News

League of Legends G2 Esports gets back on track, runs over Excel Esports in LEC Spring By William Davis League of Legends Dumbledoge reveals years of verbal abuse and homophobia in TCL By Olivia Richman League of Legends Team Liquid was the most viewed esports organization of 2019 By Olivia Richman

Dota 2

ppd talks how coronavirus could ruin DPC, The International 2020 gabhernandez Peter “ppd” Dager dropped some real talk about the state of the Dota Pro Circuit on his Last Word podcast, and what he discussed should worry every Dota 2 fan. The former TI winner, alongside professional player Mason “mason” Venne and caster Grant “GranDGranT” Harris, touched on a wide range of hot topics within the Dota 2 community. The hottest the trio dove into is the effect of the coronavirus …

Counter-Strike

Flashpoint open qualifiers closed to teams outside select regions M Alzamora Flashpoint may have championed offering a chance to everyone, but recent tests and two sources inside a South China team say that the qualifiers were not quite as open as they were purported to be. According to tests performed by WIN.gg, Flashpoint’s qualifiers were never open to teams outside the regions of North America, Europe, and South America. In addition, tournament rules stated that participating teams must have at least …

Fortnite

Every weapon and item unvaulted in Fortnite Chapter 2 Olivia Richman After much anticipation and many delays, Fortnite’s Season 2 Chapter 2 has finally arrived.  The new chapter has come with a secret spy theme, introducing fans to two factions: Ghost and Shadow. If you’ve ever wanted to see Peely in a James Bond suit, now is your chance. “Top Secret” also introduces new characters and skins to the battle royale, including a super jacked calico cat and a dorky walking …

League of Legends

TF Blade reaches Masters rank on Korean servers Olivia Richman “I WAS HERE!” That was the chant typed by fans around the world as Team Liquid streamer Ashkan “TF Blade” Homayouni reached Masters on Korea’s League of Legends servers.  Once TF Blade reached this mighty accomplishment, fans begged him to “say something,” waiting impatiently for him to make a statement about reaching one of his toughest goals to date. TF Blade finally popped on to the screen and began talking, but …

League of Legends LPL to return for 2020 Spring Split, will be played online By William Davis League of Legends Fans worried Riot’s new LoL anti-cheat will let company spy on them By Syed Mujtaba Naqvi News Athletics brand Puma talks about its new performance gaming socks By Steven Rondina

Counter-Strike

ESL Pro League Season 11 headed to Denver after ownership change M Alzamora Denver will host the ESL Pro League Season 11 Finals later this year, according to an official press release from the company. The news comes just a day after Astralis and 12 other teams revealed that they were now part owners of the long-running league.  More information on that ground-breaking shift can be found here. Starting on March 16, season 11 of the EPL will showcase 24 teams in a …

League of Legends

Captain Flowers to miss LCS broadcast after suspension from Riot Olivia Richman League of Legends fans won’t see Clayton “Captain Flowers” Raines on the LCS broadcast this weekend.  Riot is punishing the popular caster for over-sleeping and missing call time for this week’s episode of “This or That.”  “Today I streamed til way too early in the morning and didn’t wake up for my call time for This or That. This week’s episode doesn’t include me (clearly) and I won’t be on …

Dota 2

Winstrike Team drops Dota 2 team after LA Major qualifier flop Steven Rondina Winstrike Team isn’t satisfied with the results its Dota 2 team has been posting and is making big changes as a result. The organization announced the release of every member of its Dota 2 roster. This includes all five players,= as well as coach Arsenij “ArsZeeqq” Usov and manager Marie Gunina. “I do want to apologize to those people who were supporting our Dota 2 roster. There is only one …

Counter-Strike

Counter-Strike’s Shattered Web walkthrough for Week 14 M Alzamora Week 14 of Shattered Web sees a few general missions, but Demolition is the weekly rotation for the first time this season, and the week’s Guardian mission offers an actual challenge. Almost exactly as they were data mined to be last week, here are the week 14 challenges for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s Operation Shattered Week as the operation draws to a close. You Only Live Twice: Get 8 round wins …

Riot says smurfing in League of Legends “ruins the game,” to be fixed Olivia Richman League of Legends Riot took to Twitter to address how the past two competitive seasons have seemed to be a slower climb than ever before for many players.  “This is intentional. We really don’t want players creating alt accounts just to blow through the climb. We encourage players to stay on their mains. Smurfing ruins the game experience for others,” Riot tweeted.  Smurfing, a practice in which a highly ranked player creates a …

Gambit Esports, Alliance favorites for StarLadder Minor Season 3 gabhernandez Dota 2 Some of the teams that fell short of the ESL One Los Angeles Major are getting a chance at redemption in the StarLadder ImbaTV Dota 2 Minor Season 3. Before these teams could step onto the big stage, they had to brawl in the regional qualifiers. Though 24 teams competed, only eight managed to take a spot in the event. The list of teams set to compete in the StarLadder …

Pobelter is returning to the LCS in the mid lane for CLG Olivia Richman League of Legends After spending the first half of the LCS Spring Split in 10th place, Counter Logic Gaming have decided to make a big change to their roster.  This weekend, get ready to see Eugene “Pobelter” Park on the LCS Arena stage as CLG’s starting mid laner. The veteran mid laner will be replacing Lee “Crown” Min-ho, who curently has the most deaths and the lowest KDA of any mid laner in the …

Ex-Green Bay Packer Ahman Green transitions to esports coaching Olivia Richman News Wisconsin’s Lakeland University made a surprising hire for its esports coach position. The school added former Green Bay Packers halfback Ahman Green to serve as head coach of its esports division. “The tournaments and competition have always been there,” Green told ESPN about esports’ growth. “In the last decade, big business has learned enough about esports to understand how to make money in different ways and with that interest, the …

TFT patch 10.4 reimagines Glacial units, nerfs Crystal and Poison William Davis League of Legends Teamfight Tactics patch 10.4 hits some of the traits that got too strong after patch 10.3, while also buffing a handful of champions and reworking the Glacial trait. Rather than attacking the specific units, Patch 10.4 nerfs some of Predators’ stronger traits, including Poison and Crystal, with increased mana costs and an altered damage threshhold. While that’s a hard hit, the buff given to Kog’Maw in TFT patch 10.3 is …

LoL Patch 10.4 nerfs Sona and Soraka, expands jungle champion pool William Davis League of Legends It’s time for patch 10.4! As we reported before, patch 10.4 hits primarily the champions that are wreaking havoc in the top lane, Sona and Soraka. It also targets the powerful Aphelios and buffs some of the favorites in pro play. On top of that, patch 10.4 increases the jungle champion pool. Patch 10.4 is hitting the live server one day later than usual, it will be released on February …

Match fixing allegations hit StarLadder Dota 2 Minor qualifiers Steven Rondina Dota 2 Match fixing scandals have been a bane of esports’ existence, and Dota 2 hasn’t been immune to this. The latest example is an eruption of controversy around a series between Newbee and Avengerls. Facing off in a series in the Chinese qualifiers to the StarLadder Season 3 Minor, a number of fans and pro players are crying foul about Avengerls’s performances during their 2-1 series loss. They are honing in …

CBLOL studio destroyed, league postponed until end of February Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends 2020 has already been a disastrous year for esports, with a number of tournaments and events being delayed or cancelled due to unforeseen events. While most of those issues have stemmed has stemmed from the coronavirus, it’s the weather that is hitting South American League of Legends.   The 2020 CBLOL Split 1 has been postponed due to the floods and heavy rain that have hammered São Paulo, Brazil over recent …

Europe’s ESL Rio closed Minor qualifier will be a bloodbath M Alzamora Counter-Strike If there’s one thing that fans can count on, its that the European closed qualifiers for ESL One Rio’s upcoming minor is going to be a long and grueling affair. But it’s also going to be absolutely amazing to watch. Unlike the other regions, almost every team in Europe’s closed qualifiers are close in skill or have the potential to upset. Fans should thank their lucky stars that Valve hasn’t …

G2 jungler Jankos admits that he’s not far from retirement Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends Marcin “Jankos” Jankowski shared he might be retiring sooner than many expected. G2 Esports’ player and the best jungler in the 2020 LEC Spring Split doesn’t plan on playing competitively for much longer. In an interview with a Polish portal Esportmania, Jankos shared he’s looking to end his career relatively soon when asked about streaming. Jankos said he doesn’t get much rest as a pro player, stating there’s no time …

Faker becomes part owner of T1 with new three-year contract William Davis League of Legends Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok extended his contract with T1 through 2022 and is now a part owner of the global organization. Every offseason the community waits for the day that Faker announces where is he playing next. Year after year, the decision is the same, to stay with T1. Now, the organization has guaranteed that Faker is not going anywhere, likely for the rest of his life. Faker is the face …

WePlay! Tug of War: Mad Moon features 8 top Dota 2 teams gabhernandez Dota 2 The WePlay! Bukovel Minor was a big event for WePlay! and the company is following up with Tug of War: Mad Moon. The event is set to include a number of top teams facing off for their slice of the $300,000 prize pool: Nigma Virtus.pro Aggressive Mode B8 Ninjas in Pyjamas Infamous Team Secret Gambit Esports WePlay! Tug of War: Mad Moon is not attached to the Dota Pro Circuit …

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