Esports betting company Rivalry and Counter-Strike commentator Mohan ‘Launders’ Govindasamy have unveiled a second Counter-Strike 2 LAN tournament.
Known as the Launders LAN, the event will take place from April 20th to the 21st at The Warehouse located in downtown Toronto Canada.
The event will be operated by Rivalry and is the sequel to FragFest, the first Counter-Strike 2 LAN hosted by the betting company and Launders. Launders LAN will be an expansion of the first event, featuring 32 teams and a $10,000 CAD (~£5,841) prize pool.
Alongside the increase in teams and prize pool, the event will also feature several on-site activations ranging from exclusive merchandise to contests for attendees to participate in.
Rivalry first collaborated with Launders in April 2023. The partnership between the betting company and the commentator aims to ‘engage Toronto-based esports fans’ through in-person activations and online content for fans to interact with. According to a release, FragFest generated ‘over 300,000’ impressions across its social media channels.
The trend of bookmakers running their own esports events shows no signs of slowing down. Alongside Rivalry, the likes of Thunderpick, Pinnacle, and Roobet have hosted events to directly engage with its customers and fans.
Britt Doll, Rivalry’s Canada Marketing Director, spoke on the event: “FragFest set the benchmark for creator-led tournaments with more than 200 people coming out to watch and play Counter-Strike 2 in Toronto last month.
“Rivalry is committed to powering its partners and communities, and our work with Launders continues to demonstrate that.”
