News

League of Legends Riot Games COO suspended for workplace harassment By William Davis Counter-Strike Bpro and x6tence Galaxy to meet in WINNERS League final By Jared Wynne Dota 2 Vici Gaming coach fined for profane rant By gabhernandez

League of Legends

Origen reloads for return to top European competition William Davis Origen is returning to the LEC in 2019 with a roster full of European stars. Spanish organization Origen is back in the LEC. The team and brand were acquired by Astralis’ parent company RFRSH Entertainment in November. After having fallen out of the top tier of European competition in 2016, the team is again ready to compete at the top. Barney “Alphari” Morris is taking over the top lane. Alphari …

Dota 2

Fear returns to pro Dota with J.Storm Steven Rondina Clinton “Fear” Loomis has found a new home. The legendary Dota 2 player is joining old allies Jimmy “Demon” Ho and Park “March” Tae-won as the new support player for J.Storm. The announcement was made on the organization’s official website and confirmed by Fear on Twitter. Between 2011 and 2016, Fear built himself a reputation as one of the best and most versatile players in Dota 2. Playing as carry, …

News

OWL expansion skins are coming to servers Fariha Bhatti A new Overwatch patch featuring skins and fixes is currently in development and is now available for testing on PTR servers. The patch mainly focuses on bug fixes. Along with these fixes, the new Overwatch League expansion team skins are now available to preview, and new heroes now sing along with karaoke music in Busan. The Overwatch League skins are based on the colors and uniforms of each OWL team. The …

League of Legends

TSM hopes to rebound with Broken Blade and Smoothie William Davis Team SoloMid will look to recapture past glory with new members Sergen “Broken Blade” Çelik and Andy “Smoothie” Ta. TSM is making big changes heading into 2019 in the LCS. After a mediocre year, the organization is hoping to reclaim their place as the most successful team in North America. Top laner Broken Blade previously played with Turkish side Royal Bandits. The team was a frequent contender in the TCL, …

News Blizzard ends esports support for Heroes of the Storm By Steven Rondina Dota 2 Mineski wins again outside the DPC By gabhernandez League of Legends Nisqy signing shows Cloud9’s roster building commitment By William Davis

League of Legends

Golden Guardians retool with Hauntzer, Froggen, Olleh gabhernandez Golden Guardians have undergone a promising roster overhaul after taking last place in both splits of the 2018 season. In the top lane, the Guardians picked up Kevin “Hauntzer” Yarnell from TSM. Hauntzer was well known for his dominance as a native top laner against top lane imports such as Heo “Huni” Seung-hoon. Hauntzer’s skill proved itself out even among star teammates like Soren “Bjergsen” Bjerg and Yiliang “Doublelift” Peng. Unfortunately, …

Dota 2

Kuku takes leave from TNC following racism scandal gabhernandez Following a racism controversy and an ensuing penalty imposed by Valve, Carlo “Kuku” Palad has decided to take a personal leave from TNC Predator. TNC Predator posted on their Facebook page about Kuku’s decision to take leave. TNC also clarified that Kuku will remain a part of their Dota 2 roster. Ryo “ryOyr” Hasegawa will substitute for Kuku for the meantime. TNC did not indicate the specific date of Kuku’s …

League of Legends

Deft, Pawn, TusiN replenish Kingzone DragonX William Davis Kingzone DragonX will be starting three new players in 2019 after the departure of its starting roster. New faces are joining Kingzone DragonX for the new LCK season. Former KT Rolster players Heo “PawN” Won-seok and Kim “Deft” Hyuk-kyu are joined by former Afreeca Freecs support Park “TuSin” Jong-ik as now members of the team. The organization shared the news through social media after it was confirmed that Gwak “BDD” Bo-seong and …

League of Legends

New champion Neeko brings subterfuge to League William Davis Riot Games has revealed its newest champion, Neeko, the curious chameleon. Riot has hinted that an upcoming champion could disguise itself and trick the enemies, the developer did not disappoint the fans. ABILITIES Neeko’s passive, Inherent Glamour, is what really sets her apart. She can disguise herself as an allied champion, including a fake health bar representing that ally’s current health. The illusion lasts until she casts Blooming Burst (Q) …

OG, NiP earn spots at Bucharest Minor gabhernandez Dota 2 OG is set to take another shot at securing a spot in The Chongqing Major , this time through the upcoming minor tournament. After a failed attempt at qualifying through The Chongqing Major’s European qualifier, the defending TI8 champions successfully took the first slot in The Bucharest Minor’s European qualifier. OG topped their group while European rival Ninjas In Pyjamas remained undefeated in the second group. The two teams faced each other …

Brigitte and Doomfist suffer nerfs in latest OW patch Fariha Bhatti News A new Overwatch patch is now live across all platforms, bringing a mixture of buffs and nerfs for various heroes, most notably crowd control nerfs for Doomfist and Brigitte. Torbjorn, McCree, and Bastion have all been buffed for 1.31 as the Winter Wonderland seasonal event goes live. Brigitte’s Shield Bash will now be less effective at stunning enemies, as it will no longer travel through or stun targets hiding behind …

Overwatch League personalities in surprise wedding gabhernandez News A Twitter event using the hashtag #esportsmystery turned out to be a surprise wedding between Overwatch League broadcaster Christopher “MonteCristo” Mykles and London Spitfire manager Susie Kim. Kim and MonteCristo had not previously disclosed the couple’s romance. The pair hid their relationship from the public eye for five years. Their wedding website, which was revealed to Twitter users after they tied the knot, describes how they met and displays pictures …

The matches for OWL’s new season are set Fariha Bhatti News The Overwatch League has announced the full schedule for the league’s second season of play. The schedule was revealed during the league’s official preview show, Watchpoint. The event was hosted on Twitch while the official OWL Twitter later uploaded the schedule for fans to reference. The first matchup of the league’s new season will take place on February 14 as the London Spitfire and Philadelphia Fusion clash. This will be …

Winter Wonderland returns to Overwatch gabhernandez News Overwatch Winter Wonderland, the game’s annual holiday event, returns this year with some new goodies for fans to find. This is the game’s third Winter Wonderland event, with Mei’s Snowball Offensive and Yeti Hunter game modes returning. This is in addition to new arcade games, nine new skins, two emotes, six victory poses, and more that can be pulled out of loot boxes. Mei’s Snowball Offensive is the game’s first …

Team Liquid return to championship form against Na`Vi gabhernandez Dota 2 Team Liquid took notched another title at the MegaFon Winter Clash without dropping a single game in the process. The TI7 champions entered the event’s grand final undefeated with a 4-0 score in the group stage. Liquid won against Natus Vincere in the upper bracket final to secure their grand final slot and a one-game advantage. Na`Vi eliminated PSG.LGD in a lower bracket finals upset to earn a rematch against Liquid in a best-of-five …

Cloud9, Overwatch, and Fortnite win at The Game Awards Fariha Bhatti League of Legends Overwatch, Fortnite, and League of Legends were among the big winners at the 2018 Game Awards. The Game Awards is the largest annual game awards ceremony in the video game industry. A panel of more than 60 experts nominated over 100 games for various awards, including multiple esports titles. Blizzard’s FPS Overwatch was named “Esports Game of the Year” after being nominated alongside Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Dota 2, Fortnite, and …

Vancouver Titans complete new OWL team brandings Fariha Bhatti News All eight Overwatch League expansion teams have now announced their official branding. The eight additional teams were added after the success of Season 1 of the Overwatch League, bringing the total team count for Season 2 to 20. Each of the previous 12 teams had been split into Atlantic and Pacific divisions for the purpose of matchmaking and for the All-Stars competition. Joining the Atlantic division alongside the inaugural champion …

Newbee bench Moogy and Inflame after slow start gabhernandez Dota 2 Newbee’s underwhelming performance in the new Dota Pro Circuit season has resulted in their decision to bench two of their starting players.   Following the results of the Bucharest Minor China qualifier, Newbee announced that Xu “Moogy” Han and He “inflame” Yongzheng will be moving to inactive status. In a Twitter post, Newbee indicated that the movement was caused by the player’s and team’s poor performance in tournament play. Two …

Virtus.pro, Fnatic among Chongqing Major qualifiers gabhernandez Dota 2 The Chongqing Major qualified teams are settled, and they will soon take part in a prestigious tournament with $1 million 15 thousand Dota Pro Circuit points at stake. The Chongqing Major CIS Qualifier was headlined by top teams from the region including Virtus.pro, NoPangolier, Gambit Esports, and Natus Vincere. Unexpectedly, NoPangolier took the first spot. NoPangolier defeated Virtus.pro in a 2-1 final, while the favorites at Virtus.pro secured their own Chongqing …

South Korea considers legal action against boosting gabhernandez News South Korea’s government will soon decide on proposed consequences for account boosting in video games. Should they be approved, punishments could include up to two years in jail and a fine of up to 20 million won In June of last year, South Korea’s National Assembly introduced an amendment to the Game Industry Promotion Act to include sanctions against third party vendors that profit from the supplying or providing of …

Pajkatt replaces ana for reigning TI champions gabhernandez Dota 2 The current TI champions will start their latest Dota Pro Circuit journey with a new carry player. OG took a quick break from the competitive scene following the team’s huge success at The International 2018. Without making an appearance in the first Minor and Major tournaments for the 2018-2019 DPC season, OG made a huge announcement when it was decided that Anathan “ana” Pham would be stepping away from the game. …

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