Esports

Mercy’s Redesign Shows The Tug Of War Between Casual And Competitive Overwatch

In the past month, the healer Mercy in Overwatch has experienced an unprecedented boom in popularity across all competitive levels, especially in the highest tiers. The big spike in Mercy usage coincides with a massive overhaul of her abilities, courtesy of a patch implemented on September 19. These huge changes have sparked debate in the…

Gran Turismo Sport Will Turn You Into A Ghost Car If You Aren’t A Polite Driver

Gran Turismo has always skewed more towards the realistic simulation end of the spectrum in order to provide an accurate experience for virtual racers. This year’s version adds another layer to that, in the form of a certification and enforcement of proper “sportsmanship.” Most of Gran Turismo Sport’s content is dependent on online access, but before you…

12-Year-Old Magic Player Sets Sights On Hearthstone

During yesterday’s Hearthstone matches at DreamHack Denver, the commentators mentioned a player called “MTGKid” between matches. A young kid, MTGKid is actually Quinn Kiefer—a 12-year-old Magic: The Gathering player. Quinn is part of the Kiefer family, one of several young Magic-playing siblings that have made waves in the past year. With brothers Lukas and Jack,…

Luigi Taunt Catches Smash Player Off-Guard

In a match last night at the Portland Retro Gaming Expo, one Luigi player pulled out a move that few would ever expect in a competitive setting: the taunt. According to SmashWiki, Luigi’s taunt is the only taunt in the game that does damage, dealing a measly 1 percent. It’s the knock-up that’s useful, and…

360 Dribble In Rocket League Is A Thing Of Beauty

Despite very few radical changes over the last couple years, Rocket League always seems to have something new to teach me. Case in point: today, while browsing the community’s subreddit, I found this clip from user Whiffmiester It’s a 360 dribble sometimes called the Paschy Twirl, named after Rocket League pro Philip “paschy90″ Paschmeyer, who…

League of Legends Team Parts Ways With Its Unicorn

Unicorns of Love announced today that Roman Bigeard, the team’s manager most well-known for donning the horn and regalia of the team at many events, will part ways with the organization. In the announcement, Bigeard was said to have received “one of those typical offers ‘which you cannot refuse.’” Over the course of his time…

The Weekend In Esports: The Halo Pro League And More Go Out West

The Madden Classic is going on this weekend, along with a slew of big ticket tournaments at DreamHack Denver. Destiny marches on at Worlds 2017 meanwhile, with SKT and Samsung still in the mix after Longzhu Gaming fell late in the week. In addition, Dota 2‘s competitive scene will get a chance to sort itself…

Team Fortress 2‘s Pyro Has A Jetpack Now

After over a year’s wait, the Pyro is getting a new set of tools. The biggest update for Team Fortress 2 in some time, the Jungle Inferno update not only adds new maps, taunts, campaign contracts, and balance changes, but a new suite of class weapons for everyone’s favorite firebug. In 2016’s Meet Your Match,…

SKT T1’s Faker reacts to a phenomenal hook from Misfits’ IgNar. Misfits, in their first year in the LCS, took three-time world champions SKT all the way to game five, in one of the most exciting series at Worlds so far

Hearthstone Player Waves His Hand, Sets Off Controversy

Last weekend’s summer Hearthstone championships at the new Blizzard arena in Los Angeles were filled with the kinds of moments that can shape a competitive esports scene. Not only did the tourney feature one of its first female competitors, it also raised questions about the thin line between playful animation and outright rudeness when playing…

Sex Kick, Chicken-Blocking And Other Weird Fighting Game Terms Defined

Like any subculture, the one that’s sprung up around competitive games like Street Fighter and Guilty Gear has slowly developed its own special language, which can be hard to understand if you haven’t been a part of the scene for years. Some terms, like anti-airs and zoning, you can figure out on your own without…

Let’s Run Down The Past 24 Hours Of Riot Games’ Baffling Decisions

Immortals has been rejected from North America’s League of Legends Championship Series, which comes as a shock, given that the organization bought in back in 2015 and has since built one of the league’s largest support staffs for their LoL team. That still wasn’t quite enough of a commitment in League of Legends for Riot…

World’s Best Smash 4 Player Is Worn Down By Haters And Harassment

For 13 minutes, Gonzalo “Zero” Barrios’ face barely moved. It was the Grand Finals match of a Super Smash Bros. Wii U tournament, and Barrios, the best Smash player in the world, was squaring off against a formidable opponent. A few feet away, Barrios’ bodyguard kept a lookout for a man who’d threatened to be…

Tournament Organizers Won’t Say What Went Wrong With This Tekken 7 Trophy

The end of a Tekken 7 tournament has sparked some wild speculation about what, exactly, a trophy plaque says. When the winners got on stage at South East Asia Major last Sunday, the tournament organizers handed the first-place cup to Byeong “Qudans” Mun Son. Then, they told him to turn it around so the plaque…

Puerto Rican Overwatch Player Isn’t Letting Hurricane Irma Derail His Career

It was the day after hurricane Irma had hit Puerto Rico, and Luis Galarza Figueroa was left without options. Walking outside of his family’s home in Barceloneta after the storm subsided, he could see trees and cables on the ground. The power, something Figueora needed for many things including his burgeoning competitive gaming career, was…

Surprise Shulk Pick Turns Around Match For Smash Player

Though Shuto “Shuton” Moriya is known for his play as Pikmin protagonist Captain Olimar, he has a backup character, or pocket pick, in Shulk. During a tense match with Dacota “Ryuga” James in the winner’s bracket of the 2GG Fire Emblem Saga tournament, Moriya was failing to find success with his main against James, and…

Report: Riot Games Denies Dignitas’ Application For 2018 North American LCS

A League of Legends pro team that has played since 2011 will reportedly not participate in the coming competitive season. According to a report from ESPN’s Jacob Wolf, Riot Games has declined Team Dignitas’ application to compete in the 2018 North American League of Legends Championship Series. The new North American LCS will host 10…

BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle will come to the Nintendo Switch in 2018. A Switch launch version was quietly revealed in a trailer featuring a few more roster reveals, including RWBY’s Weiss and BlazBlue’s own Rachel and Hazama.

Counter-Strike Players Banned Mid-Match For Cheating During Qualifiers

The open qualifiers for the upcoming Eleague Boston Major have been marred by a number of issues, including a sudden spree of cheating bans. Several players have received bans mid-match for supposedly using cheating software to gain an edge on fellow competitors. In the below clip, you can see in the chat log as one…

Dota 2 heroes, as told by Spongebob Squarepants clips. The wait for the Dueling Fates update drags on, but at least we have this to get us through the long, patchless days.