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The world of esports rumbles along with major victories, defeats, and roster changes shaking things up this month. Check out our top stories in the video above and more updates and highlights below.
Evil Geniuses Shakes Up Their Dota 2 Roster
A recent shocker in the spring shuffle of Dota 2 rosters left many in the community with their jaws on the floor. Considered to be the best off-laner in the world and longtime (almost three years) Evil Genius member Saahil “UNiVeRsE” Arora decided that a change of scenery was needed for his career. Best known for his million dollar echo slam from the recent International 2015, UNiVeRsE will be taking teammate Artour “Arteezy” Babaev — possibly North America’s most popular player — with him. The two left abruptly and the reason for their departure is still unknown.
Luckily for Evil Genuises, they were able to quickly add former player Kurtis “Aui_2000” Ling and Kanishka “BuLba” Sosale, both of whom are staples of the North American scene. Aui_2000 was actually a member of the winning International 2015 EG squad, but was unceremoniously cut after it was revealed that he was difficult to work with. Let’s hope that this time around he’ll be a better fit.
15-Year-Old Hearthstone Prodigy Secures Spot in Blizzard’s World Championship
College tuition is something Hearthstone player William “Amnesiac” Barton will probably not have to worry about. The 15-year-old recently won the Hearthstone Americas Winter Championship by working his way through the lower bracket and facing an opponent who had beaten him previously in the tournament, Robert “Nostam” Matson, in the grand finals. In the Americas Winter Championship finals, Amnesiac used a mixture of his druid, rogue, and warrior classes to take revenge on Nostam. His efforts garnered a $25k prize and make him eligible for Blizzard’s World Championship in November.
Street Fighter V Pro Stripped of Ranking; Climbs Back to the Top
Capcom has been struggling to find a proper system to punish players for rage-quitting in matches. They recently took action against 30 SFV players who were accused of abusing the system.
One of those players was unknown player “World_Combo,” the top-ranked player on the global leaderboard before having his Super Platinum status taken away. His fall from grace could have marked the end of his career, but recent viewings of the leaderboards show him climbing his way back up the ladder at a fast pace.
Players in the community speak highly of his skills, and say it’s no surprise that he’s gained points so quickly. Hopefully, he’s learned his lesson and will be back near the top in no-time.
Chinese Dota 2 Manager ‘Embarrassed’ by Shanghai Major
Legendary manager Tang “71” Wenyi of EHOME spoke about his team’s experience at the recent Shanghai Major.
When asked why the Chinese teams struggled in the tournament, 71 replied that the lack of young talent and new thinking was the biggest factor. New players tend to have innovative drafts and playstyles that can bring an unexpected challenge for teams. A lot of the older talent in the scene has trouble adapting to the meta and when desperate, will often rely on what has worked in the past.
The tournament was also known to have terrible production quality and treatment of talent reminiscent of a LAN event from a decade ago. 71 called the event a “disaster” and “a very embarrassing event for Chinese people.” The fact that not a single Chinese team advanced into the top eight of a major Dota tournament is something that 71 thinks the Chinese people will remember, even going so far as to say that the date when the top eight was set, March 3, will live in infamy.
Rocket League Plans on Implementing Cross-Network Play Soon
A proposed feature that’s been a popular topic for some time now is the ability to “cross-network” and play with friends on different console platforms. Those of us who have friends on different console platforms will soon have the option to party up.
However, we shouldn’t get our hopes up too high yet. Microsoft announced that it would be the first to the party by offering the function to Xbox One and Windows 10 users. This means that users on the Xbox One could soon be able to party with PlayStation 4 players. Rocket League already supports cross-network player between both consoles and the PC.
The folks over at Psyonix were excited at the prospect and stated that this has been the most demanded feature since the launch of the game. It should have an interesting impact on the competitive scene. With the platform boundaries gone, players and teams should become more diverse and more competitive.
DreamHack Austin Will Host a $50k StarCraft II Tourney
The StarCraft II scene is alive and well, thanks in part to DreamHack’s expansion into North America. A $50k prize pool was announced for the Austin tournament and along with it, a coveted 5k WCS points.
Organizers of the tournament state that the format will be similar to the DreamHack Open: Leipzig. The player pool of 64 will be narrowed down to 32 and a best of three format from there will determine who will be in the grand finals, which is said to be a best of seven.
DreamHack Austin will also be hosting a multitude of other esports and should be a jam-packed weekend full of upsets and crazy plays. The tournament will be broadcast on Twitch May 6-8.
Stream Highlights
We’ll leave you with some fun streaming highlights of an absolutely absurd Malzahar baron steal. Check back in two weeks for our next edition of the Fandom Esports Fan Report.