News

Counter-Strike The Negev has been unbanned in CSGO pro play since 2018 By M Alzamora Counter-Strike ESL and DreamHack officially merge into ESL Gaming By M Alzamora News When is the next Steam sale in 2020? By M Alzamora

League of Legends

UoL Nomanz: “I think we are really strong, even against TOP Esports.” Olivia Richman Unicorns of Love surprised the world with its strong run through the 2020 League of Legends World Championship play-ins.  Mid laner Yev “Nomanz” Yakshin’s made sure to put in a lot of preparation to help his team achieve this. Now, Nomanz and his squad are contemplating their Group Stage competition. They will be in Group D, facing DRX, TOP Esports, and FlyQuest. WIN.gg spoke with Nomanz about UoL’s Play-In journey …

Counter-Strike

Cloud9 and Gen.G withdraw from IEM New York Online M Alzamora Cloud9 and Gen.G have withdrawn from IEM New York Online. The tournament was billed as the final chance for North American teams to gain points towards qualifying for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s next Major, but both teams revealed that they wouldn’t participate in the tournament in an announcement from ESL.  At first glance, fans might think that the departure of Gen.G’s in-game leader Damian “daps” Steele and C9’s unfinished roster are …

Dota 2

Former FlyToMoon player Flow succumbs to cancer at age 25 Steven Rondina Dota 2 pro Alexander “Flow” Sazonov has passed away.   According to Russian caster Vitalii Nikolaevich “v1lat” Volochai, the offlaner succumbed to cancer after a prolonged battle with the disease. He was 25 years old. The news was revealed by v1lat on Twitter. Rest in peace, Flow! Ты боролся до конца, но эта зараза оказалась таки сильнее…#fuckcancer — Vitalii Volochai (@v1lat) September 30, 2020 Maincast confirmed the news not long …

League of Legends

The best Worlds 2020 Pick Em predictions William Davis This article covers the Worlds 2020 group stage. If you’re looking for Pick Em predictions for Worlds quarterfinals and playoffs, you can find them here! Now that Play-Ins are done, it’s time to get excited for the 2020 World Championship main event. This year, the rewards are not as interesting as the ones players available 2019. The player that earns the most points in the event will receive a Pick’em …

League of Legends UoL proves that CIS is strongest wildcard region at Worlds 2020 By William Davis League of Legends How will LGD do in the 2020 LoL World Championship main event? By William Davis League of Legends Worlds 2020 play-ins are best ever thanks to TCL, CIS, and OPL By Nicholas James

League of Legends

Team SoloMid vs. Fnatic LoL Worlds 2020 betting analysis William Davis The first day of the 2020 League of Legends World Championship main event will include a highly anticipated match between western giants Fnatic and Team SoloMid. The two fan favorites will be jockeying for position, likely battling for second place as Korea’s Gen.G stands as the clear favorite in the group. That makes this a critical match for both teams as they look to gain an early edge on the …

Counter-Strike

Cloud9 reportedly set to keep floppy for new Colossus roster Fariha Bhatti Cloud9 may not be ready to completely part ways with its current American-South African Counter-Strike roster.  Ricky “floppy” Kemery has reportedly decided to remain with Cloud9’s active roster and will be joining the new will be joining the new “colossus” roster led by Alex “ALEX” McMeekin. The rifler had previously declined Cloud9’s offer to stay with the organization.  Cloud9 has been undergoing a major revamp of its Counter-Strike team. General …

League of Legends

New Odyssey, Halloween skins set to arrive in League of Legends William Davis The Odyssey skin line is making its return to League of Legends with five new intergalactic skins.  In the latest Public Beta Environment preview, five new skins were revealed for the popular Odyssey skin line. Champions set to receive a fresh new look include Kha’Zix, Aatrox, Sivir, Twisted Fate, and Karma.  PBE Preview: Odyssey’s back! ???? ???? Odyssey Kha’Zix???? ???? Odyssey Aatrox⭐ ???? Odyssey Sivir⭐ ???? Odyssey Twisted Fate⭐ ???? …

League of Legends

Sneaky’s crazy new catgirl outfit is his big return to cosplay Olivia Richman Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi’s cosplays have been a bit minimal lately, like his recent e-girls and gamer girl-inspired looks, but that just changed.  The former League of Legends pro revealed an elaborate, adorable, anime-themed cosplay on Twitter. With a long, white wig, cat ears, and a black and blue maid mini-skirt, Sneaky completely embodied Vanilla from Nekopara in her Race Queen getup. Sneaky’s cosplay was complete with a cat tail.  Vanilla …

Valorant’s skin bundles are only available for a limited time M Alzamora News Riot’s monetization plans may not include loot boxes, but the developer has found a safer way to entice players into buying Valorant’s cosmetic weapon bundles. Valorant’s high-end weapon skin bundles are only available in a collection format for a limited time before the cosmetics leave the store forever. While players may get the opportunity to purchase the game’s flashy skins, like those found in its Elderflame Collection, they will only …

Uniboy speaks on PSG Talon’s shock Play-Ins run at Worlds 2020 Jared Wynne League of Legends PSG Talon is heading to the main event group stage at the 2020 World Championship despite having to play through the Play-Ins stage with multiple substitues, including Chen “Uniboy” Chang-Chu.   Coming over from ahq Esports Club along with teammate Hsiao “Kongyue” Jen-Tso, mid laner Uniboy not only proved an effective substitute for PSG, he showed himself to be one of the team’s most reliable carries during a successful Play-Ins …

Riot reveals list of Mythic, Legendary items for 2021 preseason William Davis League of Legends The 2021 preseason changes are ready to hit the Public Beta Environment and Riot Games has revealed a complete breakdown of the new item overhaul. Preseason PBE is today – before it drops we have a (quite long) article about all of the significant mythic and legendary item changes. I’ll be breaking down the major changes and our thoughts by class.https://t.co/vLojieoEvc — Mark Yetter (@MarkYetter) September 29, 2020 Riot has …

Heretics terminates coach B1GGY for using exploit Fariha Bhatti Counter-Strike Heretics has announced the termination of coach Morgan “B1GGY” Madour following Esports Integrity Commission’s recent verdict regarding a spectator bug. The ESIC confirmed that B1GGY is guilty of abusing the bug and will no longer be a part of its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive division.  Many coaches came forward with their confessions as soon as ESIC began the investigation. However, the list of confirmed cheaters also revealed several unexpected names. B1GGY …

The operator finally gets nerfed, but not everyone agrees Olivia Richman News Valorant developers have big nerfs in mind for the Operator after players have continued to call the weapon OP.  At first, developers seemingly denied that the Operator was overpowered despite many players claiming there were no strategies to outplay the expensive weapon. Valorant game designer Nicholas “Nickwu” Smith said in a developer blog that the Operator wasn’t OP, but that developers were looking for ways to “smooth out the experience.”  …

Armut carries SuperMassive to victory over MAD Lions at Worlds 2020 William Davis League of Legends Papara SuperMassive eliminated MAD Lions from the 2020 League of Legends World Championship after a close five-game series.  #SUPWIN!@supmass eliminate Europe’s 4th seed! #Worlds2020 pic.twitter.com/kAvmmFXX4k — LoL Esports (@lolesports) September 29, 2020 It was all or nothing for both teams when SuperMassive and MAD Lions clashed in a best-of-five series at Worlds, resulting in a close nailbiter. SuperMassive entered the game as slight underdogs, despite beating MAD Lions earlier in …

Josedeodo can’t carry Rainbow7 past LGD Gaming at Worlds 2020 William Davis League of Legends Jungler Brandon “Josedeodo” Villegas couldn’t carry Rainbow7 in his match against LGD Gaming, and now finds himself eliminated from the 2020 League of Legends World Championship. Josedeodo stole the spotlight at Worlds with his outstanding performance in the jungle. Unfortunately, his individual prowess wasn’t enough to take his team further in the competition. Rainbow7 fell against LGD in the elimination round in 3-0 fashion and the Latin American team is …

This is why Ornn is such a strong champion pick at Worlds 2020 Tokoni Uti League of Legends While a number of champions such as Graves and Orianna having thus far looked great in the Worlds 2020 Play-In stage, top laner Ornn has arguably been the most dominant in shaping the tournament meta. So important is the champion that Legacy Esports top laner Kim “Topoon” Ji-hoon advised that “whoever picks Ornn first is going to win” when asked for his thoughts ahead of his side’s tiebreaker game with …

CSGO coaches deny using coaching bug after cheating punishments Fariha Bhatti Counter-Strike The Esports Integrity Commission’s sanctioning of 34 coaches has caused total mayhem in the world of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. While there are coaches like Nicholas “guerri” Nogueira who have respected the decision and accepted their punishment, some coaches are arguing the ruling.  FaZe Clan’s Robert “RobbaN” Dahlström, BOOM Esports’ Alessandro “Apoka” Marcucci, and forZe’s Sergey “lmbt” Bezhanovhave are among those impacted and the three coaches have come forward and pushed …

ESIC sanctions 34 coaches in 1st CSGO coaching exploit report M Alzamora Counter-Strike The Esports Integrity Coalition released the first of two reports on its investigation into the use of an exploit that allowed Counter-Strike: Global Offensive coaches to gain a competitive advantage in professional matches. Almost a month after referees Steve Dudenhoeffer and Michal Slowinski released news of the exploit to the public, the ESIC has released its initial results from its investigation. The first part of the Coalition’s report named 37 …

ESIC discusses accusations of stream sniping in pro CSGO Steven Rondina Counter-Strike The ongoing scandal surrounding the coaching bug isn’t the only competitive integrity issue facing Counter-Strike: Global Offensive at the moment. According to the Esports Integrity Commission’s Ian Smith, the ESIC believes there is a pervasive stream sniping issue within the CSGO pro scene that has been exacerbated by the increasing reliance on online leagues. Smith discussed the matter with HLTV. “We’ve got factually substantiated reports of stream sniping. I won’t …

100 Thieves coach ImAPet retires from CSGO, talks return M Alzamora Counter-Strike 100 Thieves head coach Chet “ImAPet” Singh has announced that he has retired from the role and will pursue other opportunities. ImAPet made the announcement on Twitter, thanking 100 Thieves and its Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players for the opportunity to work with them. He gave special attention to the fact that the organization allowed him to terminate his contract at will. That emphasis reveals that not only was ImAPet’s decision …

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