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Esports
New York Claims Overwatch League Stage 3 Title, Ends Boston’s Undefeated Streak
After dancing around each other as the two top teams of stage 3, the New York Excelsior and Boston Uprising finally settled the score in the grand finals of the stage’s playoffs. New York emerged victorious in a 3-0 win, securing back-to-back stage titles in the Overwatch League. The two teams had played before in…
By Eric Van Allen Published May 6, 2018 -
Esports
PSG.LGD Wins Its First Dota Major And Also An Infinity Gauntlet
Fresh off a sponsorship from football club Paris Saint-Germain, LGD Gaming—now PSG.LGD—won this weekend’s Dota 2 Epicenter XL major, getting some prize money, circuit points, and a sweet Infinity Gauntlet. PSG.LGD got its first big points grab in the Dota pro circuit in last month’s Dota Asia Championships 2018, where the team came in 2nd.…
By Eric Van Allen Published May 6, 2018 -
Esports
Soulcalibur VI Player Accidentally Goes For A Swim
That’s one way to wake up, I guess. An exhibition was held at Texas Showdown last night for the unreleased Soulcalibur VI. As an unreleased game, that might explain why one move didn’t go exactly as planned. It happens to the best of us. Party Wolf went on to win the exhibition in the next…
By Eric Van Allen Published May 6, 2018 -
Esports
Japan’s Yoshi Specialist Beats Top Melee Player
Masaya “aMSa” Chikamoto has been on a tear at this weekend’s Smash Summit 6, and yesterday he pulled off an upset on one of Melee’s best players. Chikamoto is considered the best Yoshi player in the Super Smash Bros. Melee scene, and he hails from Japan, a region that can be tough on the players…
By Eric Van Allen Published May 6, 2018 -
Esports
Boston Uprising Closes Out Perfect Stage In Overwatch League
Boston’s 3-1 win last night against the Los Angeles Gladitaors secured a new record in the Overwatch League. Across five weeks and 10 games, the Boston Uprising won every single one and claimed the league’s first perfect stage, weathering some big storms in the process. Prior to stage 3, Boston sat squarely in the middle…
By Eric Van Allen Published May 5, 2018 -
Esports
Cavs NBA 2K Player Erupts For 46 Points In Narrow Playoff Win
Today’s playoff bracket pit the Utah Jazz and the Cleveland Cavs’ 2K squads against each other. Brandon “Hood” Caicedo, a small forward for the Cavs, ended up being the game-runner for his team, scoring over half his team’s points. This weekend’s tip-off tournament is the start of the NBA’s brand-new 2K league. It’s a fresh…
By Eric Van Allen Published May 5, 2018 -
Esports
The Shanghai Dragons Are Still Winless, But There Is Hope
After last night’s match against the New York Excelsior, the Shanghai Dragons have a 0-29 record in the Overwatch League, besting (worsting?) some of the longest winless droughts in professional sports history. The 29-straight losses beats out the Philadelphia 76ers, whose 28-game losing streak spanned two regular seasons before it was broken with a win…
By Eric Van Allen Published May 5, 2018 -
Esports
The Weekend In Esports: Something For Everyone
It’s time for an extremely stacked weekend in competitive gaming. The next couple days are going to be filled with matches in just about every competitive vocation you could imagine. Overwatch, Dota 2, League of Legends, Hearthstone, Counter-Strike, Rocket League, Smash Bros., Street Fighter… there is a Fate/Unlimited Codes tournament this weekend. Honestly, this just…
By Eric Van Allen Published May 5, 2018 -
Esports
Hawaii’s Big Island Is Building A Fighting Game Community From The Ground Up
The fighting game community has never been as expansive as it is right now. Just a few years ago, it would have been impossible for players from regions like the Caribbean and the Middle East, for instance, to make a name for themselves on the global stage. Despite the explosion of popularity driven by the…
By Ian Walker Published May 3, 2018 -
Esports
Overwatch‘s Placement Matches Are Just Telling Us What We Know
It’s placement time in Overwatch and, as you’re reading this, players are haunting the servers like cursed ghosts forever bound to relive their past lives. After ten seasons of this, players have noticed an unnerving and demoralizing truth: a lot of the time, players’ competitive rankings turn out to be basically whatever they were last…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published May 2, 2018 -
Esports
Bayonetta Dance-Off Backfires During Crucial Super Smash Bros. Match
Bayonetta might be too strong to live forever as a Super Smash Bros. character, but she’s been a fantastic addition to the cast for at least one reason: players have a ton of fun with her, sometimes even at their own expense. At last weekend’s Glitch 4 tournament, notable Bayonetta players Zack “CaptainZack” Lauth and…
By Ian Walker Published May 2, 2018 -
Esports
Geguri Holds No Grudges
In 2016, Jae-mo “Xepher” Koo was part of the Korean Overwatch team that wrongfully accused Kim “Geguri” Se-yeon of cheating. Just two years later, Xepher is a flex tank player for the Overwatch League’s Seoul Dynasty, while Geguri is the league’s first woman According to the manager for the Korean team, Dizziness, the accusing players…
By Maddy Myers Published April 30, 2018 -
Esports
Pro Panda Takes Down Tekken Champ
A top Tekken player was eliminated from Korea Masters today, by none other than a Panda player. Choi “Saint” Jinwoo is considered one of the best in the world at Tekken 7, consistently placing in the top 3. His opponent Rangchu, however, was in the middle of a stellar run in the tournament, and wasn’t…
By Eric Van Allen Published April 29, 2018 -
Esports
Street Fighter Player Mounts Comeback From The Magic Pixel
The “magic pixel” is a sliver of health that doesn’t even show up in your fighter’s health bar, an amount so tiny you would probably measure it in subpixels. It was from that tiniest pip of heath that Zeku player Air fought back, and in a rousing match, took the series while barely alive. A…
By Eric Van Allen Published April 29, 2018 -
Esports
Pine’s Widowmaker Play Is One Highlight After Another
Kim “Pine” Do-hyeon missed most of the Overwatch League’s second stage, but over the last few weeks, he’s been making up for lost time. Pine has been cutting Widowmaker highlight reels almost every night of stage 3. While he can play other heroes, Pine really excels at the Widowmaker. In last night’s match against Seoul…
By Eric Van Allen Published April 29, 2018 -
Esports
Splyce Is Leaving Competitive Counter-Strike To Focus On Other Games
Esports organization Splyce announced today that it will be leaving professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to put resources towards other scenes. Confirming a report earlier this week from Dust2.us, the organization will part ways with its North American roster ahead of a fight against relegation in Season 7 of the ESL Pro League. Splyce co-founder and…
By Eric Van Allen Published April 28, 2018 -
Esports
Valve Won’t Release Dota Patches During Tournaments Anymore
The most recent Dota 2 patch landed right on top of the currently ongoing Epicenter XL major. A big shift in gameplay riled up some folks in the community, and now, Valve is adjusting the way it will release future updates. Valve announced yesterday that “for upcoming majors where the Thursday patch would land during…
By Eric Van Allen Published April 28, 2018 -
Esports
Attack Torbjörn Makes A Surprise Appearance In The Overwatch League
During last night’s Overwatch League matches, Houston’s Jake Lyon backed off after his team took the first point to switch out his hero. Turns out it wasn’t to Sombra or maybe his signature Junkrat; it was Torbjörn. A momentous moment for Torb mains, and a horrific omen for everyone else. While this isn’t the first-ever…
By Eric Van Allen Published April 28, 2018 -
Esports
The Weekend In Esports: Conquest!
The windy city will host the start of a new tournament series today across three different fighting games. The Red Bull Conquest series is made up of local tournaments across North America, in Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, and Guilty Gear. The whole idea is to feature each region’s best, to determine which home crowd…
By Eric Van Allen Published April 28, 2018 -
Esports
Seoul-Philly Was Some Sloppy, Weird Overwatch
Last night’s showdown between slumping juggernaut Seoul Dynasty and season-long punchers-above-their-weight Philadelphia Fusion might have been the first match of its kind in this first Overwatch League season. On their best nights, both of these teams can be extraordinarily good. Seoul slowly but surely dissects its opponents, while Philly’s aggression is fueled by wild moments…
By Nathan Grayson Published April 27, 2018