The Players editorial team has prepared a digest of the key esports and gaming news for June 17, 2026.
Number of Partner Teams in VCT Regions to Be Reduced to Eight in 2027
- Riot Games has finalized the number of partner organizations in the Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) esports ecosystem for the next two seasons. According to sources cited by Sheep Esports, the new two-year cycle will see the number of partners in each region reduced from ten to eight.
Brazilian Court Fines Riot, Valve, Ubisoft, and Other Gaming Giants $58.4 Million Over Loot Boxes
- The First Court for Children and Youth of Brazil’s Federal District has ordered leading technology companies and video game developers to pay a joint fine of 298 million Brazilian reais (approximately $58.4 million).
ZywOo on the Loss to 9z: “It Was a Good Slap in the Face for Us — We Realized We Needed to Wake Up”
- Vitality AWPer Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut gave an interview to Players ahead of the IEM Cologne Major 2026 CS2 playoffs.
KeSPA Fines Esports Player Ruler and Assigns Community Service Following Tax Controversy
- The Sports Fairness Committee of the Korea e-Sports Association (KeSPA) has imposed disciplinary sanctions on professional League of Legends player Park “Ruler” Jae-hyuk. Due to the public controversy surrounding his tax-related issues, the player was sentenced to 40 hours of community service and fined 20 million South Korean won (approximately €11,000).
Cost of Hope for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 Receives New Story and Character Details
- Ukrainian studio GSC Game World continues to keep most details of the Cost of Hope story expansion for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl under wraps. So far, it is known that the DLC will take players back to the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant and the Red Forest, while Skif will have to balance between the interests of the Freedom and Duty factions.