2019 is a year full of powerful esports moments. Join us as we look back on the year. Read more below.
2019 has been an amazing year for esports. One of the biggest events in esports for us is the inception and beginnings of SlashShout. It has been a fun ride and we look forward to continuing to bring you the news, and much more.
There are so many other people who are far more deserving than us, of course. Invenglobal published a list of 11 events that they felt were defining, so allow us to help connect the dots. This includes players and their moments of victory as a team. From G2 winning their mid-season invitational to Team Liquid winning the Grand Slam, there have been so many unexpected and awesome outcomes of the different tournaments.
Esports fashion: Then you have the collaboration between esports groups and the fashion industry. Such things were unheard of before, but here we can really see the influence that the esports world and industry is having on our society.
Politics at their best: Blizzard also ruined the fun when they stumbled and fell over international politics. Then we have the sad downfall of Echo Fox as it reduced to ashes.
We can only hope that 2020 brings many more powerful events and changes.
As we continue to reflect on the fading year, we can revel in the knowledge that 2020 will only be better. Still, we should take time to reflect on the games that make esports great. There are so many of them, and that number keeps on growing.
Here’s a look at the top 10 esports games of the year. This list is going to be organized based on the size of their prize pool, because why not?
10. Rainbow Six Siege: This game made it to the top 10, with $4.10 million, a small move forward from spot 14 in 2018.
9. Arena of Valor: Coming in with $5.80 million, this game is now spot 9.
8. Call of Duty: This took spot 25 last year, but with their $6.51 million, they’ve made more strides this year.
7. Magic: The Gathering: Beating COD for growth, MTG, which was in spot 42 last year, is spot 7 with $8.89 million.
6. League of Legends: Surprise! LoL fell from spot 4 to spot 6 this year with $9.02 million. Last year was $14.5 million, so a small drop.
5. Overwatch: As popular as ever, Overwatch moved to spot 5 with $9.11 million.
4. PUBG: Continuing in their popularity and growth, they generated $12.71 million.
3. CS:GO: Well-deserved with their more than $21 million in prize money.
2. Dota 2: Getting in with the big dogs and an amazing $46 million in prize money.
1. Fortnite: Tripling its prize pool from last year to $64 million, in addition to tripling its position (from 3rd to 1st).
The news about the BLAST Premier was met with excitement from many fans and teams, especially for the 12 teams that received invites to attend. However, Sam Matters, the CEO of Fnatic, has not expressed much excitement.
Instead, Matters has been fairly vocal about his displeasure over the omission of Fnatic. His reasoning for Fnatic to be invited is that they are the one of the top three teams in the world, which sounds like a reasonable enough claim.
BLAST Premier’s organizers have not officially responded to the outraged CEO, but they have separately stated that they spoke with 20 teams and narrowed that to 12. There has been no clarification on why Fnatic was left off the list.
The ugly: There is no good solution. There are only 12 spots, and to fix this issue one of the already-announced teams would have to be bumped.
The bad: Fnatic was omitted, so we likely won’t get to enjoy their frantic energy in any matchups for a bit yet.
The good: This issue brings more awareness to esports and to the BLAST Premier. Plus there may be some accountability from event organizers to say why certain teams were invited, whereas others weren’t.
Vacant theaters are nothing new to the world in which we live. It seems that there is one in Massachusetts that is about to become reinvented anew.
There is a $94 million project in the works set to change the 84-year-old theater into a dedicated esports arena. The arena will be complete with stadium seating, big screens, and an awesome sound system.
Oh, and it is probably worth mentioning that a local private college is in on this project as well. Once again, esports goes to school.
We aren’t even to January yet, but the 2020 year is already getting some electrifying changes. If you are a fan of Overwatch, you know who the San Francisco Shock are. If you’re not a fan, you should be. The SF Shock is hosting the opening weekend of the Overwatch League season.
The original plan was to hold the event in Cow Palace. However, those plans have changed; so mark your calendars and your maps! The event is now going to be held in Zellerbach Hall at Berkley!
This is a smart move as it may help keep prices for entry down, and brings esports to more colleges, a growing movement we’ve seen throughout 2019.
Things start March 28 and 29, so get ready to defend the planet!
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During such a joyful time, it is really is painful to deliver bad news to esports fans. Great strides are being made among female gamers and educating the world about esports. But it is difficult to have to bring the news that Remilia has died at the age of 24.
Remilia was a pioneer in the esports world, being the first woman to ever qualify for the League of Legends Championship Series. She did this in 2015 and had a brief-but-awesome career as a professional support player. Remilia was also a transgender player which, for many, adds to the significance of the loss.
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