News

Dota 2 Let’s Do It Head to Dota Summit 9 By gabhernandez League of Legends Korea and Taiwan Meet Again at Rift Rivals By William Davis News Exclusive rewards available to fans during OWL finals By Fariha Bhatti

News

London Spitfire head to OWL grand final gabhernandez Orange and blue confetti spilled over the Overwatch Arena on Friday, signifying the London Spitfire’s victory over the Los Angeles Valiant and granting the Spitfire a spot in the Overwatch League finals. The Spitfire have been on a roll since their reverse sweep win over the Los Angeles Gladiators in the previous series. That crushing defeat of the Valiant gave them all the momentum they needed to break into the …

Counter-Strike

Na`Vi win Big at ESL One Cologne gabhernandez Sixteen teams from around the world came to Cologne, Germany in the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive cathedral for five days in hopes of walking away with the grand prize of $125,000. Na’Vi’s victory at the tournament secured their first placement in Intel’s Grand Slam, the upcoming culmination of all Dreamhack and ESL tournaments. Natus Vincere had a rocky start but recovered to strong-arm their way out of the losers bracket as they …

League of Legends

Rascal Returns from LCK Suspension William Davis Kim “Rascal” Kwang-hee is back with the KINGZONE DragonX roster after a controversial suspension during the Spring Split.   Ahead of the second half of the Summer Split, LCK teams submitted their updated rosters. The Korean Esports Association announced these submissions through social media, and Rascal’s name stood out.   Rascal was suspended in March, when reports surfaced about LCK players making insensitive comments online about the suicide of former …

Dota 2

OG Qualifies for The International Steven Rondina OG needed to send a message in the European qualifiers for The International, and the team managed to do exactly that. Despite limping into the event with a recently rebuilt roster and numerous questions about what condition the squad was in, OG successfully earned a spot in Vancouver. Not only that, but it may have just re-established itself as a serious contender for the Aegis of Champions. After posting a …

League of Legends Doublelift sparks debate over League of Legends’ popularity By gabhernandez Dota 2 Fnatic, TNC Predator Secure Slots at The International By gabhernandez News London Spitfire reverse sweeps Los Angeles Gladiators, advance to semifinals By gabhernandez

Dota 2

TI8 NA Regional Qualifiers Steven Rondina The North American qualifiers for The International 2018 wrapped up on Monday and ended with the region’s strongest teams earning berths in Vancouver. Vici Gaming J Storm, Evil Geniuses, and OpTic Gaming earned invitations to the biggest Dota 2 tournament of the year. They’ll join 15 other teams in competing for the biggest prize in esports. While these qualifiers were expected to be an almost academic affair, the most stacked …

Dota 2

Summer Season Brings New Dota Plus Update gabhernandez Dota Plus is being updated with the goal bringing more exciting features to players who subscribe to Valve’s monthly service. Earlier this year, Valve introduced the next evolution of the Majors Battle Pass, a new subscription service called Dota Plus. The premium monthly subscription unlocks exclusive perks for Dota 2 players. Non-expiring rewards are provided to celebrate the player’s achieved milestones, and a variety of additional stats are made available …

News

JJonak wins OWL MVP award Fariha Bhatti The Overwatch League’s inaugural MVP award has been given to Seong-Hyun “Jjonak” Bang of the New York Excelsior. Jjonak was given the award in recognition of his fantastic skill from the support position, where he is most known for his exemplary play on Zenyatta. Though first considered a healing hero, Zenyatta is also an attacking presence worthy of fear under Jjonak’s control. Using the hero to his full potential, Jjonak …

League of Legends

Uzi to Take Break from Competition William Davis Reigning Mid Season Invitational champion Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao is taking a break from gaming, Royal Never Give Up announced through social media.   The 21-year-old AD carry is taking some time off after 6 years as a professional player to recover from an injury. Uzi has been struggling with excruciating pain in his shoulder and back since 2015. The injury was significant enough that Uzi considered retirement, saying “I have …

The Next Counter-Strike Major Comes to Katowice gabhernandez Counter-Strike Intel and Valve have announced that the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship will return to Katowice in 2019. Players and fans can look forward to three weeks of tournaments beginning on February 14 and running through March 3. The winner of the IEM World Championship will gain the winner’s share of the $1,000,000 prize pool, as well as an additional point towards the Intel Grand Slam. From February 14-20, the …

Breaking down the teams at TI8 gabhernandez Dota 2 The International 2018 features the world’s top Dota 2 teams aiming for the biggest cash prize in all of esports. This most prestigious tournament brings together skilled players for a massive spectacle. We’ll now look at the top teams entering the event and the dark horses most capable of pulling off an upset. THE FAVORITES Virtus Pro Virtus Pro looks to be the strongest squad in the tournament with their …

Valiant best NYXL in OWL playoffs gabhernandez News The Los Angeles Valiant beat the New York Excelsior last night in the Stage 4 Playoff of the inaugural Overwatch League season. This is the Valiant’s first playoff win, breaking NYXL’s streak of two straight stage titles. Prior to Stage 4, the Excelsior was the team to beat. Their stacked roster showed few cracks, as evidenced by their two consecutive titles. It wasn’t until halfway through Stage 4 that the …

Fissure benched before OWL playoffs gabhernandez News Shortly before the Los Angeles Gladiators’ first playoff game against the London Spitfire, the Gladiators announced that they would not be starting Chan-hyung “Fissure” Baek. https://twitter.com/LAGladiators/status/1017211806673014785 There has been some controversy regarding the reason behind Fissure’s benching. The official statement, while vague, doesn’t directly imply any issues within the team’s ranks. Journalist Rod “Slasher” Breslau reported that Fissure was unhappy with the team’s performance in scrimmages, so the Gladiators chose …

Overwatch League comes to Disney TV Fariha Bhatti News Blizzard Entertainment has announced a broadcast deal for Overwatch League with Disney, bringing league broadcasts to Disney, ESPN, and ABC networks. The deal has already started and is a multi-year contract, with league matches set to be broadcast on ESPN, Disney XD, and ABC. The Season 1 quarterfinal matches will be the first matches to air live, broadcasting on Disney XD and ESPN3. The upcoming semifinals and finals will also …

NYXL defeat Boston Uprising for Sate 3 title Fariha Bhatti News The New York Excelsior have emerged as the winners of the Stage 3 title match over fellow finalists Boston Uprising. The Uprising had just come off of a huge 3-0 victory against the Los Angeles Gladiators, but the resulting momentum wasn’t enough to power the team past the Excelsior in the $100,000 title match. The Uprising’s offense stalled early in the match as New York was relentless in their push …

RNG crowned MSI Champions gabhernandez League of Legends Royal Never Give Up marksman Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao may be the best ADC in competitive League of Legends, and at the Mid Season Invitational Uzi proved his mettle by capturing his biggest trophy to date.   Many expected Uzi and his RNG teammates to lose to KING-ZONE DragonX, a team composed of former SKT members and other formidable Korean stars, but RNG and Uzi were not swayed by the challenge …

HellRaisers and Team Spirit Earn Major Spots gabhernandez Counter-Strike Hellraisers and Team Spirit have both qualified to the FACEIT Major London after playing their way to the CIS Minor finals. HellRaisers managed to beat Team Spirit 2-1 to take the top prize in the tournament. Of the eight participating teams, both HellRaisers and Team Spirit were looked at as top contenders as the two squads have seen some success in recent months. While HellRaisers had a strong showing throughout …

Fusion victories open playoff series with Boston Uprising Fariha Bhatti News The Philadelphia Fusion has won their first set of matches against the Boston Uprising in the Overwatch League Playoffs. Philadelphia came away from Day 1 of the series with a 3-1 victory, though the team will not advance to the semifinals unless they manage to secure a second win against Boston when the playoffs resume. The Fusion got off to a strong start on the first map, relentless in their …

Gladiators open playoffs with sweep of London Spitfire gabhernandez News The Blizzard Arena turned purple during the second match of the inaugural season’s playoffs as fans cheered the Los Angeles Gladiators through their 3-0 defeat of the London Spitfire. Prior to the match, the Gladiators announced that Luis “iRemix” Galarza Figueroa would start over MVP nominee Baek “Fissure” Chan-hyung. London looked to come out of its late-season slump, but the Gladiators were having none of it. The Gladiators showed off …

Execration win MPGL Asian Championship gabhernandez Dota 2 After a failed journey in the Dota Pro Circuit, Execration have taken their first international tournament victory. The 2018 MPGL Asian Championship was held in Central Plaza Khon Kaen, Thailand, with participants including some of Asia’s most promising squads, such as EVOS Esports of Indonesia and Keen Gaming of China. Among this field of teams, Clutch Gamers and Execration emerged as the strongest and earned the right to fight for the …

Valve Announces New Dota Pro Circuit rules gabhernandez Dota 2 The new year in competitive Dota 2 will feature some significant changes in the Dota Pro Circuit. To introduce greater structure to the new competitive season, big changes will be made to the DPC. The revamped system affects DPC points adjustments, player regulations, team ownership, and schedule improvement. In the recently concluded season, top teams rarely changed their rosters since DPC binds qualifying points to individual players. This year, points …

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