Esports

A Cheap New Combo Is Ruining Magic: The Gathering [UPDATE]

Three weeks into the release of Amonkhet, the latest Magic expansion, competitive play is tormented by an overpowered combo that players hate for making games feel less strategic and more like spinning a roulette wheel. 2017 has seen more cards banned from Magic’s Standard format than in the past ten years combined, but many pros…

Street Fighter V Competitor Wins Three Tournaments On Three Continents In Three Weeks

Masato “Bonchan” Takahashi is on a tear in the Street Fighter V community, earning three straight victories at the most recent Capcom Pro Tour events. While an impressive feat on its own, the Japanese competitor did so over just three weeks at events in Europe, Australia and Asia, utilizing a character many of his contemporaries…

Golden Tee World Champion Claims $10,000 Prize, Good For 234th Place On PGA Tour

In the cavalcade of esports that can and will continue until the inevitable heat death of the universe, some events can get overlooked. Amidst the hubbub of last weekend’s games, a Golden Tee world championship was held in Las Vegas, with winner Mark Stenmark of Houston, TX earning $10,000 and his likeness in next year’s…

Bandai Namco is partnering with Twitch to host the Tekken World Tour. Starting with CEO 2017 on June 16, the $200,000 prize pool tournament circuit will run through November, culminating in the 16-player world finals.

Dota 2 Pro Loses Game And Balance

Jacky “EternaLEnVy” Mao, captain of Team NP, was coming off a loss in the team’s first game at the Dota 2 Manila Masters when even gravity seemed to let him down. During a break between games one and two, as both teams went over strategy and drafts for the coming, likely decisive contest, Mao got…

Injustice 2 Tournament Player Throws Controller, Because Deadshot

Injustice 2 is just a week old, but competition is already heating up thanks toDeadshot’s frustrating zoning gameplay. After losing to the character during a recent tournament, one player gave his controller a good bounce. As competition wound down on Saturday at the Toryuken tournament in Toronto, paths to the finals bracket became valuable commodities,…

Burnt-Out Smash Pros Are Talking About Unionizing

Earlier this week, Smash 4’s top player admitted he was overwhelmed: “We really need an off season,” Gonzalo “Zero” Barrios wrote on Twitter. “Committed players are traveling the whole year [with] no breaks.” The conversation snowballed. Fans, tournament organizers and fellow players noted that, to organize an off season, the anarchic Smash 4 community would…

Twitch Streamer/Gaming Journalist Apologizes For Horrible Tweets About Ariana Grande Concert Bombing

David Leavitt, a freelance writer and Twitch streamer, decided to tweet out a few idiotic jokes after news broke of the fatal bombing at the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester. (Leavitt deleted the first tweet, below is the screen grab.) Leavitt has written for CBS Local, the now-defunct Examiner, and AXS.com, which appeared to have…

Infamous Invisible Ceiling Glitch Resurfaces At Melee Tournament

At 16 years old, Super Smash Bros. Melee has no shortage of unique glitches and mechanics hidden in its GameCube-era code. At this past weekend’s Runback 2017, Justin “Plup” McGrath went hurtling into one of those glitches during a doubles match: an invisible ceiling that spiked him back down to the ground. The invisible ceiling…

Pro Overwatch Gets An Official Minor League

There’s been quite a bit of discussion around Blizzard’s official Overwatch League and accessibility, given that reports say a slot in the big show could cost between $15 and $25 million. Turns out, that’s not the only Overwatch esports league Blizzard is launching. Today Blizzard announced Overwatch Contenders, which they’re calling “a development league for…

Reigning League Champs SKT Scrape Past Challengers To Win Mid-Season Invitational

SKT T1 has long been the most dominant force in League of Legends, winning three Worlds championships. Given the results of today’s Mid-Season Invitational finals, it doesn’t look like that’s changing anytime soon, as SKT T1 beat G2 for the MSI title, 3-1. The South Korean team as the top seed from their region, after…

Injustice 2 Comeback “Worse Than Golden State Blowing A 3-1 Lead”

It can often seem like you’re out of your league in online games like Injustice 2. With their back against the wall and a sliver of health left, Flash player Honey Bee CMNDR looked all but out of it, until they flipped the switch and ran it all the way back on a very unsuspecting…

Smash Pro Wins Tournament Just In Time To Make His Flight

Yesterday’s single-day Greninja Saga Super Smash Bros. For Wii U tournament ran late, leaving one pro in a predicament after qualifying for the finals. Elliot Bastien “Ally” Carroza-Oyarce was leaving on a jet plane at 11:45 p.m., and the tournament kept going later and later. Ally had scheduled his flight in advance, as any savvy…

The Weekend In Esports: League of Legends‘ Mid-Season Invitational, Greninja Saga, And More

League of Legends’ Mid-Season Invitational look poised to be dominated once again by the unbeatable boys from South Korea while elsewhere in Smash Bros. Wii U players duke it out to unseat their own unbeatable champion. Below you’ll find where and when you can catch all the weekend’s biggest events in competitive gaming. Let us…

FIFA Ultimate Team Championship Decided On 90th-Minute Set Piece

After two days of play in Berlin, the grand finals for the FIFA Ultimate Team Championship came down to the wire between Chevrey “Vitality_Rocky” Corentin and Shaun “xShellzz” Springette. Despite losing the lead on his home turf, a last-minute rally helped Corentin barely scrape by and secure his spot as the 2017 Ultimate Team champion.…

Injustice 2 Might Have A Deadshot Problem, Depending On Whom You Ask 

Injustice 2 has only been available since Tuesday, but players think they’ve already found its strongest–or possibly cheapest–character. Deadshot, a frequent Batman villain whose sole power is that he can shoot well, brings a wide variety of firearms to NetherRealm Studios’ latest DC Comics fighter. Some players are already frustrated with his ability to win…

17 NBA Teams Are Investing In 2K Esports, But There Might Not Be A Scene

The announcement of the NBA 2K league was huge—17 NBA teams will be investing in esports teams which will be contracted to compete in a regular season running concurrent with the NBA season. It was enough to pique many people’s curiosity, including our own, but when we went looking for references to any existing 2K…

Street Fighter V Fans Are Not Sure What To Make Of Seemingly Simplistic Newcomer Ed

Last weekend saw Capcom open up a special beta for Street Fighter V which, in addition to giving the community a chance to try the game’s improved online modes, provided a preview for the next downloadable character. Ed, a rapidly aging M. Bison clone saved by Balrog during the story of Street Fighter IV, shocked…

Smash Players Can’t Agree Whether Coaching Is Okay Or Not

The debate over coaching in competitions ebbs and flows like the tide. After a flurry of tweets from pros and personalities alike on the subject, it seems like the question of whether coaching should be allowed in competitive Super Smash Bros. For Wii U is being raised again. The inception point of all the debate…

Gwent, the card game from The Witcher 3, enters public beta on May 24 for PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 players. Today at 3 pm EST, the CD PROJEKT RED Twitch channel will broadcast an overview of the beta’s offerings. Card collections and player progress will be reset, so new players should feel free…