At the Colors Cup, tactical gameplay, live matches, and show games meet music, art, and international cuisine. The Colors Cup stands for diversity, fair play, and respectful community - and sends a clear message against hate, discrimination, and exclusion in esports.
Two open qualifiers will take place in June 2026, with up to 32 teams competing. The format is
single elimination, and the best two teams from each qualifier secure their spot at the finals in
Wiesbaden. Four teams will compete live on LAN, with the semifinals taking place on
August 7, 2026, and the grand final on August 8, 2026.
The Colors Cup is more than just a
tournament. It is a project by Leandro de Nittis and Anna Maria Russi, an educational esports
event built around inclusion, respect, and real community. Here, competition and togetherness
meet and show how powerfully esports can connect people.
Become part of this
movement and fight your way to the final.
DISCORD
The idea for the Colors Cup was born at a kitchen table in early 2025. In an intense conversation,
Anna Maria Russi and her adult sons Gianluca and Leandro reflected on their many years of
experience in the international esports scene. They talked about major tournaments and strong
communities, but also about exclusion, discrimination, and the lack of safe spaces in the digital
world.
This honest exchange shaped a shared attitude and, from there, a new concept.
From the
beginning, the Colors Cup has been designed as an inclusive space. Inclusion is
not an add-on, but the foundation. The strength of the project lies in its personal and professional
multi-perspective approach. Leandro contributes professional esports experience and direct access to
the
community. Gianluca adds analytical expertise, strategic thinking, and a structural perspective.
Anna Maria Russi combines these impulses with educational expertise and
experience in participatory project development.
The result is a unique concept in
which scene experience, analytical clarity, and educational responsibility
work together.
At the Colors Cup, inclusion means concrete access instead of symbolic
gestures. Barriers are deliberately removed. People, regardless of origin, gender, sexual
orientation, disability, or social background, are actively included. Through lived
participation, participants become co-creators, and democratic values such as co-determination,
fairness, and dialogue become tangible.
Access, freedom, and peace shape the Colors Cup.
Gaming becomes a space for encounters at eye level and for togetherness that lives diversity as a
strength.
I am 52 years old, a state-certified educator, self-employed in coaching and workshops, and the founder of the Colors Cup together with my sons Leandro and Gianluca de Nittis. As a mother and as the daughter of migrant workers from southern Italy, different lifeworlds, cultural perspectives, and the experience of belonging and exclusion shape me in equal measure.
For many years, I worked in open child and youth work as well as outpatient youth welfare. My focus areas are intercultural competence, inclusive education, and participatory project development. I work resource-oriented and strengthen self-efficacy, responsibility, and social skills.
Today, I support people and projects in coaching processes and workshops. I teach social and intercultural skills, support lived participation, and work systemically. A particular focus is awareness: consciously shaping discrimination-sensitive and safe spaces where diversity is lived respectfully.
I am actively involved in the city community and serve on the Foreigners' Advisory Council. Participation, dialogue, and respectful coexistence are, for me, lived responsibility.
Through my long-standing closeness to the gaming and esports scene, and as the mother of a professional esports player, I have experienced digital communities up close. I am convinced that digital spaces are social spaces and therefore educational spaces. Young people do not need bans there, but support, orientation, and shared mindfulness.
Inclusion, participation, and democratic values form the foundation of my work. My goal is to create access, remove barriers, and shape spaces where freedom, respect, and peace are a given, online and offline.
I am Leandro de Nittis, 21 years old and an esports player for more than four years, a passionate streamer and content creator, and founder of the Colors Cup. Together with my mother Anna Maria Russi, I created an educational esports event that stands for inclusion, respect, and real community. In August, we are bringing a VALORANT tournament to the stage in Wiesbaden, along with an experience featuring music, food, and space for encounters. The Colors Cup connects competition with togetherness and shows how strongly esports can bring people together.
"As a design and development agency, we see great potential in this project. Since we are gamers ourselves, we strongly identify with the tournament and its idea. Our goal is to create a professional yet emotional tournament presence that reflects the values of the Colors Cup."
"We were especially convinced by the clear focus on teenagers and young adults. For many of them, gaming is a natural part of their everyday world. The Colors Cup meets this audience where they are and transfers digital play into a social, community-based, and value-oriented context."
"As a broadcaster of international sporting events, we know that esports holds great potential and requires highly innovative broadcast technologies. Our trainees will realize this new event format independently using a state-of-the-art outside broadcast vehicle and can develop in several ways in the process. The Colors Cup is modern esports with an explicit fair play factor - a role-model combination that TVN is happy to support."
"We at Computer Club Südhessen e.V. support the Colors Cup Wiesbaden 2026 because we are convinced by the overall concept. Our own event, BieberLAN, which we have been running for 25 years, also stands for diversity, respect, community, and tolerance."
"As a platform that works with streaming, content, and digital communities every day, we see the Colors Cup as a forward-looking project. We want to help develop esports as a respectful, open, and creative space."
Be there live when esports means more than just
a game. From August 7 to 9, 2026, the
Colors Cup Wiesbaden opens its doors to fans,
players, and curious visitors - right at the heart of the
community.
Get your ticket and
become part of an event that brings competition, culture, and
community together.
Incl. aftershow
40 €+ 2.92 € fees charged by Eventfrog
GET TICKETValid for one event day
25 €+ 2.23 € fees charged by Eventfrog
GET TICKETAccess to the aftershow party
Ages 18 and up
15 €+ 1.76 € fees charged by Eventfrog
GET TICKETGrill and Chill & football match
10 €+ 1.52 € fees charged by Eventfrog
GET TICKETThe Colors Cup starts with two online qualifiers. The first runs from June 19-21, 2026, and the second from June 26-28, 2026. The LAN event takes place from August 7-9, 2026.
Tickets are available directly through Eventfrog. Use the "Get tickets" button at the top of the page or the buttons in the ticket section.
Participation and attendance at the event are permitted from age 16. The aftershow party and certain activities are for ages 18 and up. There is no age limit on Colors Day.
The team list will be published after qualification has concluded.
There will be a varied selection of food and drinks. More information will follow.
