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EsportsSouth Korea Walks All Over Russia In Overwatch World Cup Finals
So that was a bloodbath, to put it mildly. Kind of like an Overwatch tournament finals brought to you by Quentin Tarantino. Perhaps South Korea was favored going into this match-up, especially after their triumphant march up through the rest of the bracket. But no one expected Russia to lose so easily, much less roll…
By Ethan Gach Published November 5, 2016 -
EsportsBoss Reaper Plays Help Sweden Take Bronze At Overwatch World Cup
It looked like anyone’s game for much of the best-of-three series between Sweden and Finland in today’s opening contest for third place in the Overwatch World Cup. Tied at one game each, both teams went into the final round trading advantages back and forth until it looked like Finland was on the verge of clinching…
By Ethan Gach Published November 5, 2016 -
Esports
The Weekend In Esports: BlizzCon 2016 And Smash Bros. Galore
BlizzCon 2016 is in full swing. So in addition to things like new Overwatch characters and the announcement of the Overwatch League, there’s also a ton of actual tournaments going on for each of Blizzard’s major competitive games. Details on when and where to catch all of the action are below. Overwatch It all comes…
By Ethan Gach Published November 5, 2016 -
EsportsBlizzard’s Building A Professional Sports League For Overwatch
Announced today at BlizzCon 2016, the Overwatch League is a professional gaming organization modeled after traditional sports organizations, complete with regional teams, baseline minimum salaries and benefits. Basically Blizzard is looking to create the NFL or NBA of Overwatch esports. Teams will be based around major cities, fostering regional fan and player bases. “The Overwatch…
By Mike Fahey Published November 4, 2016 -
Esports
Perfect Rocky Moment Makes League Finals That Much Better
Samsung Galaxy fought great, but SK Telecom T1 was hands-down the better fighter. And after adding a third championship to their name in just four years, it’s safe to say they are the best team in League of Legends history. That outcome seemed just as inevitable before last night’s finals as after them. Of course…
By Ethan Gach Published October 30, 2016 -
Esports
Pro Overwatch Player Demolishes Opponent In Three Simple Steps
Ana is everybody’s favorite Overwatch sniper mom, and what better way to show off those motherly instincts than by telling Genji to gtfo when the ninja pops in uninvited. In yesterday’s Sweden vs. Brazil group stage match for the Overwatch World Cup, Sebastian “chipshajen” Widlund did just that against a very outmatched James “soulive” Luigi.…
By Ethan Gach Published October 30, 2016 -
Esports
The League Finals Are Playing Out On Top Of A Giant Projection
The Staples Center in L.A. is home to the Lakers, Kings, and a number of other teams. It’s also where the championship finals for League of Legends are being held this year. Even though the game plays out on a digital map stored in cyberspace, the organizers behind the event clearly felt the teams needed…
By Ethan Gach Published October 29, 2016 -
Esports
The League of Legends 2016 World Championship Finals Are Tonight, Here’s What You Need To Know
Tonight, one team, SK Telecom T1, chases its third-ever League of Legends World Championship win, while another, Samsung Galaxy, shows us if it has any tricks left up its sleeve to prevent that from happening. Matches will begin at approximately 7:30PM EDT, held in the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. You can watch them…
By Ethan Gach Published October 29, 2016 -
Esports
The Overwatch World Cup Is Going On Right Now
Everyone has been waiting for Blizzard to sponsor a large-scale Overwatch tournament in the mold of League of Legend’s Worlds or Dota 2’s The International. So there was some disappointment when the company explained its plans to host a World Cup-style tournament for its new competitive shooter at this year’s BlizzCon. But Blizzard has also…
By Ethan Gach Published October 29, 2016 -
Esports
The Weekend In Esports: End Of The Worlds
This weekend is jam-packed. Not only do the 2016 League of Legends World Championships wrap-up later tonight, but with BlizzCon just around the corner, the best and brightest from around the world will be competing in everything from Overwatch to World of Warcraft: Arena, with group play in many of them taking place this weekend.…
By Ethan Gach Published October 29, 2016 -
EsportsBig Risks Don’t Pay Off In Last Night’s League Semifinals
It turns out Josh “Jatt” Leesman was right when he trolled the League of Legends World Championship audience with his prediction for the semifinal series between Samsung Galaxy and H2K Gaming. “H2 What?” the panel asked him. “H2…Korean teams in finals!” And the glibness of the joke was in many ways appropriate, as SSG went…
By Ethan Gach Published October 23, 2016 -
Esports
Team Liquid Signs The First Pro Civilization VI Player
Stephen ‘MrGameTheory’ Takowsky will be Civilization VI’s first professional player. That’s according to an announcement Team Liquid made yesterday stating it has signed MrGameTheory to head up their new Civilization team and was embarking on “an initiative to launch Civilization VI into the world of competitive esports.” MrGameTheory, who previously competed in Clash Royale, had…
By Ethan Gach Published October 22, 2016 -
EsportsWhen An Unstoppable Force Meets An Immovable Object, SK Telecom T1 Wins
Despite an impressive first game from the two-time winners of the League of Legends World Championship, ROX Tigers looked set to beat their more senior South Korean rivals in the best-of-five semifinals against SK Telecom T1. It wasn’t until game four that SKT was able to claw their way back into things and tie the…
By Ethan Gach Published October 22, 2016 -
Esports
The Weekend In Esports: Fakest Of Them All
“I would rather sit on a pumpkin, and have it all to myself, than be crowded on a velvet cushion,” wrote David Thoreau in Walden. This weekend is kind of similar. There might be a lull before BlizzCon 2016, and less action than usual in the fighting game community, but the final act of Worlds…
By Ethan Gach Published October 22, 2016 -
Esports
Overwatch’s Upcoming Esports League May Struggle Against Disruptive Patches
Yesterday, Blizzard announced that an official Overwatch League is in the works. It’s an exciting moment for a game that, only six months post-release, already offers million-dollar tournament prize pools. Overwatch, though, is a volatile game. Today, Overwatch Game Director Jeff Kaplan said on Battle.net that hero-balancing will continue to be kinetic, a model that, as…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published October 21, 2016 -
EsportsOverwatch Player Shoutcasts During His Own Matches
Plenty of Overwatch players do commentary over matches they’re streaming, but TheUnsteady has the voice of an angel… who ate an eSports commentator. He’s become notorious for suddenly shoutcasting in the middle of matches he’s playing. Funny thing is, he’s so good that people tend to stop talking and just listen. It’s pretty amazing. One…
By Nathan Grayson Published October 21, 2016 -
EsportsA Breakdown Of The Nintendo Switch’s New Controllers
Nintendo’s 2017-slated Switch console will offer a competitive controller that seems to draw from Nintendo’s old GameCube controller as well as the Xbox’s. This is exciting for Wii U players who have long complained about the Wii U Pro controller’s layout. Here’s a breakdown of what’s interesting about the coming Switch pro controller: Like an…
By Cecilia D'Anastasio Published October 20, 2016 -
EsportsOverwatch Player Uses Bastion Cheese To Win Pro Match
In low-level Overwatch matches, Bastion is the bane of everybody’s existence. At the high levels, however, everybody knows how to counter the bastard bullet tube. If you look at hero tier lists, Bastion is usually at the bottom. Pros hardly ever pick him. That made it all the more surprising when NoName of Korean team…
By Nathan Grayson Published October 19, 2016 -
EsportsDaigo Uses Sixth Sense To Block Sonic Booms, Wins Tournament
Daigo Umehara is a legend when it comes to fighting games. Referred to sometimes as Daigo “The Beast” Umehara, the pro Street Fighter V player didn’t exactly need to win the European Regional Finals to qualify for Capcom’s Pro Tour. He would have gotten in on points alone. But that didn’t stop him from comfortably…
By Ethan Gach Published October 16, 2016 -
Esports
South Korea Still The Best At League Of Legends According To World Championships
There were three teams representing South Korea when the League of Legends World Championships began late last month. Now, a few weeks and many matches later, all three teams have made it through to the semifinals. SK Telecom T1, ROX Tigers, and Samsung Galaxy even did so without seeming to break a sweat, showing just…
By Ethan Gach Published October 16, 2016