Smoking three people blind is still something people talk about. But Team Liquid is more concerned about visas right now. Read more.
Now that the decade has come to a close, Valve decided to organize a poll on Twitter and asked fans to pick the best CS:GO play. The winner after an extensive list of ground breaking plays was that of “Happy’s deagle ace,” taking 36% of the total votes.
Revisiting the play: Back in DreamHack Open London 2015, Happy was left to hold B bombsite against TSM, along with a teammate and a deagle in hand. But against all odds, he managed to do it all single-handedly. He popped cajunb’s head off as he rounded a corner while his teammate smoked TSM to buy time. Happy ignored the obstruction to vision and fired wildly into the smoke until two shots caught dev1ce and xyp9x. He then followed things up by catching dupreeh creeping around to the left and then ended things by landing a final headshot on karrigan with the same weapon, all through smoke still. It was a fantastic play, especially considering three kills were made totally blind.
Fallen glory: The veteran now completes with the LDLC in the French scene, though he’s fallen from his prime. His last championship glory came with Envy at the WESG 2016 World Finals.
Three individuals may not be able to play by the start of the 2020 LCS Spring Split. Liquid’s Owner Steve Arhancet released a statement that delays for visas had been encountered for jungler Mads “Broxah” Brock-Pedersen, head coach Jang “Cain” Nu-ri, and Academy jungler Shern “Shernfire” Cherng Tai. To make matters worse, there is no resolution currently in sight.
Preventing practice: The delays have already been wreaking havoc on the team’s pre-season preparations. The team has had issues with team practice and now it’s mere days until the start of the season.
The current outlook: While visa issues aren’t uncommon in esports, the scope of this delay could lead to a very rocky start of the year for Team Liquid’s new look. They’re currently being forced to evaluate backup options to fill gaps in both squads should things come to that. While Spring Split doesn’t start until January 25, this is still cutting into precious time needed to practice and prepare for a busy season. If things don’t work out soon, we may see a few temp players on stage for the first bit of the season.
Escape from Tarkov made headlines in recent days when it surpassed League of Legends, Fortnite, and Just Chatting as the most-watched category on Twitch. Since then, Dr Disrespect has some thoughts on why it succeeded in this milestone achievement.
Spending time playing: The popular streamer put in some time on Battlestate Games’ tactical first-person shooter during his Twitch broadcast recently. He seems to be enjoying the title and gave some reasons why the game is “pretty sweet.”
Reasons to enjoy: It isn’t the fastest game, Dr Disrespect thought. It isn’t a “jumping out of vehicles, pony-tail flapping in the wind, getting struck by lightning while we’re AK-ing somebody”. Instead, there is a certain level of “intensity and build up” involved that lends toward the game’s entertainment value.
About the game: The game combines RPG and MMO elements together, forcing players to embark on Raids to gain top-tier loop. New gear is snaggable after killing opponents, but players who die lose all equipment they brought with them on the Raid. Escape from Tarkov is survival-focused, but without some of the action-packed gameplay of other FPS games like Call of Duty. But this hasn’t deterred many players from thoroughly enjoying themselves in this new title.
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This comes as a surprise to no one that esports is a huge thing in China. The industry is worth more than $14 billion and continues to grow at a rapid pace. Across the country, esports athletes clock hundreds of hours per month preparing for the world’s biggest competitions. Winners from these events can take home millions of dollars in prize money, which adds significant motivation to succeed. Last year alone, China’s Invictus team won $5 million at the League of Legends World Championships, beating out the U.S. and Europe’s top players.
The popularity of esports: Competitive gaming isn’t a new thing and exists across a wide range of gaming titles. Initially, these competitions were niche events built for gamers themselves. But now through platforms like YouTube and Twitch, gamers can stream their favorite athletes on a daily basis. Now 200 million esports fans tune in across the world, 38 percent of which live in China.
The grueling business of esports: The experiences that pro athletes endure in their line of work is not for the faint of heart. Very few individuals make it to the top of the industry and go pro. And most of these individuals retire early in their 20s due to the intensive lifestyle. For example, RNG’s players practice 14 hours per day, 7 days a week.
2020 marks the start of a new decade, and with it the opportunity for many new esports milestones. Of the games most played presently, League of Legends’ myriad opportunities to continue to grow and attract new players and viewers. Competitions over 2020 are expected to reach new levels with team dynamics and plays that will continue to define the industry.
LPL: Worlds went to China twice in a row, though the second time was a tough task due to winning on home soil. Few regions have won while also acting as the hosting region. China is the most able to capitalize on the year’s potential given their recent victory at Worlds 2019. Specifically RNG, EDG, and Vici Gaming all need to reign in that potential.
LCK: Of the regions most likely to break the LPL victory streak at the Worlds, it’s the LCK that is most likely. This region is supposed to be the best, with teams like T1, DAMWON Gaming, GenG, and DragonX as teams that are likely to have the strongest 2020.
LEC: Europe continues to grow every year, so this next year will likely be no different. While the region has been represented at the last two Worlds finals, they unfortunately lost 0-3 in both occurrences. So while it is likely that teams will return to Worlds again in 2020, it’s a matter of breaking the losing streak that seems to plague the region. While every team could use some luck in 2020, it’s FNC and G2 that likely have the best chance to succeed.
LCS: Of all the regions needing success, LCS is in dire need. While Liquid took out reigning world champions iG at MSI, they accomplished nothing at Worlds, which hurt every team involved. So if anyone needs to step things up, Liquid, TSM, Cloud9, and Evil Geniuses are likely to be the ones to do it.
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