B/R Weekly Rushdown: NFL and EA Sports Teaming Up, Boston Major Begins

One big tournament down, one big tournament ongoing and one big title announced! It was quite the week in esports, and it served well as the final week of competitive action for 2016.

There's no need to stretch this out, so just jump right into your latest rushdown of esports news.

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NFL to Help boost Madden’s Esports Standing?

Earlier this year, Electronic Arts executive Peter Moore discussed how his company was going to make a massive push into the realm of esports. While that endeavour is still in its infancy, the early outlook is most positive.

According to a report by SportsBusiness Journal (via Daily Dot's Thiemo Brautigam), EA’s push of its Madden franchise at the competitive level has caught the fancy of the NFL itself. Here is what’s on the docket:

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The NFL Network and NFL.com will cover the Madden circuit from December through April. But there’s more: NFL Media will produce a weekly TV show called “Madden America.” 

“This is a different space that everybody is interested in,” Michael Mandt, NFL Media’s executive producer for original content, told SportsBusiness Journal. “We’re trying to see if there’s an opportunity for us to capitalize on an industry that’s really growing fast.”

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EA has long had the right pieces in place to become an esports juggernaut, with a strong hold on the entire sports genre and a number of other prominent titles under its umbrella like Battlefield and Titanfall. For whatever reason, the company just never seemed to bother pursuing that success outside a half-hearted tire-kicking with FIFA that, despite the series’ global popularity, has yet to amount to much.

However, this could mark something of a turning point for EA’s relationship with esports. A dedicated Madden-related television series being placed alongside other NFL programming is likely the best way to introduce new fans to esports through a familiar franchise.

If this works out, EA could finally become a major publisher in the realm of esports. That’s a long time coming for what is, essentially, the biggest publisher of multiplayer-focused titles for consoles.

Boston Major Begins Today!

Oh, it’s finally here, ladies and gentlemen! The biggest Dota 2 event of the winter, the Boston Major, is finally upon us. The group stages wrapped up this past weekend, with intriguing results.

Russia’s Virtus.Pro is looking the part of an elite-level team at this point. Tournament favourites Wings Gaming and Evil Geniuses both showed some cracks in their armor. LGD Gaming is getting revenge for its last-minute invite to the tournament.

The action is probably underway as you read this, so make sure to check out Twitch and YouTube to watch all the action live. Want more context for the day’s action? Check out Bleacher Report’s preview of the event.

Capcom Cup Results

One of the year’s biggest fighting game events came and went...and boy, it was something else. Street Fighter V is one of the most exciting games in esports to watch as a casual fan, but hardcores weren’t left wanting when it came to shocking results.

The first day of action saw a slew of favourites and seasoned veterans get dispatched in the early goings of the event. Names like Justin Wong, Infiltration and Tokido were scratched off one by one. This culminated with an impressive run to the grand finals by FGC vet Ricki Ortiz and Team Liquid’s NuckleDu.

The top eight shook out as follows, per Shoryuken.com:

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1. Liquid|NuckleDu (R. Mika, Guile)
2. EG|Ricki Ortiz (Chun-Li)
3. GGP|Kazunoko (Cammy)
4. YOUDEAL.MJS|Haitani (Necalli)
5. RZR|Fuudo (R. Mika)
5. MOV (Chun-Li)
7. YOUDEAL|Yukadon (Nash)
7. CYCLOPS|GO1 (Chun-Li)

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Fighting game fans have a bit of a cooldown over the holiday season to look forward to. That will just make the action restarting in 2017 all the sweeter, though.

Interesting Announcements from PSX

Many fans were expecting big news from the Playstation Experience event, and they likely weren’t disappointed. A number of major titles were announced or put on display, but the biggest esports-related news is the official announcement Marvel vs. Capcom: Infinite.

Rumors swirled ahead of the event that the 20-year-old crossover series would receive a new installment, and while that’s technically true, Infinite takes the series in a new direction. While past MvC games have always been built around fast-paced, assist-filled 3v3 combat, Infinite seems to be focused on combo-heavy 2v2 play that is somewhat reminiscent of SNK’s one-shot crossover title NeoGeo Battle Coliseum.

Additionally, the chatter that the game would focus in on the Marvel Cinematic Universe instead of the more standard roster appears to be true as well, with Captain Marvel (the Carol Danvers version) being the most prominently featured Marvel character despite never appearing in a past MvC title.

There was no clear release date for the title announced beyond "2017," which means the title is likely a ways off. Nitty-gritty details like the roster and exact features of the combat system will likely surface over the coming months.