/EVO JAPAN’S CHAMPION MAY RECEIVE A CONTROLLER RATHER THAN MONEY
It’s a well-known fact that of all the esports in the fighting game community, Super Smash Bros. isn’t one of the most profitable. But now it looks like Evo Japan may be cutting a few corners in this regard. The typical prize of any esports tournament is some monetary sum, but in this instance the winner of the tournament bracket was initially reported to be handed a Nintendo Switch Pro Controller [the org has since walked back the announcement to a pending status]. Is this in response to recent comments by Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa about prizing in tournaments creating an “antagonistic” culture?
In comparison, the other five titles featured at the event will entail cash prize pools split between the top eight players.
The prizes
What’s the second place prize? A charge cable for the controller?
/ZYWOO NAMED HLTV’S BEST PLAYER OF 2019
According to HLTV.org, the 19-year-old Frenchman Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut has been named the number one player of 2019. To be fair, he had an incredible year, averaging a 1.30 rating and 86.1 average damage per round (ADR). He was instrumental in leading Vitality to two big event championships in addition to two smaller championships.
Decisive victories: His contributions were invaluable toward Vitality winning their first tournament of the year with Charleroi Esports in Belgium. He averaged a 1.32 rating, the best of the entire event. A month later, he brought home Vitality’s second tournament of the year with cs_summit 4 in Los Angeles. This victory entailed defeating Team Liquid in a grand final for the $150,000 prize pool event, where he was then awarded his first MVP of the year. Things continued with ECS Season 7 Finals in London, where he earned his second MVP award of the year. Then came ESL One Cologne where, despite a narrow loss, he received still his third MVP award of the year.
Continuing on: The second half of 2019 was just as intense for this professional player. At the Dreamhack Masters Malmo, he led Vitality to another major grand final. Though they lost 1-2 in the grand final, he was still awarded MVP for his contributions throughout. Then came EPICENTER, where he earned his fifth MVP award of the year and averaged a season-high rating of 1.53.
Let’s see how 2020 shapes up for this young star.
/RIOT IS CHANGING THE LEC PLAYOFF FORMAT, PRESUMABLY FOR THE BETTER
Here we are just before the start of the 2020 season, and Riot Games has already made some big changes to the LEC playoff format. This comes in addition to the way in which Championship Points will be handed out going forward.
The changes: While the regular season retains its same format and six teams will make the playoffs per usual, the new postseason format ensures squads that reach the finals will have truly earned their spots. This means having both finalists win at least two best-of-five series beforehand.
Championship Points changes: Teams in the Spring Split now earn points based on their performance during the playoffs. During the summer, however, teams only earn points for performances during the regular season. These points are used to seed the top six teams into the playoffs, which now means that the European World Championship spots are determined solely by 2020 Summer Playoff performances. This is likely intended to provide fans with a more exciting season since the Summer Split’s regular season games haven’t had as much of an impact on playoffs and Worlds qualifications.
Understandably, we can’t have professional players coasting through their victories, so let’s add some more hoops.
Super League Gaming partners with Chinese cinema company Wanda Media (VentureBeat) — Super League Gaming, which has self-branded as a “little league of esports”, announced a partnership with Wanda Media to bring its amateur competitive gaming events to China via Wanda’s network of movie theaters. While the economics of the deal were not made public, the deal resembles a similar arrangement Super League currently employs in the U.S. with Cinemark Theatres.
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/SNEAKY TAKES OUT OPPONENT FROM LONG RANGE IN TWO SECONDS WITH APHELIOS
Everyone is already counting down the days until Aphelios’ nerfs come, presumably in the next patch. But here’s another notch in the belt of reasons for why some nerfs may be warranted. Twitch streamer and former LCS pro Zachary “Sneaky” Scuderi recently used the AD carry’s turret to outplay an opponent during a recent broadcast.
The event in question: Sneaky began the attack by placing a sentry turret in a bush and then waiting for the victim to cross its path. Sadly, that enemy Jhin never stood much of a chance. After running into the sentry, the enemy was marked. This then allowed Sneaky’s Aphelios to unleash a crippling barrage of atuo-attacks that took out the champion in fewer than two seconds. What makes matters worse is that it would have been impossible for Jhin to destroy the sentry fast enough to slow the auto attacks.
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