Esports

When All Else Fails, Rush The Nexus

Today’s match between the Unicorns of Love and Splyce in the European League Championship Series was looking like it might go on for ages, until both teams decided to ignore procedure and dive straight for the nexus. Known as a “base race,” both teams tried to rush in and destroy the other’s nexus, the ultimate objective…

The Weekend In Esports: League Of Legends‘ Spring Season Returns 

Things are picking up as the Overwatch League continues with its second week, Hearthstone’s World Championship wraps up in Amsterdam, and League of Legends returns for the spring season. The Shanghai Dragons and Dallas Fuel are the only two teams remaining in OWL without a victory to their name, while the latter has already been…

Longest Game In Pro League of Legends History Shatters Records

Last night’s match between the Jin Air Green Wings and world championship runner-up SKT T1 was not a quick or quiet affair. The best-of-three went the full series, culminating in a 94-minute finale that was both maddening and fascinating. SKT T1, often lauded as one of the best teams in the game, found a tough…

South Korean Overwatch Team Lunatic-Hai Disbands

Lunatic-Hai announced yesterday that it would be disbanding and leaving the Overwatch competitive scene. In a statement (h/t InvenGlobal) the team says it was “difficult to face the radical changes within and outside Overwatch.” “We couldn’t be certain of consistent investment for the organization and the business,” wrote director Tae-Su Kim. “And we couldn’t bring…

Overwatch Pro Suspended For Saying Gay Rival Would Enjoy Sucking A ‘Fat Cock’ [UPDATE]

Dallas Fuel player Félix “xQc” Lengyel has found himself in hot water once again, this time for directing an insensitive insult at a player for the Houston Outlaws, shortly after the Outlaws swept Fuel 4-0 yesterday afternoon. Lengyel has been suspended and fined. During a stream yesterday evening, Lengyel took issue with Outlaws tank Austin…

Report: Dota Team Told Player He Was Cut During Pizza Party

After qualifying for a Dota 2 major, international esports team Fnatic suddenly dumped their offlane player Khoo “Ohaiyo” Chong Xin for Saahil “Universe” Arora, reportedly during a pizza dinner. The official announcement came January 13, when Fnatic confirmed that the former Evil Geniuses offlane player Arora would be joining the team, taking Ohaiyo’s role in…

Overwatch Pro Loves Mercy Despite His Teammates Who Can’t Stand Her

There is at least one Overwatch pro who enjoys the character Mercy, even with her many controversial makeovers. Mikias “Snow” Yohannes, support player for Boston Uprising, stands by the controversial healer. “I think I would be the only support player that will tell you I actually enjoy playing Mercy,” he told Compete. What’s more, all…

Nearly Half Of All Overwatch League Matches So Far Have Been 4-0 Sweeps

Of last night’s three Overwatch League matches, two were complete blowouts that left no doubt as to which team was leaps, bounds, and jetpack boosts ahead of the other. The evening’s first match was a showdown between my dear orange-clad boys in SF Shock and the also-orange (but a worse orange) Philadelphia Fusion. The match…

Overwatch League’s Dallas Fuel Lets Players Be Themselves, Even When That Causes Trouble

Last month, Overwatch pro Félix “xQc” Lengyel found himself apologizing profusely into a video camera from atop an accidental throne of cardboard boxes. It was not his finest hour, but in some ways, it’s just part of the job. Dallas Fuel is the closest thing to a star-studded lineup you’ll find in Blizzard’s fresh-from-the-incubation-tube Overwatch…

The Death And Resurrection Of The Fighting Game Community’s Most Beloved Message Board

The last few weeks have been a turbulent time for Shoryuken, the world’s leading fighting game website, and full disclosure, my former employer. After the outlet’s owners announced plans to shutter their message boards, the competitive community was sent into a frenzy, worried what the move meant for the future of genre discussion. And while…

Regulators In The Philippines Continue To Tighten The Screws On Esports

Competitive gaming in the Philippines was dealt another serious blow after the recent signing of a resolution by the country’s Games and Amusement Board (GAB). In addition to mandatory drug testing for THC and methamphetamines, the resolution will require esports events to ensure all participants are officially licensed by the state as well as share…

Teenage Overwatch League Player’s Dad Pulled Him Out Of School So He Could Go Pro

Overwatch pro Lucas “Mendokusaii” Hakansson wasn’t expecting to drop out of school. The plan, originally, was for him to take a year off—not all that uncommon in his homeland of Sweden—to see if he could get good enough to go pro. One day, though, Hakansson’s dad Henrik met with the school’s administrators. “He didn’t ask…

Overwatch Players Are Imitating Their Favorite League Stars

Everybody I know who plays Overwatch’s pistol-slinging cowboy McCree is coveting the digital skin worn by Do-hyeon “Pine” Kim, the world class McCree pro who stole everybody’s heart last week in his debut Overwatch League match. It’s a dreary blue skin repping New York’s Excelsior team but wearing it is aspirational. If I dress like…

Smash 4‘s Top Player Is Taking A Break From Competition

The same day as he was revealed as the top ranked player in the Panda Global rankings, Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios announced he would no longer be competing in Super Smash Bros. For Wii U… for now. In a letter posted on Barrios’ Twitter, the number-one player in Smash 4 said he has lost his passion…

The Weekend In Esports: Wrapping Up The Overwatch League’s First Week 

OWL got off to a cracking start last Wednesday and hasn’t slowed down since. In addition to introducing esports to a larger audience and sparking important conversations about diversity and team management, there were also a bunch of really great games. Hopefully the quality continues today as the league’s last three matches of the inaugeral…

My Hunt For The Mysterious Man Or Machine Controlling The Blizzard Arena’s Light-Up Halo

The Blizzard Arena stage has a massive light-up halo on the ceiling that serves as a progress bar for Overwatch objectives. As a team captures a point, the halo fills up with that team’s colors. It’s an impressive illustration of who’s winning. And it’s all manual. Or so I’ve been told. The other elements on…

My First Night As A Philadelphia Fusion Fan

I’m too old for this. “This” is the official viewing party of the first match of the Philadelphia Fusion, the Overwatch League team owned by Comcast. I’m 34, and I’m at a college bar in West Philadelphia on a Thursday night. It’s crowded. I’m surrounded by cosplayers, cheerleaders, college kids and actual kids. I did…

Last Night’s Dallas-Seoul Game Showed How Fun Overwatch League Can Be

The Overwatch League’s first night of competition kicked off with hundreds of thousands tuning in on Twitch to watch a slightly tuned up broadcast, OWL’s experienced commentating crew, and two boring, lopsided opening games. Both the Los Angeles Valiant and the Los Angeles Gladiators steamrolled their opponents (San Francisco and Shanghai, respectively) without much resistance…

Overwatch Pros Showed Us Their Best Snipes, Dunks, And Hogs On Opening Night

The inaugural day of the Overwatch League was, overall, pretty cool. Several players rose to the occasion, showcasing the stark contrast in skill between a professional Overwatch player and your average Hanzo main. From hooks and headshots to an old sniper dunking an explosive tire, here were some of the best plays that I can’t…

A couple audience members at the Overwatch League season one debut just got their Pepe sign taken away. They’d been using Pepe, a meme commonly associated with alt-right movements, to cheer on Dallas Fuel. Oddly, the video feed in the arena briefly zoomed in on it at one point. Eventually, the two audience members were…