STACK #152 Jun 2017

GAMES FEATURE

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Each month, STACK takes a brief look at what’s happening in esports, both locally and overseas. esports Round-Up Junglist with

A ustralia’s biggest ever esports event happened recently, with the Intel Extreme Masters series trying out Sydney for one of its flagship tournaments. Big overseas franchises like Faze, SK, Optic, and more were flown in to compete, and the production screens, and ESL’s international staff combined with a crowd who had been yearning for this kind of event for years, to build a vibe I’d never seen in Australia. “Normally we have to G up the crowd,” said one of the ESL presenters. “We didn’t have to do that here.” Local top dog Chiefs got us all excited in the lead-up when didn’t disappoint. Sold-out stadium seating, massive

it beat Renegades, and then North. The fairytale was

Normally we have to G up the crowd... We didn’t have to do that here

crushed when Chiefs lost to

Optic, 10-16, but its performance bumped it up into

SK were both clinical and creative in the final against Faze, winning three maps to one, as graphics on the big screen made the crowd aware of key events like 1v3 clutches, ninja defuses, or three-person boosts over a wall to pick off a defender. While nothing is set in stone yet, all the chatter from ESL staff behind the scenes was that this will be a yearly event. Great news for us, and if the first IEM Sydney is anything to go by, you should definitely keep an eye out for the next one.

was less expected was the sizeable South American

turnout – SK’s Counter-Strike squad is

owned in Germany but imported from Brazil, a region contending with a similar isolation to us in the esports realm. The crowds bonded, resulting in a meaningful cultural exchange – one group experiencing the beautiful complexities of Portuguese banter, the other learning how to drink from a shoe.

HLTV’s top 20 teams in the world -- above Renegades. Much like football, Australian shoulders sported jerseys of many overseas franchises. What

Logitech’s latest keyboard is taking it to the Pros – but what will they think of it?

L ogitech’s Pro Keyboard is a mechanical keyboard that was developed in conjunction with esports players. Boasting Romer G mechanical switches – 25 per cent faster than other mechanical switches on the market – the Pro is one of the most responsive keyboards you can get. They’ve also got a tiny 1.5mm actuation, which means you’ll spend less time pressing keys and more time raining justice from above. The keys themselves are rated for 70 million keystrokes, too, so you won’t need to replace them any time soon. One thing you will notice about the Pro

keys from the right hand side, chopping a considerable chunk off the keyboard. It makes sense given that you’d rarely use those keys when gaming, but if you’re using this hardware for anything else, you might notice the difference. Of course, in this day and age, what would a gaming keyboard be without customisable RGB lighting? Logitech have you covered, with 16.8 million colour combinations available for you to mess around with, and that’s not to mention the built-in gaming profiles. Enabling automatic game detection in Logitech’s gaming software will let you pick up and play over 300 preset games with the keys at your fingertips – literally. It’s even got room for onboard profile storage – perfect for gamers on the go. With a detachable USB cable for easy transport, and a lightweight design, the Pro is great for esports professionals that are always on the road.

Logitech G Series Pro Keyboard

is how tiny it is. It’s got what’s called a ‘tenkeyless’ design, meaning it’s missing the number

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JUNE 2017

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