[ooyala video=U3ZWF4MjE6IPbtqMV-X7yn1L0tOwW1dp][/ooyala]
A lot of important tournaments and game updates this month. We’re back with some of the more intriguing stories to have taken place so far this month. Check out the video above and more esports stories below!
Biggest Stories
League of Legends Spring North America finals wrap-up
A back and forth affair between two of North America’s most prestigious LoL organizations, ended with some huge plays and nerve-racking games.
In the best-of-five slugfest that went the full five games, CLG were the victors as TSM were just a bit outplayed on this particular occasion.
In the final, deciding match — rookie carry player Trevor “Stixxay” Hayes was the gavel that finally punched CLG’s ticket to victory. His careful play and execution when it counted was exactly what the team needed to get to Shanghai for the Mid-Season Invitational to take place in early May.
Let’s see if their good form and carry into this year’s biggest tournament to date!
Brazil’s Luminosity wins MLG CS:GO major
A stunning result in Columbus earlier this month is still sending out ripples in the CS:GO community. South America, more specifically Brazil, has won a Valve sponsored major by taking down European giants Team Liquid in the semi-finals and Ukrainian team Natus Vincere in the grand finals.
Both matches were much closer than the 2-0 scoreline suggests. After an intense back and forth overtime match on the first map which saw Luminosity take the win, Na’Vi was too shell shocked to recover in the next map and fell to the underdogs.
This victory also serves as an important step for players and organizations outside the traditionally dominant European CS:GO scene. Brazil has been a hotbed of talent for many years, but the opportunities and money within the local scene has been lacking.
Hopefully with this historic win, we’ll see more involvement in the Brazilian scene.
DOTA gets an awesome feature for VR owners
Valve recently released a short teaser trailer for the HTC Vive VR headset, which includes a peek at an upcoming VR spectator feature for Dota 2.
Dota 2 spectating is a fairly static experience that does not allow the viewer to change perspectives. This new VR addition to the experience might give fans a more dynamic and participatory viewing experience while watching their favorite teams.
Overwatch’s Tracer to show up in Heroes of the Storm this month
Blizzard fans should be excited to know that one of the most iconic characters of the young Overwatch game will soon join the Nexus later this month.
The HotS version of Tracer will be included with the purchase of the Overwatch: Origins Edition on PC available April 19th. If you don’t want to buy Overwatch quite yet, you’ll have to wait until April 26 for Tracer to be available for purchase in the Nexus.
This timed release and pre-order incentive comes on the back heels of Overwatch’s beta release in early May and it’s full release on the same month on April 24. We’ll have a lot more content around this new Blizzard game, so keep your tabs on Fandom.com
Fan vote sends two more players to Smash Summit 2
Beyond the Summit started off primarily as a Dota 2 broadcasting studio, but recently decided to expand their horizons to the growing Super Smash Bros. scene. Hosting their 2nd SSB Melee tournament, Beyond the Summit (BTS), has continued to let the fans send two of their favorite players a special invite to the event.
In a tense final day of voting that saw three names joust for position for the final two spots — players Robert “Wobbles” Wright and Mustafa “Ice” Akcakaya are the last two headed to BTS’ studio in Los Angeles.
Wobbles is generally considered to be the best Ice Climbers player in the world and has knocked off some big names attached to established organizations.
German player, Ice is considered one of the best Sheik players. While his recent result at Pound 2016 wasn’t the best, he looks to rebound for this unique tournament.
Vici Gaming change their roster post deadline — cannot be invited to TI6
The ever-changing world of Dota 2 rosters seem to never stop. Recently, Vici decided that a personnel change was needed, even if it meant that they would ineligible for the Manilla Major, as well as the biggest tournament of the year, The International 6.
Returning to the squad is Liu “Sylar” Jiajun, who has been a consistent position one player in the chinese scene for some years now. He’ll be dethroning the legendary carry player, Xu “BurNIng” Zhilei from his position and knows that he’ll have some rather big shoes to fill.
Obviously the team thought that this move was necessary as the consequences for doing so are clearly detrimental to the organization and its players. By giving up their eligibility for invitations to the two biggest tournaments of the year, Vici Gaming will have to qualify yet again, working their way through the brackets to realize their dream of becoming TI6 champions.
Stream Highlights
That’s it from us over here at Fandom — If you’re up for it, watch one of Dota 2’s top carry players farm it up and slay some n00bs in this excellent display of Ember Spirit mastery.