In 2014, the story was revamped, erasing the established lore and replacing it with various mini-stories that weren’t necessarily connected and did not always have direct cohesion with the game itself. This change necessitated occasional retcons of lore and have made the game feel more disconnected from the underlying story. In addition, there are several mini-stories which focus on skins which aren't ca

Blizzard’s decision to cancel its 2019 competitive scene came from nowhere in late December of 2018. The news hit members most invested into the community right before the holidays. It left players who had been training for the next championship out of luck, and moba skills Guide those associated with the esports production seemingly unemployed from one day to the n

The goal of each match is simple and draws from core idea of League of Legends , where two players face off to take the opposing Nexus down to zero from 20 health. Each player has an initial drawing of cards and a single mulligan phase like Hearthstone, and like that game, the mana pool grows each turn so there is no need to worry about mana or land managem

Teamfight Tactics is a relatively new mode in League of Legends which essentially features competing casts of characters who can be purchased with gold and arranged on a grid to automatically battle opposing lineups. In the same reality as League, this seems improbable for several continuity reasons. In our reality though, the simple question is "why isn’t this just a standalone ga

As 2019 comes to a close, esports fans are left to reflect on the best competitive moments of the past year. Jaw-dropping plays, unbelievable tournament runs, and shocking levels of consistency from the world’s best players. Five of the biggest esports titles saw their biggest talents rise to the top, taking their rightful places as some of the best players in the wo

This one might be a little obvious, and frankly, it's not always an option due to scheduling conflicts. Still, the fact is that playing with a team that's familiar offers infinitely more benefits than queuing up and crossing your fingers for a decent line

While Apex 's contextual ping system works wonders for team communication, establishing contact via the mic allows you to share much more specific and crucial information. If you're in a party, invite them. You might just wind up with a solid third teammate to include in the squad for your next ma

It’s unclear whether universal control over games that operate under the catch-all domain of esports will ever exist. Escalating conflict between streaming platforms that compete for viewer attention certainly isn’t helping the case for unified growth. It’s also worth questioning whether universal control is even needed. Larger titles seem to be doing just fine supporting their own leagues. A 16-year-old just took home $3 million at the first-ever _ Fortnite _ World Cup, after

Imagine an esports equivalent of ESPN. ESPN works because coverage of most traditional sports is basically the same. You point a camera at the field and watch what happens while two "experts" talk about what’s going on. Esports won’t and can’t work like this. Every game is drastically different from the next, with its own graphics, mechanics, and strategies to be emplo

While sniping wasn't incredibly popular at launch, it's become increasingly prevalent with balancing changes that have exponentially increased its lethality. Being stuck behind cover with no recourse as an enemy squad rains fire from afar is one of the worst situations to be in, and the simple solution is to ensure that one can respond in k

Speaking of champions who shouldn’t be able to compete in the league, there is a whole list of champions whose sole allegiance is to a mysterious realm called "The Void." The Void is essentially nothingness. It is the nightmare realm of the League of Legends unive

To get a feel for the different types of decks, check out the three pre-made decks gifted to you following the tutorial. Here we see all of the familiar archetypes that are common to CCGs, including elements that relate to buffing characters in a deck or held in hand, zoo strategies of overwhelming the board with units, with Spiders in the premade deck's case, or of mixing up units with spe

Hearthstone has issues with its esports scene as well; mainly in that it seems unable to settle on the format for qualifying its players for competitions or to select the best format for its annual championships. This is understandable when a game releases - but it's been five years now since launch. Since then, we have seen players qualifying through Blizzard sanctioned tournaments, then needing to qualify in four distinct seasons, and now there's an overhaul of the previous tour system to a three-tiered sys

_ Tekken _ phenom Arslan "Arslan Ash" Siddique skyrocketed to the top of the fighting game scene in 2019. Though he competed in very few professional events the year prior, Arslan Ash cemented his name in FGC history in 2019. The 24-year-old kicked off the year at Evolution Championship Series Japan, where a lower bracket run ended in a Grand Final victory over Alexandre "AK" Laverez. He next won the TGU x SEA Thailand Major over two-time EVO champion Jae-Min "Knee" Bae. The _ Tekken 7 _ star then doubled up on his EVO Japan title, defeating Knee once again to take home the EVO Las Vegas title. He became the first player to win EVO Japan and Las Vegas in the same y