Author: G7R

On June 7, Faker finally got his Hall of Legends trophy and was officially revealed as the first player to be inducted into the League of Legends group. But it was already visibly damaged, and understandably, fans are mad. The video of Faker accepting and celebrating the trophy in Seoul was shared by numerous news outlets. Some took closer shots at the award itself, and it looks like it has a crack-like scratch on the side. Furthermore, one side looks a bit damaged, like it fell during transport. These flaws quickly made it to social media platforms like Reddit, where…

At the end of May, Pokémon Go‘s Shared Skies update introduced many Battle League changes, including potentially its biggest ever for competitive play. Scald, a move that frustrated players at EUIC 2024, was finally nerfed. Scald can lower the opposing Pokémon’s attack in Pokémon Go. Before the nerf, the ability activated pretty consistently, making it annoying to play against. But since the change, the chance of it happening has dropped to 30 percent, making it a less viable and risky strategy in matches. The change was well received but meant the meta was turned on its head ahead of NAIC,…

North America’s Pokémon International Championship is the final chance to qualify for the World Championship. For many, the event can make or break an entire season’s worth of effort. Every year, players have the possibility of dropping out of top spots in their region—denying them a travel stipend that can mean everything for those who can’t afford to make the long trip to Hawaii—or they can completely miss out on a Worlds invite altogether. This year’s NAIC, which ran from June 7 to 9, marked the chance for players to prove how they’re best and deserve to have a stake…

The Pokémon North America International Championships (NAIC) wrapped up this past weekend, and the Scarlet and Violet VGC metagame was full of diverse and unexpected ‘mons, as seen in the top cut lists. While it was no surprise to see the popular Fire/Water/Grass core in Incineroar, Urshifu, and Rillaboom used by top players, there were also 15 Pokémon that only made a single appearance across the top teams. If you’re someone who doesn’t like seeing the same lineups dominating the meta, NAIC was an absolute treat to watch. So many unusual ‘mons found success at NAIC. Screenshot via The Official…

With Pokémon NAIC over since June 9, Pokémon Go players have two months to prepare for Worlds, which means anything can happen between now and August 15 that could dramatically change the meta. Two potential meta-defining changes could shake the game at its core. We could either see a new Battle League patch released, such as the one released at the end of May that drastically reduced Scal’s effectiveness, or get a brand new Pokémon that turns the game on its head. And out of all the Pokémon that could be released over the next couple of months, there is…

G2’s incredible eight-event playoff streak in Counter-Strike 2 is in jeopardy as the IEM Dallas champions enter this week’s BLAST Premier Spring Final without star AWPer m0NESY, who can’t make the trip to the U.K. due to a visa issue. The organization announced coach TaZ will enter the server with the team in a June 10 post on X (formerly Twitter), replacing the star AWPer for BLAST Spring Finals. The team will once more need to defy the odds with a stand-in if they hope to keep their playoff streak alive, with G2 making the finals of every offline CS2…

League of Legends players and fans are getting their wish fulfilled: A third international tournament will be officially added to the calendar for 2025. The news comes via a Riot Games dev update on June 11, with the League esports calendar set to look drastically different following the 2024 World Championship and heading into next year. Regional play will kick off earlier in the year, culminating in an event currently penciled for March. This tournament isn’t expected to be as grand as the likes of Worlds, but it fills out the calendar year a little more and gives another opportunity…

The long-hinted merger for American League of Legends has come at last, with Riot Games today confirming the LCS, CBLOL, and LLA competitions will soon be consolidated into a new dual-conference Americas League. The league will be split into two conferences—North America and South America—with the LCS and CBLOL teams taking part in each separately—not too dissimilar to how the leagues are split currently. The LLA, however, will lose its classification as a tiered region in the ecosystem and will be given a slot in each of the Americas conferences. A team from the LLA will join the LCS. Photo…

Riot Games is overhauling the League of Legends esports ecosystem starting in 2025. The changes include a unified split schedule for all regions and reducing the number of teams within tier-one leagues.  Starting next season, League esports will begin its competitive year with the Winter Split, then move to an unnamed third international event, the Spring Split, the Mid-Season Invitational, and then the Summer Split and World Championship. CBLOL and LLA’s dedicated fan bases could help the spiraling viewership of the LCS. Photo via Riot Games Riot also unveiled a first look at the new regional structures coming to League…

Day one of Pokémon TCG at NAIC 2024 has been jaw-dropping, with nearly 50 percent of the total decks at the event being one of three archetypes. Lugia VSTAR, Raging Bolt/Ogerpon ex Teal Mask, and Gardevoir ex dominate the metagame in a drastic shift from EUIC. After the release of Twilight Masquerade, Charizard ex decks have completely fallen from the top lists for Pokémon TCG. New meta. Image via The Pokémon Company Outside of the big three, which are being used by nearly 400 players in the Masters Division, the next best deck is Lost Zone Box. Surprisingly falling down…