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Team Vitality beats mousesports 2-1 at EPICENTER. The two teams traded blows for the first two matches; in the third match, it was all over. Read more below.

/ BIG 3

Image via talkesport

1/Vitality is not to be messed with

There is age-old thinking that the French are all about love and peace, but this weekend has been full of a lot of molotovs, C4, and guns. The Frenchmen that form Team Vitality certainly put on a show as they battled against mousesports. In the end, Team Vitality won EPICENTER.

From the fires of the Inferno, Team Vitality was not able to pull a victory. They felt confident after gaining an early lead but ultimately left that particular battlefield in defeat. This first round was riddled with mistakes on both sides, but Team Vitality suffered the most. It was a close matchup with Team Vitality getting defeated by only three points.

Next, they stepped up to the plate in the zone that is called Mirage. It was on this second field of battle that Team Vitality was able to capture the lead once more, winning by four points. This meant that the teams were still neck and neck as they entered the next arena.

On the final field, Nuke, Team Vitality brought the name of the map to life as they proceeded to nuke mousesports and nearly doubled their opponent’s points.

This final battle ensured that Team Vitality would walk away victorious and win the tournament.

2/A year in hindsight

The future can be uncertain and even scary, but when looking back, we often see a lot more we ever realize happened. This year, esports had a lot of things going on, and in hindsight, it was a huge year.

December: Live streaming service Bilibili was able to seal the deal for LoL World Championships for three years. You probably don’t want to know how much it cost them, but it was millions of dollars.

November: Overwatch League franchise Huston Outlaws was sold to Beasley Media Group. The acquisition was a huge step for the company and for the team. Now we get to wait and see if the deal was a smart one.

October: Vindex, an esports infrastructure program, launched. The $60 million funding the platform is bound to go to good use as MLG’s, the platform’s creators, reunite with some of their original employees.

September: Louis Vuitton partnered with Riot Games to create a whole new fashion line.

August: Riot Games separated itself from Echo Fox. This move caught many by surprise, but served to open a lot of eyes.

July: The largest prize pool in esports history was raised to support The International 2019.

June: Infinite Esports & Entertainment was acquired by Immortals Gaming Club. 

May: Ftue, known also as Turner Tenney, filed a lawsuit against FaZe Clan. This lawsuit has continued to shape much of the industry as the year progressed.

April: Will Smith showed his love for esports by investing in Gen.G.

March: GameStop Performance Center was unveiled in Texas by Complexity Gaming.

February: Nike China and a Chinese LoL Pro Leauge signed a four-year deal, which would explain the swoosh on their uniforms.

January: Team Liquid announced a deal in which Honda became their vehicle of choice by contract.

And there you have it! With only a tip of the iceberg of news, that was 2019 in hindsight.

3/Valve takes to the courtroom

Someone is going to blow a valve as Valve is now suing a tournament organizer who owes $750,000 in prizes that have yet to be paid.

It seems that The Global Electronic Sports Championship (GESC) is finding itself in some hot water. Several minor league tournaments were hosted and funded by the group, but the issue is coming out of the fact that many of the participants were never paid their rewards.

Valve has several agreements with tournament organizers that all have requirements for timely payments to be made. In April, Valve began taking action. Statements were issued, discussions were had with the CEO of the group, and still, nothing was done. Now that December has arrived, most of the participants that should have been paid still haven’t. It’s just a couple months shy of a year since some of their events.

Tournaments affected include games such as Dota 2CS:GOPUBG, and others. Let’s hope that Valve can put enough pressure on to get GESC to issue compensation and rewards to all the winners.

/ THE BIZ

Image via esportsinsider

/Allied Esports gains new ally

Allied Esports Property Network gained another ally when Wanyoo joined their ranks. The network is one that helps esports be a unified global effort. Wanyoo is said to run one of the largest networks of esports centers in China.

Together the two groups are planning a global expansion of Wanyoo that will be pushed forward by the funding of Allied Esports. In return, because it’s only fair, Wanyoo will push the brand of Allied Esports in China, furthering the network’s influence.

There are a lot of plans in the works, but as always with business, time will tell if it was a smart move.

/Other Biz

/ TOURNEYS

/PUBG Mobile All-Stars Finals

Over the last several days there has been a lot of motion at the All-Stars tournament for PUBG. Seven days, 35 matches and it all boils down to the grand final.

16 teams have secured spots in the ranks of the battle for victory. The finals were held on the 21st and 22nd. It was a rousing show, with the team Fnatic coming out on top.

Day one began with a lot of issues, but day two ended up running fairly smooth. With this being the last event for PUBG for the year, it was not the best way to go out with a bang for the organizers. However, the teams brought their A-game and put up some good fights.

Fnatic, Team Mayhem, and Team Insane took the top three spots, but it really could have been anyone’s tournament.

/Other Tourney News

/ A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR

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/ GAME ON

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