Category: Games

Valorant Wins Big At Esports Awards 2022

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Nerd Street: “The big winner at the 2022 Esports Awards was VALORANT. Not only did VALORANT win Game of the Year (VALORANT also won Esports Game of the Year at The Game Awards), but a VALORANT team won Team of the Year and a VALORANT caster won Caster of the Year. Riot Games, the makers of VALORANT, also were big winners. In addition to VALORANT winning Game of the Year, Riot was named Publisher of the Year and Broadcast/Production Team of the Year.”

“The last and arguably most prestigious award of the night, for Organization of the Year, went to OpTic Gaming.”

“Here’s a listing of who took home the top honors this year.”

Collegiate Program of the Year: University of Hawaii

Game of the Year: VALORANT

Mobile Game of the Year: PUBG Mobile

Personality of the Year: Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag

Streamer of the Year: Ibai “Ibai” Llanos

Team of the Year: LOUD (VALORANT)

Organization of the Year: OpTic Gaming

Apparel of the Year: 100 Thieves

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Canadian Pro Gamer Mathew Fiorante a part of Cheating Scandal; Suspended From Halo Esports

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Regina Leader Post: “The scandal has sent shockwaves through the world of esports, made headlines at major gaming websites and has put Regina in the spotlight of the controversy.”

“A Regina man who is considered one of the best players in the world at the video game Halo has been suspended from competition after an internal investigation deemed he cheated — whether intentionally or not — in recent online tournaments.”

“Mathew Fiorante, 25, is a two-time world champion at Microsoft’s first-person shooter video game Halo and is signed with the Los Angeles esports organization Sentinels. Fiorante, who goes by the gaming handle Royal 2, has amassed more than $500,000 in tournament winnings over the course of his career. He was recently voted the fifth best Halo player of all time out of 25 competitors, and is the only Canadian who competes in Halo esports.”

“According to the HCS, an investigation determined internet settings had been manipulated during a tournament which gave Fiorante an unfair advantage. That violated the official HCS Handbook rules for code of conduct governing cheating, and specifically the sections regarding hacking and network abuse.”

“As a result of the investigation, Fiorante has been banned from competition until Jan. 28, 2022.”

League of Legends Worlds 2021 Peaks at 4 Million Viewers — New Record

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Upcomer: “According to Esports Charts, the final game in the Worlds 2021 finals between DWG KIA and Edward Gaming hit 4 million peak viewers, a new record for League of Legends esports. In a full five-game series, Edward Gaming won the first championship in the organization’s history and beat the reigning world champions to do it. Viewership shot up as DWG KIA and EDG faced off in first Game 5 in a Worlds finals since 2016.”

“The 4 million viewers for the Worlds 2021 final doesn’t include viewers included in the data from Chinese platforms, according to Esports Charts.”

2022 Asian Games to Include Esports

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Inven Global: “Both Dota 2 and League of Legends will be medal events at the next Asian Games, after the Olympic Committee of Asia (OCA) announced that esports would be included in their program for the first time in the 2022 games. League and Dota 2 won’t be the only esports rubbing shoulders with traditional sports, as there are eight titles set to be included in what could be a watershed moment for the relationship between sports and esports.”

The eight games included are: Arena of Valor, Dota 2, Dream Three Kingdoms 2, FIFA, Hearthstone, League of Legends, PUBG, and Street Fighter V.

Fifa 21, Madden 21 Added to KHSAA Approved Esports Games

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Courier Journal: “The Kentucky High School Athletic Association announced Thursday that it will expand its esports varsity title offerings to include FIFA 21 and Madden NFL 21 for the upcoming spring season. Previously, League of Legends, Rocket League and SMITE were the three sanctioned games in esports.”

“We are excited to expand our esports offerings to include more opportunities for student-athletes to participate,” KHSAA Commissioner Julian Tackett said in a statement. “Our membership has been quick to accept esports as our most recent sanctioned sport-activity, and we look forward to seeing its participation continue to grow.”

South Korean Esports Team Wins League of Legends World Championship; Millions Watching Online

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Tech Xplore: “More than 6,000 mostly young spectators watched at a Shanghai stadium and millions tuned in online to see Damwon Gaming win the League of Legends world championship on Saturday.”

“The South Korean team beat Suning, the surprise finalists from China, 3-1 to claim one of the most prestigious titles in eSports.”

“Spectators were limited to 6,300 because of social distancing and those lucky enough to secure a seat had to wear a face mask to prevent coronavirus infections.”

“League of Legends’ developer Riot Games had estimated that 100 million would watch across the globe. Inside the stadium, spectators—many favouring China’s Suning—saw the action unfold on two giant screens.”

‘Huge’ Fortnite Leak?

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Forbes reports that a “Leak Of New Named Locations Points To A New Map For Season 11.”

The post from Dave Thier states: “If it turns out to be true, this could be the largest leak we’ve seen in Fortnite yet, bigger than a new season and certainly bigger than a new item. Dataminers found something interesting when pouring through the new files this morning: not one new point of interest, not two, but 13, showing off a massive list of a kind that we haven’t really seen in the game so far. Clearly, 13 new points of interest would constitute a much larger scale map change than anything we’ve seen with any season before, possibly more than the current map could sustain. Which, in my mind, points to a new map.”

Nevada High Schools May Form eSports League

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The Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association are deciding whether, “The popular games may soon be played at the hands of local students on the campuses of Nevada high schools,” reports News3LV.com. 

“By sanctioning Esports, students would be able to play in competitions going head-to-head, or controller-to-controller, vying for standings and trophies.”

One argument for move? Better grades for students.

Said Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Executive Director  Bart Thompson: “Students who participate in sports and activities, graduate at a higher rate. They have higher great point averages, fewer disciplinary problems, fewer attendance problems, all of those types of things.”

 

16-year-old Fortnite World Champ Won’t get Full $3M Prize

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Blasting News estimates, “After the tax deductions, Bugha’s projected take home earnings will be cut down to $1.5 million.”

But then, Bugha has a one year contract with a gaming organization named Sentinels, in which, the Wall Street Journal reports that “about $600,000 (of the prize money) going to the organization.” 

Bottom line: After winning the $3M prize,, Bugha will take home around $900K.

 

Dota 2’s T19 Prize Pool Makes History

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Luckbox announces Dota 2’s The International 19 has passed $30 million in prize pool which makes it “the largest for any single tournament in esports history… It’s anyone’s guess but the next milestone is $35m and it would be no great surprise to see it reached.”

Dota 2 and their battle pass beat out Fortnite’s World Cup huge prize pool of $30 million. Luckbox claims Dota 2 couldn’t have done this without their great fan base who buys the battle pass and in return earn cosmetics and new game modes. 

James McMath, Media Manager at Luckbox, said, “Publishers Valve donating 25% of (battle pass) sales to the tournament prize pool.”