News

League of Legends Are Europeans paying too much for RP in League of Legends? By William Davis Dota 2 Ninjas in Pyjamas pulls out of Dota 2 again, releases roster By Steven Rondina News Pokimane finally responds to growing Fedmyster drama By Olivia Richman

News

Valorant’s original character art shows the game’s origins M Alzamora Players are very familiar with Valorant’s unqiue characters by now, but they might hardly recognize them from how differnet they used to look. Game development is a trial and error process, and Riot Games’ Valorant wasn’t any different. While it borrowed heavily from the shooters that came before it, the game shines largely through its characters. These characters are the game’s main stars. And they went through many different changes …

News

Monstercat addresses Twitch affiliate controversy Olivia Richman Canadian record label Monstercat recently addressed some confusion surrounding their “Monstercat Gold” program, which appeared to allow subscribers to “fast-track Affiliate status” on Twitch.  To become an Affiliate on Twitch, content creators have to earn the distinction by having at least 50 followers, at least seven unique broadcast days in their last 30 days, and an average of three concurrent viewers or more over the span of a month. The …

News

xQc is taking on Hungrybox’s Super Smash Bros. challenge Olivia Richman Twitch streamer Felix “xQc” Lengyel is about to pick up yet another new video game in answering a challenge from a top pro player. xQc casually picked up Super Smash Bros. during a November 27 stream. Seeing this occurrence, Super Smash Bros. pro Juan “Hungrybox” Debiedma challenged xQc to some matches in Nintendo’s popular fighting game, which xQc immediately accepted.  But the usually cocky xQc couldn’t help but acknowledge Hungrybox’s …

Dota 2

Explaining all the old names behind Dota 2’s heroes and more Steven Rondina Dota 2 has a very long history at this point, and that history is even longer if one looks back to the original Defense of the Ancients. Within that history there has been a number of different lead designers and two different publishers. That has seen a number of different people leave their fingerprints on Dota 2, and a number of different influences have colored those fingerprints. This is most …

League of Legends TSM promotes Swordd to Academy roster, adds Babip By William Davis News Game-breaking Killjoy bug discovered on Haven Valorant map By Olivia Richman Dota 2 T1 finishes Dota 2 roster with Xepher, Jaccky ahead of DPC return By Fariha Bhatti

News

These are the best Valorant cosplays of 2020 Olivia Richman Even though live conventions have been halted in 2020, cosplayers have not slowed down when it comes to creating amazing cosplays based on their favorite video game characters and icons, including some from new tactical shooter Valorant. Ever since Valorant was released earlier this summer, cosplayers have been inspired not only by the agents’ unique outfits but also their personalities and attitudes. It’s no surprise that many cosplayers have created …

Counter-Strike

Hackers stealing CSGO skins through iOS vulnerability, Steam API M Alzamora Most serious skin collectors and players have thier Steam account protected by two-factor authentication, but it turns out that having the securty feature on Steam isn’t enough. The hijacking of two high-profile accounts in the past year show that a user’s inventory isn’t always as secure as they think it to be. On November 28, professional CSGO player Paytyn “Junior” Johnson woke up to find that almost his entire inventory …

League of Legends

AOC uses Among Us Twitch stream to raise $200,000 for charity Olivia Richman New York state representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised $200,000 by playing Among Us on Twitch earlier this week. The impressive fundraising effort went towards eviction defense, food pantries, and other support aimed at communities.  “We did it! This is going to make such a difference for those who need it most right now,” AOC said.  We did it!$200k raised in one livestream (on a whim!) for eviction defense, food pantries, and more.This …

League of Legends

Kayle, Malphite, others are dominating LoL patch 10.24 William Davis Riot recently released the second patch of the 2021 preseason, with a lot of focus on the new item system’s overall balance.  The changes have balanced a few strong champions, which means that the meta is already changing a bit once again. On patch 10.23, Summoner’s Rift was completely dominated by tanks. These tanks are still strong on patch 10.24, but the changes have made room for some other champions …

Best Valorant agent duos according to your playstyle Fariha Bhatti News Riot’s tactical shooter Valorant is a team-based game which relies heavily on agents’ abilities to get through a round. In this tactical FPS, aim alone cannot carry your way to victory. Most people team up with a friend to maximize their chance of success, but selecting the right pair of agents is equally as crucial as tagging along with someone of the same mindset. In Valorant, agents have different abilities …

Fnatic’s KRIMZ receives VAC ban before Flashpoint 2 match M Alzamora Counter-Strike Fnatic Counter-Strike: Global Offensive star and two-time major winner Freddy “KRIMZ” Johansson revealed that his Steam account was VAC banned, but it is unclear what this ban stems from. The player’s accomplished history in CSGO and the extra anti-cheat methods used by most tournament organizers suggests means there is little chance that KRIMZ has been aimbotting his way through recent tournaments. Valve Anti-Cheat used to be one of the most …

How to play online cheaper with Xbox and PlayStation subscriptions William Davis News November has marked the launch of long-anticipated next-generation consoles: PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S. Each new generation in the gaming world brings greater opportunities and reduces limits in executing the most staggering virtual adventures. The launch of next-gen consoles means a myriad of new games and that is a great time to talk about Xbox and PlayStation subscriptions. And with top competitive games such as Fortnite and …

OG star Ceb banned from Twitch for unknown reason Steven Rondina Dota 2 Sebastian “Ceb” Debs isn’t going to be streaming for a little while. The OG offlaner and two-time The International champion has been handed a ban from Twitch. It is unclear what resulted in the ban, and Ceb has not issued a statement on the matter. Ceb’s partner status is currently still active on Twitch, which means that the ban is not permanent. As per usual, the lack of information regarding …

Forsen banned indefinitely for explicit animal content Olivia Richman News Twitch variety streamer Sebastian “Forsen” Fors has been banned indefinitely from the platform for showing an inappropriate GIF. “I’m currently banned for the horse gif,” Forsen tweeted. “The ban is indefinite, which means undetermined ban duration. Unlucky.” I’m currently banned for the horse gif. The ban is indefinite which means undetermined ban duration. Unlucky. — Sebastian Fors (@Forsen) November 27, 2020 Earlier in the week, a viewer allegedly sent Forsen …

GODSENT enters new multiyear sponsorship deal William Davis News Esports has been becoming more and more popular as an entertainment option over the last few years. In turn, this has led to more money entering the sport and thus players being able to turn professional, with large prize pools at tournaments as well as sponsorships from brands to help pay the bills.  It is extremely exciting and encouraging for the sport that GODSENT, the Swedish sports organization, has announced …

How popular are esports in 2020? William Davis News In 2020, the global esports market has generated a staggering $950.3 million around the world. It may be one of the fastest-growing sectors today. But just 10 years ago, most people probably wouldn’t have even heard the term “esports” at all. So why has this competitive industry become so popular? And just how popular is it?  The Rise of Esports Influencers  A great way to see just how popular esports …

How does Valorant measure up with Volcano’s vision for an FPS? M Alzamora News Valorant is a great game for its players, but its sudden jump into professional esports without any established specatating tools was strange given that a senior game designer at Valorant had previously forced Valve to implement them in Counter-Strike Global Offensive nearly eight years ago. CSGO is an easily understandable game from a viewers perspective. At its heart, five players face off against five other in a race to be …

Doublelift retires with 2000 kills and more crazy stats William Davis League of Legends The recently retired bot lane legend Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng ends his long career with some of the most impressive stats ever seen in the LCS.  With Doublelift entering the next stage in his life, LoL Esports shared some of his career stats, and they are by all means impressive. Doublelift has been competing since the very first World Championship back in 2011 and has since then attended numerous international events, …

Nuguri is reportedly heading to LPL, could join FunPlus Phoenix William Davis League of Legends Newly crowned World Champion top laner Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon might be heading to the LPL for the 2021 season.  According to Naver Sports, Nuguri is heading to the LPL for the first time in his career. It’s still unclear which team he will join exactly, but most rumors are suggesting the former world champions at FunPlus Phoenix. The team recently said goodbye to both of their top laners, Kim “Khan” …

Valorant releases new First Strike trailer before NA main event Olivia Richman News Valorant has released a trailer celebrating the intense First Strike tournaments taking place all over the globe.  The trailer, called “That New Fire,” showcases agent action in multiple regions, including Brazil, Korea, Europe, and North America. The heavily edited video showed some high-intensity moments from matches at previous First Fire events, complete with animated casting and headshots.  The First Strike trailer was released before First Strike main tournaments within each …

DAMWON Gaming adds Khan as top laner for the 2021 LCK season William Davis League of Legends The World Champions from DAMWON Gaming are making changes in the top lane for the 2021 season by adding Kim “Khan” Dong-ha. The former FunPlus Phoenix and SKT T1 top laner will once again be back in the LCK, this time playing for another World Champion organization. Khan will replace Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon, who became a free agent earlier this month. Nuguri is likely heading to the LPL, which leaves …

WIN.gg gathers news and guides from around the world covering every point of the modern gaming industry in all of its many forms.