The Esports Trade Association (ESTA) announced this week that its flagship trade event for business, the EsportsNext 2026, will take place April 29-30, 2026, in Fort Worth, Texas.
The two day business event aimed at esports and gaming professionals will operate under the theme, “Rival the Best, Rule the Rest.” The B2B esports conference will take place alongside the BLAST Premier Rivals tournament, also set to take place in Fort Worth.
EsportsNext 2026 aims to bring together “senior executives, strategic investors, and industry decision-makers” for discussions on trending topics and challenges, fireside chats with high-profile executives, panels, and micro events geared towards networking.
“We’ve positioned EsportsNext 2026 to deliver maximum value by bringing high-level discourse alongside an S-tier Counter-Strike tournament,” said Erik Anderson, Chairman of ESTA and President of FaZe Esports [a division of GameSquare Holdings]. “We know business leaders that make their way to Fort Worth will benefit immensely from experiencing both events.”
The partnership with BLAST offers attendees an opportunity to get a firsthand look at a major Counter-Strike competition, with eight of the best teams in the world competing for $1 million in total prize money and supported by team participation funds.
Speakers and other event details are to be announced. To learn more and register for the event, visit esportsta.org/esportsnext.
Esports Next 2025 took place in May and was hosted in tandem with DreamHack Dallas. Sponsored included the Coca-Cola Company, UGC.gg, Dallas Sports Commission, Anthros, EventPipe, SHI, Cadence, Morgan Stanley, Vela | Wood, DuPage Sports Commission, DOF Robotics, Archer & Green, and many more.