The FUSE Cup, Australia’s national school esports competition, has announced two business developments for 2026: the City of Gold Coast will support this year’s FUSE Esports Festival, while hardware maker Acer will remain a partner for at least another two years.
The FUSE Esports festival is described by organisers as the largest in-person school esports event in Australia. It brings together students, teachers and industry figures from around the country for the season’s finale, where state and national school esports champions are officially decided. The awards evening recognises schools, educators and students involved in the competition throughout the year.
The City of Gold Coast will support The FUSE Esports Festival and The FUSE Australian School Esports Awards Evening, both scheduled to take place in the city from 12 to 14 November 2026.
This will not be the first time the event has been held on the Gold Coast. Organisers said council backing helps them keep running an event centred on competition, skill-building and student wellbeing, while also giving the city exposure as a location for youth, education and technology events.
Separately, The FUSE Cup confirmed that computer maker Acer will remain its official PC gaming partner, extending a relationship that supports The FUSE Cup PC Masters Series. Acer’s gaming brand, Predator, will also continue as a partner of the Esports Festival and Awards Evening through 2026 and 2027.
Dan Martinez, Chief Operating Officer of The FUSE Cup, said at the announcement post, “For FUSE, long-term partnerships are incredibly important. They allow us to build sustainable programs, create stronger pathways for students and continue raising the standard of esports experiences available to Australian schools. A huge thank you to the Acer and Predator teams for continuing to believe in what we’re building and investing in the future of school esports. There’s plenty more to come.”
The local council support is landing at a time when esports is taking off across Australia’s education and business venue scene. For instance, Game Square (which runs esports venues) recently opened the Red Bull Gaming Hub Parramatta out in Western Sydney. Around the same time, Southern Cross University rolled out its own Esports Hub on the Gold Coast campus, giving students an actual physical space to game in. And that same month, the University of Sydney Union teamed up with Game Square to launch their own gaming and esports facility on campus too.
