We are happy to announce that Overwatch reporter and insider Michael “mykL” Padilla will be joining us here at ESTNN. He will be reporting on the Overwatch League, Overwatch Contenders, and other daily Overwatch news. Excited to announce I’ll be doing some reporting at @esportstvnews Go give them a follow! — mykL (@KING_mykL) December 1, […]
Overwatch League 2019, Season 2 Rosters Sorted By Team Note: View in landscape mode on mobile devices for best results. Role Team Country Nickname Name DPS ATL RUS NLaaeR Ilya Koppalov DPS ATL KOR Erster Jeong Joon DPS ATL DEN dafran Daniel Francesca TANK ATL KOR Pokpo Park Hyun-Jun TANK ATL USA Gator Blake Scott […]
League of Legends superstar Lee Sang-hyeok, known better as “Faker”, has been inducted into the ESL Esports Hall of Fame. He is the first League of Legends player to be inducted into the Esports Hall of Fame. Faker was inducted via the first fan vote in the Esports Hall of Fame’s history. Faker is arguably the […]
As the second season of the Overwatch League approaches, fans everywhere will be able to watch some of their favorite teams from the inaugural season face off once again. With updated team rosters and new talent all around, these matchups can be quite different than what they were in Season 1. In particular, the NYXL, […]
The November 26th Reader Survey, Teams and Leagues on Sports Business Daily had some interesting results. The readers voted Overwatch League (OWL) as the third hottest sports property of 2018. The NBA and NFL lead the list respectively. Some notable leagues that the OWL surpassed include the MLB, NHL, MLS, NCAA and UFC. The OWL […]
It feels like only yesterday that Counter Logic Gaming’s beloved (yet criticized) midlaner Jae-Hyun “Huhi” Choi put on some stellar (draconic?) performances on Aurelion Sol, one of the many driving forces behind CLG’s ascension through the 2016 Mid-Season Invitational that found them second only to future returning World Champions SK Telecom T1. It was that […]
The Summoner’s Cup Has a New Home! The atmosphere of a community-driven event like the League of Legends World Championship is nothing short of breathtaking. With such a wide variety of events occurring at the tournament, it was very easy for many to take their eyes off of a certain underdog team. With the full […]
When asked about about the methods used to get better at Overwatch, many professional players like xQc (Team Canada’s main tank) and Sinatraa (SF Shock’s DPS) respond with “I just played the game a lot”. While “just play the game” doesn’t sound like solid advice, it is undeniably true that in order to improve, one […]
There is no denying that accessing esports either as a viewer or as a potential competitor is exceedingly easy. With nothing more than a computer/smartphone and an internet connection, anyone can join the community of a particular game. For many esports, there is not even the initial barrier of having to buy the actual game. […]
OverActive Media, the owners of the Toronto Defiant, have purchased Splyce, the professional esports organization. OverActive Media is now the fourth company to own both a professional League of Legends and Overwatch franchise. Cloud9, Optic Gaming and Misfits are the other esports organizations to own teams in both popular esports. On Tuesday it was announced that […]
Goodbye EU LCS, hello LEC. After six years of the old name, a rebrand is bound to feel strange – and strange it does. After what was seen as the EU LCS’ most successful year since 2015 – having two teams in the Worlds semi-finals – was further accentuated by having an EU team actually […]
Riot Games has revealed their newest champion addition in Neeko: the curious chameleon, and with a kit loaded with creative outplay potential, she is here to shake up the rift. Neekos’ passive is Inherent Glamour, which allows here to become a clone of any allied champion regardless of their position on the map. This passive […]
The League of Legends offseason has started off with a bang. Cloud9’s starting mid laner Nicolaj Jensen has moved to Team Liquid. Jensen who has played LoL for Cloud9 since 2015, has been a key team member. Jensen helped Cloud9 reach the Worlds 2018 Semifinals, and the NA LCS 2018 Summer Split Finals. Jensen started […]
Considering joining the Overwatch Community? Well this week, you’ll be able to test drive Overwatch for free on all platforms. That’s right, Blizzard has announced that from November 20th-26th you’ll have access to almost all that Overwatch offers: 29 heroes—including Ashe—and 19 maps for you to play via Quick Play, Arcade or Custom Games. During […]
ECS Season 6 Finals begin on November 22 in Arlington Texas and will feature 8 of Counter-Strike’s top teams battling for a $660,000 prize pool. Here are some story lines to keep an eye on heading into the tournament. Team Liquid can’t beat Astralis Easily the most promising North American team, Liquid have been turning […]
THE SQUAD SoOn (Terence Tarlier) Nationality: France Role: DPS Teams Team France 2017-18 LA Valiant Rogue (Pre-OWL) Veteran DPS that has always been on top-tier teams ShaDowBurn (George Gushcha) Nationality: Russia Role: DPS Teams Team Russia 2016-18 Philadelphia Fusion FaZe Clan (Contenders) Former TF2 pro Considered one of the best Genji players in the world […]
A HISTORY: Ninjas In Pyjamas The story of the GOATS composition begins with Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP), an EU team from the early days of competitive Overwatch. Half the players on this roster went on to join the Overwatch League and become commonly recognized players, namely Zappis and Zuppeh of Florida Mayhem’s season 1 roster […]
Just days after its announcement during the BlizzCon 2018, Blizzard made its new DPS hero available on Overwatch’s servers. This new character, Ashe, is the anti nemesis of the popular gunslinger Jesse McCree. Ashe is the 16th damage dealer in Overwatch, and benefits from various abilities allowing her to shoot down enemies from range while […]
It’s easy to be baited by FaZe. They are a team who show their strengths in the reflection of their trophies. From ESL One New York 2017, to EPICENTER 2018 over a year later, the ‘feel’ of a FaZe win is impossible to replicate. It’s as explosive as it is clinical; as overwhelming as it […]
Esports work as a domain because they have the intrinsic ability to attract people. They do this on both sides of the equation – they are able to appeal to players who gradually become so good at one or more game that this allows them to turn pro. On the other side are the viewers […]
Competitive Mode Backstory This is where pros proved themselves worthy to compete at the top level of play. Of course, other games factored into their skill such as TF2 (Team fortress two) as well as any first-person shooters or MOBA gave todays professionals and semi pros a leg up on the competition. I’m not saying […]
Preseason is well underway and so far there are two extremely exploitable changes I would like to discuss today. The first being the changes to the Kleptomancy rune, currently on the PBE klepto will proc twice after a spell cast, with this change I have been seeing a change in the top lane especially. Champions […]
The 2018 Esports Awards have just concluded. Here is a complete list of the winners: Unsung Hero of the Year Milos Nedeljkovic | FACEIT Videographer of the Year Davis “Hitch” Edwards | OpTic Gaming Streaming Platform of the Year Twitch Breakthrough Game of the Year Fortnite Console Rookie of the Year Kenny “Kenny” Williams | […]
Well folks, it’s finally almost upon us – balance changes and LOTS of them. Originally announced back in early September of this year, the upcoming balance patch to StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void expansion is set to go live on November 16, 2018 to coincide with the start of Season XXXVIII. Since the expansion […]
It’s in the game… if you own a PS4. EA Sports has announced a partnership with the UEFA Champions League. The partnership will feature a FIFA esports tournament that will hold a finals matchup in Madrid, one day before the Champions League finale. The UEFA Champions League finals take place on June 1, 2019, therefore […]
According to GitHyp.com, this past weekends LoL Worlds 2018 added 50k viewers (+5%) when compared to 2017. The 2018 Worlds also set a new peak of 1.14 million concurrent viewers on Twitch. They also add that there was a decline from Worlds 2015 to 2016 of 6%, so this increase is a much welcomed sign for the […]
According to Overwatch reporter Arran ‘Halo’ Brown, the Overwatch League logos have been leaked via the leagues mobile app. “The OWL league app seems to have once again accidentally leaked something. This time it’s the branding for 5 of the 6 we didn’t know about. Paris and Chengdu’s logos look pretty good, Washingtons, Guangzhou& Hangzhou […]
The French Powerhouse Team Vitality has come under the eye of players and admins due to a very shady looking play enacted during their match against Team Valiance at the Loot.Bet Cup 3. The team boasts popular players such as NBK-, apEX, and Happy, all known for having played with the best of the best […]
Every year the World Electronic Sports Games (WESG) tournament hosts teams from all around the globe to participate in an Olympics format tournament. Countries participate with their own players instead of the usual teams of players with different nationalities. Started originally by Alisports, the sports wing of the Alibaba Group, the third installment of this […]
Riot games has recently announced the location of their World Championships for the next three years. This is a step in a new direction for the company, as in the past the decision seems to have been made last minute to the dismay of the fans wishing to attend. But with this move towards a […]
NFL fans who play Fortnite will be able to dress their favorite characters in NFL jerseys. The jerseys will be available November 9 at 7PM EST. Fortnite players can purchase any of the 32 NFL teams jerseys and choose a number from 1-99. These can be bought in the Battle Royale store using virtual bucks. The […]
Toronto is about to get a 13,000-square-foot esports lounge. Waves Egaming is set to open as soon as next week after years of planning. The location will be at 2160 Steeles Ave W, Toronto. The new esports lounge will allow Canadians to have a professional venue to host Twitch streams, compete in local tournaments, and […]
Today I would like to guide you through my thoughts concerning the performances of the various toplaners at Worlds that made appearances in the quarterfinals and beyond. Before delving too far into this, please be aware that the meta did evolve somewhat between some of these series – for example, Aatrox and Urgot were pick/ban […]
With Worlds wrapped up we can now look ahead to the preseason and all the changes that accompany it. While there is plenty to dig through and discuss, I want to start with the new outer turret plating system and its potential effects on the bottom lane. Bear in mind that from here on out, […]
Inside of the spectator-filled amphitheater of Hall A, at long last, the StarCraft II 2018 WCS Global Finals reached its unbelievable conclusion. It was an awesome sight to behold – thousands of people had gathered together, packed densely inside of an enormous auditorium to celebrate the crowning of a new world champion. Yesterday had been […]
With their victory over Fnatic, Invictus has completed the LPLs’ sweep of international tournaments in 2018. All respects to Fnatic for making it to the finals, a feat which any other EULCS team has yet to accomplish in recent years, however they were absolutely dismantled in this 3-0 sweep. And other than just being outmatched […]
2018. What a year for League of Legends – emerging strategies, top lane champion reworks, a faster metagame… Season 8 has been a fiesta of firsts, and the World Championship has been no exception. The first time North America has seen the semifinals of a League of Legends World Championship since Season 1. The first […]
Broadcast straight from Anaheim, the excitement felt is palpable all around the world as Blizzcon 2018 kicks off with the quarter-final matches for StarCraft II 2018 World Champion Series! And what a day it was, full of ups and downs, as the world’s best collide in a best-of-five to find out who will be crowned […]
Blizzard Entertainment, the gaming goliath responsible for such games as Overwatch and Starcraft, held the opening ceremonies today for its annual gaming convention BlizzCon. BlizzCon is a two-day conference held at the Anaheim Convention Center in California. Historically, Blizzard has used BlizzCon as a platform to share upcoming features for their games, and the opening […]
The OWL expansion team Toronto Defiant has announced their initial roster via Twitter. They still have two more roster spots open, which should be announced shortly. “We’ve got two more slots to fill. More details will come soon. Stay tuned.” – Toronto Defiant Twitter. Toronto Defiant Roster Main Tank: @yakpung Main Support: @Aid_OW DPS: @owivy2, […]
With the Grand Finals for the League of Legends Championship coming up this weekend, now might be a good time to sit and reflect on this season and appreciate the journey we all took as players and fans. But something I noticed during my pondering was how very similar the two contenders for the Summoners […]
The world of esports is about to get rocked as Blizzcon 2018 begins on November 2nd and with it, the opening round of the highly anticipated quarter-finals of the StarCraft II 2018 World Champion Series. It’s been an incredible year for the world of StarCraft and there have been some truly astounding runs, but there […]
Last night the Trans-Atlantic war that is NA vs EU was waged in South Korea. However the battle was much more one sided than anyone anticipated. Game One This game was surreal to watch.It was like watching one of my solo queue teams trying to beat Fnatic. This term is over used, but Fnatic put […]
Day one of the League of Legends semi finals was a lesson that the best laid plans don’t always work, as G2 sought out to break the will and spirit of Ivictus’s youngest player, Theshy and Rookie proved that they are not threats to be ignored. At one point Theshy was averaging 1K damage per […]
Allow me to preface this article by saying that I expect the usual bans of Aatrox, Urgot, Alistar, Heimerdinger, and Tahm Kench to come through without further explanation required. The picks are either incredibly strong in and of themselves, or are well-known pocket picks for players in this series. I wanted to explain some […]
For the past several seasons Korea has been the king ruling over international League of Legends play. But this year the royal houses fell like dominoes, one after another, with the killing blow being dealt by North America’s Cloud9. And not since the Red Wedding has the death of a king been quite so jarring […]
NBA legend Michael Jordan and rap superstar Drake are the newest names to invest in the world of esports. Michael Jordan invested in aXiomatic, a large esports ownership group who are the owners of Team Liquid. Drake along with Scooter Braun and Dan Gilbert invested $25 million in the esports company 100 Thieves. They join celebrity investors […]
The Toronto franchise of the Overwatch League (OWL) unveiled their official branding during a launch party in Toronto last night. The team revealed their logo and team name for their OWL expansion franchise… Toronto Defiant! The Toronto Defiant previously announced their general manager (Jaesun “Jae” Won) and head coach (Beom-joon “Bishop” Lee), Their next big […]
After months of having only three players on their roster, Daenerys Targaryen birthed SIX new Shanghai Dragons in one night! The Shanghai Dragons posted the news on Twitter and released this video welcoming their new team members. The new Dragons are as follows: Min-seong “diem” Bae (Hitscan) Jin-hyeok “DDing” Yang (Projectile DPS) Young-jin ” YOUNGJIN” […]
Thinking about esports as a term for organized competitions was almost unheard of 20 years ago, even in video game crazed countries like South Korea. Back in 1998, StarCraft was published, while other franchises that had a strong competitive side, like Quake, were still mainly played during LAN parties. Two more years would need to […]
The tail-end of 2018 seems to be the time of stand-ins, first, we had Dendi play for Team Secret with past team-mate Puppey. Now Quinn “CCnC” Callahan will be playing mid-lane for EG due to delays in the visa of their current mid player Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan. Quinn had recently played The International 2018 with […]
Optic Gaming India is making rounds on the internet after a rather hilarious hacking scandal. They were competing in the eXTREMESLAND Asia tournament against the Vietnamese team Revolution. The game was heating up and it looked like the pressure got to team optic’s member Nikhil “forsaken” Kumawat as he turned on hacks mid game. The […]
I think that it’s safe to say that these were the most exciting, upset-rife, and overall chaotic group-stages we have ever had in a World Championship. Pleasant surprises accompanied bitter disappointment – many a heart aches for Vitality – and we’re left with the eight most formidable teams in the world right now. Four matches over […]
It all starts with a… win at the EU Masters. Caffeine and video game enthusiasts rejoice – an industry giant, Nestlé’s premier coffee brand Nescafé took the leap into the Spanish esports scene earlier this week, with a previously unheard-of sponsorship supporting legendary Madrid-based organisation MAD Lions E.C. A first for not only the esports […]
OVERWATCH WORLD CUP ROSTERS FRANCE France has a solid team, which proved itself during the Paris qualifier. First of their group, the French team relies on strong teamplay and individual skill to take down their opponents. Dylan “aKm” Bignet (Dallas Fuel) Benjamin “BenBest” Dieulafait Nicolas “NiCO” Moret Gael “Poko” Gouzerch (Philadelphia Fusion) Benjamin “uNKOE” Chevasson […]
To say that Afreeca Freecs‘ performance has been a disappointment so far wouldn’t be a far stretch – and I’m not just speaking on behalf of everyone’s Pick ’ems. The almost-star studded roster qualified for Worlds this year off of championship points; a second-place finish in Spring accompanied by a later third-place berth in Summer […]
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to state that China’s first seed and fan favourite team Royal Never Give Up are miles ahead of the other teams in this group – and any other group in this tournament for that matter. Whether you take this to mean individual player skill or superior macro decisionmaking, it would […]
The esports arena, like any competitive field, is one riddled with a basic paradox. On one hand, all those who are invested in this activity want to see the participants getting better at what they do. When this happens, the whole domain gets an upgrade – the activity evolves, regardless if it’s a traditional sport, […]
KT Korea’s only hope?!; it doesn’t seem so MAD to say that this group is close; RNG looking set to round out the perfect year; not sure which of Heimerdinger or Jiizuke is the more iconic face of the EULCS; C9 claiming one back for NA. KT Rolster‘s dominating performance over Team Liquid was a […]
The American esports organization Echo Fox added to the on-going Rostermania by announcing that they would be disbanding their CoD team in addition to their Gears of War roster as well as rosters from select fighting games as part of an organizational revamp. Their CoD run started on May 11, 2016, by signing Neslo, SinfuL, […]
In perhaps the biggest coincidence or planned play this side of the century, long time Na’Vi player Danil “Dendi” Ishutin will be going against the team with which he has had 8 long years of history with. Dendi, started Dota competitively after he joined net-cafés due to lack of a PC at home. He joined […]
ELEAGUE has joined forces with Riot Games to produce a one-hour League of Legends TBS special. The episode will air October 19th on TBS. The special is called Esports 101: League of Legends, and will help explain to the public how the game is played and discuss the esports scene. This will be the second special […]
The Overwatch League (OWL) has officially announced that Season 2 will begin on Valentines Day 2019. Blizzard Arena in Los Angeles will once again play host to all OWL regular season games. It is predicted that Season 3 will have teams travel worldwide and compete at home and away arenas. OWL Season 2 will take […]
The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced they will host ‘Leafs Gaming Day’ on October 21st with members of the esports organization FaZe Clan. The ‘Gaming Day’ will include competitions in both NHL 19 and Fortnite. NHL stars from the Maple Leafs, members of the Leafs Gaming League, and participating audience members will compete for various […]
All year long, major esport competitions flood our screens and fill arenas with avid supporters. With the expansion of esports as a whole, the amount of prize money that tournaments are offering continues to grow. That number has reached an estimated $111 million USD in 2018 alone, with three months left in the year. According […]
Through all of Overwatch Season 9, Blizzard kept track of the top players worldwide. They then went on to select the best 24 countries to compete in the Overwatch World Cup. Those top teams from around the globe then battled through 4 different Group Stages, hosted in France, South Korea, Thailand, and the United States. […]
Group Stage Predictions A: Flash Wolves (LMS1), Afreeca Freecs (LCK2), Phong V? Buffalo (VCS1), G2 Esports (EULCS3) B: Royal Never Give Up (LPL1), Gen.G (LCK3), Team Vitality (EULCS2), Cloud9 (NALCS3) C: KT Rolster (LCK1), MAD Team (LMS2), Team Liquid (NALCS1), Edward Gaming (LPL3) D: Fnatic (EULCS1), 100 Thieves (NALCS2), Invictus Gaming (LPL2), G-Rex (LMS3) Note: […]
The last tournament these teams attended together – barring last year’s Play-Ins – had both teams making the quarterfinals (Season 3 Worlds). It’s ironic that despite being essentially relegated to an apparently lesser region, Gambit Esports are the ones with more of their roster from their glory days intact. And yet, their performances this tournament […]
Here we are. The most important match in Japan’s League of Legends history so far, and just another notch in China’s belt. The winner of this series qualifies for the main stage of the League of Legends World Championship 2018. For a team that, in the past, choked in the Worlds Qualifier and had a […]
The official trailer unveiled at Ti8 by valve showed off two new heroes. One of those heroes was Grimstroke, who has seen his implementation into the game and already undergone the cycle of buffs and nerfs with changing patches. Alongside Grimstroke, Valve also teased Mars. But unlike the latter hero, Mars’ abilities are completely up […]
2018 has been quite the year for CoD. A year filled with drama, shattered dreams, and great new prospects. As the release of Black Ops 4 nears, Activision, Treyarch, and the CWL executives have taken the competitive scene by storm by recently declaring that the next season of competitive call of duty will be pitting […]
There’s no need to underline the fact that esports are in a state of spectacular growth. Organizations like the Overwatch League clearly show that the amount of money, effort and public interest in esports is quickly rising. As the market grows, many analysts are pointing towards the expansion taking place inside of the mobile esports […]
The League of Legends World Championship are underway in South Korea! The tournament will be played using a 24 team format consisting of three stages. The teams will be competing for a prize pool of $2,225,000. 1st place will take home 37.5 % of the total pot ($834,375). The three stages of the LoL World […]
Blizzard is a company that has proven time and time again that it can change the landscape of gaming. Even in their early years, the team gathered around the core members, some of which are still in the company, seemed destined to make gaming history. Today, that history includes another brand new accomplishment – an […]
Why are millions of dollars and piles of cold hard cash being thrown around for esports investments and prize-pools? One of the answers is the fanbase that continues to grow. Esports also provides experiences that you cannot get anywhere else. Here are a couple of reasons why people flock to the scene and get so […]
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) is officially launching via FACEIT following the success of it’s beta. The official launch will take place tomorrow on September 28th in NA, EU and SA. The PUBG and FACEIT beta started August 17th. There have since been 200,000+ sign-ups. FACEIT’s analytics suggest that half of all CS:GO players on the platform […]
Staffordshire University, located in England, recently announced a new undergrad degree. The BA (Hons) Esports is a three-year program focused on the business of esports. The new program will teach students how to run and organize an esports team or franchise. “The degree covers not only the technical aspects of esports but also how to […]
At one point, PUBG seemed like the biggest competitive game in the world. With millions of active players, it looked like almost everyone was chasing that chicken dinner. The addition of PUBG mobile was also a success and the path of the game towards esports stardom seemed assured. However, more recently, the game’s popularity has […]
In the crowded and ever expanding esports landscape there are more events to attend than ever. This article will give you 4 types and examples of events and how they differ. The wins and losses under each event type will help you better understand what to expect when attending. 1. Local Community Tournaments and Meetups […]
What looked to be a one-sided map 1 on Mirage in favor of Team Liquid, started to turn towards Hell-Raisers as they started showing signs of life nearing the end of the first half with a score of 3-12. After taking the game to 6-12 and a nearly perfect clutch from woxic, the game tilted […]
The second game of the grand finals between Fnatic and TNC. Predator was expected to be a game to look out for. It was all that, and much more but not for the reasons one would be thinking. The game commenced with all players on TNC smoking and heading for mid to catch Fnatic off-guard. […]
The Faceit London Major is in full swing. A strong showing in the group stages of the Major set BIG to be the team to look out for. Gob b especially demonstrated exceptional site holding skills, he would routinely be able to hold his own against Tier 1 players. The underdog run, however, came to […]
Valve’s flagship DOTA 2 has the newest addition to its roster in the form of Grimstroke, an aggressive, intelligence-based ranged hero. As with every new hero, there’s always the balancing issue that renders the hero “too broken” for competitive play. This seems to be the case for Grimstroke as well. As of now, the hero […]
The domains of video game streamers and pro esports players are often so tightly connected that they heavily overlap. However, for one figure in the Overwatch esports community, the two fields have become so close that they are practically interchangeable. The person in question is Daniel Francesca, better known as Dafran. Recently, it was revealed […]
TwitchCon 2018 will host the ‘Doritos Bowl’ where the world’s top streamers will battle it out in Call of Duty’s new Battle Royale mode (Blackout). Having just played the Call of Duty Blackout beta, there are still some kinks to work out. One being that the player with better armour will easily win any shootout. […]
Epic Games have announced their plans for the Fortnite Fall Skirmish esports event. The Fall Skirmish will take place over 6 weeks, with the finale taking place at TwitchCon from October 26-28. The prize pool is much larger than the Summer Skirmish fortnite tournament ($1.5 million). During the Summer Skirmish there were over 500 players who took […]
Riot Games, the developer of League of Legends has announced a new arena in Seoul, South Korea. The new venue will be called LoL PARK. The venue will host the 2018 LoL World Championship play-in stage from October 1-4 and 6-7. The LoL PARK will host the League of Legends Champions Korea (LCK) starting in 2019. LoL Park Features […]
Sneaky (Zachary Scuderi | Clould9) clinched his sixth straight trip to the League of Legend World Championships. He has now passed Dyrus and Yellowstar, whom each hold five straight appearances. Sneaky also holds the record for most damage dealt at Worlds and damage per minute (dpm). Doublelift, Clearlove, sOAZ and Sneaky have each appeared in […]
Toronto OWL appear to be all business with a clear goal of going for the Grand Finals in their inaugural Overwatch League Season. They have signed former London Spitfire coach Beomjun ‘Bishop’ Lee. As most know, the London Spitfire were the Grand Finals champions in OWL Season 1. Bishop was not the Spitfire coach during […]
Elon Musk’s OpenAI Dota 2 bot will play a full match with all heroes later this year or in 2019. We were first acquainted with OpenAI’s Dota 2 bot at last years The International 7. At the time the bot was only able to play 1v1, where it defeated Dota 2 esports pro Dendi in less than […]
Epic games recently shared some good news with us via Twitter: “The weather may be cooling down, but the battle is heating up. Fall Skirmish starts soon, with $10,000,000 awarded across 6 weeks. Stay tuned for major details dropping later this week!” Epic Games began their $100 million Fortnite esports tournament season with the Summer […]
Overwatch World Cup 2018, LA Group Stage. September 7-9. Next up on the Overwatch World Cup tour is Bangkok, running from September 14-16. The final group stage matches take place in Paris from September 21-23. The Overwatch World Cup Finals will take place at Blizzcon 2018 on November 2nd and 3rd.
Activision Blizzard has just confirmed the rumors that have been swirling for months. Eight new Overwatch League teams have been officially announced. We can’t wait for the #OWL2019 season! Here are the 8 new teams joining the league! pic.twitter.com/zhkrNYDlko — Overwatch League (@overwatchleague) September 7, 2018 It is estimated that the franchise fees for Overwatch […]
OG Dota recently took home The International 8’s $11.2 million first place prize. The $25.4 million prize pool was the biggest in esports history. Second place PSG.LGD took home $4 million USD. OG’s International 8 Grand Finals win can definitely be classified as an upset, especially since PSG.LGD was the odds on favorite. According to The […]
Overwatch League (OWL) season 2 signing season begins shortly, but do you have a chance to become an Overwatch pro? Overwatch Contenders has put together a FAQ to help educate potential esports stars who are taking the ‘path to pro’. Q1: What is the age of eligibility to sign an Overwatch League contract? A1: To sign an Overwatch […]
Sources at ESPN are reporting Activision Blizzard has added Vancouver, Canada and Chengdu, China to Overwatch League (OWL) for Season 2. This news comes a day after a report surfaced that Washington, DC and Hangzou, China expansion teams are joining OWL. The Vancouver, Canada team is said to be owned by the Aquilini Investment Group, the owner of […]
Overwatch World Cup Info Dates: September 7-9 Location: Blizzard Arena, Los Angeles Live Stream on ESTNN TV Broadcast: ESPN3 and Disney XD Full Schedule: Available on the official OWWC site. Overwatch World Cup Rosters USA Indy Halpern (LA Valiant) Shane Flaherty (Houston Outlaws) Jay Won (SF Shock) Austin Wilmot (Houston Outlaws) Zachary Lombardo (Contenders NA: Fusion University) […]
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Thomas Bach, has not yet decided if or when esports will be integrated into the Olympic Games. During an interview with The Associated Press at the Asian Games this past weekend, he discussed conditional requirements that are needed before approval. “We cannot have in the Olympic program a game which […]
Tencent’s value fell by $20 billion today due to the new video game and internet restrictions enforced by China’s Ministry of Education. The new restrictions have hindered Tencent (a now $413 billion USD company) from capitalizing on its mobile version of Player Unknown’s Battleground (PUBG). Tencent is a leading investor in the esports industry, with holdings in […]
Video game addiction affects 2-7% of the total world population. A study from Germany that looked at people between the ages of 12-25, about 5.7% met criteria (with 8.4% of males meeting criteria for video game addiction. In the United States, an estimated 10-30 million people meet the criteria for video game addiction. There was recently […]
Turner & IMG’s ELEAGUE is giving CS:GO fans an inside look at the key moments of the recent ELEAGUE CS:GO Premier 2018. The seven episode series will begin airing August 31 at 11pm EST/PST on TBS. Eight of the world’s best professional Counter-Strike / CS:GO teams will be featured during the show. According to ELEAGUE.com, “ELEAGUE will kick […]
The Overwatch League (OWL) has signed a multi-year content deal with Twitter. The partnership will broadcast Overwatch League highlights and live streams directly to Twitter. The deal begins this weekend, August 25-26, as Twitter will broadcast content from the OWL All-Star Game. Daniel Cherry, VP and CMO for Activision-Blizzard Esports Leagues discussed the partnership: “From […]
DOTA 2 is known as the esport with the highest prize pools. This year, according to the official website, the prize pool has surpassed $24,800,000, making The International the highest prize pool esports tournament to date. According to https://www.esportsearnings.com/players/highest-overall the top 40 esports earners are DOTA 2 players. The second highest esports game tourney is the LoL […]
The Asian Games opening ceremonies begin tomorrow and will feature esports for the first time. The Asian Games are the second-largest multi-sport event after the Olympic Games. Currently there is a debate going on with the International Olympic Committee about making esports a medal sport for the Paris Olympics in 2024. Esports games that are […]
Activision is taking a page from their partner company Blizzard. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will be built to be an eSports beast. Black Ops 4 will feature enhanced teamwork mechanics similar to Overwatch in an effort to become eSports next big hit. This year it is once again Treyarch’s turn at things, likely […]
Four new NBA teams will be added for Season 2 of the NBA 2K League. The Los Angeles Lakers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Atlanta Hawks, and Brooklyn Nets will be the new franchises. “From their innovative spirit to their global reach, we know each of these teams will be a tremendous addition, and we are thrilled that […]
The FIFA eWorld Cup 2018 reached more than 29 million views throughout the 3 day tourney, from August 2nd-4th. The 29 million views is an increase of an estimated 400% over last years tourney. The streams/feeds were broadcasted among 12 digital platforms and 19 national broadcasters. The 29 million views also doubled the viewership numbers […]
Clash Royale creator Supercell has announced a brand new $1 Million USD eSports league will begin in 7 days. The league will be broken up into two divisions, one representing Europe, and the other representing North America. As seen below there are some major teams involved, including Cloud9, Team Liquid, and Complexity. Clash Royale has […]
The Overwatch League (OWL) finals which were played over two days, had an estimated 10.8 million viewers, states Blizzard. The finals were played at Barclays Center in Brooklyn between the London Spitfire and Philadelphia Fusion. The 10.8 million viewers is the total counted up from all broadcasters including ESPN, ABC, Twitch, and the Chinese networks. […]
A group of computer controlled bots just went up against a group of the best human DOTA 2 players. The PC absolutely destroyed the humans… We were first acquainted with OpenAI’s DOTA 2 bot at last years DOTA 2 tournament, International, the $20,000,000+ prize pool season finale. Sponsored by Elon Musk, the OpenAI group is […]
Dear Parents, You should be paying DOTA 2 tutors instead of Fortnite tutors! – ESTNN According to https://www.esportsearnings.com/players/highest-overall the top 40 eSports money makers are playing DOTA 2. This comes as no surprise as the biggest prize pools (by far) come from DOTA 2 tourneys. The DOTA 2 International prize pool is over $20,000,000 USD! The next […]
Atlanta, USA and Guangzhou, China are joining the Blizzard / Activision Overwatch League. Atlanta has seen their MLS soccer team surpass popularity expectations and are hoping for the same result here. The two new teams are over 8,000 miles from one and other. Rumors had been swirling for a while now that the league would […]
According to a new WSJ article; parents are paying Fortnite “professionals” an average of $35 an hour to teach their child Fortnite skills. One website that sources “Fortnite tutors” says it has found jobs for over 1,800 Fortnite pros/tutors. The full article can be read here with a WSJ subscription: https://www.wsj.com/articles/ready-aim-hire-a-fortnite-coach-parents-enlist-videogame-tutors-for-their-children-1533046708 Do you wish your parents […]
The worldwide esports industry is ablaze as a few financial specialists are getting bullish on the business. “No question this is changing the landscape for media companies and how people are participating in sports,” Tim Seymour, co-founder and managing partner at Triogem Asset Management, a hedge fund, said on “Fast Money” Monday. A week ago, […]
Fortnite creator Epic Games has announced they will be putting $100 million USD towards their eSports prize pool. A statement from their blog made it clear they will be doing this much differently than Blizzard’s ever popular Overwatch league. “This is for you, the players. Qualifications for the Fortnite World Cup will be based on […]
Happy 1st Birthday Fortnite! Game designer Epic Games propelled Fortnite, the hugely mainstream multi-player online survival amusement that has overwhelmed the gaming scene. With 125 million players and over $1 billion in income, so far. To enable players to commend its one-year breakthrough, Fortnite’s designers disclosed some birthday-themed changes to the Battle Royale mode on […]