News

Counter-Strike Latest CSGO update adds new stickers based on Warhammer 40K By M Alzamora Fortnite Fortnite’s rarest skin, Recon Expert, back in shop for limited time By Olivia Richman Counter-Strike Is Astralis eyeing NiP, Heroic players after alleged Xyp9x departure? By Olivia Richman

Dota 2

Dota 2 caster harassed by players using TI10 Battle Pass’ guilds Steven Rondina The guild system in Dota 2 is a fun addition to the game, bringing with it a new twist on the daily hero challenge system and new ways to find party members. It also brings with it new moderation issues that Valve may not ever properly address. Dota 2 caster Michelle “Moxxi” Song took to Twitter to discuss a negative experience she had stemming from the new guild system.  During …

League of Legends

Dardoch joins Dignitas, gets another chance at LCS redemption William Davis Former Team SoloMid jungler Joshua “Dardoch” Hartnett has joined Dignitas ahead of the 2020 LCS Summer Split. After weeks of speculation and controversy, Dardoch has found a new home at Dignitas. It’s not the first time that Dignitas picks up a jungler dropped by TSM, as the team previously signed both Jonathan “Grig” Armao and Matthew “Akaadian” Higginbotham. Dardoch joins mid laner Henrik “Froggen” Hansen, ADC Johnson “Johnsun” Nguyen, and …

Dota 2

The best way to play the new Sideshop in the TI10 Battle Pass Steven Rondina One of the most surprising additions to Dota 2 in this year’s battle pass, and one of the most poorly explained, is the new Sideshop mini-game. Sideshop might look familiar for those who played Dota Auto Chess or the various knockoffs it inspired, such as Dota Underlords or Teamfight Tactics, but it’s going to be a mystery to everyone else. Even for those who actually play auto-battlers, there’s no real …

News

BlizzCon 2020 canceled as plans for new online event are teased Steven Rondina BlizzCon 2020 is officially cancelled. Blizzard released a blog post confirming what has long felt inevitable, stating that the convention themed around the publisher’s popular game franchises will not go forward in the way fans have been hoping.   “We’ve also talked about different paths we could take, and how each one could be complicated by fluctuations in national and local health guidelines in the months ahead. Ultimately, after considering …

League of Legends LEC cancels 2020 Summer playoffs in Sweden, opens Berlin studio By William Davis Dota 2 TI10 Battle Pass already breaking records after one day By Nina Forneloza Counter-Strike CSGO records sudden drop in players as Valorant beta goes live By M Alzamora

Counter-Strike

Valve cooperating with Chinese state controls for push into China M Alzamora Fans of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Dota 2 may be surprised to learn that their favorite game’s developer has been working with government forces in China to enable the country’s strict restrictions on its citizens. Valve Software, creator of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, and the popular Steam client, has been working with the People’s Republic of China since at least June 2019 in an ongoing effort to monetize the …

League of Legends

Yuumi is most banned champion in some regions, banned 73% in Europe Olivia Richman It’s been just over a year since Yuumi was released in League of Legends.  Since May 2019, Yuumi has been a consistent favorite of supports in every region. Just a few months after her debut, League of Legends pros couldn’t stop ranting about Yuumi, with Matthew “Deftly” Chen calling her “fucking OP” and even questioning why Riot created her. Nickolas “Hakuho” Surgent stated that she “never dies” and needs to …

League of Legends

Riot adds in-game sponsor banners to LoL’s Summoner’s Rift Olivia Richman Riot Games has found a creative new way to show off its sponsors during the upcoming League of Legends Summer Splits in pro play.  Called “Summoner’s Rift arena branding,” in-game digital sponsor signs and banners will be placed throughout the popular MOBA’s map. With the upcoming season taking place completely online, there are fewer options for sponsors and brands without the benefit of the LCS Arena. Since most viewers will …

Counter-Strike

This new remastered Cache looks amazing in Unreal Engine 4 M Alzamora An intrepid Reddit user has released a screenshot of Counter-Stike: Global Offensive as seen from inside Unreal Engine 4. With all the rumors of Source 2 floating around, the screenshot is bound to raises some eyebrows, especially as Valve has seen fit to update other games including Dota 2 and Half-Life: Alyx, ahead of their flagship first-person shooter’s presumed upgrade.   Porting CSGO Maps into other engines isn’t anything new. …

DragonX vs. Invictus Gaming: Mid-Season Cup betting analysis William Davis League of Legends DragonX and Invictus Gaming will play on day two of the Mid-Season Cup. These teams were once considered the best in the world and are now facing difficulties. It’s hard to believe it considering the good numbers the teams pulled up in spring. Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu Ryu “Keria” Min-seok DragonX intended to create a roster Deft so he could comfortably carry …

Alliance completes roster by adding Gambit Esports’ fng Jared Wynne Dota 2 After standing in Alliance for the past month, Belarusian support and Gambit Esports captain Artsiom “fng” Barshak has officially joined the Swedish team on a 2-month loan. Artsiom will be playing his usual hard support role for Alliance, but it still remains unclear if he will be taking over captaining duties from current in-game leader Gustav “s4” Magnusson. fng has been one of the CIS region’s most successful captains in …

The TI10 Battle Pass launch is delaying rewards, crashing servers Steven Rondina Dota 2 When The International 10 Battle Pass launched in Dota 2, fans of the game were stoked. Players have been calling for an early release for months now and even though it actually arrived behind schedule, it had enough cool new features to make it feel like it was worth the wait. Naturally, that had fans scrambling onto their Dota 2 client in order to purchase the battle pass. Though the …

T1 vs. FunPlus Phoenix: Mid-Season Cup betting analysis William Davis League of Legends LCK’s T1 and LPL’s FunPlus Phoenix are opening the 2020 Mid-Season Cup in a highly anticipated match. Fans around the world wanted these teams to meet in the 2019 World Championship, but fate and G2 Esports, wouldn’t allow it. Now, T1 and FPX are finally playing against each other in the first game of the tournament. Kim “GimGoon” Han-saem, Kim “Khan” Dong-ha Gao “Tian” Tian-Liang Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang Lin “Lwx” …

shroud predicts that Mixer will surpass Twitch in the future Olivia Richman Counter-Strike When former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive pro Michael “shroud” Grzesiek left Twitch for Mixer, a lot of big-name streamers questioned his decision.  “Who is going to follow shroud now, huh Mixer? Nobody! Nobody’s following!” Herschel “Dr Disrespect” Beahm ranted soon after shroud left Twitch.  At the time, DrDisrespect claimed that Mixer was just trying to be relevent; something they never would be. But now shroud is arguing that Mixer may not only …

FaZe announces 16-year-old Bymas as olof’s stand-in for DreamHack Olivia Richman Counter-Strike FaZe Clan is never one to shy away from signing rookies and young talent.  The organization announced today that 16-year-old Aurimas “Bymas” Pipiras will be standing in for Olof “olofmeister” Kajbjer Gustafsson on their Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster. The young rifler will be playing with the squad in the DreamHack Masters Group Stage.  CSGO insider Jarek Lewis predicted this roster move a few days ago.  This is Bymas’ first opportunity …

Your guide to everything in The International 2020 Battle Pass Steven Rondina Dota 2 It’s a few weeks late, but The International 2020 Battle Pass has arrived. Valve has officially shipped the Dota 2 update, bringing back the popular TI crowdfunding mechanism to the game. This follows prolonged fan outcry that called for an early release of the battle pass, egged on by a steadily rising player count online. The TI10 Battle Pass contains all the standard fixings of other recent installments, but with …

Forsen says that his ban was wrong, blames Twitch Olivia Richman News After a two-week suspension, popular Twitch streamer Sebastian “Forsen” Fors is back on the platform and already stirring up controversy.  Forsen was banned from Twitch on May 8, but the content creator made no official statement explaining why it happened at the time.  While viewers claimed that Forsen was talking smack to his teammates in Valorant, even calling some “retarded,” the frequently toxic streamer remained silent. The use of “retarded” …

US relaxes athlete travel restrictions, could esports benefit? Steven Rondina News The United States government wants live sports back on television, and it’s making moves to ensure that happens. The Department of Homeland Security has signed an exemption that will allow athletes to bypass current travel restrictions. Though the measure is primarily designed to help traditional sports such as baseball and hockey, it may open the door for many esports organizations to reunite their separated teams and will give leagues the …

Pro players run into blatant cheaters during Red Bull Flick showmatch M Alzamora Counter-Strike The recent Red Bull Flick tournament saw some pretty suspicious flicks on stream, as ENCE’s Aleksi “allu” Jalli and Elias “Jamppi” Olkkonen appeared to run into a duo with inhuman reactions during the tournament’s showmatch. The Red Bull Flick tournament, a two-versus-two showdown on custom maps that WIN.gg showcased here, was marred by an instance of cheating so blatant that even a Silver 3 could have spotted them. Thankfully, the …

Topson back in Europe, likely to return to playing for OG soon Steven Rondina Dota 2 OG has been one of the better teams in Dota 2 in this new online league era, and it’s set to get even better. The two-time The International champions announced that mid laner Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen has returned to Europe. This likely means that Topson will be returning to active competition for the first time since February.  The news was revealed on Twitter: Look who’s just landed in Europe!#DreamOG …

TI10 Battle Pass release date finally announced by Valve Steven Rondina Dota 2 Update: The International 10 Battle Pass has officially launched. Find out all the details here. Fans finally have an exact date for the long-awaited The International 10 Battle Pass. Valve put out a post on the official Dota 2 Twitter account that simply said “Tomorrow.” While this would normally be a mystery, a piece of media embedded includes a stylized Aegis of the Immortals, the trophy awarded at the end …

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