News

Counter-Strike StarLadder offers clarity on freelance talent payment policy By M Alzamora News Alinity called out by PETA, streamers for alleged animal abuse By Olivia Richman News xQc airs frustrations with Blizzard and Tier 2 Overwatch scene By Olivia Richman

Dota 2

Guide to playing new Dota 2 hero Snapfire as support or carry Steven Rondina The Outlanders Update was a massive one. So massive that some players actually overlooked the fact that it added two new heroes to Dota 2. Though Void Spirit is a fun new addition to the game, Snapfire is likely to have a higher impact at the professional level. However, with a unique set of spells it might be tough to figure out where she fits into the game. Snapfire is …

News

TrentPax calls out AdmiralBulldog for latest racial joke Steven Rondina Henrik “AdmiralBulldog” Ahnberg and Trent “TrentPax” MacKenzie are publicly butting heads. The former Alliance offlaner was put on blast by the caster over his latest racially charged joke. Bulldog cracked wise about the name of Dota 2 team Nigma, seemingly alluding to its similarities to a racial slur. That resulted in a call-out from Trentpax during the latest edition of MoonDuck’s Trent & Zyori Podcast. “We just had [the MDL …

News

Congressman pleads guilty to using campaign funds on video games gabhernandez Californian Congressman Duncan D. Hunter pleaded guilty in Federal court on Tuesday to stealing over $150,000 of campaign funds to support his lavish lifestyle. The purchased items were “as inconsequential as fast food, movie tickets and sneakers; as trivial as video games, Lego sets and Playdoh,” according to the press release posted on justice.gov. In 2016, the San Diego Union Tribune acquired a letter from the Federal Election Commission that …

League of Legends

TSM could contend in LCS 2020, but will they return to Worlds? William Davis Through the offseason, Team SoloMid’s fans were promised a new roster that would satisfy their demands. The people working behind the scenes shared their genuine enthusiasm for the TSM project in 2020. Announcements were made, videos are up, and TSM has a solid roster for the LCS. On paper, TSM has the potential to get back to the top of the ladder, but first, they must overcome some big challenges. The …

League of Legends The Nexus is Riot’s first official tournament in the MENA region By Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends TSM officially confirms 2020 LCS roster with Kobbe, Biofrost By Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends Report says Dignitas adds Froggen, Aphromoo, Grig to LCS roster By William Davis

Dota 2

Evil Geniuses, Na’Vi round out DreamLeague Leipzig Major teams Steven Rondina The qualifiers for the DreamLeague Leipzig Major have officially wrapped up. 15 teams have officially locked up spots in the event, with most of the biggest names in Dota 2 present and accounted for. That’s undoubtedly welcome news for DreamHack, who saw some of the game’s most popular and storied brands post upsets to earn a spot in the major. Here are the teams set to compete at the DreamLeague …

Counter-Strike

Report says OG CSGO will play their first games at CS Summit 5 M Alzamora A report released December 4 indicates that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive fans will get their first look at the OG CSGO roster in action very soon. A report from Finnish website yle.fi says that OG CSGO will play their first games as a squad at CS Summit 5. WIN.gg recently speculated that CS Summit 5 could be the first tournament for the new roster, especially given that many top teams are will …

League of Legends

Golden Guardians Academy adds former LPL caster Raz as coach William Davis LPL commentator and League of Legends personality Barento “Raz” Mohammed has made a surprising move and joined Golden Guardians Academy as head coach. Golden Guardians announced the complete GGS Academy roster and coaching staff ahead of the LCS 2020 season. The coaching staff includes former LPL analyst Raz, who worked in the LPL’s English broadcast for the past few years. Raz follows the steps of former LCK caster Christopher “PapaSmithy” …

Counter-Strike

KRIMZ breaks NiKo’s Dust 2 kill record with 44 kills before OT M Alzamora Freddy “KRIMZ” Johannsan broke the world record for kills on Dust 2 during regulation in Fnatic’s ESL Pro League Season 10 finals group stage match against MIBR earlier today. The 25-year-old rifler slammed MIBR on the classic map, putting up 44 kills on the Brazillian team before the map went to overtime. KRIMZ’s performance broke the previous world record of 40 kills set by Nikola “NiKo” Kovač almost two years …

New stack and pull timings hit Dota 2 after update 7.23b gabhernandez Dota 2 The Dota 2 map was given a massive shakeup in the Outlanders Update with the addition of outposts, the removal of several patches of trees, and the new rune locations. One of the more subtle changes to the map were the changes to neutral camps. The Radiant ancient creeps now spawn in the bottom lane jungle near the tier-two tower, rather than near the tier-one tower mid. This was done …

The easiest ways to complete Shattered Web’s Week 3 Missions M Alzamora Counter-Strike Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s third week of missions is live for Operation Shattered Web, and one of them is the mission that shows up every operation and everyone really dislikes. There’s nothing more frustrating opening up Counter-Strike Global Offensive, excited to take a crack at that week’s missions and seeing that you have to get 25 kills in a deathmatch. A Valve deathmatch. With a Nova. Shattered Web’s missions have been …

Renegades returns to CSGO, signs Grayhound Gaming roster Syed Mujtaba Naqvi Counter-Strike Renegades announced its return to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive on Twitter, revealing that it has acquired the roster of Grayhound Gaming. The organization returns to the game after just a few weeks away. The Renegades roster was transferred to 100 Thieves at the end of October, soon after its third-place finish at the StarLadder Berlin Major. Just a month later, the organization is back in the scene with the acquisition of Grayhound’s roster. …

Doran and Chovy to join DragonX after Griffin controversy Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends Two fromer Griffin players, top laner Choi “Doran” Hyeon-joon and mid laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, have joined DragonX. The organization has also announced that trainees Ryu “Keria” Min-seok and Hong “Pyosik” Chang-hyeon have both been promoted to the 2020 starting roster. Doran and Chovy have officially joined DragonX’s League of Legends team for the 2020 League of Legends Champions Korea, Fomos reported on December 4. With the promotion of Keira as …

Former Griffin support Lehends joins Hanwha Life Esports in LCK Syed Mujtaba Naqvi League of Legends Hanwha Life Esports has signed Son “Lehends” Si-woo as the team’s new support for the upcoming LCK competitive season, Fomos’ reporter “Kenzi” shared on Twitter. Lehends is joining the overhauled HLE soon after he and the rest of the former Griffin roster announced free agency. Even though Griffin had a better run at the 2019 League of Legends Champions Korea than did HLE, the organization is likely losing its spot …

Evil Geniuses reported to sign Jiizuke after Chovy declines Olivia Richman League of Legends After failing to sign former Griffin mid laner Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, reports are coming in that Evil Geniuses has instead settled on Team Vitality’s former mid laner Daniele “Jiizuke” di Mauro. Evil Geniuses had reportedly discussed signing a foreign top laner, specifically targeting SK Telecom T1’s Kim “Khan” Dong-ha, but the Korean player chose to sign with China’s FunPlus Phoenix, who recently won the World Championship. The returning LCS team then turned …

Reports say MIBR to replace LUCAS1 with Sharks Esports’ Meyern M Alzamora Counter-Strike Six months after borrowing Lucas “LUCAS1” Teles from Luminosity, MIBR is in discussions with Sharks Esports to find his replacement. According to reports, MIBR is pursuing Sharks Esports’ Ignacio “meyern” Meyer to replace Lucas “LUCAS1” Teles prior to the start of CS Summit 5 on December 12. If MIBR makes the move, it would be the sixth roster change the organization has made in less than a year. Meyern’s recent performances …

Bilibili reportedly pays $133 million for Worlds Chinese broadcast Olivia Richman League of Legends Chinese League of Legends fans will be turning to streaming platform Bilibili for the next three World Championship events. The company is reportedly paying $113 million for three years of exclusive broadcasting rights in China. This is the first time that one streaming service has gained exclusive broadcasting rights for an esports event in China through such a bidding process. According to Beijing News, Bilibili outbid several other media outlets that …

Fnatic cruises to DreamLeague Leipzig Major, drama surrounds TNC Steven Rondina Dota 2 Fnatic, Reality Rift, and TNC Predator are headed to the DreamLeague Leipzig Major. The three teams were the survivors of the Southeast Asian regional qualifiers, which were defined by drama both in and out of game. Fnatic qualifying doesn’t come as any kind of surprise and the team’s journey was fairly smooth. The organization has long been among the region’s finest and the team performed well at the MDL Chengdu …

Team Secret coach Heen discusses TNC after Kuku incident, TI9 trip gabhernandez Dota 2 Team Secret’s new coach opened up on his time with TNC Predator. In an interview with Daniel Offen at Position Six Podcast, coach Lee “Heen” Seung Gon discussed the team’s potential and its ill-fated performance at The International 2019.  One of the biggest storylines heading into TI9 was whether Carlo “Kuku” Palad would be able to compete at the event due to his use of racist language against Chinese players …

Team Liquid, Team Secret qualify for DreamLeague Leipzig Major Steven Rondina Dota 2 Team Liquid and Team Secret shined during the qualifiers to the DreamLeague Leipzig Major. The two organizations earned spots in the event with exceptional all-around performances throughout. They also quell some of the fears about the impact of RNG on the game following the release of the Outlanders Update. Liquid and Secret were both the top performers of their groups. Liquid started off its run in the qualifiers with a …

T1 to join Overwatch Contenders Korea in 2020, replace Fusion U Nina Forneloza News T1 will be joining the Overwatch Contenders Korea in 2020 Formerly known as SK Telecom T1, the recently rebranded T1 announced on Twitter that they have begun to recruit players and coaches to form a team to play in the Overwatch Contenders Korea league in 2020. The legendary esports organization is looking for any interested Grandmasters players with a minimum of 4300 SR to apply for both online and offline …

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