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Dota 2
Dota 2
News
League of Legends
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League of Legends
Dota 2
News
WIN.gg gathers news and guides from around the world covering every point of the modern gaming industry in all of its many forms.
Dota 2
Dota 2 pros defeat advanced AI, save humanity
gabhernandez
The International’s big stage showcased the toughest test yet for OpenAI Five. After its initial success, the neutral networks proved that they can square up against the best players in Dota 2. A significant restriction was removed, making the games played closer to standard Dota 2 gameplay. Instead of using five vulnerable couriers, OpenAI Five trained with a single courier. This greatly impacts their self-learning ability on courier prioritization and …
Dota 2
The TI8 main event bracket is set
Steven Rondina
The group stage of The International 2018 wrapped up on Saturday night and with that the brackets have been set for the tournament’s playoffs. Wykrhm Reddy revealed the opening matchups for the TI8 main event and there are a lot of interesting games already set. https://twitter.com/wykrhm/status/1031023918486675456 The upper bracket kicks off with a trio of North America vs. Europe matches in OpTic Gaming vs. Team Liquid, VGJ.Storm vs. OG, and …
News
Overwatch League All-Star Weekend
Steven Rondina
The top competitors in the Overwatch League will gather at Blizzard Arena once again for the inaugural Overwatch League All-Star Weekend. The All-Star weekend will feature the creme of the crop of OWL talent. These elite talents will be voted in by fans as starters for teams of the respective Pacific and Atlantic Divisions. Teams will be drafted to each side depending on which team they played for in the …
League of Legends
Return of the Legends 2018
Steven Rondina
Return of the Legends is coming back around for another year. The tournament started in 2017 and looks to be an recurring annual event. Return of the Legends 2018 features retired professional players from both the eastern and western parts of the world. Old fans of Cloud9 will see familiar faces in Hai “Hai” Lam and Derek “LemonNation” Hart. TSM’s Marcus “Dyrus” Hill will also be on Team West, along …
News
South Korea defeats Finland in Overwatch World Cup Qualifier
gabhernandez
South Korea secured a win over Finland in of the Overwatch World Cup’s most anticipated qualifying games. While South Korea is the favorite to win it all, the Finnish team looked good going into the match. Finland’s roster was stacked with six big name Overwatch League players from five different teams. Finland’s players represent the Philadelphia Fusion, Houston Outlaws, Dallas Fuel, Florida Mayhem, and the Los Angeles Gladiators. South Korea’s …
League of Legends
Tyler1 leads push for voice comms in League solo queue
gabhernandez
The maligned solo queue experience has been a subject of ridicule since League of Legends’ inception, but there are some surprising people who are working hard to improve it. Tyler “Tyler1” Steinkamp, a League of Legends player and content creator once renowned for his negative attitude and ensuing permanent ban from League of Legends, has proved once again that he has turned over a new leaf. On August …
Dota 2
Invictus Gaming and paIN Gaming are Eliminated from TI8
gabhernandez
With the conclusion of The International group stage, two teams have waved goodbye to their Aegis aspirations. Invictus Gaming and paiN Gaming were ranked as the bottom teams from Group A and Group B respectively, seeing them exit the tournament before it reaches the main stage in Vancouver. In Group A, Invictus Gaming faced powerhouses and fan favorites including Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, and PSG LGD. They failed to win …
News
Overwatch pro to throw first pitch at Oakland Athletics game
Steven Rondina
Esports and baseball will collide this week when the San Francisco Shock attend an Oakland Athletics game at the Oakland Coliseum. The Shock’s star DPS player Jay “sinatraa” Won will be throwing out the ceremonial first pitch of the game. The San Francisco Shock franchise is owned by NRG Esports, an esports organization based in California. The Bay Area ties run even deeper for the organization — NRG’s primary owners …
neptuNo withdraws from Spanish World Cup team
gabhernandez
News
Alberto “neptuNo” González Molinillo has announced on Twitter that he will not be playing for Spain in the Overwatch World Cup in September. NeptuNo stated that he would be taking a break from professional Overwatch because he wanted time to see friends and focus on becoming a better player for the Overwatch League in Season 2. Originally, neptuNo was announced as one of the starting support players for team Spain. …
Fnatic Partners with Rivalry
gabhernandez
Dota 2
Fnatic have announced a new partnership with betting website Rivalry. The video announcement focused on the organization’s goals to enhance esports. The deal also promotes responsible esports betting practices through the education of bettors. Rivalry is a new betting website established earlier in 2018. The website is an esports sportsbook licensed by the Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission. Instead of Dota 2 items or in-game skins, betting in Rivalry.gg …
Valve tells Dota 2 teams not to take betting site sponsorships
Steven Rondina
News
The Dota 2 sponsorship scene is going to look quite a bit different in 2019 if Valve has anything to say about it. According to multiple reports, during a pre-event meeting with teams the publisher discouraged organizations participating at The International 2018 from accepting sponsorships from betting sites. Though Valve did not outright ban betting site sponsorships, this is a massive shakeup for the Dota 2 scene. Over recent years, …
Dota Pro Circuit changes coming in 2019
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
The Dota Pro Circuit for the 2018-2019 season is going to look quite different compared to this year’s version, in more ways than anyone was expecting. Valve officials met with players and staff from the 18 teams in attendance at The International and revealed another new set of changes to the DPC, including a massive change in how teams will qualify for TI9. As with this year, the 2018-2019 Dota …
JAKE to cast the Overwatch World Cup
gabhernandez
News
Jake “JAKE” Lyon announced on Twitter that he would be joining Andrew “ZP” Rush in casting the second Overwatch World Cup. In a follow-up tweet, JAKE said that he was not retiring from professional play, but that he just wanted to try something new. He is paired with veteran Overwatch caster ZP who casted the first World Cup and has been casting games for various tournaments and competitions, including Contenders …
Philadelphia Fusion open tryouts to new players
gabhernandez
News
The Philadelphia Fusion have announced through their official Twitter that they will be holding open tryouts for the Overwatch League team entering next season. Any player with a peak Skill Rating over 4300 can try out for the team by filling out a provided form. Submission of the form does not guarantee an in-game tryout, and it is up to the coaching staff to pick players who have a real …
Rubick receives latest Dota 2 Arcana
gabhernandez
Dota 2
After a near miss during the TI7 Arcana Vote, the Grand Magus Rubick claimed it this year. It’s been a tradition that each year Battle Pass owners cast votes for the next hero to receive an Arcana. The Arcana voting system split heroes into four single elimination brackets. Higher level Battle Pass owners can cast more votes. Since The International 2014, Valve took to Compendium or Battle Pass Arcana votes …
TI8 All-Star Teams Clash in Mutation Mode
gabhernandez
Dota 2
One of the highlights of The International 2018 was an all-star match featuring the new Mutation mode. Since Danil “Dendi” Ishutin’s taunts in The International 2013 All-Star match, the hype for the show match has grown along with the community. What makes this year’s All-Star game thrilling is seeing new game mutations on the main stage. The TI8 All-Star players were Song “Sccc” Chun, Per Anders Olsson “Pajkatt” Lille, Amer …
Breaking Down the NA LCS Coach of the Split Candidates
Steven Rondina
League of Legends
The NA LCS Coach of the Split award is highly contested, as it’s often difficult to recognize a coach’s direct impact on a team. But certain coaches in the NA LCS are clearly doing more with less. OpTic Gaming is currently in the NA LCS playoff picture after a ninth-place finish in the Spring Split. Tristan “PowerOfEvil” Schrage has been an absolute monster, and head coach Thomas “Zaboutine” Si-Hassen deserves …
AdmiralBulldog’s visa denied, robbing TI8 of memes
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
While all of the players scheduled to compete at The International successfully arrived in Vancouver, without issue, one notable caster did not. A year removed from being denied entry into the United States ahead of The International 2017, former Alliance player Henrik “AdmiralBulldog” Ahnberg was unable to enter Canada to attend TI8. He broke the news over social media, but didn’t offer many specifics. “I just want to be completely …
These are the groups at The International 2018
Steven Rondina
Dota 2
With The International 2018 kicking off in less than 48 hours, details on the tournament’s group stages have finally emerged. Wykhrm Reddy made the reveal on Twitter, announcing the groups and format for the first leg of the event. https://twitter.com/wykrhm/status/1029044785233842177Similar to last year, TI8 will feature two groups of nine teams playing in a round robin format with best-of-two series play. Teams placing first through fourth in each group will …
OpTic Gaming steals a win from Echo Fox with surprise Fizz
Steven Rondina
League of Legends
If OpTic Gaming’s playoff hopes are dashed, the team certainly missed the memo. The boys behind the Green Wall continue to challenge top teams in their last ditch effort towards playoff qualification. Facing off against a talented Echo Fox roster, OpTic Gaming threw several curveballs during the draft phase. Noh “Arrow” Dong-Tak was given his signature Draven, and was paired with an enabler in Terry “Big” Chuong’s support Zilean. The …
WIN.gg gathers news and guides from around the world covering every point of the modern gaming industry in all of its many forms.