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Esports
Philly’s Overwatch League Team Has Pulled Out Of The Entire Preseason
The Philadelphia Fusion, the Comcast-owned Overwatch League team, just pulled out of their pre-season matches, citing “player logistics issues.” The Fusion had been scheduled to play the debut match of the OWL pre-season against the Florida Mayhem tomorrow. Blizzard has announced that the San Francisco Shock will be replacing the Fusion in tomorrow’s match. You’d…
By Maddy Myers Published December 5, 2017 -
Esports
Battlerite Is A True MOBA, And Thank God
Games like League of Legends and Dota, because they cover a lot of ground, are loosely termed Multiplayer Online Battle Arena games. But Battlerite, which left early access in November, is one of the few games to actually meet the technical definition of MOBA, and that’s what makes it such a compelling alternative to the…
By Eric Van Allen Published December 4, 2017 -
Esports
Overwatch Gets Separate Currency For League Skins
The moment Blizzard announced team-specific Overwatch skins as part of its effort to make the game more watchable, it was pretty much inevitable that they’d become available to the game’s skin-starved general populace as well. You won’t be unlocking them the normal way, though. In a video released today, OWL commissioner Nate Nanzer explained that…
By Nathan Grayson Published December 4, 2017 -
Esports
StarCraft Pro Wins With His Foot, Naps Mid-Match, Thinks He’s The Shit (Update)
Lim “Larva” Hong Gyu proved last night that he can win a StarCraft: Remastered match with his foot. During the finals of the Zotac Cup Masters Showmatch, Larva made quick work of his opponent’s base, and in the game’s final moments, he lifted his bare left foot onto the keyboard to tap in a few…
By Maddy Myers Published December 4, 2017 -
Esports
The Smash 4 Championship Final Was Extremely Satisfying
The fight between Leonardo “MkLeo” Lopez Perez and Gonzalo “ZeRo” Barrios in the 2GG Championship final was some of the highest-level Smash 4 I’ve ever seen, with incredibly clean play and perceptive reads and adaptions. This weekend’s 2GG Championship was created to be a capstone tournament for the Super Smash Bros. For Wii U scene.…
By Eric Van Allen Published December 4, 2017 -
Esports
Pro Gears Of War Players Put On A Taunting Clinic
A top-level Gears Of War player should exhibit certain attributes: accuracy, dexterity, quick thinking, and communication. At this weekend’s Dallas Open, several teams showed it’s also beneficial to be skilled at trash talk. Sure, it’s a pro gamer stereotype to launch into a flurry of taunts after sufficiently owning your opponent, but to be honest,…
By Eric Van Allen Published December 3, 2017 -
Esports
Team Secret Is In The Driver’s Seat Of The Dota Pro Circuit
The Dota 2 pro circuit is starting to shake out, and over the course of the year thus far, one team has stood out in particular. With a huge win in Sweden today, Team Secret is cementing its place as the team to beat going into 2018. It isn’t just the points tally that sets…
By Eric Van Allen Published December 3, 2017 -
EsportsSmash Player Proposes To Girlfriend Before Championship Match
Congrats to Chris “WaDi” Boston and Cinnpie. Boston would go on to beat Tweek in a 3-2 set and steal our hearts in the process. You can follow the rest of today’s matches on the 2GG Twitch channel
By Eric Van Allen Published December 2, 2017 -
Esports
Hearthstone Game Ends In Almost Impossibly Improbable Sequence
Hearthstone is an online card game with a significant amount of randomness. Sometimes, that random generation can lead to immense failure, but it can also lead to impossibly improbable victories. At DreamHack Winter 2017 today, Esteban “AKAWonder” Serrano was staring down a very bad board state, with only a single card in his hand: Swashburglar,…
By Eric Van Allen Published December 2, 2017 -
Esports
The Weekend In Esports: Gears Of War Pro Circuit And DreamHack Winter
December is off to a nice start with plenty of major tournaments throughout esports, including Dota 2, Rocket League, and Gears of War 4 In addition to the MLG Dallas Open and ELEAGUE Cup, DreamHack Winter 2017 is underway in Sweden with tournaments ranging from Smash Bros. Melee to H1Z1. Below you’ll find where and…
By Ethan Gach Published December 2, 2017 -
Esports
Smash Pro Narrowly Wins After Missed Ledge Grab
Two masters of their own character met last night in the 2GG Championship, as the clash between the best Sonic and best Link came down to the last second and a single hit’s worth of damage. Kengo “Ken” Suzuki and Isami “T” Ikeda are two of Japan’s biggest representatives in these Super Smash Bros. For…
By Eric Van Allen Published December 2, 2017 -
Esports
Smash Player Hopes To Go The Distance In Melee‘s Home Run Contest
Mike “Typo” Bassett, the devoted Super Smash Bros. Melee player who continues to shatter distance ceilings in the title’s Home Run Contest mini-game, recently surpassed another decade-old record, this time with Pokémon mainstay Jigglypuff. And now, with a massive goal within reach, he’s well on his way to becoming the mode’s undisputed champion. Typo knew…
By Ian Walker Published December 1, 2017 -
EsportsOverwatch‘s Doomfist Kinda Sucks, So Thank Goodness For Patches
Five months after his release, it turns out that Overwatch’s villainous, terrifying hero Doomfist kind of sucks. Barely anybody wants to play him competitively and, frankly, that makes sense: His beat-em-up playstyle doesn’t feel like a great fit for Overwatch’s cartoonish first-person shooter world. Yesterday, Blizzard finally announcedthat they’re tweaking the hero so, hopefully, he’ll…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published November 30, 2017 -
EsportsThe Cruel Blogfathers Of Deadspin Show Their True Colors
Compete is a joint project between Kotaku and Deadspin, and as the Compete editor and writers, we like to say that we have two dads. They’re both supportive, loving parents, if ones with slightly different workflows—or so we thought until last night, when one father’s apparently hidden resentments boiled over. We were scheduled to present…
By Dennis Young Published November 29, 2017 -
Esports
Street Fighter V Champion NuckleDu Pulls Out Of Capcom Cup A Week Before Annual Event
As the Capcom Cup 2016 champion, Du “NuckleDu” Dang was automatically granted a spot at the 2017 event to defend his Street Fighter V title. But a recent announcement has thrown a wrench in that storyline, shaking up the established competitor lineup for the most important Street Fighter event of the year. Dang took to…
By Ian Walker Published November 28, 2017 -
Esports
Tekken 7 Competition Concludes With Miraculous Comeback
The Japanese tournament Mastercup has few equals when it comes to Tekken competition, and the ninth installment of this annual event certainly lived up to its pedigree last weekend. The stunning conclusion saw one competitor singlehandedly defeat five straight opponents to earn his team a grand finals victory. Over the past few months, Tekken 7…
By Ian Walker Published November 27, 2017 -
Esports
Ryus, Ranked
Some Ryus are better than other Ryus. Here is the official Compete ranking of the following notable Ryus. Hot Ryu Ryū ga Gotoku, a.k.a. Yakuza (for the Wii U, PS2 and PS3) A dragon Young Ryu (from the Street Fighter V tutorial) Ryu Hayabusa (from Ninja Gaiden) Ryu Hyun-jin Ryu Ryu (from Breath of Fire)…
Maddy Myers & Eric Van Allen Published November 27, 2017 -
EsportsGuy Wins Mobile Game Tournament, Has Nothing To Say
Tomato, the Shanghai finalist for Summoners War, went on to become its first world champion after a full day of harrowing matches against other elite players. When asked if he had anything to say to fans in the audience and online, he said “No.” The $61,000 prize pool World Arena Championship took place on Saturday…
By Ethan Gach Published November 26, 2017 -
Esports
The Weekend In Esports: European Counter-Strike And Hadocon VIII
It’s a relatively quiet weekend in competitive gaming given the American holiday and the general winding down of the year over all. As a result, Europe takes center stage with the conclusion of the Blast Pro Series and WESG 2017 qualifiers. Below you’ll find where and when you can catch all the weekend’s biggest events…
By Ethan Gach Published November 25, 2017
