Esports and Gaming - where Berlin will be a digital player in 2025

From gaming niche to cultural heavyweight - Berlin 2025 shows how digital competition and urban life intertwine. Between streaming studios, tournament arenas and youth projects, eSports have long since become part of the capital's DNA.

Local heroes - Berlin teams 2025

Eintracht Spandau, founded in 2021 by streamer and entertainer Maximilian “HandOfBlood” Knabe, has established itself as a fan favorite. The team will continue to experiment in 2025 - with a dedicated streamer team that combines entertainment and competitive play.

Berlin International Gaming (BIG) also remains relevant as an established flagship of German eSports excellence. The team competed in the Prime League again in 2025 and won a thrilling match against Eintracht Spandau 2:1 in March - a classic of the German scene.

Stage for Europe's digital elite

While Berlin teams dominate the regional competition, a number of so-called super teams dominate the action at global level - organizations such as T1 (Korea), JD Gaming (China), Team Liquid (USA) and Gen.G (Global) have internationally established lineups, multi-million sponsorship deals and enormous fan bases.

The media presence is also growing, with websites hosted by experts such as esportsInsider.de compiling relevant news and up-to-date information, and the range of bets on events and tournaments is also growing. Top iGaming platforms, such as those chosen by the ESI team, are increasingly offering a comprehensive range of bets on eSports events. events.

Tournaments such as the League of Legends World Championship or the Valorant Champions are now achieving viewing figures that rival traditional major sporting events: According to Riot Games, the final of Worlds 2024 was watched by over 6.4 million concurrent viewers worldwide - a new record.

This development is not without influence on the European scene: Berlin, as the production location for the LEC and VCT EMEA, regularly becomes a stage for these international forces. Players and casters from Korea, North America and Brazil live in the capital from time to time to attend tournaments or boot camps. Fan tourism is also growing: international visitors travel to events, meet their stars at LVL Berlin or visit pop-up stores of global eSports brands. eSports are no longer a purely digital phenomenon - but a cross-border cultural format that turns cities like Berlin into real network nodes in global entertainment.

In January 2024, a new chapter in the history of eSports was opened in Berlin-Adlershof: the former LEC Arena was converted into the state-of-the-art Riot Games Arena - the official venue for the League of Legends EMEA Championship (LEC) and the Valorant Champions Tour EMEA (VCT).

Based in Berlin, G2 eSports is one of the most successful and influential eSports organizations in Europe in 2025. Founded in 2013, the team is a record holder in the League of Legends EMEA Championship with 16 titles up to and including 2024 and was the first Western team to win the Mid-Season Invitational in 2019.

G2 is also internationally established in Valorant: in 2024, the team took third place at the VCT Masters Shanghai, followed by second place at the VCT Masters Bangkok in 2025 after winning the Americas Stage 1 Playoffs. In April 2025, G2 also founded the G2 Football Club, which takes part in the newly launched Kings League Germany - an innovative soccer format with digital elements. In addition to sporting success, G2 is also shaping pop culture: with a production site in Berlin and partnerships with brands such as Red Bull, Logitech and Ralph Lauren, G2 is a permanent fixture in the global eSports cosmos.

City, scene, streaming - Berlin as a digital cultural field

What distinguishes Berlin 2025 is not only the density of teams and arenas, but also the fusion of pop culture, sport and technology: whether public viewings in Kreuzberg bars, cosplay performances at gaming festivals or school projects on tactics and communication in eSports - digital competition culture has become visible in the capital.

Compared to other European cities such as Paris, Copenhagen or Warsaw, Berlin may not dominate in every discipline. But as a production center, career platform and creative location, the city plays a leading role.

Berlin 2025 shows how eSports can be not only a competition, but also a cultural technique, social space and economic factor. With organizations like G2 and iconic locations like the Riot Games Arena, the capital is creating a vibrant ecosystem that combines the digital future with everyday urban life - competitive, inclusive and surprisingly approachable.