, UEFA introduced new changes to the tournament structure and name, but the basic format of a group stage and a knockout round of sixteen has remained unchanged since its establishment in 1955-56. The field of thirty-two teams is divided into eight groups of four, with a randomized draw determining which clubs are assigned to each group. Each team plays the other three teams in its group twice, playing home and away. Teams earn points for winning, losing, and drawing; the team with the most points wins the group.

From the group phase, only the top two teams advance to the round of sixteen, which is contested much like other knockout rounds in major international soccer tournaments. The team with the higher cumulative score over both legs—a technique known as aggregate goals—advances. The ties are played over the course of several weeks in a home-and-away series, and a team advances to the next round when it wins its two matches. Unlike past tournament formats, there is no country protection, and teams from the same association can face each other in the first knockout round.

World Test Championship is a biennial tournament organised by the International Cricket Council to determine the world’s best test team. Spanning two-year cycles and culminating in a final match between the top two teams, the tournament seeks to add context and excitement to the longest form of the game.

The first World Test Championship cycle ended with New Zealand winning the trophy after defeating India in the final of the 2021 Ashes series. The second WTC cycle began on August 4, 2021 with the England-India series and concluded with Australia winning the title in June 2023.

As part of the World Test Championship, each team will play six series of four or five matches against other teams to earn points and win the competition’s prestigious Test Mace. Each team will also play a one-off match against an ICC Associate nation to earn bonus points and further increase their chances of earning the Test Mace.

A win is worth twelve points, a draw is worth four, and a loss is worth two. In addition, a team is awarded points based on their performance against other teams in the competition and their average score over those matches.

Aiden Markram was the undisputed star of the show in a riveting WTC final at Lord’s, claiming Player of the Match honours with an impressive 136 not out. His dominant display helped South Africa chase 282 in a match that saw ideal batting conditions exploited by a much less experienced Australian batting unit. The victory put an end to a 28-year ICC trophy drought and set the Proteas up for a great home ODI World Cup in 2027.

Formula 1 is a global spectacle of speed and strategy, connecting millions to the excitement of racing. Its mix of tradition and futurism inspires passionate predictions, debates and insights – fuelling the desire to know what’s next on the scoreboard. Amidst the intricate tapestry of F1’s rich history, key developments continuously shape race results and driver standings. From rule changes boosting overtaking opportunities to technological advancements altering the speed landscape, pivotal shifts weave into rankings and influence who’s-who.

The F1 world champion is decided by the driver who scores the most points during a season, which includes a calendar of Grand Prix races and short sprint events. The winner of each race is awarded 25 points, while the top ten finishers earn a decreasing number of points on a sliding scale. In addition, a team’s combined points from both of its drivers counts towards the constructors championship.

Teams rely on complex and often confidential strategies to secure their place at the top of the standings. These often involve sacrificing the team’s own best interest for the greater good, such as letting a quicker team-mate pass by in the final stages of a race or adopting a slower pit stop to ensure the team gets the most out of its budget. These negotiated decisions give context to F1’s infamously competitive standings. They also demonstrate how a single race can alter a championship.