The Next Generation of eSports Stars: Who to Watch in 2025?
eSports is getting bigger by the day. There was once a time when only a niche crowd of people followed professional gaming in any capacity. Now, it’s reaching the same levels of popularity as major sports. Loads of fans tune in to the big tournaments, and legions watch their favorite players on sites like Twitch or even bet on their exploits on platforms like 1wins-korea.com/.
But this world moves fast. Stars come and go, and new talents are always emerging. And that’s what we’re going to talk about today – new talent. Below, you’ll find a deep dive into the hottest talents that are breaking out onto the scene, set to dominate games like Valorant, LoL, and more in 2025 and beyond.
Rising Stars
We’ll start off with a look at the scene in general, with a focus on just a few of the names you might already be familiar with, as they’ve had a good year or two building up to 2025 and now seem set to take the next big step.
Bob, otherwise known as Mark Anthony Urbina, is a great example of this.
Born in 2000, this Filipino player has really started to make waves in the Dota 2 scene of late. He actually took home his first big win way back in 2020 at ESL One Thailand. But it's only in the last couple of years that he's really built on that and started to put together a series of good results.
He finished top three at several events in 2023. Then he backed that up with three first-place finishes in 2024 and 2025 in events like the AsiaPro League Season 2 and Asia Pacific Predator League.
Next, let's talk about Azbayar Munkhbold, otherwise called Senzu.
Senzu is only 18 at this time. He hails from Mongolia, and he specializes in CS:GO and CS2. He's one of the rising stars of the Counter-Strike scene, with loads of fans predicting him for big things in 2025 and more years to come.
Part of the team The MongolZ, Senzu took some big steps into S-tier competitions in 2024. He claimed first at the YaLLA Compass 2024 event and Thunderpick World Championship 2024. He also made top 8 at the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024. He’s clearly got a bright future.
And now let’s shine the spotlight on Stanislav "Malr1ne" Potorak.
This Russian star is part of Team Falcons and plies his trade in Dota 2. He is well-known for being only the second ever player to reach an MMR of 15,000. And that should already tell you what an amazing talent he is and why he’s often a safe bet on platforms like 1Win online.
He spent a couple of years out of the spotlight honing his skills, before really taking the scene by storm in 2024. He earned multiple first-place finishes at events like DreamLeague and ESL One Birmingham, and the sky's the limit for this young, ambitious, and highly strategic gamer.
Game-Specific Stars
We’ve spoken about some of the most promising young stars across the scene. But now let’s get a bit more specific, focusing on some of the most popular eSports titles and seeing which young names are getting ready to make their marks on the competition.
Valorant
Valorant fans will want to keep an eye on Wo0t as the 2025 season progresses. Only 18, but already with over $100,000 of prize winnings to his name, Wo0t really excelled in 2024 as part of Team Heretics. When his team were in tough spots, he repeatedly stepped up.
He led the way in frags, often landed the first kills in clutch games, and cemented himself as one of Europe's leading fraggers. He even racked up one of the best ever average combat scores at VCT Masters Shanghai, one of the most prestigious S-tier tournaments.
Fortnite
In Fortnite, Miguel “Pollo” Moreno is the name to know right now. This kid is only 16 years of age and is already a legend in the game after one of the best seasons ever in 2024. Alongside his partner, Peterbot, who also deserves a big mention, Pollo earned win after win in 2024.
We saw him come up clutch at multiple events, most notably the FNCS 2024 Global Championship. There, he and Peterbot scored a whopping $200k with their first place finish. Gamblers are already heading to 1Win bet to gamble on Pollo winning even more in 2025.
Call of Duty
In CoD, there are a lot of great rookies and breakout players to talk about, as it’s such a dynamic gaming scene. But we’re going to talk about Scrappy, aka Thomas Ernst, for the purposes of this article.
Known for his trash talk and cockiness, but also his immense talent in the game, Scrappy rapidly rose the ranks in 2024. He got a bunch of big victories with Toronto Ultra, and he’s proved a favorite with e Sports betting enthusiasts too, as you can often count on him to deliver.
League of Legends
Sniper, or Rayan Shoura, is one of the hottest talents hitting the LoL scene for 2025. He's been in the game a few years, but definitely had something of a breakout year in 2024, in which he became the top laner for his team, 100 Thieves.
A great thing with Sniper is that he isn't just a player of immense talent, but also drive and determination. He's had a few setbacks in his short career so far, but always bounced back and stayed committed to the cause. That attitude should help him a lot moving forward.
Counter-Strike 2
Over on the CS side of things, Mario "malbsMd" Samayoa is making waves. He's a 22-year-old player from Guatamela. He kicked off his career in CS:GO, and has since progressed to the sequel, CS2.
In the early years of his playing, he spent time on a few local teams to improve his skills. Then, he pushed on, joining M80 Esports in 2023 and G2 in 2024, becoming a major part of the team and winning the BLAST Premier World Final of 2024.
Training and Development: How the Next Generation Prepares
There was a time, not all that long ago, when eSports stars didn’t exactly have any sort of strict training regimen. Many of them just fit the “gamer stereotype” of spending hours sitting behind their PCs or consoles, downing energy drinks and having fun with their buddies.
But now, with this sports becoming much more serious, valuable, and important, things have changed. Today’s eSports stars lead athletic lifestyles. They eat a balanced diet and get plenty of exercise, for example, to hone both their physical and mental well-being.
They have to practice their eSports games a lot, of course, but they do so under strict conditions, and many take time out each day to focus on other activities. All of this helps to improve their overall health, awareness, communication, and other core skills.
Many young and aspiring players also now enroll in specialized academies, where they can learn from the best. Many also make the most of new technologies to breakdown games on deeper levels than ever and optimize their strategies, roles, and actions to the finest of levels.
All of this means, in a nutshell, that today’s stars and future generations of players are training harder and better than ever. And they’re going to push the boundaries of what this sport can be in the years to come.
The Impact of Streaming and Social Media
One of the big driving forces that has helped the global eSports market become so big and so valuable today is streaming. Sites like Twitch and YouTube have absolutely changed the game. Because of these platforms:
- Fans can watch big eSports tournaments from all over the world more easily
- They can follow their favorite stars outside of tournaments and watch them train
- They can learn from the biggest names in the eSports games, like Valorant and CoD
- And players, too, can form better connections with their fans
- Players can also use these platforms to build careers and revenue through their play
All of this makes this sport more accessible, more engaging, and more entertaining. It also helps in the eSports betting scene. Fans can watch events or pros training up on Twitch, and then head to a platform like 1Win Korea (1Win 사이트) to place bets on future matchups, based on their knowledge and love of the games.
If you look at a lot of the most popular streamers, they are even current or former pros. Ninja, for example, who is the most-subscribed to person on Twitch, was a pro in games like Halo 3 and Fortnite. And a lot of pros are great at making content on the side, making them even more popular and strengthening the scene on the whole.
Predictions for the 2025 Season
So, what can we expect going into 2025 for eSports? Who should you be betting on at sites like 1Win casino and the 1Win sportsbook?
Well, given the vast range of games and tournaments taking place all over the globe in the next calendar year, it’s impossible to predict them all or list all the possible permutations and breakout stars. But one thing is for sure – we will definitely see some upsets and surprises this year, and once again, new talents are guaranteed to emerge on the scene and shock fans.
There are lots of dark horses and underdogs out there, and even players we don’t even know the names of yet who will make waves in 2025. In short, it’s guaranteed to be a really exciting time, and a lot of the names listed above, like Scrappy, Sniper, Senzu, and Pollo are sure to keep on impressing and build their names.
For fans, this means a lot of excitement ahead, and for gamblers, it also represents some interesting opportunities to head to 1Win login and place bets on some of the underdogs and lower-rated players. If you can spot a dark horse before it emerges, you have a chance of winning some major cash.
Conclusion: An Exciting Time for eSports
All in all, it’s a real exciting time for eSports. The scene is only getting bigger and better. And we’re constantly seeing big stars light up the stage and new talents rise up the rankings. It’s dynamic, it’s always changing, and it’s never not thrilling to watch. So, whatever your favorite game happens to be, make sure to stay tuned to all the big tourneys in 2025.
