STACK Issue 151 May 2017

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58 MAY 2017
W ith IEM Sydney a couple
of weeks away at the time
of writing, all eyes were on the
League of Legends OPL Split 1
final between Legacy and Dire
Wolves – and you’d be forgiven
for doing a double take when
seeing this final was without the
Chiefs. Always the bridesmaid,
Legacy was denied yet again as
Dire Wolves comprehensively
outplayed their rivals 3-1. In truth,
the quality of all OPL teams has
increased, but an expensive new
training system paid off for Dire
Wolves as they executed team
fights with noticeably more
cohesion.
You could see how much it
meant to longtime OPL player
and Dire Wolves mid laner
Richard “Phantiks” Su, as he
Each month, STACK takes a brief look at what’s
happening in esports, both locally and overseas.
esports Round-Up
Junglist
with
This month we take a look at Plantronics' RIG800HS.
visit GAMES FEATURE
hours of use on a full charge, and there
are rarely any connectivity issues. The
sound, too, is great; voices and people
talking will occasionally be lost in the
blast of an explosion or the firing of a
gun, but for a wireless headset this packs
a punch when you need it to. The 40mm
drivers have a great balance of bass
and treble, and the cups are surprisingly
noise-cancelling despite their appearance.
For voice chat, the RIG800HS is
equipped with a noise-cancelling mic
that flips down from the side of the left
cup, also muting when it’s not in position
– a nice touch and another mark of
Plantronics’ ingenuity.
Audio dials on the back of the left
ear let you adjust the balance between
game and voice chat, and there’s also a
general volume dial for easy access. For a
wireless headset with surprising battery
life, and one that won’t drop out, the
RIG800HS is a good place to start.
I f you’re looking for a new gaming
headset that’s both comfortable and
reasonably priced, Plantronics’ RIG800HS
should be on your radar.
Plantronics have been long heralded
as one of the leading brands of headset
manufacturers. Their latest, the
RIG800HS, is of course no
exception. First off, it’s
wireless, so you can enjoy
hassle-free sound from
your PS4 (or PC). It’s
also really lightweight
– a feature of most
Plantronics RIGs –
so it’s no trouble
to carry around.
Despite being
wireless, you
need harbour no
concerns about
battery life – the
RIG800HS boasts 24
tried to compose himself for a
post-match interview. But even a
teary-eyed LoL player brings the
banter on camera, as Phantiks
spoke about the upcoming
international MSI competition:
“We’re not scared of any team.
We’re not scared of SKT. We’ll
take it all.”
Much was made of new
director Dave Harris and his
investment in the organisation,
having flown the team of five to
South Korea to play with top-tier
players there. As long as esports
has existed in Australia, our
geography has held us back. Poor
Internet makes it more important
to have LAN competitions, and
travelling across the country
is difficult, let alone heading
overseas. Harris appears to
have come up with a brute
force solution:
simply wear the
cost and take
your team to a
country where
the quality of
play is higher. With a team at
the top of the O the place, so
I went and got my own sports
organisation PL after Split 1,
nobody is doubting his methods.
At a recent esports panel,
Harris told me, “I used to work in
Rugby League, until I got tired of
people not listening to me about
how to run!”
We’re not scared of any team.
We’re not scared of SKT.
We’ll take it all.
PLANTRONICS
rig800hs
HEADSET