Esports Events Incubator - 2026 subsidies announced

The first run of the Esports Events Incubator has been concluded with 6 amazing esports events in 2026 that will receive a subsidy from the BESF! The Esports Events Incubator was started at the end of 2025 in response to the broad concerns voiced at our stakeholder meetings that there’s a lack of tournaments and investments in Belgium. Supported by the players of the National Lottery, we set up a first pilot of the incubator with a budget of 5000 euros to stimulate stakeholders to organize more events, to reduce financial risks for them and to guide them to make their event more successful. 13 Applications were received that were judged by a jury with extensive expertise in esports and/or event management. Of those 13 applications, 6 strong events ultimately received a subsidy:

• Accessible gaming, an organization that provides people with a disability with the means and equipment to be able to play games, will be co-operating with Thomas More and several specialized care facilities to organize an accessibility tournament at GameFest. It will bring together gamers with and without disabilities in an accessible and fun competition setting, showing that gaming is for everyone, regardless of their ability.
• VUB Gaming will be expanding their activities with a range of new esports events and tournaments with a strong focus on (local) student engagement. The first of their new events will be Time To Shine for the Smash Bros community with the ambition to be one of the biggest Smash tournaments in Belgium.
• PTX-LAN, a new LAN-party in Waregem that puts a lot of emphasis on partnerships with other stakeholders and local organizations. They are also taking strong initiatives to make their LAN-party inclusive and accessible.
• On Student Grounds aims to establish a consistent, professionally managed collegiate esports circuit for students. This year they offer a hybrid league with online qualifiers, leading to prestigious offline finals in Valorant, LOL and TFT, with expansion plans already to other RIOT titles. The competition is not just for students to compete in. The organization also uses its strong educational background to involve esports students in the organization itself to develop their professional skills through experiential learning and thus preparing the next generation of esports professionals in Belgium.
• Tranzit Kortrijk will be collaborating with many of our esports organizations to bring a new offline esports tournament format to Unwrap Playday with a strong focus on engaging the local community. The tournaments are embedded in a larger gaming concept with strong collaborations with the city of Kortrijk, local companies and (youth) organizations.
• Level Up, a family-oriented gaming event, organized by students of Howest Brugge, that aims to connect parents and children through interactive and educational gaming experiences.  

How it works

Any organizer that wants to organize a new esports event or new esports initiative at an existing event (organizing an esports tournament at an existing gaming fair, for example) can apply for a subsidy through the esports events incubator. The only hard requirements are that the event takes place in Belgium or serves the Belgian community and that the organizer is able to invoice the BESF. Applications open up in the summer for events that are planned to take place in the following year.

Depending on the number of applications, either all events or a selection thereof will be chosen to hold a small online pitch for a jury of people with experience in esports and/or event management. To make this process as objective and transparent as possible, the jury scores the applications with an evaluation matrix that is publicly available. The matrix is intended as a tool for both the applicant, to have a clear understanding of the evaluation criteria, and the jury to better and more objectively compare applications and provide structured feedback.

Each applicant will receive the jury decision, along with their scores and feedback along all of the evaluation criteria. This process is designed to be a learning experience. Our aim is not only to decide who gets a subsidy but also that every applicant receives valuable feedback to improve their event.

The events are scored on different criteria within 4 major categories:

• Overall event concept and long-term vision and strategy
• Event management, financials and sustainability    
• Added value of the event to the Belgian esports ecosystem    
• (Bonus) Societal value of the event     

The organizers that got a subsidy granted will have to send their invoices in December and a payment deadline will be discussed with the individual organizers. We aim to pay out all the subsidies well before the start of the event so that there is no need for pre-financing.

It's important that these events become financially sustainable. An event can only receive a subsidy for a maximum of two years. This way the incubator can keep using its resources for new events. Applicants need to think about a plan to become sustainable without the subsidy as part of their long-term strategy.

Interested?

Leave your e-mail in the form below to stay updated on the esports events incubator and to be notified when the applications process starts this year for events in 2027!