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057
INTRO GAMES
5 years ago - the superb Darksiders II
is released.
10 years ago - Ken Levine's compelling
BioShock arrives.
20 years ago - Gamers get a first look
at the critically acclaimed GoldenEye 007 .
30 years ago - The Legend of Zelda is
unleashed in Australia.
Every month STACK takes a brief look at what’s
happening in esports, both locally and overseas.
esports Round-Up
Junglist
with
It’s an all-Blizzard bonanza
this issue. The ANZ region of
Heroes of the Storm has long
been the uncontested domain
of team Nomia, occupying a
lonely space between Australian
and overseas tiers of skill. Long
has it dominated any local
competition; long has it crashed
out of the first round in overseas
tournaments, most
recently being utterly torn
apart by top tier Korean
team MVP Black.
When upstart team
Morton’s List showed
genuine promise against
the champs, the Dark
Sided franchise officially
acquired them to make a
stab at the ANZ throne.
This always raises a question
about what’s best for the region
-- the old formula clearly hasn’t
worked, but will resetting our
international experience make
it worse? It’s all academic in
the MOBA meritocracy,
and after Dark Sided
knocked Nomia into
the lower bracket
in the recent local
championship,
the veterans
rallied to come
back and win an entertaining
3-2 grand final. Some absolutely
stellar skillshot snipes from
DS_Hacky stole the show, and
regardless of
international
worries,
it’s great to
see a proper
local rivalry with
matches you wouldn’t
want to miss.
While I refuse to bestow
the title of “esport” on a game
with RNG elements deciding
pivotal moments, it’s exciting
to note the ANZ region now
boasts two of the world’s best
Hearthstone players. Australia’s
Paul “CitizenNappa” Yang and
New Zealand’s Ki Yin “Mage”
So travelled to the HCT Spring
Championship with 14 other
card-clutching contenders,
chasing their share of $250,000
USD.
Both finished at the top of
their group before crashing
out in the quarterfinals, with
CitizenNappa losing to the
eventual winner. That puts two
ANZ players in the global top
eight, which is our region’s best
performance in any game right
now – at least until those Call of
Duty lads at Mindfreak decide
to bring their standings up to
recent glory.
That puts two
ANZ players
in the global
top eight...
The boss names in
Mega Man X5 are
all references to
the band Guns N'
Roses.
Did you
know?
"You Know, Ellie..."
- Neil Druckmann, CD, Naughty Dog
AUGUST
AC: ORIGINS
JB are offering an
exclusive Apple of
Eden edition, featurin
an Apple replica an
steelbook!
st154_056-057_GAMES-Intro.indd 2 24/7/17 3:16 pm