Author: G7R

Drama over conceding matches at Regional Championship Montreal for a Magic: The Gathering Pro Tour 2023-2024 season invite has ended, but no rules have been changed.  Draws and concessions have been in the MTG hot seat before at high-level tournament play, especially when a seed invite is on the line. The Pro Tour helped remove some of the controversy by allowing players who hit 12 match wins an automatic advancement to the top eight playoffs. But Regional Championship organizers, like the recent RC in Montreal, are allowed to have their own rules in place. This led to a verbal agreement…

FaZe Clan’s early Counter-Strike 2 era of dominance has been quelled somewhat following the team’s quarterfinal exit to French squad Team Vitality at ESL Pro League Season 19 in Malta yesterday. The loss puts an end to FaZe’s epic seven LAN finals streak dating back to CS2‘s launch last September. FaZe fell short against Vitality on May 10 in what proved to be a rather one-sided affair thanks to star Frenchman ZywOo who continues to dominate ESL Pro League this week. ZywOo recorded an incredible 2.21 HLTV rating and 54 kills over 39 rounds, and while FaZe kept it close…

Team Liquid defeated 3-1 Fnatic at the 2024 Mid-Season Invitational to give North America its first-ever victory in a best-of-5 match over the European giants, eliminating them from the competition. Fnatic looked shaky in game one as Team Liquid always caught them off guard with well-calculated ganks to gain momentum in the early game. The lead slowly became substantial, which TL utilized with their objective control over dragons, and snowballed the match with impressive performances from Impact on K’Sante and APA on Taliyah. APA literally walked his trash talk against Fnatic. Image via Liu YiCun/Riot Games Fnatic quickly realized they should be…

The 2024 League of Legends Mid-Season Invitational brings fiery clashes to the Rift, igniting international rivalries that sometimes spill over beyond the game. Amid the intensity, Team Liquid’s mid laner, Eain “APA” Stearns, emerges with bold predictions and some spicy banter aimed at the LEC second seed team.  Despite this being his MSI debut, APA isn’t shy about stirring the pot with confident remarks and is already making waves in the competitive scene, which drew former World Champion Tian’s response during today’s match. Fnatic junler Razork after defeating GAM Esports and qualified for the MSI bracket Stage. Photo by Colin…

Despite high hopes, Team Liquid failed North American fans in their opening game of the Mid-Season Invitational. After losing the series against Top Esports by a 0-3 score, the LCS’ record against LPL and LCK teams in the last two years hit a new low. Since the beginning of 2022, North American teams have participated in five international tournaments: three editions of MSI and two World Championships. In these five events, they currently sit on a 2-41 record against Chinese and Korean squads, with Liquid’s latest 0-3 against TES adding three defeats to the tally. NA teams had no luck…

XDefiant fans, lock in and get ready for a sneak peek at the FPS’s competitive aspirations as part of a pre-release tournament. The XDefiant All-Star Series will feature some well-known names from other FPS franchises, such as Call of Duty, offering a taste of what the Ubisoft shooter’s competitive ladder will look like when it comes out approximately six weeks after launch. We brought together 16 of the best FPS competitors ever to battle for a cash prize in 4v4 XDefiant.This week, we’ll be dropping each matchup from the qualifying round in preparation for the Finals on May 21st. pic.twitter.com/UXpIegvlRZ—…

Team Liquid’s mid laner APA has a bit of a reputation for smack-talking before and during League of Legends games on-stage. He put that reputation on the line today by taking some playful shots at Chinese LPL runners-up Top Esports but was immediately shot down by the team’s veteran jungler Tian, who told the second-year pro to kindly “shut up.”  Before today’s bracket-opening series against Top Esports at MSI 2024, APA tried to employ his now-signature trash talk tactic against the LPL juggernauts, reportedly taking jabs at his lane opponent, Creme, in the pre-game lobby. According to a post-series interview…

Korean League of Legends star Kim “Ssumday” Chan-ho announced a shock retirement from competition on May 7, declaring he will undergo mandatory military service in his home country and then consider a return to streaming or coaching. The 27-year-old’s announcement today ends a glittering decade-long career in League that included stints at home and abroad, with a Korean championship and four Worlds appearances to his name as well as numerous split finals and three LCS All-Pro Team spots. “I’m not sure if I’ve done that well, but I think I’ve done a good job because there are still a lot of…

G2 Esports won’t compete with their complete Counter-Strike 2 roster at IEM Dallas 2024 after their in-game leader HooXi was been ruled out. His substitution, however, could reportedly be a North American great. The role will be filled by no other than Stewie2K, a rifler who recently returned to competing with Legacy. The player is reportedly one of the options for G2, according to Dust2.us. Stewie2K spiced up the rumors by posting on X (formerly Twitter) about how Dallas could be a fun, short trip. It’s about to be even more fun…Cali —> Dallas should be a short trip, right…