Update (November 18th): Coalesce won the tournament after beating Saw Youngsters 2-1 in the final:
UK esports organisations Feenix and Coalesce will be participating in a CSGO LAN event in Malta this week.
Wagering business Esports Technologies, a platinum sponsor at betting event Sigma Europe, will be presenting the CSGO tournament known as the Sigma Esports Technologies Cup. It aims to bring together ‘legends of the game with the next generation of players’.
Eight teams will take part overall, including Astralis academy side Astralis Talent, Saw Youngsters from Portugal, Eversio from Malta, TTC, Tranquillum and FTW, as well as the two UK teams.
The tournament takes place at the Malta Fairs & Conventions Centre from November 16th to 18th, and features a prize pool of $15,000. It will be held at a dedicated esports arena within the Sigma Esports Village.
There will also be a wildcard team assembled by Esports Technologies and Emil “HeatoN” Christensen, who will also captain the team. HeatoN is an esports manager and former Swedish professional Counter-Strike player, formerly team captain of Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP). HeatoN was the manager of NiP up until October 2018 and is widely considered one of the best Counter-Strike players of all time.
A series of closed online qualifiers took place on HLTV from November 3rd to 6th to determine the final two teams, who ended up as Feenix and Coalesce.
“To have 25% of teams from the UK and Ireland region is a testament to how strong this region is, and after a difficult period, we are showing tremendous growth potential.”
Alastair Whitham, Feenix
Feenix founder Alastair Whitham told Esports News UK: “After the recent Major and Epic.LAN (34), it looks like international LANs are returning, which is a real winner for fans and players.
“To have 25% of teams from the UK and Ireland region is a testament to how strong this region is, and after a difficult period, we are showing tremendous growth potential.”
Coalesce co-owner Sam ‘Kanny’ Hollinrake added: “It’s been a real pleasure to have events back, both from an organisation point of view but also for the players. Finally they can enjoy experiencing great places alongside pushing their careers.
“It’s been important for us to get back to events to really push our content. It’s something that will be on display when our next episode of ‘Strength in Numbers’ is released, documenting our Epic.LAN win. We’re beyond proud to have been invited to the Sigma event in Malta and although we have two stand-ins we do feel extremely confident that we can still take the title home.”
Mark Thorne, CMO, Esports Technologies, commented: “We are excited to be participating so prominently in this year’s SiGMA Europe, one of the truly elite events in the world of gaming. This event reflects well on Malta’s emergence as an international hub for the esports industry.”
“We’re going all out for what promises to be our biggest event yet,” said SiGMA Group founder Eman Pulis. “Esports is one of the fastest-growing verticals out there right now, and we’re excited to partner with Esports Technologies and Gamers.com.mt to bring the best of this explosive, vibrant ecosystem to Malta Week.”
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
