STACK #160 Feb 2018

GAMES

NEWS

esports Round-Up Jayden Perry with

Every month STACK takes a brief look at what’s happening in esports, both locally and overseas. W elcome to this month’s esports recap, which I’m affectionately calling ‘the one where Jayden gushes about the Overwatch League’. That’s ANZ exposure and the potential to score spots in Overwatch League teams. On a larger scale, CS:GO was

the first esports title that our local squads got to show off in. The newly formed ‘Order’ organisation’s ex-Kings Gaming Club squad (with one of Greyhound’s stars)

right, for the next six months there’s Overwatch action live four days a week, and the first showing for the season lived up to the hype. The opening days saw some insane plays from almost every team, however, by the end of week one, Seoul Dynasty and Los Angeles Valiant had risen to the top. It’s super early on so fingers crossed my beloved LA Gladiators can keep near the top after a strong first showing, but so far competition has been tight. We’re in for a great inaugural season! If you’re looking for something Overwatch , but closer to home, our own Open Division tournament is also running. This league is set up to feed into a Contenders league later in the year, giving more players from

Championship Tour at the end of February.

later in the year. Lastly, the League of Legends Oceanic Pro League kicks off January 20th, with Dire Wolves vs Chiefs Esports Club to open the season. This first split will be fascinating to watch as major reshuffles have occurred, as well as organisations like the Essendon Football Club buying in under the name ‘Bombers’. The earlier mentioned Order looks to be the scariest of all the new rosters on paper, with the likes of Legacy’s Tally and Chiefs’ Swiffer and Spookz ready to do some damage to their former teammates. Regardless of who you once cheered for, this split will be the biggest shake up the stable League of Legends scene has ever witnessed.

Gfinity is chuffing along well with its online tournaments for Rocket League,

took out the top spot at the APAC qualifiers for WESG, scoring themselves a cool $40,000 USD and a spot at worlds. Hearthstone

...so far the competition has been tight

Street Fighter V and CSGO. Chiefs Esports Club and Dark Sided are both leading the Rocket League comps strongly, alongside some

also got its time in the sun during WESG qualifiers, with both MrLego and ProfessorOak both finishing fourth, also punching their ticket to worlds. This is but the first of many tournaments we’ll see locally for Hearthstone this year, with us getting our own spot on the global Hearthstone

decent unsigned groups. Street Fighter is also seeing a huge amount of popularity, with many of the fighting game community’s big names stepping in to play and stream their matches. It’s a strong start that bodes well for their LAN comps

Esports FEBRUARY Calendar:

Fleta from Seoul Dynasty recorded 38.14% Pharah Rocket direct hit rate on Ilios vs Dallas Fuel Poko from Philadelphia Fusion scored 17 D.Va Self Destruct kills against the Houston Outlaws DreamKazper from Boston Uprising had a Roadhog chain hook accuracy of 87.5%, the best in the league Stats from Week 1 of the Overwatch League

Feb 18 - onwards SMITE Oceanic Pro League

Feb 18-19, 25-26 Overwatch Summer Series

Feb 24-25 Hearthstone HTC Sydney Finals

Feb 27 - onwards Paladins Oceania Masters Qualifiers

Feb 27 - onwards CSGO ESL ANZ League Season 1

Feb 28 - onwards ESL ANZ Rocket League Season 1

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