With GeForce RTX 30 Series and AMD RX 6000 Series graphics, and the dawn of HDMI 2.1 -- we’re bringing you our picks of the best gaming displays as announced at CES 2021.
And will once again see countries go head to head this November at Blizzcon. But before that, the players and eligible countries need to be sorted out. So, from From today through the end of Competitive Season 9 (29 April AEST), Blizzard will be tracking the skill rating of each country's top 150 players. With the top 20 countries at the end moving on to compete in the 2018 Overwatch World Cup.
After the New York Excelsior lost the Stage 1 Finals to London Spitfire after being up two games, fans were hoping that they could reverse the curse when they found themselves in a similar situation being down 2-0 to Philadelphia Fusion. Which is exactly what they did when in a stunning reverse sweep took out the Stage 2 Finals 3-2.
The inaugural season of Overwatch League has been fantastic to watch, where the Stage 1 finals provided a thrilling showdown between London Spitfire and New York Excelsior. Where Spitfire came back for a reverse-sweep after losing the first few rounds. The Stage 2 Finals are shaping up to be just as interesting and will take place Monday, March 26 from 7:00am AEDT.
Did you hear the news? That esports will be making an appearance at the Olympic games as a new sport or sport(s) sometime in the future? Well, that's currently the discussion taking place. With AliBaba, the e-commerce giant and Olympic Games sponsor noting that the whole point of the Olympic Games is to promote peace. Which means games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, one of the most popular esports today - won't be eligible for consideration.
At the recent PUBG Invitational tournament held at IEM Katowice, OpTic Gaming's Ian "Bahawaka" Crowe was caught exploiting a glitch that allowed him to see through walls. Which, as per ESL rules is strictly forbidden. And so OpTic Gaming's $12,000 in prize money for coming in second, was stripped.
With the first match between Blank Blue and Kanga Esports streaming live from 2:00pm AEDT - embedded after the jump. For those that need a reminder Overwatch Contenders is a semi-professional league that will showcase the best local talent, where they'll go up against each other and possibly make it to the Big Leagues. As in the Overwatch League.
Finally! After we got news that 3 teams from the Oceanic region will be competing at IEM Sydney 2018, comes word that ESL is expanding the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive CS:GO Pro League with the addition of a new Asia-Pacific division. Which will include teams from Southeast Asia, China and Australia/New Zealand in Season 7.
With a prize pool of $950,000 across CS: GO and StarCraft II. If last year's competition was any indicator, this will once again be huge - over 46 million followed the CS: GO action at home. A great way to kick off the weekend that also paves the way for Intel Extreme Masters Sydney at Qudos Bank Arena May 4 - 6.
For those that look at PUBG as the first Battle Royale game, that means you probably forgot about H1Z1 - the original king-of-the-hill last man standing game. That as of now has spent over three years as an Early Access game. Well, that ends today with the full release getting announced. Alongside a new mode.
With the Hearthstone Championship Tour making a long-overdue Tour Stop in Australia for the first time this weekend, ahead of all the action we thought we’d bring you up to speed with all the local and international players. All taking part in HCT Sydney from February 24-25. So, grab a beverage, sit back, and get ready to learn in the Ways of the Card.
With Blizzard bringing all the competitive Hearthstone card-action thunder, Down Under for the first time. Ahem. This weekend will see the top 16 players who made their way through the online qualifiers take the stage in Sydney to compete for the bulk of the $15,000 USD prize pool. Plus, earn those crucial Hearthstone Competitive Points.
With no sequel currently in the works and the active player count for Rainbow Six Siege still growing - now hitting over 27 million across all platforms. The current Year model for the game seems to be part of the roadmap, with new Operators and maps making up the bulk of the content. Which will see changes to the standard edition by offering up more Operators to players.
And New Zealand. And sure we could have put that in the headline too, but hey we put the A in ANZ. For those that need a reminder Overwatch Contenders is a semi-professional league that will showcase the best local talent, where they'll go up against each other and possibly make it to the Big Leagues. As in the Overwatch League.
The Six Invitational, the biggest Rainbow Six competition so far, kicked off last week with Australian team Mindfreak making it all the way to the top eight. Otherwise known as the Quarter Finals. It was there that they faced off against Brazilian team Black Dragons in the Quarter Finals, who won Seasons 1 and 3 of the Latin American Pro League.
A national competition that brings together the country's best FIFA 18 Ultimate Team players on Xbox and PS4, representing each of the Hyundai A-League’s ten clubs. Soccer! Soccer! Soccer! Ahem. Matches will be broadcast every Thursday night at 8.00pm AEDT with the Grand Final to be broadcast live.
Taking home a $100,000 USD bonus after a thrilling five-game victory over the New York Excelsior. The match took place over the weekend in front of a sell-out crowd at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles where the top three teams faced off in a semi-final and final match-up. What was even more impressive is that London Spitfire managed to come back after being down two games to win the series 3-2.
On Sunday February 11 to be exact. Well, to be more exact from 12:00pm AEDT. The Stage Finals, and this will be the first for the Overwatch League, will see the top three standing teams go head-to-head for their share in a $125,000 USD bonus. Plus, the title of Stage 1 winner.
And no this isn't simply broadcasting events in cinemas, which has been a popular way to watch esports events over the years, but actual arenas. In HOYTS venues. Across Australia. A brilliant move, and one that will kick off in April at the Entertainment Quarter in Sydney’s Moore Park.
Where the top Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams will compete at the Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney on May 4-6 for their share of a record prize pool of USD $250,000. Which is around $310,000 Aussie dollarydoos. This year's IEM Sydney follows on from the success of last year, which drew huge crowds and an online audience of close to 8 million.
Last December, which wasn't all that long ago, the Esports Games Association Australia (EGAA) was been formed to closely work with players, teams, managers, organisers and sponsors to help advance the Australian esports scene. Great stuff, and today comes word of the first EGAA conference and Esports Awards!