Austria celebrates: Oktay Kazan is getting the first title in the Icon League!

Austria celebrates: Oktay Kazan is getting the first title in the Icon League!

Düsseldorf, Deutschland - On May 28, 2025, Oktay Kazan, the goalkeeper of FC Berlin City, wrote history by winning the Icon League. This makes him the first Austrian player to achieve this title. The award ceremony, which was celebrated with a spectacular confetti rain and an impressive light show, increased the mood among the spectators and players alike. Darko Bodul, who is part of David Alaba's team, was recognized as the best player of the season, which underlines his outstanding achievements.

The Icon League, which was launched by Elias Nerlich and Toni Kroos at the beginning of the year, has established itself as one of the most exciting platforms in e-sports. This second season began on Monday evening in the Castello in Düsseldorf and quickly became a highlight for e-sports fans. The games were played by well -known players such as President Toni Kroos, Franck Ribéry, Martin Harnik and Simon Terodde.

opening game and results

In the opening game, the Berlin Underdogs competed against FK Motor Neufünfland and won an impressive 10: 4 victory. The underdogs already led 5: 1 at half -time, with Immanuele Giardini being crowned with three gates scored to the MVP of the game. On the side of the FK Motor Neufünfland, Joren Paulus was able to score two goals, which was not enough for his team.

More results of the first round show the exciting competition of the league: B2B United had to give up 4: 5 in the penalty shooting, while in the game between the pack FC and Two Stripes United there was a clear 6: 1 for the latter, with Björn gap emerged as a MVP. The Bavarian Clique saw another exciting duel against Plys United, which ended 4: 3 for the Bavarian Clique after extension and Maximilian Grünberg secured the MVP title.

growth and importance of e-sports

Interest in e-sport has increased significantly in recent years, a trend that is further fueled by the founding of leagues like the Icon League. According to statistics, the market volume of E-Sport has experienced an increase of $ 975 million to around $ 1.08 billion between 2019 and 2021. It is predicted that the market value could grow to $ 2.9 billion by 2025.

A significant part of this growth is likely to be due to the increase in sponsorship income, which already reached $ 641 million in 2021, which was made up of $ 59 % of the entire E-Sport market. The number of spectators is also continuously increasing, with a global number of viewers of 474 million in 2021 and an expected increase to 577 million by 2024. In particular, the Asia-Pacific region is the main market for e-sports viewers.

The data obtained made it clear that e-sport is not only a temporary trend, but has established itself as a steadily growing industry. In Germany, the awareness of e-sports is 69 % of the population, whereby the estimated sales should increase to 163 million euros by 2025.