Image via Epic Games

/DEADPOOL IS HEADING TO FORTNITE

Players were quite surprised when the latest Fortnite Chapter Two, season two trailer hit, which hinted at Marvel’s Deadpool being introduced to the game. The trailer also featured a spy and secret agent theme, including a tuxedo-wearing banana, muscular kitten, and walking tree.

We know what we saw: But the real thing of note is Deadpool’s short appearance. He appeared in a suit halfway through the trailer for a split second before vanishing behind a revolving door. But there’s no mistaking that it was him. While Chapter Two, season two is currently live, Deadpool is nowhere to be seen.

How to get the skin: Don’t despair. The skin will be unlocked eventually, but this will require that you complete a series of weekly missions culminating in you finding the character’s secret bunker. The challenges can only be completed after you purchase the battle pass, so you’ll need to invest some money to get the skin. There’s no indication of how many weekly challenges will be required to unlock the skin. The first week of challenges will only give you a Deadpool Player Banner to equip.

But let’s be honest, you’ll need to put forward “maximum effort” to get this awesome skin.

/SUPERCELL PARTNERS WITH ESL FOR 2020 BRAWL STARS CHAMPIONSHIP

Supercells recently announced that it has partnered with ESL for the 2020 Brawl Stars Championship. The developer of Brawl Stars will host open qualifiers for the championship, which begins with monthly in-game Championship Challenges to admit players into the closed online regional qualifiers.

When it starts: Things kick off on March 7, wherein ESL will help run regional qualifiers and broadcast monthly, in-person finals from its main studio in Katowice, Poland. This will lead up to the Championship in the fall where only the top teams from each online qualifier is brought out to the LAN finals to compete for points toward the World Finals. The qualifiers is an opportunity for all players of any skill level to compete on a global stage. Said Kim Jensen, overseer of competitive play, “The open format of the competition removes any barriers to entry and means that it will truly be the best of the best that is crowned World Champion.”

The prize pool: The 2019 Brawl Stars World Finals had an overall prize of $250,000 and an average of 28,000 viewers (peaking at 98,000 during the final rounds). This time, the prize pool is $1 million with an additional community pool of up to $500,000 if players purchase select in-game items which will add to the total.

All monthly finals will be broadcast on the Brawl Stars’ YouTube channel. Additional information on the rules and dates may be found here.

/GIRLGAMER 2019 ESPORTS FESTIVAL DUBAI FINALS

The GIRLGAMER Esports Festival is currently taking place right now in Dubai with its World Finals for both Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends tournaments. The event started on February 19 and will run until the 22nd. This is the culminating event of the GIRLGAMER Esports Festival World Tour, which has held global qualifying stages in South Korea, Spain, and Australia. Additionally, the event has secured major brands like Johnson & Johnson as partners.

Other things happening there: The event will also feature a business conference with talks given by established industry leaders. Additional events include panel discussions, meet & greets, cosplay competitions (with a prize of $5,000), an awards ceremony, and a headline concert from rapper Gucci Mane.

The main events: But let’s be honest, everyone is really interested in how things will turn out for the teams competing at CS:GO and LoL. The prize pool is advertised as $100,000. For the tournament structure, five teams will participate in matches that are the best out of one. Winners bracket in round four (4) will be best of three (3), and the Grand Final will be best of five (5). Some of the teams participating includes Galaxy Racer, Grow uP Girls EU, Out of the Blue, Team Charon, and Team Innova.

We just had our latest MAINGEAR gaming backpack giveaway drawing! The lucky winner is Hamdam from Kirkland. Congrats for winning and we’re grateful for everyone’s support!

Sad you missed out? Don’t worry. We’re doing more drawings every Tuesday! So if you aren’t a previous winner, you’ve already been thrown back into the drawing for our next backpack giveaway. Stay strong, your time will come.

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Image via ESL & DreamHack

/ESL AND DREAMHACK ANNOUNCE RESTRUCTURING OF CS:GO ESPORTS LEAGUE

Esports organizers ESL and DreamHack have entered into a new deal with a number of teams across its various leagues that will result in a shared revenue and restructure of the CS:GO circuit. The deal has been dubbed the “Louvre Agreement” and will allow 13 ESL Pro Tour teams to receive a share of league profits in addition to giving them a more prominent voice in the decision-making process.

Who’s in on it: The 13 teams that signed the agreement will become majority stakeholders in the ESL Pro League. This includes some of the biggest names in esports, including Astralis, Complexity, ENCE, G2 Esports, Mousesports, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, Team Vitality, and 100 Thieves.

Changes to the league: Additionally, the ESL League has been restructured to include 24 teams in total. The agreement further establishes a single global division that will replace the region-based system currently in place for the league. The deal further paves the way toward a potential democratization of the esports industry by giving participating teams a say in the decision-making process.

/LEGISLATOR SEEKS GRANT PROGRAM TO HELP SCHOOLS ESTABLISH ESPORTS PROGRAMS

The exploding popularity of esports in the education sector has led one state legislator to seek a program that will funnel grant money to state schools to establish esports programs. On Monday, Tip McGuire and Kalan Haywood introduced LRB-3801, creating a grant program for Wisconsin schools to establish esports programs.

The opportunity exists: Said McGuire, “Esports allow students to play and compete, and build useful skills like strategic problem-solving and teamwork.” He noted that esports is a rapidly-growing field that creates a competitive environment that could be much more inclusive of students than traditional athletic events.

Current versus future popularity: At the beginning of the 2018 school year, there were 128 colleges and universities that offered approximately $15 million in scholarships relating to esports. In five years, that number is expected to rise to 800 colleges/universities and $100 million in scholarships. James O’Hagan, Racine educator and founder of the Academy of Esports, said, “With a projected $100 million in collegiate scholarships by 2023, the funds in this bill will ensure equitable access to this extraordinary opportunity for our state’s students[…]”.

Congratulations again to Hamdam from Kirkland for winning our backpack drawing!


We’re giving away a free gaming backpack every Tuesday to people who sign up here.

To start, you’ll get three entries in the drawing.
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