Though this comes out on my weekly column spread, this is hardly a rant. In fact, today we’re talking about something truly exciting.

Before we continue however, I have to make it clear: the title of this article is mere speculation. I have no insider knowledge on Mineski’s actions.

But what I do have is an acute understanding of the texture and landscape of the Philippine eSports industry. And with everything weighed in, I can confidently say: Mineski is going to be the first organization in the country to hold a perpetual team slot, representing a city, in Blizzard’s Overwatch League.

Just economics

It’s hardly a surprise when you think about it. After all, Mineski is the largest eSports organization in the Philippines. While TNC might be richer in theory, Mineski is the only organization that diverts majority of their revenues in developing their eSports brand.

Meanwhile, other eSports organizations in the country are essentially struggling start-ups. Imperium Pro-Team, who also have a good Overwatch team and whose Heroes of the Storm team, Renovatio, has gone to two BlizzCons now, is a lot less supported than you might think. While they are certainly an exciting team to follow, their operations are still essentially paid out of pocket.

Of what we know about the Blizzard Overwatch League, two things seem important in securing a spot: 1. You must be a team owner that has the infrastructure to be a perpetual part of the League. 2. You must be a best-in-class operator in order to do justice and attract future investors.

Blizzard is pretty adamant that they want to set-up an eSports league that has the hallmarks of traditional sports; they want teams based in cities and they want team owners to be actively invested in building local fan-bases so that they can earn, grown and compete for years.

Mineski fits the bill across the board. Scoff all you want at their yearly failings, but Mineski has built a brand and a loyal local audience. They have built a business structure that helps them grow their teams across four titles now: Dota 2, League of Legends, CS:GO and Overwatch.

They are also well-connected with TV5. Do you know who TV5 are well-connected with? Sporting organizations. Sporting organizations who also see the trend of other sporting organizations starting their investments into eSports.

Given all of these factors, Mineski is the prime candidate to win the bid to represent a city and join the OW League. Will it be in Quezon City, where Mineski’s headquarters and player mansions are located?

Don’t expect a lot of teams from the Philippines

I expect that buy-in requirements and monetary requirements to own a spot in APAC, specifically the Philippines, will be lower than other regions. What I don’t expect is that there will be more than a handful of teams representing cities of the Philippines in the first few seasons of the OW League.

Again, the landscape of Philippine eSports is such that Mineski is far and away ahead of their competition in terms of infrastructure for their eSports teams. TNC is closest, but they have yet to enter Overwatch in a meaningful way.

The caveat to this of course lies with the initial success of the OW League in the global stage. Should the OW League explode in popularity, you can bet that the local mainstream media will cover the phenomenon. With the media attention comes increased investor confidence, allowing the smaller organizations to partner with smaller investment groups to buy-in earlier rather than later.

The only other caveat

The only way that Mineski loses out on the bid, or at least lose out on the distinction of being the first organization to secure a spot on the OW League, is if an outside investor body enters the Philippines and partners with a different organization.

There are a variety of potential investors/bodies that could fit the bill. Tencent is a prolific investor, as with Alibaba and ESForce Holding. Speaking of ESForce Holding, the legal successor to the Virtus.Pro group, already owns eSports teams and is always on the lookout to snap up good investments in the eSports space. Their holdings include majority shares in SK Gaming, Virtus.Pro.

In this case, should Blizzard’s Overwatch League prove lucrative, the APAC region — with its presumably lower buy-in requirements — would be a prime choice to enter for the intrepid investor.

Conclusions

On the whole, this little opinion piece is a great look into how the ecosystem of eSports in the Philippines works. Mineski is poised to once again lead the rest of the organizations into the next big thing thanks to years of groundwork already laid out in front of them.

Mineski’s commitment to their pro teams mean, at the bare minimum, that should they enter the OW League, it will be a class-standard for other teams. That’s a good thing, and their track record makes it likely that they will trailblaze again. In a few years, Dota 2 and League of Legends will inevitably fall. Mineski entering a new title is a signal to other orgs to follow suit.

But that shouldn’t mean that there is no hope for other orgs to make their name in a new frontier, especially one like Overwatch. If anything, if you want to earn the right to represent your city or country in a new competitive space, now would be the time to throw down and step it up.

The post Sandata Rants: Could Mineski Be the First Overwatch League Team Owners in the Philippines? appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.

If you’re new to competitive Overwatch, you may have noticed that a few heroes appear so infrequently in the highest levels of play.

Top of that list is Symmetra, the support shield battery whose main use lies in her ultimate. Since Overwatch exploded out of beta, usage of Symmetra in pro matches and even in quick play dwindled to the point of irrelevance.

To answer that, Overwatch lead developer Jeff Kaplan says that substantial changes to Symmetra will be rolled out onto the PTR to fix the Symmetra problem.

Headlining the list of changes includes a brand-new ultimate mechanic unique to Symmetra. Symmetra will be the first Overwatch hero to have two ulimates toggleable once her ultimate meter charge reaches 100%.

She retains her Teleport ultimate, with slight buffs to its survivability. But her second ultimate, available by pressing R again, is her Shield Battery. Shield Battery supplies Symmetra and her allies with recharging shields that have substantially more hit points than her old shield ability.

Aside from that, Symmetra’s shield granting E has been changed into a slow-moving barrier projection designed for multiple uses.

That and more changes are live today on the PTR. Will these new changes move Symmetra from trash tier to playable?

The post Symmetra’s Substantial Rework Hits PTR appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.

I woke up today with a grim reminder: 2016 is not over yet, and it is determined to make jaded cynics out of everyone.

From the swath of icons and lives lost this year, to the political upheavals, 2016 is the year of the Reaper. A year filled with the death and destruction of lives, property and common sense.

It’s especially easy to become jaded if you’re working in eSports. True, the year started strong on the back of major developments in 2015, but the nature of the industry is that drama fuels the airwaves.

The entrance of big media, big sports franchises and big money from tech investors did not deter the twitter feuds, or teams not paying players. Neither did it deter the string of tournament failures in every major title.

But you know what, we’re not going to let that get to us.

If you’re like me, you hate the yearly end-of-year awards that congratulate minor achievements. Today we’re going to do just that.

This will be a list of my personal best-things-in-esports for 2016. No committee voted on this and there was no polling or balloting involved. Just my own list of things I was happy to witness or experience in the industry. Most of these will be for the Philippine audience, but I enjoy a lot of things from other regions, so I’m adding them here too.

Some of these are no-brainers. Some of them are acquired, personal tastes. All of them are worth sharing as they have made me happy in some way. I hope it does for you as well.

Because when the year is this crappy and sad and painful and oppressive, the best form of rebellion is to share a little positivity.

1. Best new content studio: WomboXCombo

I belonged to the start-up and business world before becoming a journalist in 2012. From an early age, I was around people building up their own business. It’s never easy and it’s always an uphill challenge.

It’s even harder when your business belongs to entertainment. A restaurant need only serve food. A service need only provide its mandate. But entertaining a fickle-minded audience is physically and emotionally draining. It chews at you. It keeps you up at night.

That’s why the success of WomboXCombo, a Filipino streaming studio run by Nico “KuyaNic” Nazario, makes me happy. WomboXCombo succeeded in a local market dominated by more established studios like Mineski. It created its own community.

The best thing that a new studio gives gamers is the power of choice. Being able to choose to watch the commentary that fits with your taste goes a long way in improving the overall economy of eSports in the Philippines.

Bonus points: having a one-man studio succeed is a great sign for greater fools everywhere; It means that if you have the skill, perseverance and talent, you too can enter the industry and find success. You just have to go out and get it.

2. Best storyline: TNC Defeats OG at The International

I had a tough choice for this spot. League of Legends gave us Faker and SKT’s historic 3rd World title. CS:GO’s Luminosity/SK Gaming gave us a dominating run and unbelievable shots.

But my best storyline has to go to TNC defeating and eliminating OG at The International for a Top 8 finish.

To understand why this was a great storyline, let’s take a look back for both teams:

TNC was the heavy underdog in the match. Prior to TI, the core team of eyyou, Sam H and Raven never had a premier-level event. They were consistently in the finals of regional qualifiers, but couldn’t get over the hump.

They added DeMoN, a well-respected NA veteran, but every analyst with the exception of a few thought that it wouldn’t be enough. To top it all of, the team almost didn’t play in Seattle, due to Visa issues plaguing the team until the last minute.

On the other side, OG had an amazing 2016 year. They entered the year with a Frankfurt Major win and walked into TI winning the Manila Major in dominating fashion. Tal “Fly” Azik had a line-up of amazing neophytes as well as battle-tested veterans. The crown jewel of the OG machine, Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi, was a monster all season, being the first 8k and 9k MMR player in the world.

To see then TNC triumph over OG, defy expectations and delay the coronation of Miracle- as the best player in the world was simply magic.

3. Most refreshing approach to building a local team: TNC/Execration Dota 2 teams

When you read fan discussions on how to build an eSports team, you get the sense that most people just want to jam the best stats together.

“You should put Player X in Team Y because they are good midlaners!”

“Player A should be in Team Z because they are godlike!”

And yet, teams rarely are just a collection of good-on-paper players. After all, what is a team but a collection of egos working towards a single goal?

It was refreshing this year to find two different approaches pursued by local teams into building their rosters. Both TNC and Execration went with a more “values” approach into building their teams. While it may have took them longer to get some success, it’s a testament that other ways of building a team are just a valid.

I’ve had conversations with both Eric Redulfin, TNC Pro Team’s owner, and Execration owner Arvin Risos. What struck a chord with me is that they have different but similar approaches.

For Redulfin, he prefers a hardworking and quiet personality. The kind that would put preparation and the team in front of anything. While it might seem intuitive (after all, who would get a selfish player knowingly), Redulfin takes it a step further. According to him, he even talks to his players about business and life outside the game to help nurture these values.

The goal being that if he can help them be hardworkers in every facet of life, they can propel his pro team to victory.

For Risos and Execration, it’s a more general take. “I value attitude more than skills,” Risos told me. “A superstar can’t succeed if they don’t have the right attitude.”

Seeing Execration then from the outside — a more tightknit, “indie” team with players you might be able to have a beer with — gives us a look at how they’ve come to success.

​Maybe we can even learn from it.

4. Team/Player of the year: Coldzera, Luminosity Gaming/SK Gaming

My job requires me to be at least proficient with every eSport, but I have to confess that my CS:GO knowledge is the worst out of the major titles.

So why do I have a CS:GO player as my player of the year?

One of the best things about watching CS:GO is just how intuitive it is. I love MOBAs, which is why Dota 2 and League are the games where I also do analysis-type content in, but CS:GO lets you feel the importance of plays even if you’re a total noob  and I think that’s a very special quality to have.

Coldzera has consistently delivered jaw-dropping performances across the year. Not least of which is his once-in-a-lifetime 4K on Mirage.

Yes, it’s a fluke and yes it isn’t a good barometer of his skill. But you know what, sometimes the best parts of a spectator sport is the feeling it evokes. CS:GO and Coldzera made me want to get in to CS:GO deeper. I thought, “if this was cool, surely learning more about the game can help me find other enjoyable things. Other cooler things.”

That’s the kind of performance a player of the year should bring. Oh, and the fact that he was instrumental to Luminosity/SK Gaming’s ascent.

Their downfall though, well, that’s another story for another article, by a more competent CS:GO writer.

5. Esports content maker of the year: Kelsey Moser, theScore (now with Yahoo! eSports)

Special mention: Darwell “Asurai” Llerena, Mineski

Kelsey Moser’s work on theScore eSports team has to be most cost-effective, high quality work in all of eSports for the year.

Moser is the Chinese/European League of Legends reporter and analyst for theScore. She does it all. Roster movement in the Chinese League of Legends scene. In-depth stats breakdown. Feature-length stories on teams.

She does this consistently, pumping out multiple articles per week. Her dedication is such that she works out of China with an editor in Canada. She might not be as popular as Tyler “Fionn” Erzerberger from ESPN, but her work is thorough and compelling. It shows off her passion and expertise.

Special mentions here go to Darwell “Asurai” Llerena, Mineski’s producer and FPS shoutcaster. It’s never easy casting multiple games. It’s hard enough to build expertise in one so that your casting is on point.

But Asurai had a big year, casting not only CS:GO but also mobile games, CrossFire, Overwatch and more. It’s great seeing local talent work on their craft and really focus. For Asurai, it seems like he’s on a mission to really be a world-class shoutcaster. It will be great fun to watch his work turn into profit.

6. “Local Man” recognition award: Jessie Cristy “JessieVash” Cuyco, Mineski Overwatch

The “Local Man” award is given to the silent, community heroes that do great things without drawing attention to themselves.

I covered a lot of events this year. In these events, it’s rare that I get maybe more than 20 minutes of a player’s time. It’s usually enough to ask the usual questions (How did you do that game? What are your thoughts on X, etc.).

ESL ONE Manila though gave me some new insight to JessieVash. No one is happy when they lose, much less willing to talk to press. But despite their heartbreaking loss on home soil, I was fortunate enough to have a long, one-on-one with Mineski vet and really get to know him.

I have a longer piece waiting to get published, but I’ll share something here now:

Despite getting clobbered on social media, JessieVash is a relentless competitor. The first thing he did after losing to Complexity was play more Dota and replay his mistakes.

After moving to the bench after ESL ONE, Vash didn’t stop being involved with the Dota 2 squad. He accompanied them to Malaysia for AGES and served as a temporary coach.

The moment he heard about Overwatch, he got into the game and immediately started the effort of getting good. He has since served as big brother and mentor for a new generation of Mineski pros. The Overwatch team led by Justin “Caladbolg” Limbo have Vash to look up as a quiet guide to the professional scene.

That’s dedication that usually gets overshadowed by the vicious evisceration he continually receives on social media to this day. The ability to take that abuse and keep working is something we all need a little more of coming into the new year.

7. Heartwarming-est event: RIGHTEOUS GLORY, Rumble Royale

A new event on the list, I was no less thrilled to hear about a gaming charity/Christmas party organized by Rumble Royale.
Righteous Glory, held yesterday at Game Over PH, managed to fill an entire truck of donated goods to less-fortunate school children.

For an event put together with just grit and will, to be able to put together a good time for the community and give back to the needy is an achievement. Usually, charity work occupies the part of my brain where skepticism resides, but Righteous Glory managed to transcend that. Making it all the way to the part of my brain that has a picture of the meme, “Faith in humanity: restored.”

8. Esports Article of the Year: Dear Febiven, Duncan “Thorin” Shields for GAMURS

I’m a writer by trade and I enjoy reading great works of technical writing. It’s something that triggers the pleasure centers of my brain. Seeing the right word used in the right sentence. Watching for the ebb and flow of thoughts and ideas carried by sentences. By words.

But sometimes, I just enjoy the earnest piece. The piece that doesn’t get lost in the technical aspect of writing but rather revels in the honest nature of the message.

Thorin’s letter to Febiven, Fnatic’s former League of Legends midlaner, was a mix of the two. An honest, well-written message to a player fallen on misfortune and tilt.

At its core, the letter is a call to the nature of a competitor. In Thorin’s words, “it’s in a champion’s nature to seek more titles. There can never be enough won.”

Messages like these are what makes the eSports community special to me. Fans and writers can rally around a simple message like this because while the players and teams we root for might be earning big bucks, they are still part of the community. Rarely are they elevated to the status of the traditional sports athlete who is a mythical figure hard to reach for the common fan.

Letters like these, directly addressed to our favorite players and shared with the community, remind us that eSports is a grassroots phenomenon. It’s honestly amazing.

There’s honestly so much more to add here. Like the fact that our joint eSports organizations and friends outside the industry were scrappy in helping certain teams get their visas and help them compete on the world stage (shoutouts to Joebert Yu). Or the fact that no less than two world-class events, a host of well-produced local events and a bevy of gaming-themed organizations launched in 2016 alone.

There’s also the fact that for the first time in a long time, we have truly competitive teams across multiple titles. Dota 2, Heroes of the Storm, Hearthstone, CrossFire, CS:GO.

It’s been a great year for gamers in the country and I, along with our staff here at eSports INQ, are thankful to have been a part of it.

What made your 2016 in eSports enjoyable?

The post A Personal List of the Best of Esports (Mostly Philippines) In 2016 appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.

Games are more than past times these days. Engaging in them can be highly competitive and may also unify players through actions that can only be done by a community. The latter is exemplified by a 12-gun salute offered by friends for a fallen Overwatch player.

This fallen Overwatch player and fan is called Willem Den Toom, a gamer and also a contributor to the site Too Much Gaming, reports Kotaku.

Willem Den Toom passed away Jan. 15, 2017 at only 36 years old.

His compatriots at Too Much Gaming explained their rationale for making the tribute video: “As a tribute to a fallen gamer and friend, we decided to do a gun salute in one of Will’s favorite games featuring the characters he most frequently used (…and Hanzo).”

And then they offered some parting words for their friend. 

“Wherever you are,” said his friends, “may the payload be always moving, the point always contested, no one trickles out, and may there always [be] a healer on your team. We miss you, big guy. This play of the game is for you.”

It’s heartwarming to witness something like this every now and then. The gesture shows that modern gaming is not just about wasting time in front of a PC or gaming console. It also builds connections between the people who call themselves gamers. Alfred Bayle

The gun salute to Willem Den Toom:

The post Overwatch players offer 12-gun salute to honor fallen friend appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.

Women’s Marches have become the thing for protesting against U.S. President Trump’s stance on women’s rights, as well as other issues in the U.S. and around the world. However, in Seoul, a popular game character has be conscripted to symbolize these movements. She’s none other than Korean pro gamer-girl and MEKA riding Overwatch superstar, D.Va.

RocketNews24 reports that a group calling themselves “For D.Va (The National D.Va Association)” have appropriated the game character as their symbol.

Their official website describes the origin of this group as such:

“For D.Va (National D.Va Association) first started off as a feminist gamer group, gathered to voice our opinions about (currently suspended) President Park Geun Hye. After the President’s suspension, we decided not to disperse, but to keep fighting for gender equality.”

The group’s website further explains that they chose D.Va as their mascot because she was a Korean woman who thrived as a professional gamer. D.Va’s status in the fictional world of Overwatch was alluded to the case of Geguri, a female Korean pro gamer accused of using hacks. She was accused as such because it was deemed impossible for a woman to be so proficient in playing games.

While the group’s reasoning is sound, it would take some time before a predominantly male environment, like the gaming world, would change enough to allow for the emergence of a D.Va-like individual. We do hope she’s just as cute.

Apart from that, the usage of D.Va as a symbol for a formal organization would technically be infringing on copyright laws. If Blizzard was gung-ho enough to call for the take down of Overwatch-related porn on porn sites, what’s to say that they won’t take action for something as visible as a feminist group? Alfred Bayle

The post D.Va from Overwatch becomes symbol for Women’s March, feminist groups appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.

The long-awaited Overwatch League kicked off and started their regular season today with three games of Blizzard’s premier esport. With over a year in the making, fans all over the world tuned in to watch with anticipation.

In fact,  the Overwatch League Twitch channel broke the record for most concurrent viewers, surpassing Tyler1’s 370 thousand viewers, which he himself set just a few days prior, in his return to streaming League of Legends. At its peak, over 441 thousand viewers across three streams were tuned in to the opening day of OWL, while maintaining a steady 300 thousand throughout the six-hour broadcast.

The Overwatch League regular season is split up into four stages, with each stage lasting five weeks. The end of each stage greets winners with a prize pool of $125,000. The overall League champions take home a neat $1,000,000.

San Francisco Shock vs. Los Angeles Valiant

Day 1 kicked off with two California teams facing off. LA Valiant made quick work of Shock in Dorado, the first map of the game.  Valiant displayed stellar teamwork, timing key ultimates just right to make for effective attacks. Paired with great zone control, Valiant took the second map, Temple of Anubis, 4-3, and a 2-0 map lead.

The second half opened up with Control on Ilios, a map where Shock has won in the preseason. Their familiarity paid off with a win in the first round, but not before Valiant bounced back to win the map. With the victory, LA Valiant clinch the first match of Overwatch League history. Needless to say, the SoCal team took the last map, Numbani, to sweep the NoCal team clean 4-0.

Shanghai Dragons vs Los Angeles Gladiators

In the first transcontinental match, the third Cali team, LA Gladiators, went up against the all-Chinese Shanghai Dragons. Like the first game, the Gladiators swept the first three maps, which were also Dorado, Temple of Anubis, and Ilios, to clinch the win. The fourth map, Eichenwalde also went in the way of LA.

Dallas Fuel vs Seoul Dynasty

It’s East vs West in the battle of the best Overwatch players as Day 1 comes to a close. The stacked and talented Dallas Fuel roster face off against the Koreans of Seoul Dynasty, three of whom were members of the Overwatch Cup winning team.

As expected, Seoul came out on top, but not without a fight. Dallas took Map 1, Junkertown, 3-2. Temple of Anubis saw the two bulls butt at each other back and forth, but in the end Seoul was able to overcome Dallas 6-5. While the second map was almost a stale mate, Seoul made quick work of Dallas in Ilios, where their unique compositions and signature aggressive playstyle earned them a quick 2-0 win. The last map, Numbani, ended up in a draw. Fuel’s individual plays matched up against the superior Dynasty macro game but all in all, Seoul takes the overall win 2-1.

Catch all the Overwatch action on their website, their Twitch channel, or on Major League Gaming. Tomorrow’s games starts at 8:00AM Philippine Standard Time, with the London Spitfire taking on Florida Mayhem, followed by Philadelphia Fusion facing off against the Houston Outlaws. The last game will see Boston Uprising play against New York Excelsior.

The post Overwatch League kicks off inaugural season, Valiant, Gladiators, Dynasty pick up wins appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.

The Overwatch League’s first champion has been decided! The London Spitfire defeated the Philadelphia Fusion in the Overwatch League Grand Finals at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on July 28 (EST), with London sweeping Philadelphia in the second match of the series, 3-0.

Fans all around the world were able to watch London Spitfire triumph over Philadelphia Fusion as the Grand Finals matches were broadcast live on ESPN – a first for esports in primetime – as well as ESPN 2, Disney XD, and Twitch. London Spitfire earned a $1,000,000 prize, while Philadelphia Fusion walked away with $400,000.

After a 40-match regular season, which began on Jan. 10, the top six teams in the standings faced off in two playoff rounds held at Blizzard Arena Los Angeles. A tale of underdog overachievement, London Spitfire entered the playoffs as the No. 5 seed while Philadelphia Fusion was the No. 6 seed.

The Overwatch League is the first truly global professional esports league, with 12 teams from 4 different countries and 3 continents. The league’s diversity was on full display during the Grand Finals, with players representing South Korea, Russia, France, Israel, Sweden, Finland, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Spain.

Keep up with all of the latest Overwatch League news and content on the Overwatch League website, as well as on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. For a full recap of the Grand Finals, visit OverwatchLeague.com/news.

The post London Spitfire Captures History as Overwatch League’s Inaugural Season Champions appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.

Get ready for Overwatch Contenders Pacific (OWCP) Season 2 Playoffs! 8 teams exceled advanced to the playoffs: Monster Shield, Blank Esports, Hong Kong Attitude, and Talon Esports from Group A, and Cyclops Athlete Gaming, EXL-ESPORTS, Machi Esports and Xavier Esports from Group B.

The quarterfinals (Ro8) will be played on August 9 while the semifinals (Ro4) are on August 10. The top two teams from OWCP Season 2 Playoffs will travel to Bangkok, Thailand, where they will play the final matches live in Overwatch World Cup Bangkok Group Stage!

See below for the two-day detailed schedule:

Do not miss the best moments of OWCP Season 2 by following any of the live streams.

Mandarin: https://www.twitch.tv/overwatchzhtw

English: https://www.twitch.tv/overwatchcontenders

Thai: https://www.twitch.tv/overwatchth

In addition, beginning with the Contenders Playoffs Quarterfinals, Contenders broadcasts will feature home and away skins, like the Overwatch League and the Overwatch World Cup. Contenders viewing experience is a priority, and we feel confident that the addition of skins will make broadcasts more enjoyable than ever for new and regular viewers alike! For more information, like how to decide home and away skins, please visit the blog post.

HOME SKINS

AWAY SKINS

The post OWCP Season 2 Playoffs About To Kick Off and The Broadcast Will Feature Home and Away Skins appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.

Female Esports League just ended, campus leagues were hinted and announced, amateur and pro tours round-up their qualifiers, we have talents going to BlizzCon, PH national team for SEA games open for trainees! What. A. Week.

Here’s a queue of all the good news you need to start-off another stormy week:

Fem-Esports: GGTY Represents PH for Female Esports League Elite in Singapore

We included GGTY in our FSL primer as one of the teams to watch. Styling a convincing 2-0 against Ardent Esports in the finale, GGTY has locked in its place as the Philippines’ representative for FSL Elite next month.

What has to be clarified from the previous article is that their significant roster change was largely due to key members returning and committing:

Aiko is one of the founding members of GGTY (since 2016) but was on hiatus for more than a year. Gia (Serment), our current mid laner, has been with GGTY since 2017. 

Their support team is also well-stacked; they have a sponsor for their practices and three (3) coaches who work with them in their practice sessions and drafts.

Campus: Esports AcadArena Teases, Esports Collegiate League Launches

Scout away, students! Classes and campus leagues start soon.

The Esports AcadArena (EAA) page recently teased a few changes incoming for their next split. Esports Collegiate League (ECL) on the other hand just closed their PUBG tournament and just recently launched their DotA 2 leg.

Surely watch out for this one.

Tours: Thunder Esports Tour Completes Stops, Taiwan Excellence Preps

The Thunder Esports Tour just finished their regional hop last August 3 to 4 in Cebu, completing their regional reps for the finals at SM North Edsa from August 31 to September 1. 

Dota 2, Counter Strike: Global Offensive, and Mobile Legends: BangBang teams from the Pampanga, Cagayan de Oro and Cebu legs will meet then to fight for a 920,000 PHP prize pool.

Taiwan Excellence had their first round of qualifiers last August 3. The games were done in four (4) different shops across Metro Manila. Dungeon Akiba, Hey Gaming, Panaw and Portal One Esports advance.

The tournament still has three weeks of qualifiers till the Inter-branch stage on September 14 for CS:GO and September 24 for LoL.

International: Team Philippines Revealed for Overwatch 2019 World Cup

The final seven (7) players representing the PH at the prestigious Overwatch 2019 World Cup was revealed last July 30. With tryouts were announced and happening earlier last month, the total pool was whittled down to a final twelve (12).

Here’s the final seven (7):

• • • TANK: Fascinate, Grandeesauto
    • DPS: Billy, Redux, XNS
    • SUPPORT: Jorun, Rebirth.

As the country’s reps, they’ll be competing in the annual BlizzCon to be held in Anaheim, California this November.

1. 1. 1. Dota2 Registrations
      2. StarCraft 2 Registrations
      3. Hearthstone Registrations
      4. Tekken 7 Registrations
      5. Mobile Legends Registrations
      6. Arena of Valor Registrations

That’s it for this week’s INQueue! Check back every Monday for your weekly recap on local PH esports.

The post INQueue Weekly #1: Diversity Wins in Philippine Esports appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

The cavalry is going mobile!

Overwatch, Blizzard’s popular first-person hero shooter, is set to go portable for the first time with its release on the Nintendo Switch in October as per yesterday’s Nintendo Direct.

The world needs heroes.

The fight for the future arrives on Nintendo Switch October 15! pic.twitter.com/Bbf5xhaRs6

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) September 4, 2019

Based on the trailer, players can expect the full Overwatch experience on-the-go with a few add-ons like motion controls for aiming and select hero abilities. Buying the game comes with fifteen skins plus three months of Nintendo Switch Online (given that online play requires a subscription to the service). Cross-platform play isn’t a thing here, as it is with the game’s outings on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Overwatch for the Nintendo Switch comes out on October 15, and is now available for pre-purchase on the Nintendo eShop.

The post Overwatch is Coming to the Nintendo Switch appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

Image credit: Robert Paul for Blizzard Entertainment

Overwatch League (OWL) — the biggest professional esports league for Blizzard’s Overwatch — recently awarded the honors for this year’s games, most notably the new titles of Overwatch League Role Stars and Rookie of the Year. The recipients for the second Dennis Hawelka Award and the Most Valuable Player (MVP) were also recognized.

Overwatch League Role Stars is a title given to the best players in the league in their respective roles of damage, tank, and support. Votes were cast, and the top four players of each role were awarded the honor. A complete list of the twelve players can be found on this Overwatch League post.

Hyo-Jong “Haksal” Kim of Vancouver Titans was recognized as Rookie of the Year — an award given to the new faces and talents of this year’s OWL — while Jay “Sinatraa” Won of San Francisco Shock was crowned as successor to last year’s MVP, Seong-Hyun “Jjonak” Bang of New York Excelsior.

The Dennis Hawelka Award focuses players with positive impacts on the community, and for its second year, was given to the captain of the Los Angeles Valiant, Scott “Custa” Kennedy.

The post Undeniable Skills, New Talents, and Positive Impacts: Overwatch League Adds New Awards for OWL 2019 appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

Image credit: Ben Pursell for Blizzard Entertainment

The Overwatch League (OWL) championship was just held on Sunday, September 29 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, USA. In a match between San Francisco Shock and Vancouver Titans, Shock dominated the fight with a landslide victory of score 4-0, officially making them the second Overwatch League champion, succeeding last year’s winners, London Spitfire.

SF Shock has been doing well throughout the season: highlights include a stage title, the league MVP, and a 20-0 map win run that pulled them out of the loser’s bracket and into the running for OWL 2019 Champion. The T-Mobile Grand Finals MVP was also awarded to Hyo-Bin “Choihyobin” Choi, Shock’s off-tank player.

The post San Francisco Shocks the Overwatch League 2019 Grand Finals appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

Blizzard Entertainment recently dropped the origin story for Echo, a long-awaited Overwatch heroine. The video can be found on all official Overwatch social media channels, including YouTube.

Introducing Echo.

An evolutionary robot programmed with a rapidly adapting artificial intelligence, Echo represents the cutting edge of technology. pic.twitter.com/aStyP5F4Al

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) March 18, 2020

While no official announcements have been made as to when Echo will be playable, following the patterns of previous characters, it is expected that she’ll be in-game in two to four weeks. It is unclear whether Echo is a support or damage character.

Echo is the 32nd hero in the roster, preceded by Sigma. She is the third of the six heroes that Jeff Kaplan mentioned to have been “planned out” during a 2018 Blizzcon interview.

Echo had her first appearance in Jesse McCree’s Reunion short back in November 2018. Then, the only things revealed about Echo was that she was part of Overwatch before its fall, and that she had been inactive since Blackwatch days. The recent video revealed that Echo was the legacy of the original creator of the omnics, Dr. Liao, who suffered an untimely death after a breach in the Overwatch labs.

The post New Overwatch Hero: Blizzard Releases Echo’s Origin Story appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

Yesterday, San Francisco Shock and the Shanghai Dragons moved on to the Winners Finals while Philadelphia Fusion and Seoul Dynasty got sent to the Loser’s Bracket to see who makes it back to the Grand Finals of the Overwatch League Playoffs.

Seoul Dynasty versus San Francisco Shock. (Source: Blizzard)

Dodged A Bullet: Seoul Dynasty vs San Francisco Shock

The first series of the day definitely delivered on the hype as NA’s #1 seed San Francisco Shock took on Asia’s #2 seed Seoul Dynasty. 

Shock, the defending OWL champions, came into the 2020 season with a target on their back. With the addition of returning player Lee “ANS” Seonchang, Shock now had five DPS players. But thanks in part to their talented coaching staff headed by Park “Crusty” Daehee, the team found success. The team thrived, even through a few roster changes mid-season, including the departure of their star player Jay “sinatraa” Won who retired from competitive Overwatch and moved to VALORANT. 

Dynasty came into the Playoffs as the underdogs. While the other three teams were expected to do well in the season, Seoul were overlooked in early season power rankings. Despite this, their results throughout the year proved otherwise. They reached the May Melee Finals where they fought an intense 3-4 match against the Shanghai Dragons, fell to them again in the Summer Showdown for 3rd-4th, and placed 2nd in the Asia Playoffs after routing New York Excelsior 3-0.

Shock easily took the first two maps, getting 2-0 in Oasis and 3-0 in Hollywood thanks to a stellar performance by ANS. Backs against the wall, the whole Seoul roster sparked a fire, started by tank players Jae-hee “Gesture” Hong and Min-seo “Marve1” Hwang who piloted the Roadhog and Hammond combo pretty well. Seoul managed to win in Volskaya Industries 2-1 and Havana 3-0 with their newfound energy, taking the series to a Game 5. However, things crumbled in Busan as Dynasty cracked under pressure and were not able to touch point even with their players alive in both rounds as Shock win the map 2-0, and the series 3-2.

Philadelphia Fusion versus the Shanghai Dragons. (Source: Blizzard)

Not Even Close: Shanghai Dragons vs Philadelphia Fusion

From going winless in the inaugural season of OWL to now being in the Top 4, the Dragons have come a long way. After several roster rebuilds focusing on Korean players, Shanghai have since improved by a lot, particularly in 2020 where they finished 2nd in the Summer Showdown and 1st in the May Melee, Countdown Cup, the Regular Season, and the Asia Playoffs. Coming into the Grand Finals, they were a squad to be reckoned with.

Philadelphia on the other hand, had a chip on their shoulder. All year long they finished 2nd; behind the Dragons in the Regular Season, Paris Eternal in the Summer Showdown, Shock in the Countdown Cup and NA Playoffs, and 3rd-4th in the May Melee. The Playoffs were a chance to redeem themselves. 

However, things looked bleak for Fusion, as once again they played second fiddle to the Dragons, who were on a hot streak. Despite trading rounds in Busan, that would be Fusion’s only round win of the whole series. After packing up Map 1, they easily took control in King’s Row and Volskaya Industries, with the superior double sniper setup on defense, and falling back to their reliable aggressive gameplay on attack. In dominating fashion, they took the series 3-0 and moved on to the Winners’ Finals, where they will face a waiting San Francisco Shock.

The Road Ahead

San Francisco Shock and Shanghai Dragons will be duking it out in the Winners Finals later today at 5:00PM GMT+8 for a spot at the Grand Finals, while Seoul Dynasty and Philadelphia Fusion fight for their lives in the Lower Bracket. Catch all the action on their YouTube channel, and check out their website for more details.

The post Dynasty get Shocked, Dragons burn Fusion in OWL Winners’ Semis appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

San Francisco Shock took down the Seoul Dynasty at the Overwatch League Grand Finals 2020 to become the league’s first-ever two-time champions.

A strong start in Oasis and King’s Row put SF up 2-0.  In game 3, Shock had a chance to get to match in Hanamura, a map they have not lost in two years, until now. Seoul rallied back with their signature comp featuring the Ham/Sigma tank duo paired with Mercy/Ana and flexible DPS. With momentum on their side, they take Map 4 in Watchpoint: Gibraltar as well. Park “Profit” Joon-yeong stepped up with a surprise Genji pick, and with clutch Nanoblades, managed to hold SF to a full 3-0 hold.

In Map 5, Shock picked Busan, another comfort map for them. With their superior defense around points, they managed to take both points to go up 3-2 for match point. Going to Hollywood for Map 6, Seoul clutched the defense to keep Shock from map completion. Despite their best efforts however, Shock’s defense was too much and fend off Dynasty.

With the win, they go up 4-2 and become the Overwatch League Champions for the second year in a row.

The post Shock Dominate SEO to Become Back-to-Back Overwatch League Champions appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

As a result of the global pandemic that put conventions of all kinds to a halt, this year’s BlizzCon (aptly named BlizConline) was fully virtual and free to watch for everyone. The two-day event concluded yesterday but here’s a recap of announcements from Overwatch, World of Warcraft, and Hearthstone, just in case you missed a thing or two.

Overwatch

The Overwatch 2: Behind the Scenes featurette gave players an update on Overwatch 2 development and how the game has evolved since it was first announced in BlizzCon 2019. Some of these reveals were:

• New locations such as Rome, which is the setting for a map in the new Push mode, and the New York City of Overwatch’s future Earth.
• Fresh looks for original Overwatch heroes like McCree and Pharah.
• Null Sector foe tweaks based on player feedback from the Overwatch 2 demo at BlizzCon 2019.
• Reveal of new Null Sector enemies the Stalker and Breacher.
• A sneak peek at talents, a vital part of the progression system that allows players to customize their heroes’ abilities in the sequel’s all-new cooperative experience.
• An update on Story Missions and Hero Missions.

Until February 25, players can also celebrate the Year of the Ox with seasonal cosmetics (Kkachi Echo, Dragonfire Bastion, and Tiger Huntress Ashe) and an all-new brawl, Bounty Hunter.

World of Warcraft

A blast from the past sees World of Warcraft take players back to the game’s first expansion with the Burning Crusade Classic. Through the launch and over the course of content updates to follow, the recreation will bring back features from the 2007 original, including:

• The Shattered Realm of Outland
• Two New Playable Races—the Blood Elves on a quest to find a new source of arcane power and the Draenei, Outland’s exiles in search of a new home.
• 2v2, 3v3, or 5v5 combat in Arenas such as the Ring of Trials and the Circle of Blood.
• Flying mounts and new hero options.
• 5-player, 10-player, and 25-player dungeons in the Tempest Keep, Karazhan, and the Sunwell Plateau, respectively.

Similar to WoW Classic, access to Burning Crusade Classic will be included in players’ existing World of Warcraft subscriptions at no additional cost. Additional information on Burning Crusade Classic can be found here.

Hearthstone

The start of another exciting year for Hearthstone awaits in the coming weeks with massive set overhauls, hundreds of new cards, and an all-new game mode.

The Year of the Gryphon kicks off its first expansion with Forged in the Barrens which is set for release in March. The Horde-themed expansion will introduce 135 new cards, the Frenzy keyword, and 10 Legendary Mercenary minions (each representing a different Hearthstone class) whose stories will be told throughout the year similar to Book of Heroes.

If you’re out of the loop then it’s about time you know that the Basic and Classic sets will be moved to Wild and will be replaced by the all-new Core Set. We’ve previously discussed the Core Set and Classic Format here.

A new game mode, Hearthstone Mercenaries, was announced to be in the works as well. The single-player game and competitive game mode has been likened to Dungeon Run and Slay the Spire and those claims aren’t entirely off the mark. Stay tuned for our upcoming developer interview story to get a better idea of what Mercenaries is, and it isn’t.

The post BlizzCononline Rundown: Overwatch 2, WoW Burning Crusade Classic, Hearthstone Year of the Gryphon appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

The Overwatch team gave players a first look at PvP changes coming to Overwatch 2 in a special live stream held on Twitch and Youtube earlier today. The most notable change? Overwatch PvP will be transitioning from 6v6 play to 5v5, removing a tank slot in the process.

Overwatch game director Aaron Keller explains that the team has always wanted to make “combat easy to read and understandable,” and that “removing [two players] simplifies everything as and it allows players to understand everything that’s happening around them and make better choices because of it.”

GET ON THE PAYLOAD!

Group up with the Overwatch team (along with some friends) for a live look at Overwatch 2’s PvP gameplay. The fun starts RIGHT NOW!

https://t.co/Dtu4YTuU0h
https://t.co/03WKGQ6iUs pic.twitter.com/bsz7pjh6vx

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) May 20, 2021

For this change to happen, tank mains will draw the shorter end of the stick.

The developers further explained that the change sought to change the core of current Overwatch combat that relied too much on tanks. One less tank meant players will be incentivized to do things other than just keeping their tanks alive and instead come up with creative ways to flank and take objectives.

It’s a big change that was met with harsh criticism from the community but with Overwatch 2’s release date yet to be announced, the words “it’s too soon to tell,” will echo on for much longer.

The post Overwatch 2 removes second tank slot for 5v5 PvP transition appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

As the six-week long Summer Game Fest 2021 kicked off, many game announcements, updates, and reveals were made by game developers. Blizzard Entertainment’s Aaron Keller is no exception. Aaron is the Game Director for Blizzard’s much anticipated Overwatch 2. He explained that with the format changing from the 6 vs 6 that players of Overwatch are familiar with, to Overwatch 2’s 5 vs 5, it “requires a fresh look at all of our heroes… it should feel new yet familiar to fans of our strategic team based combat.”

Aaron stressed how passionate his team was in updating the look of the world of Overwatch, and of course this included heroes. During the livestream, he showed the updated look that the heroes Baptiste and Sombra would get.

via Blizzard Entertainment

He illustrates how this update to Baptiste’s wardrobe “gives that medic or surgeon vibe to him.

via Blizzard Entertainment

For Sombra, he boasts about the small details that they embedded on her clothing like the circuitry and nodes. Aaron also expressed that Sombra’s design was challenging for them to update, given her asymmetric design.

Overwatch 2 is expected to come out on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC, with no confirmed release date yet.

The post Blizzard Reveals New Look for Baptiste and Sombra in Overwatch 2 appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

Thailand’s prodigal Overwatch son returns back to his roots. X10 Crit’s Patiphan “Patiphan” Chaiwong has left VALORANT in order to return to playing Overwatch.

After 4 years, finally i’m back home #ShieldsUP https://t.co/5rMcFyj2Uu

— Patiphan (@itsPatiphan) December 15, 2021

The announcement was made via Los Angeles Gladiators’ Twitter. “We’re proud to welcome @itspatiphan back to Overwatch and to the Gladiators!” the LA-based Overwatch team said.

Prior to this announcement, rumors about Patiphan’s departure from the VALORANT scene were prevalent even before Champions rolled around.

pic.twitter.com/4Gsj4F8GTz

— Patiphan (@itsPatiphan) December 12, 2021

He ultimately confirmed this rumor by tweeting a video of him exiting the VALORANT client, a dramatic metaphor for his retirement.

Patiphan’s esports career started in Overwatch as he used to compete for OneShine, Xavier, Talon, Eternal Academy, and WGS Phoenix respectively. Primarily known as a DPS player, Patiphan had an illustrious Overwatch career as he was once considered as arguably the best player in all of Southeast Asia, at 15 years old, while being the ace of Thailand’s team for the 2018 Overwatch World Cup.

The post X10’s Patiphan leaves VALORANT for Overwatch comeback appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.

via Blizzard Entertainment

Overwatch 2 just hit the live servers today, and it’s not off to a good start. Several people have gone off on Twitter, expressing their disbelief in Activision-Blizzard’s Overwatch 2 servers. 

The Overwatch 2 Experience pic.twitter.com/8ndVLl106R

— Frogger (@FroggerOW) October 4, 2022

Overwatch 2 players right now pic.twitter.com/jE1dEgOyf1

— BRO YOU WACK (@BroYouWack) October 4, 2022

Me when I find these 50,000 people ahead of me in the Overwatch 2 queue #Overwatch2 pic.twitter.com/38G52aBzU1

— TheeImoutoBreeder (@ItzZaY232) October 4, 2022

Several people expressed their frustrations regarding the overly long queue times for Overwatch 2. When players try to log on to the game, they are greeted with a prompt that tells them how many people are queueing up with them.

These long queue times are due to the influx of players coming in to try the new game. Overwatch 2 is free-to-play, a change made by Activision-Blizzard to attract more players. This change in direction proved effective, as more than 40,000 players queued up, waiting to play the game.

Activision-Blizzard is yet to release a comment regarding the server issues as continue to experience long queue times.

The post The Overwatch 2 hype might die off and I still can’t play the game appeared first on Esports by Inquirer.net.