E-SPORTS E-SPORTS ARTICLES

The chalk has largely held up at the League of Legends World Championships this year. No Cinderella teams have emerged to challenge the heavyweights, and that has held true in Group A too. At the start of this tournament, G2 Esports and Griffin were seen as the best two teams in the group with many giving the nod to G2 over Griffin to win the group. G2 is 3-0 and Griffin is 2-1, and these teams are likely to make it to the knockout rounds. Cloud9 is still out to earn its spot though, while Hong Kong Attitude wants to play spoiler and at least pick up one win.   More

The best League of Legends teams in the world have descended upon Berlin for the 2019 World Championships. Over the next four weeks the last 16 teams will battle it out for international glory, and a massive prize pool and global renown are at stake. Invictus Gaming are back to defend their title as the first LPL team towin Worlds last year, while Korea is out to prove its supremacy once more aftera dismal performance in the last two international tournaments.   More

The second round robin in Group C and Group D will prove decisive. While DAMWON Gaming are almost assured of a spot in the next round of the League of Legends World Championships, the five other teams in action on Saturday have no such guarantee. That will make for an exciting day of League of Legends since every game matters.   More

The second day of the League of Legends World Championships Play-In Stage will feature teams from Group C and Group D squaring off in the first part of a round robin. DAMWON Gaming and Hong Kong Attitude are the two favorites to finish atop these groups as the two teams from established regions, but champions from other parts of the world are looking to make their mark.   More

This year’s League of Legends World Championship looks to be more competitive than past events. From 2013 to 2017, only Korean teams won Worlds, but Invictus Gaming showed that teams from other regions can win the Summoner’s Cup last year. Invictus beat tournament favorites KT Rolster 3-2 in the quarterfinals before routing G2 and Fnatic in sweeps to win the World Championships. Last year’s champions are back to defend their title, but they are considered the third-best team from China’s LPL per the League of Legends betting odds.   More

Which region is the best in the world at League of Legends? It’s a fiercely debated topic every year, but this year is different. For the first time ever, three different regions have legitimate chances to win the League of Legends World Championship. This competition is no longer just Korea and/or China, as Europe proved it can reign supreme at the Mid-Season Invitational, so there is an incredible amount of excitement headed into this year’s event.   More

The third Korean representative at the League of Legends World Championships next month will be decided on Saturday when DAMWON Gaming and Kingzone Dragon X duel for the LCK’s final spot.   More

The LCK Summer Split Finals will give us a rematch of the Spring Split Finals. Griffin are looking for a better result after a disappointing performance in the finals earlier this year. They were the best team throughout the regular season during the spring, but they were swept 3-0 by SK Telecom T1 in the Spring Split Finals. Griffin were once again the top team in the regular season this summer, but SKT are in fine form after sweeping both SANDBOX Gaming and DAMWON Gaming to make it back to the final. They are out to best Griffin again and prove they are still the best team in Korea.   More

The gauntlet-style playoff used by the LCK creates one of the most interesting playoffs in the world. The regular season matters more in the LCK than it does in any other sport with a playoff, as the team with the best record automatically gets a spot in the finals, and the teams that just squeezed into the postseason have to climb their way through the ladder. SK Telecom T1 and Afreeca Freecs fall in the latter category, and both teams will be looking to keep their title hopes alive on Wednesday.   More

An incredible Summer Split is sure to have a wild finish. The LCK race has been the closest we’ve ever seen and three teams still have a chance to finish first. Former Challenger teams DAMWON Gaming, SANDBOX Gaming, and Griffin all duking it out for the top spot in the LCK, while established sides SK Telecom T1, Afreeca Freecs, and Gen.G are tied at 10-7. Only two of those three teams can make the playoffs, and the prospect of SKT being left out is a very real one.   More

This is the tightest LCK race I can remember. We’re in the penultimate week of the season, and five different teams are virtually tied at the top of the standings with five losses. Due to the staggered nature of the season, DAMWON Gaming are at the top of the table with 11 wins, while Griffin are down in fifth with 9 wins. That will make every match between teams with winning records enormous and losses are even more important due to the LCK’s ladder-style playoff bracket.   More

The collapse of Griffin and Kingzone DragonX has been the story of the second half of the esports season. These two teams looked like the two best in Korea early in the season, but both are now on the outside looking in when it comes to the playoffs. Griffin are 8-5 and they could fall to 8-6 if they lose to Sandbox on Friday, while Kingzone is currently 8-6. Seeing either team miss the playoffs would be incredible considering where they were a month ago, but at least one is very likely to miss out at this point.   More

Things have gotten wild in the LCK as there are seven teams within two games of one another. That will make for a wide-open playoff race down the stretch, as only five teams make it to the playoffs in the LCK each split. Three teams that were in Challenger Korea in 2018 (DAMWON Gaming, SANDBOX Gaming, and Griffin) lead the way, but it’s going to be a great last couple weeks.   More

We’re in for some battles over the last month of the LCK Korea Summer Split. There are four teams within a match of first place, and we could see any one of five teams finish atop the table during the Summer Split. Spring Split champions SK Telecom T1 have turned things around too with four straight 2-0 victories to brush off a lackluster start and emerge as the dark horse.   More

It’s a great time to be a fan of the LCK scene. They emerged victorious for the first time ever at Rift Rivals and they looked quite impressive in vanquishing their LPL demons. Kingzone DragonX, DAMWON Gaming, Griffin, and SK Telecom T1 all showed us something new, and Korea looks back after a horrendous 2018 by their lofty standards. There hasn’t been any kind of post-Rift Rivals break which could test the four LCK participants at Rift Rivals.   More

The LCS Summer Split will kick off the second part of its round robin on Sunday. Before the day starts, every team will have played every other team once this summer, so there will be a little familiarity the final four weeks of the regular season. Team SoloMid, Cloud9, and Team Liquid are the favorites going forward because of their dominance thus far in 2019, but all three teams have had their confidence shaken after getting smashed at Rift Rivals last week.   More

There is always action in the biggest League of Legends region in the world. There are now 16 teams in the LPL and that leads to a loaded schedule with games throughout the week. Through the first four weeks of the Summer Split, FunPlus Phoenix are the best team in China once again. FunPlus finished first in the Spring Split regular season, posting a mark of 13-2, and they have yet to lose this summer. Mid laner Doinb has been phenomenal, but everyone has shined to make this the most dangerous team in China. We’ll see some of their top competition at the tail end of this week.   More

The continued struggles of SK Telecom T1 has been the story of the first two weeks of the Summer Split. SKT had returned to glory after winning the Spring Split, but the team to beat is at the bottom of the table once more. They have failed to adapt to the new meta, and now the Spring champions are looking for answers. Their only win this season came against 0-4 Jin Air Green Wings, and opponents are salivating at the chance to knock off the team that has largely ruled the LCK.   More

It’s been a very fun start to the LCK Summer Split. Griffin and SK Telecom T1 were expected to dominate, but Griffin are currently tied for second and SKT are all the way down in seventh place. Instead, old guard teams like Kingzone DragonX, Afreeca Freecs, and Gen.G have roared back after disappointing showings in the Spring Split, and Kingzone looks increasingly like the team to beat.   More

Just last month we saw G2 Esports become the first European team to win a major international title since 2011. G2 managed to win a competition that had long been dominated by Korea and China, beating out SK Telecom T1 and Invictus Gaming to win the Mid-Season Invitational. Now, they will set their sights on another domestic title. G2 are out to win their second straight LEC title and their sixth European crown this summer.   More

The battle between the old guard and the new guard continues to rage in the LCK. After a massively disappointing 2018 season throughout Korea, there were major changes on almost every roster. However, the new blood reigned supreme in the Spring Split. Although SK Telecom T1 won the championship, newcomers Griffin, DAMWON Gaming, and SANDBOX Gaming all made the postseason and Griffin looked like the best team in the region for most of the year. It will be interesting to see how everything plays out in the Summer Split.   More

While the rest of the international League of Legends community is taking this week off prior to the start of their domestic Summer Splits, China is still playing League. Eight of the best teams in the country will be taking part in the National Electronics Esports Tournament (NEST) over the weekend, and the top two teams will qualify for the Demacia Cup this winter.   More

The teams that were heralded as the top three teams at the esports Mid-Season Invitational lived up to the billing during the Group Stage in Vietnam. Invictus Gaming, SK Telecom T1, and G2 Esports were much better than their competition, and although G2 stumbled at the end of the Group Stage, they are still a frisky team. While the first semifinal between Invictus and Team Liquid is seen as a massive mismatch, the second semifinal between SKT and G2 is a lively affair that could be the best series of the competition.   More

Last year’s Mid-Season Invitational was one of the most watched Esports events of all time. Although it didn’t have 127 million viewers as originally reported, nearly 20 million people around the world turned in to watch the competition live. Invictus Gaming are looking to follow in the footsteps of fellow Chinese side Royal Never Give Up and win MSI this year, while SK Telecom T1 are out to win their third MSI in four years. Those are the two heavy favorites coming into this year’s event.   More

Beautiful Paris will be the site of the fourth major tournament of the 2018-19 DOTA 2 season. We will see 16 teams from around the world vie for a greater share of a $1 million prize pool and 15,000 DOTA 2 Pro Circuit Points over the course of eight days in the French capital. With The International three months away, the DPC points are huge as every team wants to make the most lucrative tournament in Esports. The cash is a nice bonus, but the last two winners of The International have pocketed more than $10 million.   More