The arguments between Esports and traditional sports personalities are seen at every corner of the world. We are often said to have failed to explain others about the potential of our sports and the possibility of the traditional sport bearers getting convinced is rare.
That’s what happened during a showmatch between OpTicGaming and LoungeGaming at E-League live at NBA-TNT desk. While analyzing the match Thorin while speaking about how ‘ShahZam’ thrashed and flopped the dreams of LoungeGaming in winning, mocked the star ex-NBA player Shaq’O Neal of his flop box office movie, Kazaam—a jab that is right on point for Inside the NBA, which is known for its playful banter.
The guys at NBA desk also did respond in the same manner:
Thorin: “Problem for them is ShahZam, he turned up. And I am not talking about Kaazam, that terrible movie that Shaq made in the 90’s. I tell you what, it was a terrible movie for the Lounge guys, they didn’t want to see any part of that. What do you think about that?
Richard Lewis: “Takes a lot of steel to say that brother.”
Shaq O’Neal: “We can play any game you want in a couple of weeks. I’ll make you eat those words buddy. We challenge you three.”
Thorin: “What about weight loss? Should we do that?
Shaq O’Neal: “What about muscles? What about boxing—when I come over there and punch you in the face? This is America, the Queen can’t help you out.”
It was a bit of harmless fun from Shields, whose target was a man who proudly stated earlier today that esports was, in fact, a sport—an opinion that some of his peers may not share.
After the reports of being newly tied up by a networking partner, Valve’s official India partner LordNOD announced on twitter that the servers will be up and running and would be better than the previous ones. The game got an update last night which upgraded a lot of audio and visual changes and also added back Indian CSGO servers while queuing up for casuals / competitive and death-match servers.
Source: SteamDB
The highlights of the update apart from the Indian CSGO servers were improvements in the newly added Killer Replay module. The new version of Simple DirectLayer Media has been introduced which will enhances the in-game experience. And a broadcast support for the recently announced CS:GO minor championship.
Indian CSGO servers
45.113.191.132:27015
The servers which were earlier hosted in Mumbai have now been shifted to Hyderabad, due to which the majority of the players are getting hiked pings and a marginal 50% addition to what they previously used to get.
The complete update log can be found below:
[GRAPHICS]
– Visually upgraded all first-person arm, hands and glove models.
[KILLER REPLAY]
– Fixed a bug where client could sometimes get stuck in Killer Replay with a black screen.
– Fixed a bug where victim weapons could sometimes be invisible in Killer Replay.
– Player’s own footstep sounds are now correctly mixed as third-person footsteps during Killer Replay.
– Voice communications are now not faded out before and after Killer Replay.
[SOUND]
– Reduced volume falloff distance for USP-S.
– Removed high frequencies from Killer Replay tape sound.
– Adjusted falloff curve of ricochet and impact sounds.
– Minor mix tweaks.
[MATCHMAKING]
– Added official game servers in India.
[LINUX]
– Upgraded to newer version of libSDL.
– Improved game performance during the end of match scoreboard.
– Sound options now distinguish between headphones vs two-speakers options.
[MISC]
– Added support for in-game broadcast of Regional Minor Championships
Taipei saw some of the best Counter Strike being played in 2010, and yet IEM is back at Taipei in 2016 to bring about even more excitement, which lots of matches to be watched and nails to be chewed. The whole of Asia will see a blood bath as teams battle it out in the IEM Taipei qualifiers, around the entire region to prove themselves worthy of their position. The top two teams from this qualifier will also earn a free slot in the offline qualifier for the MLG Columbus CS:GO Major.
The IEM Taipei qualifiers
The full Intel Extreme Masters Taipei CS:GO qualifier slot distribution and schedule is as follows:
One slot in the East Asian qualifier (Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Mongolia) – January 16th
One slot in the Oceania qualifier (Australia and New Zealand) – January 11th, 14th and 16th
One slot in the Chinese qualifier (China) – January 11th to 16th
One slot in the Indian and Western Asian qualifier (India, the Middle East and everything west of the easternmost border of China excluding CIS countries) – January 12th, 13th, 15th, 16th and 17th
One slot in the South East Asian qualifier (all countries in this region) – January 9th
One slot in the Taiwanese qualifier (Taiwan) – January 23rd and 24th
Additionally, the teams who have been invited to participate in the tournament are as follows:
Renegades (Oceania)
CyberZen (China)
ESL India on the other hand also revealed the list of participants invited for the event. The teams are as below:
Team Brutality – Country: India
Team tMg – Country: India
MXB Gaming – Country: India
Team JPB – Country: United Arab Emirates
Team Impulse – Country: United Arab Emirates
It is happening to witness some of the top Indian teams in the list of invited pariticpants and we’d love to enjoy the show and the thriller these teams would let us have. Follow ESL India for more updates on the news and followups.
Reportedly some of the top Indian players which formerly retired after humiliating losses are returning back to the scene after Intel Extreme Masters reserved a slot for an Asian team. This newly formed team will be representing India at IEM Asian qualifiers which will be held later this year, dates of which aren’t announced yet.
Indian Esports is not a joke, no really trust us, please? Ok, you win.
Although skeptically, but yeah, you do have a good sense of knowledge about the scene here. But, what’s in for this time? Another top player banned? or line-up broke? Nahhhh, this is another roster formation. Hey, please be serious, this is seriously a CS:GO professional national roster of top world-class players representing their nation in an international gaming esports tournament and this team will stay for longer than the participating event would complete.
Reportedly, a set of retired players are coming back to form a new team just to participate in another international level event, only to disbands days later. But is this right though? What about some of the professional organization bearing them without wins and paying them salaries? We have NeckBREAK, Elunes, Brutality and some of the under-developed in the community trying to build the scene but what about these “back-from-the-dead” players who completely over-rule the current scenario and just to attain fame and extend their ego even further, participate in international events?
Ace back from the retirement. Source: Tejas Ace Sawant
We’re talking about here is the newly formed roster which will be attending the Intel Extreme Masters 2016 Asian qualifiers, the line-up as we have been able to derive is:
Tejas ‘Ace’ Sawant – retired
Ayush ‘astaRRRRR Deora – retired
Mithil ‘MithilF’ Sawant – freelancing / inactive
Manan ‘Manan’ Bhat – formerly tMg
Gokul ‘dnm’ Sagar – formerly Virtual Impact
Now not to forget these players haven’t revived suddenly from nowhere, they arewere a part of some organization but they only quit to participate in this event and they will be again back to business, some with Goodbye sympathetic updates and some complaining how life is difficult being an eSports professional in India, oh the irony!
We got some of the top professionals (yes this time we mean literally) to hear their opinions on how these greedy swaps and opportunistic decisions ruins the community conduct and future of Esports in world’s largest democracy.
It’s ridiculous. Once you make a retirement post, make sure you stay retired. Want to make a comeback? Come back and teach/coach the young blood of the country.
– Sid Joshi, Manager, Team NeckBREAK
They announce they have retired. I guess they dont know the meaning or difference between retiring and taking a break. The amount of coordination they show in changing lineups and making new teams, if they could show 10 percent of that in building a team and coordinate well in game, we could do wonders.
(Name hidden on request)
We should definitely have a governing body which would decide who does what and who gets a chance to play. There should be a code of conduct and the way things are being dealt with. It is really difficult for us as well, keeping the records on who’s playing for whom?
The more we have inconsistency the more we’d lack professionalism and skills. These players really swap teams faster than toddlers does diapers. This is me personally asking the community to answer and respond strictly this time. To be a less patriotic and boycott cheering for this interim roster, players of which will choose either ways after losing spontaneously, once again.
EDIT:
We have got a lot of feedback from the community and the majority is supporting the lineup which played under the name Virtual Impact (Venom, Ace, RiX, dnm, Manan) against Team THREAT in MixBot Pro League #2 defeating them 16/14 with powerpact performance by Ankit ‘V3nom’ Panth.
Following rumors of zonic joining in mTw after the world-class former roster was back in action. In a tweet recently by the former TSM players who are currently playing under ‘?’, they announced the possibility and efficiency of Zonic to coach Question Mark.
In a bid to the potential of the team, ex-TSM, currently Team Questionmark, have reached Danny “zonic” Sørensen and signed him as their coach. Sørensen left Danish team mTw to pursue goals with the ex-TSM roll.
We're proud to announce the acquisition of @CSzonic as head coach for Team Questionmark. Throughout 2015 we (cont) https://t.co/pF9HxbgJkO
When we decided to get a coach for 2016, the entire team agreed that only Danny [zonic] would fit as the 6th man on our team. With his vast experience as a top tier player, Danny is able to help us improve on both communication and tactics, while also being aware of what is expected of a professional player. ”
– Karrigan
I am excited about being given the chance to work with one of the best squads in the world. The team did amazing last year, but their goal of becoming the absolutely best in the world made this something I couldn’t say no to. At the same time I would like to thank mTw for their help in this, as well as Dignitas for a great time.
SoStronk recently updated their third party matchmaking client, which is very successful so far in the Southern Asia region, to support various languages from the South East Asia – Mandarin, Vietnamese, Thai, Japanese, etc.. In addition to that, SoStronk Regional Tournament ‘Get Stronk!’ has been announced to help the lower tier and semi-pro teams of the SEA Region to come out and shine.
SoStronk has been always stepped ahead in giving Asian countries a developmental module in the CS:GO industry, Get Stronk! has a whooping prize-pool of more than $1200 USD and the event will be completely finished in time-span of less than two weeks.
The dates, prize pool and rules for the respective regional tournaments can be found on their pages.
Leagues like Get Stronk! are always looked forward to in order to provide some solid ground to fresh talent, because it is very hard to climb the ladder of success, based on victories and upsets in low level local LANs in this region. While it is all good, SoStronk has always gone a step further to organize even bigger tournaments with bigger prize pools , ‘Challenger League’ and ‘King of The Hill’ are two great examples.
It’s about time that SEA teams Get Stronk! and bring about the revolution in the Asian CS:GO Scene.
Nearly a year after a notorious scandal, Valve has clarified their stance on the punishment for match-fixing (that is, conspiring to lose on purpose, typically for the purposes of illicit moneymaking) in pro Counter-Strike: a permanent ban from competition. Not “indefinite.” Permanent.
KQLY was also formerly handed VAC and is banned permanently
With teams like iBuyPower—whose members were found to have participated in a major match-fixing conspiracy in early 2015, rendering their name retroactively hilarious—languishing in “indefinite” time-out, Valve finally handed down a definitive verdict. In short, if anyone has been found guilty of match-fixing or is found guilty in the future, they’re out. Forever. Valve wrote:
“Back in January and early February 2015 we took action after we discovered that a small number of professional CS:GO players were engaged in match-fixing. Our decision was to ban these players indefinitely from involvement in Valve-sponsored events. To clarify, the bans for these players are permanent, and players proven to have taken part in match-fixing will be permanently banned.”
“As the scene grows, it’s an unfortunate reality that some individuals willseek opportunities to take advantage of their fans. We will continue to take whatever action we think is necessary to protect the entertainment value created by professional Counter-Strike, including, on occasion, terminating our relationship with individuals who have demonstrated a willingness to exploit their fans’ faith in the integrity of the sport.”
Valve later confirmed that this permanent ban also applies to Epsilon, another team found to have thrown a match shortly after the iBuyPower controversy. Now, it’s worth noting that this perma-ban only extends to Valve-sponsored events, so theoretically players can compete elsewhere—albeit with significantly limited earning potential.
Valve permanently bans gamblers and fixers
Valve’s scene-splitting lightning bolt from on high has not come without controversy. A lot of eSports fans are pissed that a DOTA 2 player, Alexei “Solo” Berezin, continues to be allowed at Valve-sponsored events despite being the originator of a similar rule in DOTA 2. By fans’ logic, Solo and iBuyPower are in the same situation. They’re originators of this rule in their respective games, so both should either get a perma-ban or be let off easy, since technically they broke the rule before it was solidly in place.
Beyond that, some fans feel like this punishment—while important for the sport’s future health—is too harsh. A year or two-long ban? Sure, that sounds like it’d fit the crime. Life, though? For pros who could’ve played for maybe another decade or so? That’s brutal. And these players could’ve given the North American CSGO scene—which often comes up short against superior EU teams—some much-needed momentum. It’s a rough situation.
Valve, though, stands by their decision. Even if it leaves portions of the CSGO community on shaky footing right now, they believe it’s for the greater good.
“While bans can be disruptive and painful to some members of the community, they are sometimes necessary,” Valve wrote. “We sincerely hope that we won’t have to issue more in the future.”
S1mple Ukranian star player had joined Team Liquid, NA team, replacing Fugly, after being benched by the all-Ukranian team FlipSid3 Tactics. Liquid signs S1mple would be the news to look out for in the 2016 professional run, where NiP already has their new roster unveiled.
When he was in his previous team, we saw his evolution as he got better and better, but his suspension from ESL majors until 1st of February, 2016, was the only thing that would prevent his showcase of elite skills in major LAN play. He’s one of the only players who has extreme raw skill with every gun he picks up in game. He is also known to have some friction with his teammates, but then is also renowned for the fact that he can channel his sense of frustration into beasting out against the other team, with solid self confidence in taking duels against deadly players.
Liquid signs s1mple to bring strongest NA roster
He will appear in the new ESL ESEA Pro League with his new team, hoping to begin maximizing the impact this has on his career.
“This is an incredibly big step for me, for both my career and life experience. I will be moving to a new country where I don’t know anyone, leaving behind my parents, friends and girlfriend in order to pursue a dream I know I can achieve. The pressure to succeed is great, but I know that I can handle it. It means a lot to me to finally join Liquid, and their belief in me was a big part of my decision. I will do everything I can in order to achieve good results. Thank you to all my fans that have continued to support me, and I promise that I will show my full potential.”
Major League Gaming, once the largest esports company in North America, is going out of business. In a special meeting on Dec. 21, MLG’s Board of Directors approved an Asset Purchase Agreement granting Activision Blizzard a large majority of MLG’s assets in exchange for $46 million.
The next day, a letter went out to stockholders informing them of the sale. We have included an excerpt below:
The excerpt from amalgamation
In addition to these changes, CEO Sundance DiGiovanni has been removed from his role and replaced by Greg Chisholm, MLG’s former CFO.
The move was done as a “corporate action taken without a stockholders’ meeting by less than unanimous written consent of our stockholders,” allowed under Section 228(e) of the Delaware General Corporation Law.
Stockholders in this category include Treehouse Capital LLC, Ritchie Opportunistic Trading Ltd., Oak Investment Partners, and Legion Capital Investments LLC—managed by Mike Sepso, co-founder of MLG and current senior vice president of esports at Activision Blizzard.
MLG, as we know it, is over.
Stockholders not in these categories are largely meeting the decision in disbelief. Some speculate that the majority of the sale will go towards paying off MLG’s debts, leaving little to go around for the remaining stockholders. MLG has filed formultiple debt financing rounds this year alone, for a sum of over $6 million. “I got fucked on stock,” said an affected stockholder, who wanted to remain anonymous.
Activision buys out MLG
MLG steps down after leading the esports scene in North America for quite some time. For many years, the company successfully ran tournaments across the United States for StarCraft 2, Call of Duty, and other titles. MLG also announced that it was building an arena in China.
However, MLG has also taken on recent blows, such as when rival ESL was named as the tournament runner for the Call of Duty World League.
Only time will tell how this move affects other MLG ventures, such as the upcoming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Major Championship in Columbus, OH. The only thing known for sure is that MLG, as we know it, is over.
