News

League of Legends Invictus Gaming confirms 2020 roster, JackeyLove is out By William Davis League of Legends Royal Never Give Up star Uzi wins 2019 Weibo Person of the Year award By Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends Premier Tour rebrands as LoL Prime League for the 2020 season By Syed Mujtaba Naqvi

League of Legends

Five safe picks to win League of Legends ranked placement games Syed Mujtaba Naqvi Season 10 of League of Legends is live and players are focusing their efforts on winning their placement games so they can get a head start on this year’s ranked climb. But not everyone is succeeding. Besides understanding the macro of games and being mechanically skilled, players need to think well how a champion they’re picking is doing in the current meta if they really want to win. While some …

Counter-Strike

Tricked signs fresh roster after MAD Lions sale in November M Alzamora Tricked Esport announced its new team roster today after moving its previous set of players to OverActive Media’s MAD Lions team. In an official press release from the organization, Tricked Esport announced the signing of its new Counter-Strike: Global Offensive roster. The team has brought in a young team to replace their old roster led Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen. Tricked sold that roster to the MAD Lions organization in late November. As …

Dota 2

Nigma win WePlay! Bukovel Minor, earn spot in DreamLeague Season 13 Steven Rondina Nigma’s live event debut at the WePlay! Bukovel Minor didn’t go according to plan, but it was still a successful one. The runners-up from The International 2019 sealed up a first-place finish at the tournament with a 3-1 victory over Royal Never Give Up. This gives the team $72,000, 140 Dota Pro Circuit qualifying points, and a spot in the DreamLeague Season 13 major. The series was a strong showing …

Counter-Strike

CSGO has 5 different ways to throw grenades, here’s how to use them M Alzamora Grenades are a massive part of Counter-Strike Global Offensive and learning how to use them is tough at first. They change direction depending on how the player is moving when they throw them. They’ll bounce in completely different directions with minor changes in angles. Worst of all, they have a habit of bouncing back into the player’s face. The worst part is that CSGO doesn’t tell new players exactly how …

League of Legends League of Legends Warriors music video’s lyrics, lore explained By Olivia Richman Dota 2 Dendi discusses Dota 2 player count, The International 2020 By Olivia Richman Dota 2 Geek Fam’s Kuku discusses WePlay! Bukovel MInor, Dota 2 vs. LoL By Olivia Richman

League of Legends

Legends of Runeterra open beta launch date announced by Riot Games Olivia Richman League of Legends’ new card game, Legends of Runeterra, is moving into open beta on January 24.  According to a press release from Riot Games, the open beta will introduce ranked mode, starting with a “beta season.”  If January 24 is still too far away for some fans, Riot is offering early access to Legends of Runeterra to players who create an account prior to Janauary 20th. This includes players who …

Dota 2

Nigma eliminates Geek Fam, faces RNG in WePlay! Bukovel Minor finals gabhernandez Nigma took on Geek Fam in the lower bracket finals of the WePlay! Bukovel Minor 2020 and ended the southeast Asian squad’s tournament run. The European favorites scored a 2-0 series win to earn a spot in the grand finals opposite Royal Never Give Up. The penultimate series kicked off with a classic Windranger pick for Nigma’s Aliwi “w33” Omar. Geek Fam controlled the tempo of the early game and …

Counter-Strike

CSGO nears all-time player record as Valve pushes monetization M Alzamora Counter-Strike: Global Offensive reached its highest average player count since March 26, 2016, pulling in over 840,000 players and threatening March 2016’s record of 855,485. CSGO’s sudden surge in popularity is explained by several factors, with most stemming from Valve’s actions surrounding the game that began nearly two years ago. The changes ranged from a massive economic overhaul to two questionable balance decisions that took months to revert.    Shattered …

League of Legends

League of Legends Season 10 changes, plans detailed by Riot gabhernandez In a recent Dev Video, Riot goes over some of its changes to, and plans for, Summoner’s Rift in Season 10. Preseason 10 started with the Rise of The Elements patch. It introduced a comprehensive rework of how the dragon objectives impact the pace of the game. Riot is mostly content with the state of the changes, but are keeping an eye on the power the objectives can provide. This …

Nigma eliminate Gambit Esports, advance in WePlay! Bukovel Minor Steven Rondina Dota 2 Nigma is still alive. The runners-up to The International 2019 took a key 2-1 win over Gambit Esports in the WePlay! Bukovel Minor. This advances the tournament favorites to the lower bracket finals, where they will face Geek Fam for a spot in the grand finals. Nigma looked strong early on in game one. The laning stage opened in impressive fashion, as they racked up nine kills in the first …

Royal Never Give Up take spot in WePlay! Bukovel Minor grand finals Steven Rondina Dota 2 Royal Never Give Up has reached the grand finals of the WePlay! Bukovel Minor. The Chinese team has looked incredible throughout the event and haven’t slowed down in the playoffs. RNG started its day with a win over Nigma, but have now earned a spot in the grand finals with a win over Geek Fam. Game one started in uncharacteristically sloppy fashion for Royal Never Give Up. The laning phase …

2020 LCK Spring Split start date, full list of teams revealed William Davis League of Legends The 2020 LCK Spring Split will start on February 5, approximately two weeks later than in previous years. The schedule is based on the Lunar New Year celebration, which occurs on January 25 in 2020. Following the holidays, the teams will have a little while to regroup before the beginning of the season. Like previous years, the LCK is following a double round-robin format through the regular season. The regular …

Allied Esports to open esports venue in Mall of Georgia in 2020 Olivia Richman Fortnite An esports venue is coming to the Mall of Georgia.  Located in Gwinnett County, Georgia, this mall is the first location to house Allied Esports and Simon Property Group’s joint esports venue. Esports fans in the area can expect a retail store in the first half of 2020, although no dates were included with the press release.  In the second half of the year, the 13,000 square foot facility will …

Showmatch between MAD Lions and Team Tyler1 is called off Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends The showmatch between LEC team MAD Lions and Team Tyler1 from Twitch Rivals won’t be happening. And even if it were to somehow come through, there will be no broadcast of the game. Just two days ago, MAD Lions challenged League of Legends streamer and Team Tyler1 member Christian “IWDominate” Rivera on a match in response to him teasing the team’s Twitter follower count. IWDominate answered that he’d gladly play …

Cloud9 to attend WINNERS League Season 3 Playoffs M Alzamora Counter-Strike Cloud9 will take on Faint Gaming in the first round of the WINNERS League Season 3 playoffs. The fan-favorite North American organization will go for the gold with the roster it acquired from ATK. The team will look to follow up on a successful run through the IEM Katowice 2020 Americas qualifiers. In early December, Cloud9 sent Timothy “autimatic” Ta, Damien “daps” Steele, and Kenneth “koosta” Suen to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive newcomer …

Houston Outlwas forced to move out of Woodlands training facility William Davis News The Overwatch League’s Houston Outlaws team is being forced to move out of its training facility in The Woodlands, a community located in Houston, Texas. Houston Outlaws general manager Matt Rodriguez shared on Twitter that the team is being forced to leave the 5900-square-foot home that was intended to be used as a training facility. According to Rodriguez, the players have their own living arrangements outside of The Woodlands. The …

LoL Warriors cinematic continues on lore of the Lux comic series William Davis League of Legends Riot Games kicked off the 2020 ranked season with an epic cinematic short.  For the first time ever, Riot chose to use their annual animation to continue one of the major League of Legends lore threads.  Demacia and mage rebellions have been a recurring focus of media surrounding the game. That arc began with the release of the champion Sylas, whose backstory revolves around sparking a mage revolution against the …

FunPlus Phoenix decide on 2019 Worlds champion skins Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends The 2019 World Champion FunPlus Phoenix have made a definitive decision on champions that will be wearing the team’s colors with new skins. FPX mid laner Kim “Doinb” Tae-sang shared during a live stream which five FPX skins League of Legends players will be able to buy in the stores this spring. World Champion skins are coming for Gangplank, Lee Sin, Malphite, Vayne, and Thresh. FPX is the seventh champion to …

Nigma beat Fighting PandaS, make WePlay! Bukovel Minor playoffs Steven Rondina Dota 2 Nigma weren’t in peak form in the WePlay! Bukovel Minor group stage, but they were still good enough to lock up a spot in the playoffs. The ex-Team Liquid squad finished the group stage with a 2-1 record. After dropping their first game at the event to Fighting PandaS, Nigma rebounded with a win over Furia Esports. They advanced to the next stage of the event by taking a 2-1 …

Cloud9 takes IEM Katowice spot over MiBR in stacked NA qualifier M Alzamora Counter-Strike The North American closed qualifiers were hotly contested, but Cloud9’s fresh roster prevailed. 2020’s iteration of IEM Katowice came with a new set of rules for qualifiers, as well as a reduction in the number of slots assigned regions. This year, North America has a single slot. The change forced teams that would have normally attended together fight over the single opportunity to compete in Poland. Some of the top …

Riot Games Korea CEO Park Jun-kyu passes away William Davis League of Legends Riot Games Korea CEO Park Jun-kyu passed away on January 9 after battling with liver cancer for almost a year. Riot Games Korea announced that its CEO passed away on January 9. Park Jun-kyu had been battling with liver cancer for the greater part of 2019 while working for Riot Games through one of the busiest years for the developer. Park Jun-kyu joined Riot Games in 2014 from CJ E&M, …

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