News

News Latest Overwatch update brings further change to Baptiste, Symmetra By Jared Wynne League of Legends Twitch Prime subscribers now receive free League of Legends skins By Olivia Richman Fortnite $500,000 Fortnite tournament hit by dramatic glitches By Steven Rondina

League of Legends

FunPlus Phoenix tops LPL after beating world champ Invictus Gaming William Davis FunPlus Phoenix has continued to dominate the LPL with a decisive victory against current world champion Invictus Gaming. FPX consolidated its place as the number one team in the Chinese LPL with a reverse sweep against IG. FPX is one of the biggest surprises of the 2019 season to date and is looking like a strong contender for the LPL spring title. The LPL is a region known for constant …

League of Legends

TSM pushes through late game to best Echo Fox William Davis Team SoloMid continued to climb in the LCS standings with a victory over Echo Fox. Sergen “Broken Blade” Çelik had yet another outstanding performance that contributed to TSM’s victory. Making his debut in the LCS, jungler James “Panda” Ding made sure Echo Fox had a stable early game. Every time TSM’s Matthew “Akaadian” Higginbotham tried to get aggressive, Panda was ready to respond. At the same time, he was able …

Counter-Strike

Astralis demolish ENCE to become Katowice Major champions Steven Rondina Astralis are the 2019 Katowice Major champions. Facing ENCE in the grand finals of the year’s first Counter-Strike: Global Offensive major, the consensus favorite lived up to the hype with a dominant 2-0 victory. The win gave the team its latest in a long string of victories and a third CS:GO major title. ENCE was positioned for early success as it opened the series on the team’s best map, Train. …

Dota 2

Dota 2 hits 1 million concurrent players for first time since 2017 Steven Rondina Dota 2 is trending upwards. According to Steampowered.com, the popular MOBA peaked at over 1 million concurrent players on March 2. This is the first time the game’s concurrent player count has hit seven figures since February 2017. Dota 2 has enjoyed a serious upswing in popularity in recent months. After hitting its all-time peak in 2016, the game’s player base has trended steadily downwards for years despite occasional spikes …

Apex Legends Leak reveals possible new Apex Legends hero Octane By Olivia Richman News Astralis advance to Katowice final with win over MiBR By Steven Rondina News KheZu and Vega Squadron disband after rocky results By Steven Rondina

News

Fortnite Season 8 Battle Pass has new skins, nixes drop points Olivia Richman Fortnite’s Season 8 Battle Pass is full of changes and new additions, including over 100 pirate-themed cosmetics that unlock as players level up. Unlocking the Season 8 Battle Pass by completing last season’s Overtime Challenges results in the unlocking of two brand new outfits: Blackheart and Hybrid. Other notable skins include Sidewinder and Master Key. Every new skin in this season’s battle pass comes with unlockable style options that become …

League of Legends

G2 remain atop LEC after scrappy win over Rogue William Davis G2 Esports found a win against Rogue, but it was a bigger fight than fans expected. The battle in the 2019 LEC Spring Split continues, this time featuring the first and last-place in the standing. The match showed a new side of G2 and mid laner Rasmus “Caps” Winther. As expected, Rek’Sai was a priority pick for G2. The jungle champion received some significant buffs in Patch 9.4 that made …

Counter-Strike

ENCE head to Katowice Major final with upset over Natus Vincere Steven Rondina ENCE are headed to the grand finals of the 2019 Katowice Major. The Finnish underdogs posted another big upset in the Champions Stage with a dramatic win over Natus Vincere. The victory makes them the first team to lock up a spot in the grand finals of the tournament. The series kicked off on Train and in awkward fashion for Na’Vi. An opening ace for Ioann “Edward” Sukhariev set up …

News

Lucio-Oh’s bring Overwatch to breakfast with free loot boxes Olivia Richman Overwatch hero Lucio has his own cereal. Lucio-Oh’s feature yellow and green cereal loops in the color of Lucio’s original skin. The cereal’s flavor is “Sonic Vanilla,” according to the box, which can only be assumed to be vanilla with the sound cranked up. While Kellog’s had a limited release of the cereal in December, it was first introduced at BlizzCon a month earlier. Attendees were given free boxes. More …

Astralis advance to Katowice Major semifinals over NiP Steven Rondina News If there were any doubts about Astralis at the 2019 Katowice Major, the Danish team quashed them with a dominant semifinals performance. Astralis rocked Ninjas in Pyjamas in the Champions Stage quarterfinals. Though the series was not without drama, it still ended in a convincing 2-0 sweep for Astralis. The match opened with Astralis in complete control. Emil “Magisk” Reif led Astralis to a 15-0 first half on Mirage, immediately …

Fusions back on OWL stage for Boston Uprising Olivia Richman News Boston Uprising’s Cameron “Fusions” Bosworth was on stage for the Uprising victory against Seoul Dynasty, following a competitive ruling that had previously barred Fusions from the remainder of stage one. The 3-1 victory was especially satisfying for Fusions after he had to watch his team’s defeat to Shangai Dragons last weekend. Fusions was benched because of the Overwatch League’s ruling on two-way contracted players, prohibiting such players from participating in more …

Overwatch patch brings changes to more than half of heroes Fariha Bhatti News A new Overwatch patch is now available for testing on PTR servers, and includes the introduction of new hero Baptiste as well as balance adjustments for over half the game’s roster. A total of 18 heroes have received changes across two patches in the last week. In addition, a new sound is added indicating when hits land on enemy targets while damage is boosted. The initial patch was released on …

100 Thieves sign Gigz, others to new Apex Legends team William Davis Apex Legends 100 Thieves has entered the Apex Legends scene with three content creator and pro player signings, and they are a bit off the beaten path.   First, the organization signed Connor “Gigz” White, a mainstay in the Destiny 2 PVP community. 100 Thieves next went out and snagged “Teenage,” who the organization described as “an H1Z1 player and former number one Widowmaker in Overwatch.” 100 Thieves also says that Teenage …

MiBR end the Renegades run at the Katowice Major Steven Rondina Counter-Strike Renegades’ magic run in Katowice is over. The Australian squad captured the imaginations of fans with their early heroics at the 2019 Katowice Major, but their swagger wore off in the Champions Stage playoffs. Facing MiBR in the quarterfinals, “the boys” were knocked out courtesy of a 2-0 series loss. Though Renegades had some big moments in the group stages, the difference between the teams was clear from the start …

Apex Legends smoke glitch is a game breaker Olivia Richman Apex Legends A newly discovered Apex Legends exploit has been called game-breaking. Former Overwatch pro player Lucas “Mendokusaii” Hakansson, who recently broke Apex’s solo kill record, recently uploaded a video to YouTube explaining how smoke can be taken out of the game by simply manipulating some game files. Smoke is an integral part of Bangalore’s kit, as her tactical ability “Smoke Launcher” releases a wave of thick smoke that cannot be seen …

ENCE stun Team Liquid at Katowice Major Steven Rondina Counter-Strike Team Liquid is heading home from Katowice after a major upset. The North American squad fell in the quarterfinals of the Champions Stage playoffs of the 2019 Katowice Major. Playing against Finnish underdogs ENCE, Liquid was handed a shocking 2-0 series loss to end their tournament run. From the beginning, it was clear that something was off with the fan favorite team. Despite a solid start on Mirage, Liquid wound …

Report shows esports industry to surpass $1 billion in yearly revenue Jared Wynne News The esports industry is projected to make huge strides in its revenue and viewership this year. Newzoo is one of the leading providers of esports analytics, issuing in-depth market forecasts for the industry. The fifth edition of their esports market projections highlights tremendous growth for both the industry’s revenues and its consumer base. The company recently released the 2019 Global Esports Market Report, which provides a considered analysis of the …

Dota 2 pros are crazy for Apex Legends, even during event drafts gabhernandez News The Apex Legends hype has caught up to some of the best Dota 2 players in the world. The battle royale game was released in February and was an instant hit. The free-to-play game was downloaded 25 million times in its first week and seems poised to contest Fortnite’s dominance in the battle royale space. Now joining the growing action are Dota 2 pros Vladimir “No[o]ne” Minenko and Pavel “9pasha” …

Natus Vincere advance to major semifinals over FaZe Steven Rondina Counter-Strike Natus Vincere is headed to the semifinals of the 2019 Katowice Major, while FaZe Clan is headed home. Facing off in the quarterfinals of the Champions Stage playoffs, the CIS squad posted one of its best showings of the tournament thus far in a 2-0 win. The first game on Mirage was an intense affair. While both FaZe and Na’Vi are built around star players in Nikola “NiKo” Kovač and …

Popular Fortnite player Tfue gets Fortnite tattoo on stream Steven Rondina Fortnite Fortnite has left a literal mark on Turner “Tfue” Tenney. The FaZe Clan streamer and the winningest pro player in Fortnite’s history streamed himself receiving a brand new tattoo inspired by the game. Above his knee alongside an inked knifed is Jonesy, one of the game’s playable soldier characters. The tattoo pays homage to longstanding claims that Tfue shares a likeness with the character. Though this may be a stretch, …

100 Thieves signs Blind, gear up for Fortnite World Cup Olivia Richman Fortnite 100 Thieves has a new addition to its Fortnite roster in Maurilio “Blind” Gramajo. In an announcement on Twitter, 100 Thieves called Blind a “true competitor.” The competitive Fortnite player took home two first-place victories at Ninja Vegas 2018, and also placed in the top 10 at the Summer and Fall Skirmishes at PAX West and TwitchCon, respectively. “We absolutely can’t wait to see him back in the ring this …

WIN.gg gathers news and guides from around the world covering every point of the modern gaming industry in all of its many forms.