B/R Weekly Rushdown: Pokemon World Championships, Riot Games' PR Disaster
The tournament calendar hasn't been especially great in recent weeks, but boy, there has been a whole lot of drama across the board! Major changes have happened in games, and major fallout has been the result.
So here's the Weekly Rushdown to summarize all that for you!
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Feud Between Riot Games and Teams Simmering Over Competitive League Scene?
There may be some serious issues bubbling just beneath the surface of the League of Legends competitive scene, and that's bad news for eSports. Following an interview with Team SoloMid founder Andy "Regi" Dinh, Riot Games President Marc Merrill penned a lengthy, wide-ranging response (warning: NSFW language on the page, not in the response) that many say is indicative of a deeper feud between Riot and major teams.
Worth noting is that the above response was heavily edited, but DailyDot.com's Samuel Lingle saved the original, which kind of rakes Regi over the coals. It begins by saying "Love me some Regi, but if he's so concerned about the financial health of his players, maybe he should spend more of the millions he has made / makes on playing them instead of investing in other eSports where he is losing money?"
That was followed by a scathing response from Regi:
"Based on Marc’s comment, it feels like there's a belief at Riot that team owners make a lot of money off LCS and invest it into other eSports, but that is far from the truth. I've invested more into NA LCS than any other team...While I continued to make bigger investments into LoL, other LCS team organizations invested into CS:GO early and made more money for players in one year from CS:GO stickers than Riot paid them in three years of stipends and icon sales combined and that game is only a fraction of the size of LoL.
"
That is bad, and as ESPN's Tyler Erzberger details, it's reminiscent of the early stages of StarCraft 2's decline as a major title. ESports is developing rapidly, and it's easy to read into Merrill's statement and question whether he has some concern about League's staying power, and that's only strengthened by Regi's response.
While there isn't cause for League fans to panic at this point, at the very least Riot has some bridges to rebuild. If it can't, it could mean some bad things down the road.
Dota 2 Teams Undergo Massive Shake-Ups
| Player | Team | Role |
| Miracle- | OG | 1 |
| Cr1t- | OG | 4 |
| MoonMeander | OG | 3 |
| DJ | Fnatic | 4 |
| 343 | Fnatic | 5 |
| MidOne | Fnatic | 2 |
| Agressif | LGD | 1 |
They happen after The International each and every year: massive, sweeping roster changes. TI6, for all its memorable moments, is proving to be no different.
A number of elite teams have shaken things up with huge changes to their lineups, with numerous players being released and some players leaving of their own choosing. Check out the nearby table for the specifics.
Pokemon World Championships Are a Fun Departure from the Norm
The Pokemon Company is making all the right moves to make its titular franchise a mainstay in eSports, and that was on full display last week at the Pokemon World Championships. The PWC, which featured tournaments for both its handheld Pokemon titles Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire as well as its trading card game, was a fun departure from the eSports norm.
In a field dominated by execution-heavy real-time strategy titles and fighting games, Pokemon is unique in that it is entirely driven by strategy and intuition. It makes for a one-of-a-kind viewing experience and underscores the amazing depth under the "kiddie game" graphics.
It wasn't perfect, of course. The prize pool, though substantial, wasn't eye-popping like the ones seen in better-established eSports like Counter-Strike and Dota 2. The game is also held back by an awful rule set that forces players into fielding terribly homogenized teams and removes any creativity from a game defined by collection.
Still, there's reason to be excited about the future of Pokemon. The 2017 season will offer more tournaments and will allow more elite-level players to compete on the grand stage; it will likely see the quality of the Championship Series' production continue to rise. If the actual Sun and Moon games get a boost off the popularity of Pokemon Go, it may lead to new heights for the franchise.
Valve Shakes Up Counter-Strike with Rules Banning Coaches
Coaches are a major part of any conventional sport. From a boxer's corner shouting at him while applying a compress to baseball managers throwing a tantrum at umpires because that totally should have been Ball 4, teams always have an on-field strategist and advocate for their players.
Should eSports be any different?
According to Valve...yes. The publisher behind Counter-Strike: Global Offensive announced a sweeping overhaul on the role of coaches in-game, and teams and individual players have met the news with backlash.
While coaches were previously able to direct their teams through voice chat in-game, relaying information during skirmishes and helping teams strategize, their ability to communicate with their teams has now been dialed back to where they can only coordinate during timeouts and at halftime.
Players who have spoken out on the change have been nearly unanimous in their dissatisfaction. Valve, meanwhile, is sticking to its guns.
Ultimately, just like conventional sports, management has the advantage over players in this situation. Valve forces tournaments that seek recognition as a Major to abide by their rules, and unless players boycott tournaments en masse, they have little hope of enacting change.
Call of Duty World Championships Are Coming Up!
Call of Duty is one of the world's most popular games but finds itself in a hard third place among first-person shooters these days behind Counter-Strike and Overwatch when it comes to eSports rep. Activision is looking to change that in September, however, at the Call of Duty World Championships.
The COD Champs, a 32-team tournament, kicks off with group stage matchups on September 1. The game's website will broadcast the tournament live, so make sure to check it out.
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