News

League of Legends Nuguri takes top spot from ShowMaker in LoL player rankings By William Davis League of Legends DWG KIA defends top spot in LoL team ranking, LPL closes in By William Davis Counter-Strike FaZe Clan’s coldzera claims olofmeister is retiring from CSGO By Fariha Bhatti

Counter-Strike

Esports organization North closes, most players’ fates unknown Fariha Bhatti The joint project of Parken Sport & Entertainment and Nordisk Film North has officially ended. The unexpected announcement will see most of its rosters liquidated.  North is the latest esports organization with a focus on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to undergo serious changes over the last year. The press releases cited financial hurdles as the chief cause behind the exit.  Today is a sad day. North Esports is no more. Ty …

League of Legends

IWillDominate to co-stream LCS after League Partner ban lifted Olivia Richman League of Legends streamer and former pro player Christian “IWillDominate” Rivera is allowed to co-stream the LCS again.  “Really thankful that I can resume the co-streams and excited to move forward together with Riot and the LCS into the 2021 season,” IWillDominate tweeted to his excited fans.  IWillDominate noted that he will resume co-streaming the LCS on Friday.  Happy to announce that I have been given permission by Riot to …

League of Legends

What is the MoonStaff meta and how do you play it? William Davis  Ahead of Season 11, League of Legends completely changed its item system, introducing a new tier, the mythical items. These are powerful items and players can only pick one per game. The new item system created opportunities for creative build paths, like the strategy known as “MoonStaff.”  MoonStaff consists of two items, Moonstone Renewer and the Staff of Flowing Water. Moonstone Renewer is a mythic item that, according to the …

News

autimatic switches to Valorant and joins T1, azk to the bench Nicholas James After its disappointing North American Challengers run, T1 has made the move to bench Keven “AZK” Larivière and bring on former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive world champion Timothy “autimatic” Ta. Let’s get to work.Welcome @autimaticTV to T1 VALORANT! pic.twitter.com/dOLZBLJbXB — T1 (@T1) February 4, 2021 The American was a part of the first North American organization and roster to win a major in CSGO, emerging victorious at the ELEAGUE Boston Major …

News Riot bans Valorant’s top-ranked European player Nisay for hacking By M Alzamora League of Legends TFT Fates renews pass for PC and Mobile By William Davis News Overwatch 2 not releasing in 2021, Activision Blizzard confirms By Nina Forneloza

News

Raze ultimate continues to be buggy after Valorant patch 2.02 Olivia Richman Raze might take the crown for most buggy agent from Omen after Valorant patch 2.02.  Valorant players are still trying to understand a clip shared to Reddit that seems to depict a Raze activating her ultimate, Showstopper, and blasting it into the direction of agents on the enemy team. But for some reason, the rocket never lands or damages anyone.  It’s unclear why this happened, but one user quickly pointed …

League of Legends

What were the most popular esports games in 2020? Nina Forneloza Major esports events have been growing in popularity and, according to newzoo.com, the audience is set to grow more rapidly in the coming years. Here is a look at the most popular esports games that dominated in 2020. There are several factors to consider when talking about the “most popular” esports title. In order to determine the three most popular esports titles in 2020, total player count, tournament prize pools, …

League of Legends

T1 Faker breaks another LCK record, first to play 600 games Olivia Richman League of Legends star Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok has become the first player to compete in 600 games in the LCK.  The LCK proudly announced the accomplishment on Twitter and during a live stream. Faker continues to be one of the most popular and decorated players in the competitive League of Legends scene. He is beloved by fans both in South Korea and around the world. So strongly, in fact, that …

News

Raze ultimate can boost you to a secret sniping spot on Ascent Fariha Bhatti Valorant duelists are often expected to explode into bomb points by using their aggressive abilities. But this new Raze setup shows that she can make an impact in new and different ways.  Valorant has divided agents into categories based on what they typically bring to the table. The responsibility to rush in and bag kills often fall on a duelist’s shoulders thanks to their deadly toolkits. However, players with subpar …

Ninjas in Pyjamas stuns Astralis in BLAST Premier Spring opener M Alzamora Counter-Strike Despite many considering Astralis the favorite in its BLAST Premier Spring group matchup against Ninjas in Pyjamas, NiP stunned fans and defied the odds by putting Astralis away in two maps. They did so while fending off a furious assault by Peter “dupreeh” Rausmussen who tore through the NiP lineup and finished the match with 48 kills. He also posted the server’s highest average damage-per-round, most opening kills, and highest …

poizon back with Complexity, will play at BLAST Premier Spring M Alzamora Counter-Strike Complexity Gaming has announced that star AWPer Valentin “poizon” Vasilev will return to its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive lineup for the first time since undergoing two surgeries in December 2020. In a tweet from Complexity’s official Twitter account, the organization confirmed his return with an epic frag video. poizon has been absent from Complexity’s roster since December 9 after Complexity revealed that the player was forced to undergo unspecified emergency surgery. …

Valkyrae claims Among Us isn’t dead just yet Fariha Bhatti News Innersloth’s Among Us had solo carried most of 2020’s gaming streamers on its back. While the game has recently flown under the radar, YouTube star Rachell “Valkyrae” Hofstetter believes it’s still thriving.  A product of small production, Among Us, entered the spotlight two years after its initial release in 2018. The online multiplayer had become one of the most viewed games in 2020, alongside the likes of GTA V and …

Here are the best psychic Pokémon in Pokémon GO William Davis News Pokémon GO is still booming even after more than four years from its release, with players battling and raiding like crazy all over the world. To make some of the battles a bit easier, here’s a look at the best psychic Pokémon to use.  Battling in Pokémon GO has increased in popularity and is now a very important part of the game. The game isn’t just about catching them all …

Why are Dota 2 skins like Dragonclaw Hook plummeting in value? Steven Rondina Dota 2 Dragonclaw Hook owners have been pulling out their hair over the last six months as the most enduring prestige item in Dota 2 has plummeted in value. The Pudge cosmetic has always been highly sought after. Though most cosmetics from 2012 look dated and ugly by today’s standards, the Dragonclaw Hook has always been an eye-catcher simply because of its unique visuals and amazingly high price tag. At its absolute …

Apex Legends giving out badges to honor Black History Month, BLM Olivia Richman Apex Legends Respawn Entertainment is acknowledging the importance of Black History Month with a new iconic badge.  The bold black and gold badge features the Black Lives Matter symbol of a raised fist. The symbol was first brought to life by the Black Panther Party, which was formed in 1966 by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale. The salute between members soon became a gesture of strength and solidarity.  The Black Lives …

BLAST ignores Valve’s ruling, allows coaches in Spring Showdown Fariha Bhatti Counter-Strike BLAST Entertainment has announced that it will not conform to Valve’s recently announced changes to coaching in Regional Major events.  In the wake of the 2020 coaching scandal that saw dozens of coaches suspended by the Esports Integrity Commission for using a bug to gain tactical information on opponents, Valve opted to kick coaches off the server. That put BLAST in an awkward position as it was set to host …

Here’s how Valorant animated stickers can help you get extra kills Fariha Bhatti News In a competitive game like Valorant, players must use the best of their abilities to climb ranks. Recently, players have found a new way to employ stickers and sprays to catch enemies off-guard, meaning abilities aren’t always needed.  Valorant’s growing popularity among the first-person shooter fans has birthed new and weirder tricks in the game. While some are unearthing bugs to gain an edge over enemies, other players are improvising …

Former Overwatch pro Surefour signed to Sentinels as content creator Nina Forneloza News Lane “Surefour” Roberts is leaving Overwatch behind and has joined the Sentinels as a Valorant content creator.  Surefour is best known for his epic Overwatch League strats on the Los Angeles Gladiators. He most recently played for the Toronto Defiant, but split from the team last season. Fans speculated where he might land, but it seems that he’s jumped ship over to Valorant. The decision to move to Valorant comes …

Faker publicly disagrees with T1’s 10-man roster William Davis League of Legends The legendary mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok disagrees with his team’s 10-man roster approach.  T1 has been experimenting a lot with its new 10-man roster during the first weeks of the 2021 LCK Spring Split and it has been with very mixed results. This has gotten the face of the organization, Faker, to address the approach. More specifically, Faker has admitted in an interview that he thinks it’s stressful for …

Fnatic enters pro Valorant with a new European roster Fariha Bhatti News Fnatic has finally revealed its anticipated Valorant roster, led by Jake “Boaster” Howlett.  Valorant is still in its embryonic stages in terms of esports, but the professional scene’s growth has been exemplary. A plethora of notable esports organizations have entered Valorant to establish a fresh competitive ecosystem, and Fnatic is the latest to follow in the footsteps of other legendary teams.  The organization has exploded into the Valorant scene with …

CLG has benched Pobelter going into LCS, according to WildTurtle William Davis League of Legends CLG’s mid laner Eugene “Pobelter” Park has reportedly been benched ahead of the 2021 LCS Spring Season start, according to bot laner Jason “WildTurtle” Tran On a recent podcast, WildTurtle mentioned that Pobelter has been benched for the upcoming LCS games and will likely be replaced by Academy mid laner Alexey “rjs” Zatorski, formerly known as Deus. The reported benching of Pobelter happens after CLG underperformed at the LCS Lock …

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