B/R Weekly Rushdown: Nintendo Switch Launch Date and Price, ESL Goes Exclusive

The esports world is changing quickly right now, and that's the big theme for this week's installment of the Rushdown. A new console was finally detailed, a bold new tournament hit the airwaves, a major broadcast deal was announced, and the final throes of a major controversy came and shook up the CS:GO world.

Here's your Weekly Rushdown of esports news.

WESG Concludes

The World Electronic Sports Games 2017 concluded and left fans with a mixed bag of emotions.

The tournament, sponsored by massive Chinese conglomerate Alibaba Group, was impressive in many ways. Looking to be the Olympics of esports, it flaunted presentation and prize pools on par with almost any other major tournament from the LCS to the Dota 2 Majors. The crowd was hot, the stakes were high, and the event went smoothly.

So what was the problem? Few of the world's best in each game were in attendance due to the nation-based approach, segmenting players by national origin rather than allowing established international teams to enter. Paul "ReDeYe" Chaloner discussed this on Twitter:

"

Happy for TNC and Cloud9 that they get to a final for $1.2m split between them, but disappointed no top 10 teams could play due to bad rules

— ReDeYe (@PaulChaloner) January 14, 2017"

WESG is a brilliant idea in most ways, offering a neat variation in an otherwise homogenized esports field, but in this writer's mind, Chaloner is correct in that WESG did a less than optimal job ensuring top-level competitors. Still, this was a solid start to what could be a must-see event on the esports calendar.

The results for each game were as follows:

CS:GO	Dota 2	Hearthstone	StarCraft II
No. 1- Team EnVyUS (USA)	No. 1- TnC (PHI)	No. 1- Staz (PHI)	No. 1- TY (KOR)
No. 2- Team Kinguin (POL)	No. 2- Cloud9 (DEN)	No. 2- Orange (SWE)	No. 2- Maru (KOR)
No. 3- Virtus.Pro (POL)	No. 3- Alliance (SWE)	No. 3- BunnyHoppor (GER)	No. 3- Neeb (USA)
No. 4- Space Soldiers (TUR)	No. 4- Infamous (PER)	No. 4- Xixo (GER)	No. 4- ShoWTimE (GER)

Nintendo Switch Revelations

At long last, Nintendo gave fans some answers on its soon-to-launch console. It's long overdue, of course, given how Switches are set to hit shelves (well, figuratively) less than two months from now. But as they say, better late than never.

While the biggest takeaways for casual fans were the fact that Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was a launch title and that Mario's next adventure, Mario Odyssey, will take place in the real world, esports fans walked away with plenty of new information...both good and bad. Here's a quick rundown:

• Online multiplayer will require a paid subscription, a la Xbox Live Gold and PlayStation Plus. That stinks. Nothing else has been announced in terms of prices, free content, functionality, store services, etc.
• An enhanced port of Mario Kart 8 will launch in April, while Splatoon is receiving a sequel rather than an enhanced port of the Wii U title.
• While Smash Bros. was completely AWOL from the presentation (which fits with Nintendo's longstanding shame of the franchise), Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime more or less confirmed the game would be available, in one way or another, in an interview with Time.
  
• The console will support local multiplayer with up to seven other Switches.
• EA Sports is returning to Nintendo platforms with EA Sports FIFA for the Switch. No word on anything else.
• Ultra Street Fighter II: The Final Challengers was announced, a new game that builds upon Super Street Fighter II Turbo: HD Remix for the PS3 and Xbox 360. It adds new characters (Evil Ryu and Violent Ken) and MUGEN-style two-on-one multiplayer. No word on any possible balance tweaks.

And of course, there is also finally a firm release date (March 3) and price point ($300 USD, $400 CAD). Preorders are basically sold out worldwide at this point, but check out your preferred retailer if any of this caught your fancy.

TSM's CS:GO Team Leaves, Joins Misfits

Team SoloMid's bad winter continued earlier this week. Following an ugly PR battle with its Counter-Strike squad, TSM announced the release of the four players left on its payroll.

The organization has been at the center of a controversy stemming from the "Players Rights" hashtag, which saw players on PEA-affiliated teams push back against the association's move to withdraw from ESL Pro League in favor of competing in its own league. During that time, TSM owner Andy "Reginald" Dinh controversially released CS:GO pro Sean Gares in a move that raised the ire of both Counter-Strike fans and Gares' teammates.

Daniel Shirey/Getty Images

While the PEA would eventually change its plans, rejoining ESL Pro League at the behest of its players, its players remained firm on wanting Gares to remain with the team. Per TSM's statement, this seems to have been an impasse for the two sides, culminating in their departure from the organization Saturday.

They were not on the market for long, however, as news broke a short time later that the five players would be joining Misfits. The organization, which recently received an influx in capital from the Miami Heat, has been branching out in a big way in recent weeks, signing Smash Bros. player Larry "Larry Lurr" Holland and expanding its brand into Hearthstone, with the acquisition of the CS:GO team being its biggest coup yet.

In all likelihood, both TSM and its now-former players would like to move on from all of this. It will be interesting to see what the new Misfits squad is actually capable of in-game and who TSM can pull together for its new CS:GO squad.

Mathis Wienand/Getty Images

ESL Pro League: Only on YouTube

2017 will likely be a bloody year for esports, and one of the biggest battlegrounds will be over broadcast rights.

For a long while now, esports' broadcasting philosophy has been to make everything available to as many people as possible. Events like Dota 2's The International are available on a slew of platforms, including YouTube, the Dota 2 website, Twitch.TV, the actual game client and many more. That's a unique approach to broadcasting, but it fits with esports being a niche product.

But esports, of course, is becoming more mainstream by the day, and it's only fitting it takes a more traditional network approach as it grows. This began last year with Riot Games working with MLB Advanced Media on a dedicated streaming platform and ELEAGUE bringing esports onto television in a strong way, and it continued earlier this week.

On Friday, ESL Pro League announced the English broadcasts of the fifth and sixth seasons of its Counter-Strike leagues would be exclusively available on YouTube.

YouTube Global Head of Gaming Content Ryan Wyatt commented on the deal:

"

YouTube is happy to announce our partnership with WESA to distribute the upcoming seasons of the ESL Pro League. Entering their 5th Season, ESL’s ability to continue to produce the highest quality content at the pinnacle level of competitive play is unrivaled. Professional Counter-Strike fans and viewership has been growing at such an explosive rate and we are excited to continue sharing this passion with our gaming viewers.

"

YouTube and Twitch.TV, the top live streaming platform for esports content, have been jockeying for position for a while now, with exclusive content often being the only unique offering to attract new fans. With Twitch stepping on the toes of YouTube by reaching out to vloggers late last year, it seems YouTube is firing back by stealing away a major piece of esports content.

Unfortunately, this is likely the start of a trend for major esports events. Look for more of these stories to come out in 2017.