Super Data Research, who released research earlier this year stating that Riot Games made $624 million in revenue for League of Legends in 2013 and that Dota 2 made around $80 Million, has put out a new report centered on eSports in collaboration with Newzoo.
The report states that viewership across all eSports titles has doubled within the last year, peaking to over 71 million by the end of 2013. Almost half of those viewers, 31.4 million, come from the United States where males account for 70% of frequent viewers and participants. The report finds that the majority of U.S. viewers are males between 21 and 34 years old. The average eSports viewer watches 19 times a month, with a session length of 2.2 hours.
While men represent the majority of the viewership, the report finds that 34% of viewers are women. These statistics contradict an earlier survey held in February showing a huge gender gap, stating that 90-94% of viewership was from men.
“Large companies like Riot Games, Valve, Wargaming and Ubisoft are placing bets on the growing success of eSports worldwide", said SuperData CEO Joost van Dreunen. "And with the booming popularity of streaming services like Twitch, ESL and MLG, it is becoming easier than ever for gamers to connect with other players and form communities that culminate in competitive gaming.” (Ed note: ESL does not have its own streaming service.)
SuperData and Newzoo jointly view the increasing popularity of free-to-play games like League of Legends and Dota 2 to be a major factor in the sector’s growth and a point of opportunity for large advertisers to connect with young, affluent males. Research results also prove that eSports enthusiasts represent the big spenders, not only on PC and console games but also on smartphones and tablets
Newzoo’s report features results from recent nation-wide consumer research in the US and key EU countries. It profiles 31.4M US and 16.3M West-European eSports viewers. The report distinguishes different groups of eSports enthusiasts based on viewing behavior and level of active participation.
40% of eSports viewers can be seen as truly engaged eSports enthusiasts, participating in amateur tournaments and/or watching eSports content regularly. The other 60% illustrate the direct potential for continued growth of the eSports market.
ESports enthusiasts carry the biggest game wallets, with 22% of them being big spenders compared to 8% for all gamers. Contrary to expectation, eSports enthusiasts are more likely than the average gamer to be married, 52% versus 39%, and have a full-time job, 71% versus 50%.
“Long established in Asia, eSports and free-to-play, have now broken out of their niche and into Western markets", says Peter Warman, Newzoo CEO, on the relationship between free-to-play and eSports. "Does this prove there is a direct relationship between the two phenomena? At Newzoo, we believe so. Time spend and engagement have become equally important KPIs as money spend, and that is essentially what eSports delivers”.
The report estimates that League of Legends will see 42 million new players by 2015, topping out at 94 million monthly active users, with Wargaming's World of Tanks predicted to reach $590 Million in revenue by 2015.
Twitch released their own impressive report in January, which includes 12,000,000,000 minutes watched per month, over 45 million unique viewers per month, 1 million broadcasters per month and 6,000,000 total videos broadcast per month. 5,100 of those broadcasters are partners, and minutes watched and videos broadcasts have doubled since 2012, with unique viewers up from 20 million in 2012. Twitch users watch on average 106 minutes of content per day.
“When video game historians will look back on gaming a decade from now, 2013 will be the year they cite as the tipping point of streaming”, said Twitch's VP of Marketing Matthew DiPietro at the time. “Every major event, publisher, developer and media outlet in the gaming industry had a presence on Twitch, and streaming became an ever-present piece of the gaming experience. And it’s only going to get bigger."
With the return of SC2 to the MLG circuit, and the unfortunate cancellation of Dota 2 at the New York-based company's upcoming Anaheim event, it has been announced today that MLG and the Collegiate Starleague will now host the finals of all the major games the collegiate organisation hosts competitions in, which are Dota 2, League of Legends and Starcraft 2.
Last year's CSL grand finals saw universities from all over the world, including South Korea and Denmark fight for the title of champion, which was ultimately claimed by UC Berkeley in SC2, and Texas A&M in League of Legends. This will be the first time Dota 2 is included at the tournament's live finals.
Aside from the CSL, the main attractions at MLG Anaheim will be SC2, CoD: Ghosts and SSBM: Melee.
Paul 'ReDeYe' Chaloner, famed esports commentator and host, is the star of the 23rd episode of 'Reflections'.
Did ReDeYe always have his famous commentator voice? How has his understanding of pacing and energy changed over the years? Is it true that Riot told him he couldn't be a LoL host due to not being female? How can interviewers and hosts overcome the problem of 'The faceless Korean' in SC2? Will his career in the future see him stop appearing on camera?
Time line of topics discussed:
00:06 Intro
00:17 Who is Redeye most generally?
02:14 Did he always have his commentary voice?
03:35 Redeye the early commentator contrasted to now.
07:18 How would he start now?
11:45 Pacing and energy
15:31 Transitioning to becoming a host.
21:42 Keeping newer casters down.
27:27 The story of Riot not letting Redeye get involved with LoL, due to him not being female.
29:00 esports moving on beyond hiring good looking girls for hosting jobs purely on those merits.
32:37 Has the trend in the industry changed?
35:05 Solving the industry perception of the 'faceless Korean' when it comes to interviews.
41:14 Storylines in SC2
44:14 The winner takes all IEM SC2 tournament idea.
50:45 Diversity in tournaments.
55:00 Will Redeye no longer be in front of the camera as his career progresses?
1:01:00 Giving a sports player or commentator as a reference point for each of the following esports players and casters:
Set to take place May 3-4th at the North Austin Events Center in Austin,Texas, the Lone Star Clash 3 will feature a StarCraft 2 invitational worth 1800 World Championship Series Points, a League of Legends challenger invitational and the IvyLoL Season 3 finals.
The Starcraft 2 invitational and the League of Legends challenger invitational will both have a prize pool of $15,000 USD. The IvyLoL Season 3 finals will have a $5,000 USD prize pool.
CEO of WellPlayed, Colin Kierans told onGamers:
“With Lone Star Clash 3 we hope to take the production quality WellPlayed is known for and finally bring it to a live event. We're building new spectating features that have never been seen before in LoL or SC2 productions. We're not only going to be showing these new stats on stream, but people who help fund our Indiegogo will get to browse the stats live during the games in their browser.”
The Challenger Invitational will feature 4 teams in a double elimination best of three format. The Starcraft event will have 16 players, 11 invited players, four qualified players and one player from a Collegiate Star League qualifier. The top two players from each group will advance to the single elimination playoffs.
TeSPA and WellPlayed have also launched an Indiegogo campaign in order to raise the remaining $40,000 USD for the event. When asked about the dependency of the event on raising the initial funds, Colin Kierans, CEO of WellPlayed, told onGamers:
“If the Indiegogo fails we'll have to limit the scope of the event. The event will still go on, but some of things we have planned will need to be toned down or cut altogether. We really want to make this event as great as possible and to do that we need this last bit of funding.”
Several personalities will host and cast the event. For League of Legends, William 'scarra' Li,former mid player for Team Dignitas, and Optimus Tom will cast the event with Rachel 'Seltzer' Quirico hosting. Geoff 'iNcontrol' Robinson and Anna Prosser Robinson will host the Starcraft 2 event. Choi 'Polt' Hun is the first invited player to the Starcraft event.
TeSPA’s Creative director, Jerry Lu told onGamers:
“TeSPA is back with the much anticipated third Lone Star Clash! We're kicking up production a huge notch this time by working with WellPlayed and getting a large venue with a dedicated production setup. Get excited, because this Lone Star Clash is gonna be better than ever! So please check out our Indiegogo and see how you can be apart of this event.”
The long anticipated release of Hearthstone on mobile platforms is starting to come true. Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment told the Wall Street Journal:
"Hearthstone's player base has already grown to more than 10 million registered accounts following the official Windows and Mac release, but we saw that a few people online were holding out for the iPad version"
Morhaime went on to say:
"Instead of calling those folks up individually, we figured we might as well let everyone know that the global iPad rollout for Hearthstone has begun, and pretty soon it'll be available everywhere. The game is a natural fit for tablets--we encourage everyone to check it out on their couch, in their backyard, in a coffee shop . . . or anywhere else they take their iPads."
"A chest of sets created by the community contributor Anuxi."
The Key
"Used to open locked Treasures of the Shaper's Legacy. Double click or right-click the key in your backpack and select the treasure you want to open."
Contains
This chest contains a range of item sets created by community member and workshop artist, Anuxi.
Light of the Solar Divine
Blessings of the Wildwing
Aspects of Summer
Designs of the Slithereen Nobility
Winter Snowdrop
Garments of the Nightsilver Sentinel
Featherfall
Divine Ascension
Flight of the Crescent Moon
Equine Emissary
Bonus Rewards
This chest has a chance of unlocking a new "Shadow Flame" set for Dazzle created by Anuxi. This bonus item will come in addition to one of the sets seen above. It will also be provided with the Genuine quality tag.
In Game Preview
UI Updates
The Examine Chest UI has been updated to reflect what the Unusual couriers are with the additional of a new tooltip.
This has also been carried over to the armoury.
Back End Changes
Updated Strings
More strings relating to abandons, disconnections and party punishment.
+ "DOTA_Chat_AbandonedRankedBeforeFirstBloodParty""When a player abandons a ranked game before first blood, their entire party receives a loss, even though stats are not otherwise recorded."
+ "dota_safe_to_abandon_match_not_scored_network""Poor network conditions have been detected, and this game will not be scored. It is now safe to leave."
+ "dota_party_forfeited_match""Your party has forfeited the game and will receive a loss."
Strings for the updated UI showing Unusual couriers.
+ "DOTA_UnusualCourier""Unusual Courier"
+ "DOTA_UnusualCourier_Desc""Random courier w/ special FX and colors."
+ "DOTA_Item_Shadow_Flame_Genuine_Desc""A genuine version of Shadow Flame for Dazzle."
The name of the Ethereal Gems (Unusual particle effect gems) for the unreleased Ice and Lava Baby Roshan couriers.
+ "Attrib_Particle205""Touch of Frost"
+ "Attrib_Particle206""Touch of Flame"
The name of the Prismatic Gems (Colour altering gems) for the unreleased Ice and Lava Baby Roshan couriers.
+ "UnusualLavaRoshan""Pyroclastic Flow"
+ "UnusualIceRoshan""Glacial Flow"
Roshan's Gift
There is a new gift in the files labelled as "pw_roshan_gift" which suggests that this item has been added for use on the Perfect World servers for the Chinese user base.
The gift in question has the chance of opening either a Lava Baby Roshan package or a Ice Baby Roshan package.
Lava Baby Roshan
The Lava Baby Roshan courier comes with a new "Touch of Flame" Ethereal Gem coloured with the new "Pyroclastic Flow" Prismatic Gem.
Ethereal Gem Preview
The "Touch of Flame" particle effect is still work in progress and is subject to change.
Prismatic Gem
The new "Pyroclastic Flow" Prismatic Gem
Potential Additional Item
When opening the gift there is a chance that you will get a "Roshan's Rage Loading Screen" along with your Lava Baby Roshan.
Ice Baby Roshan
The Ice Baby Roshan courier comes with a new "Touch of Frost" Ethereal Gem coloured with the new "Glacial Flow" Prismatic Gem.
Ethereal Gem Preview
The "Touch of Frost" particle effect is still work in progress and is subject to change.
Prismatic Gem
The new "Glacial Flow" Prismatic Gem
Potential Additional Item
When opening the gift there is a chance that you will get a "Roshan's Green Loading Screen" along with your Lava Baby Roshan.
Perfect World Treasure Chests
The only Treasure Chests that are currently dropping for the Perfect World players (Chinese user base) are in the list below.
All of these Treasure Chests have recently had their art style changed into a scroll case type icon (Like Anuxi's new Treasure Chest) which suggests that there may be a potential conflict with the old Treasure Chests being available to Perfect World players.
Treasure of Dire Arms
Treasure of Radiant Arms
Treasure of the Forbidden Lotus
Treasure of Crystalline Chaos
Treasure of the Cursed Wood
Treasure of Incandescent Wax
Treasure of the Shaper Divine
Treasure of the Shaper's Legacy
Other Changes
Sands of Luxor Loading Screen
The Sands of Luxor Loading Screen that comes with the Dota2VO Ability Cup #1 ticket bundle has now been fixed.
Sands of Luxor HUD Skin
The Sands of Luxor HUD Skin that comes with the Dota2VO Ability Cup #1 ticket bundle has now been fixed.
With EU Spring Split regular season coming to a close, with only one day left in the competition, there are of course tie breakers still left for key positions. Here are the standings right now:
As we can see, SK has clinched first place and SHC and MIL have clinched relegation - but the second place spot (which includes a bye to the second round) is still up for grabs, and the battle for 7th or 8th place is still real.
Battle for Second Place - Possible 3 way tie. FNC, ROC, and ALL
Right now the three contenders for 2nd place are Fnatic, Roccat and Alliance, and this can lead to a 3 way tie between these teams. If Alliance wins both games (one vs GMB, one vs CW), and Roccat wins against Fnatic, this will put a 3 way tie for second place as they will all have the record of 16-12. And since there is no clear head to head winner, it will end up with a round-robin play off according to LCS rules! This is pretty plausible, as Alliance is favored according to my previous statistical predictions in their last two matches, and Roccat has a strong red side (69% win rate) compared to Fnatic's blue side (61.5% win rate).
3rd place tie - Possible 3 way tie. ROC, ALL, and GMB
The second big tie is a possible 3 way tie for third place. What would need to happen here is if Alliance loses to Gambit, and Roccat loses to Fnatic, which would create a 3 way tie between ROC, ALL and GMB with records of 15-13. Since no team has a clear head to head favorite, this would again be a 3 way play-off round robin.
Battle at the Bottom - Possible 2 way tie. MIL and SHC, MIL has tiebreaker
The third possible tie would be when Millenium keeps up their good week and beats SK, while SHC loses to CW, this will put them both at the record of 10-18. However, despite this tie there wouldn't be a play-off, instead MIL would take the 7th seed due to their head to head record, which MIL has won 3 out of the 4 games against SHC. This spot is a very important battle due to ability to choose your opponent when it comes to relegation.
Tie for first - Possible 2 way tie. SK and FNC, but SK has tiebreaker
The last tie to discuss is that if SK loses their game against MIL, and FNC wins their game against ROC, they will both be tied at 17-11 for first place. However, since SK has beat FNC 3 out of 4 games this season, they have the tiebreaker and that is why they are currently labeled as clinching first place.
Overall, there is likely to be a tiebreaker given how close the standings are between each team (there are a few possible 2-way ties for non-consequential spots like 3-4 or so that I didn't list). The only scenario where there wouldn't be at least one tie is if Alliance wins both their games, while Fnatic wins over Roccat. This would leave everyone at least one game apart and tiebreaker-free. Given this crazy scenario I wanted to take a look at each team throughout the season to see how this split has developed. To do this we took spark lines for each team's win loss so you can see the large streaky-ness in the EU scene:
Data collected with help by the onGamers Stats team: Derek 'Kathix' Adams, Steven 'whedgehead' Falgout, Kent 'Traepoint' Frasure, Jake Morales, and James 'PelkaSupaFresh' Pelkey. Design by Ben 'Sarcasmappreciated' Li.
As onGamers has previously reported, FLUFF found himself teamless after being dropped from Team Liquid following the writing of an incredibly critical blog directed at himself as well as his team mates. Whilst he remained on the team after the publication of said blog, Liquid's results kept on disappointing and Lee was asked to leave the team.
Whilst rumours were ablaze and varied greatly about where the former captain would end up, spanning from retiring all-together or travelling to South Korea, it has now been settled that FLUFF will be competing together with SNA, which includes former Team Liquid member ixmike as well, who currently acts as the offlaner for the team. The goals for the team currently are to be eligible to compete in the North American qualifiers for 2014's edition of The International.
SNA debuted yesterday in a Bo3 showmatch series against Revenge eSports, which was won by the American team with a score of 2-1. Aside from this, the precursor to SNA, Wild Witch Doctors, has won a number of weekly cups before the addition of Lee, and has also secured a spot in the semi-finals of the joinDota League's American division.
Duk, who is widely considered as one of SC2's greatest competitors ever, has decided to leave the only team he's been a part of throughout his SC2 career. Together with Jeong 'Mvp' Jong Hyeon, NesTea helped cement the Incredible Miracle name in to every fan of the franchise, as they in total secured more than $600,000 and seven GSL titles for the team.
NesTea's departure from IM was made public by Global Esports Management, of whom the zerg player is currently a client. They also stated that they will help him secure a new deal with a team that are willing to let him compete more actively in tournaments.
- Fix bug sometimes counting players as leavers if the game ended while gameserver connectivity to Steam was disrupted
- Fix bug not always marking the game as safe to leave if the leaver disconnected and abandoned quickly
Hero Model Breakdowns
Clockwerk's Model
The Workshop breakdown for Clockwerk's model has been updated to break his rocket away from the armour piece.
Default Parts
Clockwerk's Head
Clockwerk's Things (Armour)
Clockwerk's Rocket
Clockwerk's Weapon
Clockwerk's Things
Clockwerk's Rocket
Clockwerk Announcer Pack
"This pack replaces the Default announcer and Mega-Kills announcer with the metal moxie of Clockwerk. Includes the Telebolt Projektor cog item for Clockwerk!"
Announcer Pack Preview
Telebolt Projektor
"Some inventions are too controversial for their age. When the Telebolt Projektor was first unveiled almost a century ago, the audience quickly decided that the thunderous energy of heavens should probably stay in the heavens."
The Telebolt Projektor includes a special Teleboltin'! Kinetic Gem that adds a number of new animations in for Clockwerk.
New Animations
Telebolt Teleport
Telebolt Victory
Telebolt Power Cogs
Teleport Animation Preview
Telebolt Projektor - In Game Preview
GIF Previews
New League Passes
The Inaugural
12 of the best teams from SEA, Korea, and Oceania will battle it out for their share of the $3,000 prize pool.
WVW National Electronic Sports Classic
China's top teams gather to compete for a prize pool of $25,500!
Digital Wars Online Season 2
The Digital Wars Online Season 2 is an online gaming tournament for Indian Dota 2 Community where teams will compete for a prize pool of Rs. 50,000!
Copa Argentina
The best Argentinian teams will compete for over $800 in prizes! The Argentinean Cup will be covered by Livedota, the biggest Latin American Dota Community.
FES League: Championship Kick-Off Season
The top 16 teams from around the United Kingdom will compete in this new UK Dota 2 League to become champions!
The Vas'Avi Amateur Cup Season 1
The Vas'Avi Amateur Cup provides experience for those up and coming teams to compete for an $800 prize pool!
Hungarian Premier League Season 7
The biggest event of Hungary countinues! Teams will fight for three weeks to be at the LAN FINAL and claim the prize pool!
D2L Western Challenge
Eight of the world's best Dota 2 teams from the west return to the D2L for over $50,000! Each ticket purchased will increase the prize pool by $2.50!
League of Polarity Season 2
The top amateur teams go up against the best teams in Europe and CIS in the second season of the League of Polarity!
ASUS ROG Dota 2 Cup
The ASUS ROG Dota 2 Cup will take place at the Insomnia51 Gaming Festival. Up to 64 teams will compete for a total prize pool of up to £5,000!
GameRing Dota 2 Female League
This six week long tournament is female only's competing for a prize pool of 50,000 RUB.
Fragbite Masters 2014
Fragbite Masters 2014 consists of twelve professional teams competing alongside a bracket open to amateur teams for a prize pool of over 200,000 SEK.
The Ivory Tower League
The Ivory Tower League puts different schools of Beijing University fighting to become champions!
New League Passes - With Item Sets
DreamHack Bucharest 2014 Invitational
"Four of the top Dota 2 teams from around the word compete during the DreamHack Bucharest 2014 Invitiational Tournament. The base prize pool is $25,000 and increased by $2.50 for each ticket sold! This bundle gives you access to view games from DreamHack Bucharest 2014 and the Noble Warrior Phantom LancersSet."
Noble Warrior Phantom Lancers Set
Sweaty Cup 2
"32 semi-pro and professional teams participate in the 2nd season of the Sweaty Tournament with a $1,200 prize pool. This unblde gives access to view games from the Sweaty Cup 2 Tournament and the Deep Observer ward."
Deep Observer Ward
ElPadrinoth Latin Cup
"The best 16 teams from the Latin America Region compete for a $450 prize pool. This bundles gives you access to view games from the ElPadrinoth Latin Cup Tournament and Spanky the Daggerfish Slark Weapon."
Spanky the Daggerfish Slark Weapon
League of Dota Season 4
"League of Dota returns with 10 North American amateur teams playing over the course of one month. Teams compete for $400 three times a week. This ticket includes the Greater Purifier and Lesser Purifier Ember Spirit Sword Set!"
Greater Purifier and Lesser Purifier Ember Spirit Sword Set
CIS Dota 2 League Season 2
"16 semi-pro teams compete for a $200 prize pool. This bundle gives access to view games from the CIS Dota 2 League Season 2 and the Force of Spirit HUD."
Force of Spirit HUD
Techlabs Moscow Cup 2014
"The Techlabs Cup returns with prize pool of $20,000 up for grabs. Featuring both established and upcoming teams, the tournament will showcase what the CIS region has to offer. Bundle includes the official Techlabs Moscow Cup 2014 HUD skin!"
Techlabs Moscow Cup 2014 HUD skin
American Dota 2 League Season 2
"Some of the best teams from North and South America compete for a $10,000 prize pool. This bundle gives access to view games from the American Dota 2 League Season 2 tournament and the Black Monolith HUD."
Black Monolith HUD Skin
Back End Changes
Updated Strings
We have some more updates to the hero ability and tooltip strings.
+ "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_nevermore_requiem_Description""Captured souls are used to deal massive damage, as well as slowing and reducing the attack damage of nearby enemy units. Requiem of Souls creates one wave of damage for every 2 souls stored by Necromastery. The closest enemy units are hit the hardest. Requiem of Souls has a 1.67 second cast time before it is activated. Requiem of Souls is automatically cast when Shadow Fiend dies, independent of its cooldown."
+ "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_morphling_replicate_Description""Morphling replicates any hero, friend or foe, dealing 50%% of the original Hero's outgoing damage while taking 100%% of any incoming damage. At any time, Morphling can instantly take the position of the Replicate for 150 mana."
+ "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_bloodseeker_blood_bath_Description""Bloodseeker revels in combat, regaining health with every unit he kills or whenever an enemy Hero dies within a 325 radius of Bloodseeker. The health gained is a percentage of the killed unit's maximum HP."
+ "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_bloodseeker_thirst_Description""Enables Bloodseeker to sense enemy Heroes with health below a certain percentage wherever they are, giving him vision of that unit, increased movement speed and increased damage. Bonuses stack per Hero. Bloodseeker gains True Sight of enemy Heroes below half their visiblity threshold."
+ "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_jakiro_liquid_fire_Description""Jakiro burns his enemies in an area of effect with fire added to his attack, while slowing their attacks.\n\nLiquid Fire is a Unique Attack Modifier, and does not stack with other Unique Attack Modifiers."
+ "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_wisp_relocate_Note0""Enemies receive a visual indicator in the world and on the minimap of the target location during the cast delay."
+ "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_phoenix_sun_ray_Description""Drawing from its own inner fire, Phoenix expels a huge beam of light at the cost of its own life energy. The beam damages enemies for a percentage of their life and heals allies for half the amount. Damage scales up to twice the initial damage as the beam fires."
+ "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_phoenix_supernova_Description""The Phoenix willingly ends its current life for the chance to be reborn. Transforms into a burning sun that scorches enemies in a huge area. The sun can be destroyed by attacks from enemy Heroes. After %tooltip_duration% seconds the sun explodes, stunning all nearby enemies while restoring Phoenix to full health and mana with refreshed abilities."
+ "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_terrorblade_sunder_Description""Severs the soul from both Terrorblade and a target Hero, then exchanges them, carrying a percentage of each units' life force. The target Hero is also dealt a ministun. Some hit points must remain."
+ "DOTA_Tooltip_modifier_item_mjollnir_static_Description""When attacked, there is a 20%% chance that lightning will strike attacker and 4 other nearby enemies."
+ "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_item_mjollnir_Description""Active: Static Charge - Places a charged shield on a target unit which has a %static_chance%%% chance to release a bolt of lightning at an attacker and %static_strikes% nearby enemies.\nPassive: Chain Lightning - Grants a chance on attack to release a Chain Lightning that hits %chain_strikes% targets, dealing damage.\n\nMjollnir is a Unique Attack Modifier that stacks with other Unique Attack Modifiers, but overrides them when Chain Lightning occurs."
+ "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_item_mjollnir_Note0""Static Charge cannot trigger more than once per second."
+ "DOTA_Tooltip_ability_item_mjollnir_Note1""Static Charge's lightning deals magical damage, the damage source and secondary targets cannot be more than 900 range away, the 3 targets hit must be in a cone with 125 starting radius, 475 distance and 300 final radius."
While the NA standings are not as close as the EU standings, there should still be plenty of drama going into superweek. I built a model to create predictions on this weekend’s outcome, and the results are as follows:
The model uses a team’s win rate on blue or red side, the matchup’s head to head record (ex: since C9 has a 2-1 record against TSM, they have a “66.6% win rate” against TSM, while TSM has “33.3% win rate”), and I looked at the win rate of their last 5 games (ex: TSM has gone 4-1 in last 5 games, giving them an “80% win rate”). I then took these three factors and added them together, giving double weight to the blue/red side statistic, as that is a very important stat. After calculating each teams likelyhood to win, it is then compared to each other, and the team with the higher value is predicted to win. I then used this difference to create a “strength of prediction” seen below. An example here can be TSM vs C9. TSM has a .916 blue win rate, .8 win rate in last 5 games, and .333 h2h win rate, C9 has respectively .6666 red win rate, 1.0 win rate in last 5 games, and .6666 h2h win rate. Putting this together (given that blue/red win rate has double weight), TSM has a prediction value of 2.97, while C9 has a prediction value of 3.00, giving a 50.4% likelyhood of C9 winning.
Here is the stats breakdown of each match of the superweek:
As you can see, there are some very close matches such as CLG vs C9, XDG vs DIG, TSM vs C9, EG vs CRS, and XDG vs EG. I wanted to break down in more detail a few of these matchups
The race for first place
There are two big battles here for key spots, one is the battle for first place betwen TSM and C9. They will most likely be decided by two key matches, TSM vs C9 and CLG vs C9. The important factor here is that C9 will be on red side in both of these key matches. C9 has a 100% win rate on blue, with only a 66.6% win rate on red - this is a huge difference, and while C9 is on a huge win streak (8 in a row) it is still a nervous week as they play both of the other top tier teams with a significant disadvantage.
The race for last place
The second big battle is the race for last place, which is very important due to the fact that LMQ is lurking in the challenger scene, and you don’t want to have to face them. Currently XDG and EG are tied, and they play each other for the last game of the season. This could be a really huge game seeing as the predicition model doesn’t have either of them winning a match up to that point. Again though, XDG is at a big advantage because of their blue side, they have won 5 games on blue while only 1 on red - it is clearly their best side and they almost have a winning record on blue (5-6). Overall, blue vs red will be a huge factor this weekend as we see the closing of the split.
Data collected with help by the onGamers Stats team: Derek 'Kathix' Adams, Steven 'whedgehead' Falgout, Kent 'Traepoint' Frasure, Jake Morales, and James 'PelkaSupaFresh' Pelkey. Design by Ben 'Sarcasmappreciated' Li.
With three Korean heavyweights in their group, it isn’t a suprise that the ametur Prime Optimus haven’t won a single game. It isn’t looking like they will be able to win their last game in Champions before heading to NLB either. SKTS S have shown signs of excellence in recent months and won’t struggle versus Prime Optimus. When you’re lead by the mastermind behind the best team in the world, kk0ma, your team is bound to have success. As the first team to take down SKT K in 6 months with a 2-0 record versus the KT Arrows to boot, it’s looking like SKT S could gear up for a strong playoff run.
Although performing well, MaRin hasn’t lived up to the hype of being “the faker of toplane.” Rather, MaRin has displayed gradual improvement through Champions and Masters since last season. It seems that failing to advance to playoffs, after losing a single game tiebreaker versus CJ Blaze, has reinstilled a path of excellence for SKT S. As their sister team falls to NLB, it will be up to S to uphold the prestigious SKT name in Korea.
Midas FIO vs Samsung Ozone
In an even more lopsided group, Ozone are the only team to not drop a game in this season of Champions. Though, that isn’t saying much when their only true competition is CJ Frost. Ozone is enjoying their spot at the top in Champions and 2nd in Masters.
Midas FIO was unknown entering this season of Champions, but with League veteran 'woong' as coach, there was some Optimus for this ametur team. However, the raw talent on CJ Frost and the experience of Incredible Miracle proved to be too strong. Ozone simply outclasses Midas FIO, and will give them two more losses before they head to NLB.
The video in question Gehlen urged his viewers to watch was a promotional clip provided by Nvidia, who would provide a grand total of $1,000 to the prizepool if it reached the amount of views specified. According to TaKe, the video was a success and the amount of hits it received prompted three other companies to invest in to the pool. Subscribers to Gehlen's Twitch.tv stream, who are dubbed "Ultras", also stepped up to the plate and donated a total of $2550 to the cause, as well custom trophies for the top 3 at the invitational.
This totals the pool at $6,050, and will be split between the top 4 finishers.
So far no players have been revealed for the event, which will take place between May 3-4.
Seok, who joined EG to bolster their line-up for the first-ever strictly SC2 season of the Shihan Bank Proleague last year has now joined team MVP. The Korean team managed to reach the finals of last week's Proleague playoffs for the second round of the year-long circuit, where they were unable to defeat the eventual winners Jin-Air Green Wings.
aLive's 2013 saw him with an overall score of 6 wins and 7 losses in Proleague together with EG. He also attended three consecutive WCS finals in a row, but was unable to qualify for the WCS Grand Finals that took place at last year's BlizzCon.
Last week Valve's Free To Play Dota 2 documentary was officially released to the world to rave reviews from those within the Dota community, and in the larger gaming sphere. The documentary was seen by over 5.5 million viewers in its opening weekend of release, making it one of the most watched debuts of any documentary.
Featured early on in the documentary is Houston Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin. Lin, a professional basketball player who graduated from Harvard and has worked hard to get to where he is in the NBA after going undrafted in 2010, is an avid Dota player.
Lin's longtime attraction to Dota has been known to the public for several years, having installed the Dota 2 beta during his injured downtime while playing for the New York Knicks. Lin told SGamer last year about his favorite heroes being Spirit Breaker, Phantom Assassin, Tide Hunter and Ogre Magi.
While Lin leads his Rockets team in the second-half of the NBA season to a top playoff spot, he spoke to onGamers about his favorite professional Dota player, the future of eSports and how his love for Dota has lasted over a decade.
"I started playing Dota 1 when I was a Sophomore in high school", Lin told onGamers. "I started playing Dota 2 when it came out and I've been playing it until now. Nowdays I actually don't play a lot, I've only played a couple times in the last month, but normally I'll play 2-3 times a week."
In the documentary Lin says that "Dota is a way of life". Lin explains how Dota has not only been a competitive experience for him, but one that's helped him connect to family and friends over the years.
"What I said by that was just to me, it's more than just a game", he says. "To me, my brothers and friends, we have a group of five that always love playing together and we've all been playing together since our sophomore year of high school. So when I say it's a way of life, it's more than just a game, it's a chance for us to play and catch up on life. It's something that's been really incorporated into our lives for years and years, consistently, no matter where you are."
"I went to college on the East coast, the guys moved all over the United States, but we still play. We have guys in Central, Eastern, and Pacific time zones so it's bigger than just a game to us."
The work ethic, dedication and drive needed to be the best is something Lin sees in both professional basketball and Dota players. As team games, Lin draws parallels between the two.
"I think it's very similar when you want to go professional in any type of competition. It takes a ton of work, it takes a lot of strategy, it takes a lot of commitment and takes a lot of discipline", he says. "So I would say Dota and basketball are actually kind of similar in the fact that they're 5 on 5 games. In basketball you have the point guard, the wings and forwards. In Dota you have three categories too; agility, strength, and magic/intel. You definitely have to understand the game and work on it, hone your skills."
Lin, an American of Chinese and Taiwanese descent, says he has no attachment to either the Chinese or American teams. Lin says his favorite player is actually Free To Play co-star and International 2011 Champion, Na`Vi's Danil 'Dendi' Ishutin.
The man Lin and his teammates must answer to, Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey, who recently joined Major League Gaming's board of directors, has said previously that pro gamers are athletes. Both Morey and Lin have high hopes for the future of eSports and players such as Ishutin.
"Hopefully Dota will kind of take a rise like poker did", Lin says. "You saw that as just a card game and then it went big, started showing up on ESPN and then the World Series of Poker became this big thing."
"I think video games and Dota is definitely on that path. You look at Dota The International or some of the other tournaments, those things are getting streamed globally and there's definitely a huge fan base for that."
In his off time Lin runs the Jeremy Lin Foundation, which aims to help underprivileged children in the Houston area and country wide. While Lin loves gaming, he's happy to keep the kids outside for now.
"Right now I'd like to run around and play sports. In general, kids are growing up on technology and already have enough entertainment. Not to say that video games can't be used in the future."
Watch Jeremy Lin and the Houston Rockets against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday at 9:30 PM PST.
As the last Super Week of the European LCS Spring Split is over, we now know who will head to the playoffs and who will have to play in relegations. While we only know two teams for sure that have to play relegations now, as top 6 teams still have to battle around 6th place and therefore the last team that has to go to relegations, we can still see a trend already who might be more in danger of going there than others.
But in case you missed all the action, or even only some of it, let's take a look at what actually happened in this Super Week that was packed with 16 games!
Tuesday
Fnatic vs. Alliance - Fnatic win at 50:34 - Overall match value: 4 on 5
Best play: At 40:30, Cyanide gets caught by Alliance. He rappels into the air, gets back down, having the backup of his team now. YellOwStaR went in with his ult and Q from Leona, enabling xPeke on LeBlanc to Ult-Distortion into all of Alliance. With all of Alliance being fairly low now, Rekkles was able to dish out a lot of damage on Vayne, giving him a doublekill and getting a total of 3 for 0 in this fight, then being able to pick up a free baron.
MVP: Condemning his enemies into the walls all over Summoners Rift, Rekkles played amazing on Vayne in this match! He was really good at splitpushing and later on taking down his enemies with great positioning and his team preparing kills for him. With Vayne being a late-game shining champion, the game length of 50 minutes really went in favor of Fnatic here!
Roccat vs. Supa Hot Crew - Roccat win at 32:01 - Overall match value: 3,5 on 5
Best play: VandeR landing a hook on SELFIE in the botlane at 30:49, following up with his ult, Jinx' Ult and Renekton going in, just eliminating SELFIE from the map. After this they just took two bot towers and an inhibitor, following up with toplane inhib, and then proceeded to take the victory.
MVP: Jankos on Lee Sin. He stole away a dragon, saved his teammates lives a lot of times and played on the side of no risk, no fun - and it worked out for him and his team. They took a smooth victory and won nearly every teamfight, giving them a lot of play potential with the Lee Sin pick.
SK Gaming vs. Fnatic - SK Gaming win at 38:26 - Overall match value: 3,5 on 5
Fnatic ambushing SK Gaming in the toplane
Best play: YellOwStaR hitting his ultimate Solar Flare onto Jinx and Karma in the toplane at 10:31, after he and Rekkles as well as Cyanide have been waiting in the top tribush for the enemy lane to get back. They first took down Jinx between the two toplane towers, to then moved back towards the middle of the lane, killing nRated in the process. YellOwStaR tanks the tower and gets taken low but manages to stay alive.
MVP: Jesiz on Ziggs, going 10/3/4. Having an insanely strong game, Jesiz has shown yet again that he knows how to play Ziggs. Placing some great ultimates onto the Rift as well as zoning with his Hexplosive Minefield, he was a major factor in his team's path to victory.
Millenium vs. Supa Hot Crew - Millenium win at 35:32 - Overall match value: 3,5 on 5
Best play: SELFIE with a nice Shockwave at 28:30, catching multiple members of Millenium and dealing a nice chunk of damage. However, Jree quickly reacted with casting his own ultimate, Solar Flare, on the SHC members, which then allowed their team to turn the fight around and make it a 2 for 4.
MVP: kev1n on Shyvana, being the big tank and initiator for his team. Being able to isolate members of the enemy team with his ultimate as well as taking all the damage the enemy puts out, he had the incredible stats of 6/1/18.
Copenhagen Wolves vs. Gambit Gaming - Copenhagen Wolves win at 41:33 - Overall match value: 4 on 5
Best play: At 23 minutes into the game, after Alex on Zed tried to kill Unlimited on Karma and got poked down pretty low he tried to escape through the toplane tribush. However Heimerdinger was waiting in the bush, having put a turret in the river. The laserbeam shoots and just a splitsecond before it hits, Alex flashes over it, saving his life and ensuring that his escape works.
MVP: YoungBuck on Heimerdinger with stats of 5/1/5, zoning Gambit Gaming really well with his turrets and poking them down slowly. Playing him in the toplane versus a Ryze, he did really well with his poke and positioning, helping his team secure victory.
Wednesday
Alliance vs. Millenium - Millenium win at 50:04 - Overall match value: 3,5 on 5
Best play: Froggen letting himself get caught at 21:15, using his wild growth on himself immediately, knocking up the enemies around him. Tabbz quickly put down the Flame Chompers behind Froggen, who sped himself up to get out of the big mess. kev1n went after him with Shyvana's ultimate, getting caught in the prepared chompers and giving Alliance a solid kill.
MVP: Kerp on Ziggs with a nearly perfect score of 7/1/17. Why you do not ban Ziggs when playing against Kerp, I do not understand. Yet again he has shown his skill on the Hexplosives Expert, showing us what is possible with this champion when put in the right hands. He had a really good focus this game, playing it to his absolute best!
Gambit Gaming vs. Roccat - Gambit Gaming win at 24:49 - Overall match value: 3 on 5
Best play: After a big teamfight around minute 19 when Gambit took down the mid inhibitor, Darien is at 109 hp. Jankos lands his Q on him, jumps, but Gambit are quick to react and pick up the kill on him with the help of Genja on Caitlyn, saving Darien's life who was then able to recall to base.
MVP: Diamond on Kha'Zix with a perfect score of 7/0/1. This has just shown again why you should ban Kha'Zix when playing against Gambit Gaming. A beast in both Alex's and Diamond's hands, it was Diamond who dominated the game with him this time. Chasing down low-health targets to assassinate them, he was a huge factor as to why and how Gambit won this game.
Supa Hot Crew vs. SK Gaming - SK Gaming win at 41:40 - Overall match value: 3,5 on 5
Best play: Ahri landing a charm on SELFIE's Nidalee at 25:42. They force out Lulu's Wild Growth but SELFIE still goes down after which the teamfight goes in an unfavorable way for SHC, making it a 3 for 1 for SK Gaming that resulted in them taking down two midlane turrets.
MVP: CandyPanda on Jinx, dealing an immense amount of damage, picking himself up a triple kill and having great zoning potential with his flame chompers. He just shredded the towers as well as the enemy team and finished the game with stats of 6/1/4.
Millenium vs. ROCCAT - ROCCAT win at 29:38 - Overall match value: 3 on 5
Best play: After an unsuccessful Baron contest at 25:10, Kerp managed to zone himself out behind the pit. Overpow and Jankos smelled blood and chased down the lost Lulu. The chase went from Baron pit, through upper golems, inner ROCCAT turret and all the way to bot lane Wight, before Overpow was able to dispose of Lulu.
MVP: Although no one actually shone in this game, Jankos delivered a very stable performance throughout the match. Ensuring first blood by punishing Kev1n's overextension on top was just the beginning for the Pole. Racking up objectives and kills wherever he goes, Jankos finished the game with a 2-0-6 score and added a very important victory to his team's record.
SK Gaming vs. Copenhagen Wolves - SK win at 28:55 - Overall match value: 3,5 on 5
A usual sight this game.
Best play: SK manged to assert their dominance quite early in this match. At around 17:05, they initiated a mid turret dive onto the Wolves and quickly grabbed a kill. Unfortunately, CandyPanda attracted turret aggro and was left incredibly low. Seeing the opportunity, Amazing quickly flashed after the bleeding AD Carry, but a split-second reaction from both Jesiz's Kayle and nRated's Leona saved CandyPanda who walked away with a sliver of health. A sigh of relief from AD Carries everywhere!
MVP: Without a doubt the MVP for this match is nRated. The sheer amount of Leona ultimates he successfully landed and E, Q combos he hit was staggering. Being a force to be reckoned with during the 2v2 phase, he quickly transitioned to roaming and again caught players from the Wolves time after time, ensuring picks, objectives and the gold lead for his team.
Gambit Gaming vs. Fnatic - Fnatic win at 43:11 - Overall match value: 4 on 5
Best play: Being on the back foot ever since the beginning, Gambit were always looking for a window of opportunity to put a wrench in Fnatic's wheels. Around 35:17, Fnatic confidently besieged Baron Nashor and while two people from their front line managed to hold Gambit at bay, EdWard stole the Baron with a perfect Leona ult. Despite this incredible play, Gambit still wasn't strong enough and eventually fell to Fnatic's monstrous composition.
MVP: Rekkles continues his dominating run through the EU LCS. This time, the youngster not only managed to secure more tower takedowns and more kills, but outfarmed Genja by more than 100 CS for the majority of the game. Outclassing his counterpart in every single aspect, the Swede was a key component in the victory against the Russians.
Friday
Millenium vs. SK Gaming - SK win at 28:24 - Overall match value: 3,5 on 5
Best play: Once again, the spotlight is at nRated's Leona. After an engage onto the duo lane of Millenium at 10:20, the SK players had a nasty surprise from Kottenx who was lingering in the bush, waiting for a good opportunity. Regardless, nRated managed to hold three people long enough by perfectly chaining his CC and allowed CandyPanda to secure a kill before his comrade fell.
MVP: While many would put CandyPanda as the MVP given his incredible Twitch performance, we cannot simply neglect fredy122's monstrous Trundle. The troll not only devastated Kev1n, but became a brick wall once the teamfights came. At times tanking up to four enemies, fredy showcased not only his mastery of the anti-tank, but also an aggressive play style which left Millenium wondering whether the troll would ever die.
Copenhagen Wolves vs. Supa Hot Crew - CW win at 35:48 - Overall match value: 3 on 5
An amazing hook by Migxa onto... Amazing.
Best play: After a safe disengage, the Wolves found themselves in a rather sticky situation - four people from the Crew were chasing while Selfie was trying to flank. Everyone was waiting for a second fight and it was Migxaa's amazing hook which made it happen. At 18:40, the French player flashed and managed to catch Amazing despite his team being clumped up.
MVP: YoungBuck rarely gets the chance to shine with people like Amazing and Forg1ven racking up kill after kill. This time, however, Joey silenced everyone and once again brought out Heimerdinger. For the second time in a row, YoungBuck outfarmed and completely outplayed his opponent, making sure to engage at the right time and pushed his pick to the limits. An absolutely deserved MVP.
Alliance vs. Gambit Gaming - Alliance win at 36:46 - Overall match value: 4 on 5
Best play: Alliance were beating Gambit to the ground after the early game went disastrous for the Russians. Near the end, Darien got caught by 4 people from Alliance. As EdWard threw his Thresh lantern in a desperate attempt to save his teammate, Nyph landed a crucial bubble denying the Russian and securing the kill. The subsequent fail flash by Darien only added insult to injury.
MVP: Although the game was more or less a one-sided affair, Nyph showcased amazing plays and ensured that Tabzz is not only safe, but also fed. Turning the tides of battle multiple times during the course of the game, the German finished with an impressive score of 0-0-11. This is a return to the Nyph we are used to seeing after the rather poor performance during the first seven weeks. Things have started "clicking" for Alliance and we should definitely expect them to be playoff monsters.
Fnatic vs. ROCCAT - Fnatic win at 36:49 - Overall match value: 4 on 5
Best play: Near 31:00, Overpow saw an opening and immediately enaged onto xPeke's Ziggs on bot lane. A quick reaction by Yellowstar left the Talon exhausted, but the play was not over yet. sOAZ's Lee Sin was just around the corner and managed to predict and hit a blind Q onto an invisible Overpow. Immediately after, the Frenchman proceeded with a R into second Q combo and finished the job with an E to the round of applause from the crowd.
MVP: Cyanide's Kha'Zix was on another level this game. Pressuring all key spots on the map, the Finn left no window of opportunity for the Polish who struggled all game. Protecting xPeke from the pesky Talon pick of Overpow, Lauri was both the silent guardian of mid and the phantom menace of both top and bottom.
Alliance vs. Copenhagen Wolves - Alliance win at 45:03 - Overall match value: 3,5 on 5
The perfectly hit combination of abilities by Froggen.
Best play: Near 23:50, the Wolves engaged Dragon with the task of dispatching the beast quickly enough so Alliance could not retaliate. As they acknowledged the position of four enemy members, Froggen came out the back and with a perfect combo from Zed managed to steal the Dragon right under the Wolves' nose.
MVP: Wickd showcased his Irelia and was instrumental in the full map dominance of his team. Using his teleport every chance he got, the Dane was pressuring both top and bottom with great success. He and Froggen formed a bit of a duo for a good part of the game, assassinating targets all over the map and securing objectives shortly afterwards. We can safely say that trademark champions are always a threat.
Champion of the week: Ziggs
The Hexplosive Expert is still a hotly contested pick as seen in Week 11. His incredible poke, great late game scaling, zoning potential and global ultimate are a kit which can bring great pain to the enemy. Many of the pros this week were quite successful on the little Yordle, especially xPeke who went against an assassin - Overpow's Talon. Despite getting a little help from Cyanide, Peke showed the effectiveness of Ziggs and his kill potential in the right hands.
sOAZ is our player of the week.
Top of the week: Fnatic sOAZ (KDA Ratio: 10.5)
The Frenchman was on fire this week. Accumulating a KDA Ratio of 10.5, Paul was in the zone as his dream came true - he played his trademark Yorick and wreaked havoc among the back line of Gambit Gaming. He showcased such excellent play, that at a certain point in the match, he was tanking four Gambit members at once. He also spiced it up with a highly successful Lee Sin pick and reminded the critics once again that the best top laner in Europe is far from gone.
Jungler of the week: Alliance Shook (KDA Ratio: 6)
Illyes had a stellar week, mostly bringing out Kha'Zix and pushing the Voidreaver to the limit. Always on point, the Dutchman spearheaded his team in the lead on more than one occasion. Correcting his overaggressive approach from earlier this season, Shook has slowly regained his former prowess and has established himself as a threat in all phases of the game.
Mid of the week: Alliance Froggen (KDA Ratio: 11)
The Froggen show continues in full swing! Bringing out Zed, he disposed of every enemy that stood in Alliance's path despite the two slip-ups on days one and two. Considered the best mid laner at this point in Europe, the Dane helped his team to a third place finish in the regular season, a feat which many deemed impossible after the disappointing start to the team's LCS campaign in January.
Bot lane of the week: SK CandyPanda & SK nRated (KDA Ratio: 2.4 and 1.9, respectively)
Although on paper, those two don't seem that impressive, their performance during the week secured SK Gaming the number one spot in the European LCS Spring split. During Week 11, nRated's textbook Leona ultimates made CandyPanda's job a piece of cake. The "German efficiency" bot lane managed to outplay even the Wolves' bot lane on many occasions, leaving Forg1ven and Unlimited with no response after the stunlock from nRated and subsequent pummeling from CandyPanda. Hopfully, we will be see an even better show from both of them once the playoffs hit.
Summary of the week:
What an incredible week! Having talked about possible tie-breakers last week, we now have clear standings and no tie-breakers had to be played. A big surprise this week was Supa Hot Crew, going 0-4 in their games which allowed the Copenhagen Wolves to secure the 6th spot in the playoffs early on. SK Gaming is on the top of the table at the moment, and while in general Europe doesn't seem too happy about this as they seem to prefer having Alliance or Fnatic over there, I am sure SK Gaming will represent Europe just fine at the AllStars if they can keep that spot during the playoffs.
Now...what was the best this week? It would be easy to pick one of the actual matches so I'll just throw in the URF Game here that took place at the end of Day 1 before the challenger series hit off. With TSM facing Cloud 9 and the game being casted by both EU and NA casters, this was arguably one of the best ideas Riot ever had. They did "in the face" interviews a.k.a. interviewing the players while they were playing, the casting got switched between the regions and all the fans really liked this. Two thumbs up to Riot for the idea!
Now let's take a look at the playoffs, giving you a rough overview of what you can expect when the games hit in two weeks from now!
With SK Gaming and Fnatic being in the top 2 of the standings, they can skip the quarterfinals and go straight to the semifinals. However, not all teams are that lucky! Alliance will have to face Copenhagen Wolves again, this will be like a rematch of Day 3 Super Week. Let's see if Alliance will be able to take down the Wolves again or if the Wolves come up with a new strategy to beat Alliance and secure a spot in next season's LCS. The same can be said about the Roccat vs. Gambit Gaming match. The losers of these two matches will face in a match for 5th spot, with the loser of this match having to play in relegations alongside Supa Hot Crew and Millenium. But while the losers have to play there, the winners will advance to the semifinals were they will face Fnatic and SK Gaming. The winners of this will battle for the championship and thus the spot to represent Europe in the All-Stars matches in Paris which take place Thursday, May 8 to Sunday, May 11. The losers of the aforementioned matches will fight for third and fourth spot.
Just looking at the current standings, it is highly likely to see SK Gaming and Fnatic actually meeting each other in the grand finale, both having been playing really solid the past few weeks. However, this is the European LCS and we have witnessed more than just one surprise so far!
Who would you like to represent Europe at All-Stars? And what are your predictions for the playoffs, with all the teams being so close to each other? Tell us in the comments and don't forget to vote for your three personal All-Star favorites to send them to Paris here. Voting continues till the 12th of April, currently being led by Rekkles, xPeke and Diamond.
The last week of the NA LCS is coming. Finally, the finale of a season that was anything but plain and boring. Two teams in contention for the top spot of the split, Team SoloMid and Cloud 9, with identical records at 20-4. In addition to the top teams, Counter Logic Gaming, at 16-8, emerged as the hottest team in the split after winning six of their last eight games (including a great win over Team SoloMid).
The dramatics only get better with the fight for relegation amongst the rest of the standings. Two teams with identical records (9-15) and Team Dignitas (10-14) in a shaky fourth place. Every team will need to be on their best game to finish strong and push for the playoffs.
For further clarification, the two teams behind the pack, Team Coast and XDG can still make the playoffs with a little luck and a flawless record in the final week.
Teams to watch:
Team Coast:
Last week, Danny 'Shiphtur' Le and Darshan 'ZionSpartan' Upadhyaya showed why they belong in the discussion of best middle and top combinations in the NA LCS. Together, when humming, Team Coast can take down any team. They will need to step up once again to guarantee a spot into the playoffs and ward off Evil Geniuses (EG) and XDG. Their match ups vary from inconsistent teams Team Curse and Team Dignitas to powerhouse Cloud 9. A 2-1 split will go a long way to securing a spot into relevance.
Team Dignitas:
The spotlight shines on Team Dignitas again. After a great beginning of the season, the inconsistencies that plagued this once world-class team sprouted up. Now, with a revised lineup and the added security of fourth place, Team Dignitas needs to prove that this team deserves to play with the best in NA. Like poetry, Team Dignitas must play against the two teams tied for fifth in Team Coast and Team Curse. Given the spotty play throughout the season for this squad, it may be a bumpy week coming.
XDG:
The resurgence of "Vulcun" may be too little too late. The schedule is brutal, both Cloud 9 and Team SoloMid lie as road blocks. In addition, fourth place Team Dignitas rounds up the list. If XDG can continue their aggressive rotations and execute with chaotic clarity, there may be some upsets in the forecast. Unfortunately, their opposition may end up being the last stop for XDG's long-shot playoff odds.
Players to watch:
Joedat 'Voyboy' Esfahani:
Curse's mid laner was the weak link to the team. He was inconsistent in play-calling, laning phase, and team fight execution in the beginning of the split. His recent play should provide a little more confidence entering the last week of the NA LCS. Esfahani's safe play in lane and improved cs game could be the difference between a fifth place finish and a fourth place one for Curse.
Chris 'Zuna' Buechter:
XDG's carry player needs to live up to the name of the role. Buechter will need to play the games of his life if there is hope for an XDG playoff run. Just for urgency alone, and Buechter's impact on his team, is why he's a player to watch. Any falloff or mistake play in lane or a skirmish team fight will be the end of XDG's chances. It falls on you, Buechter.
Greyson 'goldenglue' Gilmer:
Team Dignitas may have found their mid lane answer in Gilmer. Gone is William "Scarra" Li and his iconic impact, but in his stead is initiation-heavy, fearless, and exciting Gilmer. The competition and pressure will be on and it may be the first time Gilmer's faced such an environment. However, he's shown in his play style that odds and nerves do not affect his play in the moment. He could be the new glue in Team Dignitas.
Top game to watch:
Team Coast v. Team Curse
The game that could provide a playoff clincher for either team. Both Team Coast and Team Curse enter the match up with a 9-15 record. Both come into the game with some momentum after an inconsistent season. This will come down to execution and game plan. Will Team Curse stop both Le and Upadhyaya and take a giant step toward a playoff clincher? Or will the superstars of Team Coast do what they do best and dominate?
It should be a climactic finale for an exciting season split. The NA LCS will conclude with plenty of intriguing match ups and storylines. Be sure to catch all the action, April 4 at 12:00 PM PST.
Welcome to the Season 4 Spring Split Coverage Center where you can find the standings, results. Check out all the previews and recaps made by our staff and don't forget to check out our Media Gallery where you can find pictures and video's done on site!
Livestream: Tune in again tomorrow!
Stream will be added once the matches go live on Saturday the 5th of April 12:00 PDT!
Bradley, who rose to the top of the fighting game community following his extremely impressive showing at 2012's Seasons Beatings: Asencion tournament where he defeated the EVO 2k12 SFIV champion Lee 'Infiltration' Sun Woo twice. Ever since, Kbrad has been considered as one of the top Street Fighter IV players from North America, as he continued his SB:A performance with a slew of 1st and 2nd place finishes, including a 2nd place finish at the CEO Prologue tournament that concluded last week.
Kbrad himself had the following to say about joining EG:
“I would like To say that I am extremely thankful for the opportunity that EG is giving me. I definitely will work very hard for this organization and for my teammates. Over the years, I've become good friends with the EG players, most especially Justin Wong, whom I would credit in getting me here in the first place. I am truly thankful to have great teammates like Eduardo, Ricky and Justin. I couldn't be any happier if I tried.”
