Elisa expanding esports operations – new Nordic tournament finals in Vaasa in May
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.
Follow Elisa Esports on social media for the latest news and updates:
- X: @ElisaEsports
- Instagram: @ElisaEsports
- TikTok: @ElisaEsports
Elisa Masters Espoo has grown to become the number one Finnish esports event and has been a great success in Finland and around the world. The event will be held for the third time at Espoo Metro Arena on 16–20 October 2024 and is expected to be even more competitive this year. Ticket sales start on 29 May at 11:00 CEST.
Elisa Masters Espoo 2024, Finland’s largest esports arena event, is an international tournament organised in cooperation with the City of Espoo. Last year’s second edition of the Elisa Masters was a huge success, with over 8,000 spectators on site and 33 million unique pairs of eyes watching from around the world.
Best event of the year becoming an even better experience
The Elisa Masters Espoo has earned its place among the major international tournaments and was nominated at the HLTV Awards as the best Counter-Strike event of the year. In Finland, the Elisa Masters Espoo was voted B2C Event of the Year at the Sponsorointi & Tapahtumat Awards in March.
The Elisa Masters Espoo 2024 starts with the studio phase on 16–17 October, followed by the exciting arena phase at Espoo Metro Arena on 18–20 October. A total of eight teams will compete in the tournament. In addition to B8, the team from Ukraine that won the Elisa Invitational Spring 2024, the tournament will see the winner of the Elisa Esports eSM 2024 national championships in August, the winner of the Elisa Invitational Fall 2024 in September, and five world-class invited teams. The other teams participating in the event will be announced in the coming months. The prize pool for the event is $200,000. Ticket sales will start on 29 May at 11 CEST. This year, all ticket types for the Friday will be available for the same price of €19. In addition, instead of having three-day tickets, there will two-day tickets for the Saturday and Sunday. The age limit for the event is 16, or 13 if accompanied by a guardian.
“This year’s event is expected to be even tougher than before. Building on our previous successes, we’re making the Elisa Masters even more exciting. We’re also making it easier for people to participate by offering tickets for the Friday at a lower price. The event will take place during the autumn holiday week, so this is a great option for families to spend the autumn holiday week together, taking the age limit into account”, says Mika Lepistö, Director of New Business Development and Partnerships at Elisa.
“Gaming is a huge phenomenon – it’s now the largest entertainment industry in the world. As a city, we wanted to rise to the challenge, and in Espoo, we have been investing in developing gaming startups, important education for children and young people in gaming, and esports. The Elisa Masters Espoo partnership is part of this, giving us a way to reach out to the gamer community in Espoo, in Finland, and internationally. I warmly welcome Espoo residents and visitors to discover esports and watch this exciting tournament. I can guarantee there will be exciting new experiences – even for people who aren’t gamers”, comments Mervi Heinaro, Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, Sports and Culture at the City of Espoo.
Esports growing in popularity
Esports is growing in popularity all the time. Elisa has had an esports business since 2017, and the number of spectators at events organised by Elisa has grown sharply over the last few years.
“Elisa’s aim is to develop expertise in the field and to professionalise esports. We work with schools to enable the esports industry and education. We want to be present where young people are and to develop a digital entertainment culture. At the same time, we are able to influence how young people spend their time in the digital environment”, explains Lepistö.
Find out tickets and more: elisamasters.com
For group and private bookings of more than six people and other special requests, please contact sales@elisaesports.fi.
Follow Elisa Masters Espoo 2024 on social media for the latest news and updates:
- X: @ElisaEsports
- Instagram: @ElisaEsports
- TikTok: @ElisaEsports
