The B/R Weekly Rushdown: July 27, 2016
The world of eSports is now a week separated from Evo and a week away from The International 2016, and boy...the hype is real. Still, while the world stopped to watch, the world didn't stop turning and news still kept breaking.
So what were this week's top stories? Read on and find out!
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Major Teams Expanding into 'Overwatch'
Overwatch is very rapidly becoming one of the top games in eSports, and big teams are scrambling to expand into the new shooter.
That was on full display over the last seven days as powerhouses Team SoloMid and Fnatic both acquired Overwatch teams.
TSM, one of North America's higher-level League of Legends and Counter-Strike teams, absorbed the crew formerly known as Code7, a team made up of high-level North American players who were last seen taking third place at the iBUYPOWER Invitational 2016.
Fnatic, meanwhile, signed American-Swedish team nubris. Nubris has been looking quite strong of late, dominating the GosuGamers weekly tournaments and qualifying for the 2016 ESL Overwatch Atlantic Showdown.
Expect more and more teams to follow suit over the coming weeks.
'Overwatch' to Hit ELEAGUE
TBS' ELEAGUE has been a treat to watch thus far, and the weekly program is expanding outside CS:GO, taking a jump into the realm of Overwatch.
According to a release on July 22, "ELEAGUE...and FACEIT, the world’s leading independent competitive gaming platform, are teaming up to produce The Overwatch Open tournament for Blizzard Entertainment’s blockbuster new first-person shooter, Overwatch."
It continues:
"The Overwatch Open will comprise an online phase run by FACEIT for European and North American teams, as well as Regional and Grand Finals, which will take place at Turner Studios’ ELEAGUE arena in Atlanta. The Grand Final will be presented live on TBS, with simultaneous coverage available via Twitch. Competitors in the Overwatch Open will be vying for their share of a US $300,000 prize pool, making it the largest Overwatch competition to date.
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As if that wasn't enough, the finals will be broadcast on both Twitch and TBS. For more info on the tournament and scheduling, check out the official press release.
Vasilii Fell Off the Proverbial Wagon
Chinese LoL player Li "Vasilii" Wei-Jun has a well-established bad reputation and, well, continues to live down to everyone's expectations.
Playing in the LoL Secondary Pro League with IN Gaming, Vasilii had yet another freakout as he quit out of a game on stage before smashing his keyboard (via The Daily Dot's Samuel Lingle).
That isn't Vasilii's first meltdown...or anything close to it.
After establishing himself as an elite player from 2013 to 2014, he had an ugly divorce from Chinese MOBA juggernaut Vici Gaming after he smashed a number of monitors in a fit of rage. On top of that, he has been spotted breaking equipment during streams and just generally not coping with stress in a healthy way.
Obviously, fits of rage go hand-in-hand with League of Legends at any level, from top-level competitive games on down to rookies.
While the reaction of many fans has been "ha, he's getting mad at a video game," there is very little difference between this and, say, New York Yankee Kevin Brown breaking his hand by punching a wall during a game with the Baltimore Orioles.
Still, that's bad for both Vasilii and his team. Hopefully he can find some inner peace, whether that is in or out of the competitive LoL scene.
The IeSF Finds Some Major Financial Backing
Back in June, the Rushdown discussed the International e-Sports Federation courting the International Olympic Committee and pushing to secure the future of eSports and looked at what could be in store for the future.
Well, the IeSF's goals just moved much closer to being a reality with the announcement (via PVPLive.net) that it's teaming up with the Alibaba Sports Group, which was looking to inject $150 million USD into the federation.
Alisports CEO Zhang Dazhong said the following (via PVPLive.net):
"As the most authoritative international organization in [the] esports industry, IeSF has been committed to promoting [the] esports movement into the mainstream. Including pushing it into the Olympic Games, which is consistent with our ideal. We are honored to cooperate with IeSF as the exclusive global partners in [the] long-term.
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Alibaba Sports Group is an offshoot of the Alibaba Group Holding Limited, a major Chinese e-commerce company, that seeks to mobilize the company in the sports industry at an international level.
While it might seem relatively odd to partner with a group that has a fairly limited reach like the IeSF, its endgame is somewhat clear: Partner with the IeSF to create media to use as a platform for Alibaba's other services and properties.
Will it work, though? Well, we'll just have to wait and see.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
