17.2.2025 - 11:58

Elisa is bringing Vaasa its first esports tournament – the Elisa Nordic Championship 2025 – bringing together the top Counter-Strike 2 teams from across the Nordics. The tournament offers Tier 2 teams the chance to gain valuable Valve ranking points and compete for a share of the $100,000 prize pool. The finals will take place at Vaasan Sähkö Arena on 23–24 May 2025. Tickets go on sale on 1 March.

Elisa has been a key player in the development of Finnish esports, offering teams and players the chance to reach international level since 2017. Now, Elisa is expanding its esports operations into the broader Nordic market and strengthening competitive gaming in the region with a new tournament: the Elisa Nordic Championship offers teams a unique chance to climb towards the top level, gain ranking points and compete for a $100,000 prize pool.

“The Elisa Nordic Championship 2025 represents a significant step up in Nordic esports”, says Mika Lepistö, Director of New Business Development & Partnerships at Elisa. “We want to offer teams in our region the opportunity to compete at the highest level and gain important ranking points on their way to international level.”

Vaasa – the new showcase for Nordic esports

Vaasa is known for its technological innovations and its position as an energy capital, and it provides an excellent setting for this new event. The Elisa Nordic Championship 2025 is the first esports event to be held in Vaasa. The city’s location and good transport connections make it a convenient setting for competitors and spectators from all over the Nordic countries.

“We warmly welcome all esports players and spectators to Vaasa! It’s great that Elisa is bringing this new event here, and we’re extremely excited that it’s an esports event, which is a growing field that is particularly appealing to young people. We want to do our part to support the success of this event, which will offer great experiences to everyone taking part”, explains Leena Forsén, Director of Communications and Marketing at the City of Vaasa.

A unique opportunity for local companies to reach young adults

This event is also significant for the region’s business community. Tuomas Saikkonen, CEO of VILPE, long-term partner of Elisa Esports, sees this tournament as providing new opportunities for local businesses:

“The Elisa Nordic Championship 2025 provides local companies with an unparalleled chance to reach the young adult target group – which is traditionally a hard group to reach. This event doesn’t just add to the pull of the Vaasa region, it also gives businesses new ways to strengthen their employer brand and market their products and services. This event is a fantastic opportunity for companies to take part in the growing and developing field of esports”, says Tuomas.

The Elisa Nordic Championship 2025 kicks off with the studio phase on 20–22 May. The four best teams will progress to the arena phase in front of a live audience at Vaasan Sähkö Arena on 23–24 May. Eight teams will be taking part in the finals, winning the right to participate through local qualifiers across the Nordics. The Elisa Nordic Championship is held in collaboration with Fragbite in Sweden, Dust2.dk in Denmark and MistGames in Norway. The goal of this collaboration is to strengthen the competitiveness of Nordic teams and offer them the chance to reach international level. Finnish teams can qualify for the finals through seasons 8 and 9 of the Elisa Open Suomi.

Tickets for the finals go on sale on 1 March 2025. Spectators must be at least 16 years old, or 13 if accompanied by a guardian. More information about the event is available on the official website: elisanordic.com.

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