Esports

Hearthstone Streamer Uncovers Proof Of Guild Dedicated To Thwarting Him

Several times throughout his Twitch-streamed arena runs, Octavian “Kripparrian” Morosan has noticed odd things: repeating opponent names, accounts named “sniper,” and decks that seem constructed to beat his own draft. After some investigative work, Morosan found proof that this was no coincidence, uncovering a dedicated group of players who would build strong decks and wait…

The International 7 Ditches Dota 2‘s Confusing Underwater Map After Fans Complain

This year’s theme for The International is all about the ocean: there are aquatic cosmetics and a campaign about a sea-dwelling monster called Siltbreaker. But this year’s special map, Reef’s Edge, caused a stir in the Dota 2 community during TI7’s kickoff. As the group stage matches commenced yesterday, it became clear that all games…

So Far, Nintendo’s Arms Does Not Have Legs

Nintendo’s version of Rock ‘em Sock ‘em Robots, Arms, has struggled to stay relevant since its release back in June. Arms is by no means a bad game, and Nintendo’s been enthusiastically supporting it with post-release updates. But a month in, there isn’t much to grab onto with Arms Early on, Arms’ prospect as an…

Dota 2 Commentator Refused Entry To US For Tournament

Dota 2 commentator Henrik “AdmiralBulldog” Ahnberg was tapped to provide live commentary for The International 7, one of the world’s biggest annual esports tournaments. This year, TI7’s prize pool climbed to a historic $23 million, the largest in esports history. Unfortunately, Ahnberg won’t be at the event after being turned away at the United States…

The Stripped-Down Fantasy Strike Demo Makes You Focus On Fundamentals

Fantasy Strike takes recognizable moves from other fighting games but removes the difficulty of performing those moves, meaning there’s no joystick twirling or lengthy combo strings required. I played the free demo of Fantasy Strike this past weekend. It feels it was created by someone who wanted to break the habit of using the joystick…

Smash Champion’s Pop-Off Is Too Big For One Tournament Stream

When Jason “ANTi” Bates won the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U tournament at Smash community major Get On My Level this past weekend, he exercised his rights as champion to celebrate his accomplishment. That said, he may have gotten a little too hype (if such a thing is even possible) when his victory lap…

Top Street Fighter V Player Rage Quits During Massive Upset

New York City’s fighting game community saw one of their own step up to the plate in a big way at this weekend’s Defend the North tournament just north of the city in White Plains. Derek “iDom” Ruffin faced off against Philadelphia’s Victor “Punk” Woodley, arguably the best player in the United States, and effectively…

This Week Is Prime Time To Farm Abilities In Splatoon 2

This weekend’s Splatfest isn’t just about deciding the better condiment (hint: it’s the red one), but it’s also prime time to farm up a big store of ability chunks for your competitive wardrobe. Once you’ve taken a side in the great Mayo v. Ketchup conflict in this month’s Splatoon 2 Splatfest, you receive a blank…

Gamer Cruise In Limbo After Losing Its Boat

A combination cruise/LAN party set to sail on Oct. 20 has been put on hiatus for the time being, as organizer Gamer Tech Events searches to replace an investor who pulled out in May. The cruise, dubbed the Video Gamer Gauntlet, had been accumulating partnerships months after losing the charter to its initial date. Though…

The Dota 2 Twitch channel is running some of the best games from past Internationals, leading up to the start of The International 2017. If you’re a newcomer or just want to relive Na’Vi vs. Alliance game 5, replays will be running for most of the day.

Blizzard Shows Off StarCraft: Remastered With Biggest Names In Brood War

After 20 years, StarCraft players will finally be able to see the details of the enigmatic man inside the spinning missile turret. During a showmatch event in Busan, South Korea, some of Brood War’s greatest took up the keys again to compete in the upcoming remaster. StarCraft Remastered definitely has the same vibe, but with…

League Casters Compare Future Of Healthcare To Death By Cyborg Man-Crab

The uncertain future of our nation’s health care system, or being ground to death by a giant cyborg? In a talk show-style segment that aired between games one and two of TSM vs. FlyQuest in today’s League Championship Series matches, Josh “Jatt” Leesman and Sam “Kobe” Hartman-Kenzler debated which is more terrifying: the League of Legends…

European League Team Finally Wins Its First Series Of The Summer

With a surprise showing of skill and, at one point, a miracle, the bottom-ranked team in the European League Championship Series will not end the summer winless. It took Ninjas in Pyjamas eight weeks to find its first series win after rejoining the EU LCS by way of purchasing Fnatic Academy’s spot. Many were critical…

The Weekend In Esports: StarCraft 2 IEM XII And The Rocket League World Cup

With some of the summer’s biggest tournaments behind us, things slow down this weekend. But not too much. Blessed with an SC2 tournament and another esports World Cup, as well as a tone of fighting game tournaments, there’s still plenty to watch. Below you’ll find where and when you can catch all the weekend’s biggest…

Dota 2 Is Getting More Newbie Friendly 

A new update to Dota 2 will try to make sure new players are always matched with nice players. In a blog post, the Dota 2 team discussed two changes to the newcomer experience. First, all new accounts will be limited to a selection of 20 heroes for their first 25 games, curated for new…

Network Error Exiles Street Fighter V Players To Fictional Island

Street Fighter V players noticed something strange happening during their online matches on the afternoon of July 22. Instead of appearing near their real-world locations on the Capcom Fighters Network map (a platform that ensures competitors match up with opponents in their general vicinity), they were being placed west of Africa, smack dab in the…

Two beloved game modes in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered—Prop Hunt and Slasher—may become permanent additions depending on fan votes. Prop Hunt, in which one team spawns as inanimate objects and the other team hunts them down, is in the lead! Vote for Prop Hunt or for Slasher via Twitter before August 1st.

70 People Ran A Super Mario 64 Relay And It Was Incredible 

At the 2017 European Speedrunner Assembly, a relay had 70 different people collecting a star each in Super Mario 64. It was pandemonium, and it was one of the most entertaining Mario runs I’ve ever seen. Speedrunners 360Chrism and Fuzzyness hosted a steady stream of Mario players, from well-known players to newcomers who had never…

Street Fighter V Players Showcase Abigail’s Giant Potential

Street Fighter V’s newest character, Abigail, is the game’s largest fighter to date, towering over even resident grappler Zangief. Since the character’s arrived on Tuesday, the focus of community discussion has been on his capacity to inflict serious damage with just a few hits. Many players have been surprised by the utility of Abigail’s moveset,…

Want To Do Better At StarCraft II? Leave The Music On

The StarCraft soundtrack helps me win. And I’m not the only one who thinks so. In 2010, shortly after StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty came out, the Idle Thumbs podcast put out an episode that discussed whether leaving StarCraft’s in-game soundtrack on can help you focus and play better. The argument in favor came from…