Month: October 2020

Categories
Call of Duty

Haunting of Verdansk: Top Warzone moments & reactions

Call of Duty released the Haunting of Verdansk update on October 20 in one of their biggest events to date.

The new update includes brand new limited time modes and a bunch of spooky features that have provided us with some great moments since the release.

From Night Mode to Zombie Royale, the Halloween themed update has proven to be a hit so far. The attention to detail in not only the game modes but the aesthetics across Verdansk is one of the many reasons why this update has been so well-received by the CoD community.

Streamers and pro players alike have been engrossed in Warzone since the update.

Let’s take a look at some of the top moments so far in the Haunting of Verdansk:

Courage and Tim fall victim to the jumpscares

Players received the fright of their lives after discovering the spooky jump scares hidden inside boxes.

Streamers, Courage and timthetatman, found out the hard way as they both got one hell of a shock after opening what they thought were regular loot boxes.

The jump scares produce pure comedy gold and have caught out nearly everyone since the update.

As there are so many hilarious reactions, here is another one from ex-pro player Sharp who was merely attempting to get himself some more loot.

Censor & co break Zombie Royale world record

The new Zombie Royale LTM has been a fan favourite so far and is extremely fun to play.

Players can fight against and alongside zombies in this hectic game mode where the last squad with a surviving Operator wins.

Well-known CoD personalities Censor, Rallied and MuTeX supposedly set the new world record for Zombie Royale with 116 kills.

Many pro players and content creators have expressed their love for this new game mode. Infinity Ward seem to have smashed it with the new update and have received hardly any criticisms.

A clip from HusKerrs stream shows just how powerful these zombies are and why players are having so much fun in the new update.

We can only hope for more updates like this in the future after the release of Cold War.

Are you a fan of the new update?

Let us know!

Follow Dartfrog for all the latest Call of Duty news and analysis on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch.

Categories
Dota 2

Gambit Esports confirms their new roster

Gambit Esports is one of the biggest names in the CIS Dota 2 scene. There were times when many considered this squad to be among the best in the world. However, a series of roster changes had a negative impact on their results. COVID-19 didn’t help matters either, which is why the team decided to make a fresh start.

Fast-forward six months and we finally have information about the team’s new roster. What’s interesting is that there is only one returning player from the previous roster, Danial “xsvamp1re” Alibaev. He will play alongside a few upcoming CIS players. Although they don’t have a much in the way of competitive experience, these players have shown that they have what it takes to be on the team.

Gambit’s new roster:

  • Anton “yy” Shkredow
  • Artem “Lorenof” Melnik
  • Andrey “meLes” Romanov
  • Danial “xsvamp1re” Alibaev
  • Albert “eine” Garayev

If you’ve been following the CIS Dota 2 scene recently, you’ve probably heard of ‘eine’. He was a part of VP.Prodigy and also played on a few other notable CIS teams. Moreover, he used to be a part of Gambit for a few months back in 2018.

The second name that might also seem familiar is ‘Lorenof’. He played in the OMEGA League Europe Divine Division that took place a few months ago as part of Team Unique.

We can’t wait to see the new team in action. If you want to learn more information about them, feel free to follow DartFrog on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch for the latest Dota 2 news.

Categories
CS:GO

FURIA win IEM New York NA, advance to Global Challenge

FURIA Esports has taken down 100 Thieves to win the IEM New York NA event and has booked themselves a trip to the IEM XV Global Challenge. The Brazillian side also earned $25,000 USD prize for their victory and had the honour of facing 100 Thieves in the teams final ever match. Let’s break down what happened.

FURIA win IEM New York NA 2020

FURIA continue their dominance over North American CS:GO as they once again took another trophy. It was only three weeks ago when FURIA last one a North American event at the ESL Pro League Season 12 Finals where they once again played 100 Thieves in the finals.

Their path the finals was also a difficult one. In terms of name recognition, FURIA had to play Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses in the Playoffs to make it to the Finals. In the Quarterfinals, they competed against Team Liquid and won the series 2-1. FURIA lost the first map of Inferno 19-22 to Team Liquid and had to win the second map of Mirage in overtime too. Liquid stepped up big time on Vertigo but the Brazilian side managed a 16-13 win to advance to the semi-finals.

Team Liquid giving their all to remain in the series

In the Semis, FURIA had Evil Geniuses number. They have proven time and time again they are the Evil Geniuses kryptonite and nothing changed here. FURIA demolished EG 16-4 on Nuke before closing the series 16-13 on Train. With that victory, they found the 100 Thieves in the grand final to give the roster their last match as a team.

100 Thieves owner Nadeshot, recently announced that 100T CS:GO would cease operations, and the team will split up after. With that in mind, 100 Thieves gave it their all in their last ever match as ‘the boys’. They won the first map 16-9 on Nuke, but FURIA found the next three maps at 16-14 on Inferno, 16-4 on Vertigo, and 16-11 on Mirage.

FURIA once again dominating 100T on Vertigo

With the victory at IEM New York NA 2020, FURIA sends themselves to the IEM Global Challenge in December. The event is aiming to be the first event to take place on LAN since the pandemic began. With FURIA’s strong performance all year in North America, it is going to be interesting to see how they match up against the best teams that EU and the rest of the world send over to Cologne in December.

Farewell, 100T

With the conclusion to the series, 100 Thieves are no more. The team has already disbanded with Joakim “jkaem” Myrbostad already signed to a new team. The shame about this is that 100T has just managed to recement themselves as a top-two team in North America. They are matching FURIA’s rise to power in NA and are both consistently outperforming other teams.

With the boys finally disbanded, North American skill level is going to take a hit for the moment. One of the teams on the rise is no more and now the hole will be filled by another team. Who that maybe is up for debate, but it’s such a shame to see this occur at a pivotal momentum in North American storytelling.

Stay tuned to Dartfrog for all the latest news and analysis on CS:GO and follow us on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch. Image via DreamHack / Stephanie Lindgren.

Categories
Dota 2

Alliance is the first team to qualify for ESL One Germany playoffs

Despite the fact COVID-19 changed the Dota 2 scene, there are still various online tournaments that are fantastic to watch. One of the most anticipated events of the year is ESL One Germany, featuring some of the best teams in the world.

Two of those teams are Alliance and OG. Both went head to head to determine which one will qualify in the playoffs. As you probably know, the format of this event is interesting because it allows each team that wins three series to advance to the playoffs. On the other hand, if another team loses three times in a row, they are eliminated.

Alliance vs OG

Alliance and OG went head to head in one of the most anticipated series of the event. Prior to this clash, both teams had two wins. This means that one of them is automatically going to the playoffs. Although OG had the lead in game one, Alliance was able to turn the series around. In the end, they won with a score of 2:1.

Game one was entirely in favour of OG, as their Phantom Assassin + Magnus ripped through the competition like a knife through butter. Alliance tried to counter this pick with a position 5 Omniknight, but even he was not enough to stop the monstrous damage from OG’s carry.

Following the loss, Alliance decided not to take any chances, which is why they’ve picked Nikolay “Nikobaby” Nikolov’s Morhphling, which is one of his signature heroes. Needless to say, the Bulgarian superstar played near-flawlessly and was able to push the series into a final game three.

The last game of the series seemed to be in OG’s favour. Nevertheless, Alliance won a few team fights in a row, which gave them plenty of momentum. As a result, they started pressing their enemies. After yet another perfect Chronosphere, Nikobaby and his team-mates delivered their knock-out punch and secured themselves a spot at the playoffs.

After the loss, OG will now have to win one more series to advance to the next stage. We have three more days until the group stage ends. As for the playoffs, they will start on 23 October and it will feature 12 teams in total.

Feel free to follow DartFrog on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch for the latest Dota 2 news

Categories
League of Legends

Damwon takes out DRX in 3-0 stomp at Worlds 2020 quarter-finals

DRX has been eliminated from Worlds 2020 in the Quarter-finals after being defeated 3-0 by fellow LCK team Damwon Gaming. The loss whittles the number of Korean teams at Worlds to just 2, with only Damwon and Gen.G remaining.

The 3-0 defeat was a widely predicted result, with Damwonā€™s dominance of the group stage, and seasonal advantage over DRX weighing heavily on the minds of analysts. Nonetheless, DRX went into the game with a plan, attempting to neutralise the strong macro game of their opponents with individual skill.

In game one, DRXā€™s poke comp attempted to whittle down Damwon from range. With a Jayce/Orianna composition, the plan seemed to be to delete Damwonā€™s champions before they could engage. However, expecting mistakes from their opponentā€™s proved to be too ambitious for DRX, who found themselves 0-1 after the first matchup.

For their second draft, DRX allowed the Ornn to go over to Damwonā€™s Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon. Their plan was to counter with Jax, a strong fighting champion who could out brawl the Ornn. And then as the game started, it looked like DRX might have a chance. They took an early kill lead, out maneuvering their opponentā€™s Twisted Fate pick with their own Galio. 

However, just as in the first game, the squad underestimated Damwonā€™s raw ability. DRXā€™s opponents then flipped a pair of team fights against them, coming out on top thanks to perfect execution. As a result, DRX were now down 0-2 and clinging to life.

With their Worlds survival on the line, DRX then broke out the unorthodox Vel’koz pick for Jeong “Chovy” Ji-hoon, facing off against Damwonā€™s Orianna pick. And in the early game DRX did well, with Chovy grabbing a strong lead versus his opponent. But are a series of bizarre misplays, Damwon found themselves in the lead again.

After more disastrous teamfights for DRX, Damwon took a dominant position on the map. They pushed down lanes and trapped DRX in a defensive position. With little to strike back with, DRX finally rolled over and in 25 minutes, Damwon wrapped up the series. 

Now the question remains whether anyone can stop Damwon Gaming? This LCK team is one of the strongest weā€™ve seen out of the regions since the heyday of SKT T1. The winner of G2 and Gen.G semi-finals match will have their work cut out for them in the semi-finals. 

The Worlds 2020 quarter-finals continues tomorrow. For all the latest Worlds 2020 news and analysis.check out Dart Frog on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Categories
League of Legends

Astralis faces competitive ruling just one month after joining LEC

Astralis, the top-tier Counter-Strike: Global Offensive organisation who joined the LEC in September 2020, has been fined 5,000ā‚¬ as part of a competitive ruling by Riot Games. The fine comes less than a month after Astralis officially became a part of the LEC.

The competitive ruling was released by Riot Games on their League of Legends Esports website. It details a series of late payments to team members as well as ā€œconduct unbecoming of an LEC Team Manager.ā€ The post describes how missed payments were linked to ā€œspecifics of the Danish jurisdiction and human error.ā€ 

During the LEC and Riot Gamesā€™ investigation into these missed payments, it’s reported that the Astralis General Manager had caused ā€œmisrepresentation of certain contract terms with the Team Members and a singular instance of verbal misconduct.ā€ As a result, the league applied a 5,000ā‚¬ fine and levied a number of requirements on the organisation.

The ruling requires Astralis to set up a more direct avenue for players and team members to report grievances. What’s more, they’ll have to create an onboarding process to lead employees through the Danish vacation pay and tax/payment/EasyID requirements. Payment laws and taxation differ throughout Europe. The core of the issues in Astralis seem to have stemmed from unfamiliarity with the specifics of the Danish system. 

https://twitter.com/Nors3/status/1315955773680353280

In addition, the league has also scheduled check-in calls with team members to evaluate the ruling. The Astralis General Manager has received an official warning from the LEC.

The Astralis Competitive Ruling is an inauspicious start to the organization’s tenure in the LEC. The organisation joined the league on September 15, as existing team Origen merged with its parent company the Astralis Group. The organisation wasted no time running afoul of league officials.

Outside of League of Legends, Astralis and the wider Astralis Group have previously been subject to scrutiny for perceived misconduct in other avenues. The LEC and League of Legends esports is closely monitored by developer Riot Games. Competitive rulings against teams who break protocol are common.

Astralis will have to keep its nose clean and it’s operations smooth if it hopes to succeed in the LEC. 

Keep your eyes peeled on Dart Frog on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for all the latest League of Legends news and analysis

Categories
CS:GO

100 Thieves make shock departure from competitive CS:GO

After a rough year of competing, 100 Thieves have decided to pull out of CS:GO due to the “ambiguity, vagueness and uncertainty” in the scene.

The organisation, founded by former CoD pro Matthew “Nadeshot” Haag, entered competitive CS:GO in 2017 but it was only a brief stay.

They then acquired the Renegades roster in 2019 as they burst back onto the scene. Since the COVID-19 pandemic hit, the roster saw a downturn in performance and results began to worsen.

100 Thieves’ roster remained outside the top 10 ranking since May 2020 and it never seemed to look up for the Aussies.

Rumours began to crop up regarding the organisation’s departure after star player Justin “jks” Savage was linked with a move to Complexity.

Nadeshot later confirmed the rumours in a social media post where he outlined all the reasons for their CS:GO exit.

In the heartfelt announcement, Nadeshot said: “What’s happening right now in CS:GO is that everything is transitioning over to Europe. We talked to our players about what solutions we could find because they’ve been competing their butts off.

“They’ve done the best job that they could to bring the results that we strive for. Unfortunately, we have fallen short quite a bit.”

Nadeshot emphasised the organisation’s efforts to keep all teams and players based in their Los Angeles headquarters. Due to the majority of CS:GO events moving to Europe, this placed a big obstacle in the way of their vision and goals.

He then added: “Even if we wanted to make roster changes, there were still hurdles in our way. Right now, with the qualifications and the points system for Majors, any roster movement that we would have made could have jeopardised our position or our opportunity to even compete at a Major. And that was a gigantic roadblock.”

The 100 Thieves organisation has made clear that they put their players first. With many CS:GO players moving to Europe, it was only right for the roster to be dropped to allow the players to further their own careers.

Nadeshot did touch on the possibility of a return to CS:GO in the future. However, at this moment in time it is not the right move financially and from a competitive standpoint.

What are your thoughts on this news?

Let us know!

Follow Dartfrog for all the latest news and analysis on CS:GO and follow our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch.

Categories
Call of Duty

Los Angeles Guerillas confirm their 2021 CDL roster

Call of Duty League franchise, Los Angeles Guerillas, have revealed their starting roster and academy team for the new season.

The organisation made the announcement via social media on October 12 with an impressive reveal video.

Guerillas will hope to bounce back after an extremely disappointing season last year which saw them finish dead last in the CDL rankings.

All four starting players have been named alongside an academy team featuring former Halo star, MentaL.

The confirmed starters include Justin “SiLLY” Fargo-Palmer, Bryan “Apathy” Zhelyazkov, Adam “Assault” Garcia and Reece “Vivid” Drost.

Here is a closer look at the starting four players:

Justin “SiLLY” Fargo-Palmer

SiLLY is one of few Call of Duty pros who have competed for around a decade. The 25-year-old found his glory during the Infinite Warfare season under eUnited where he won his first major.

Fast-forward one year and SiLLY took home the CWL Championship with Evil Geniuses. His raw skill, experience and ability to win make him one of the most valuable players on the roster.

It will be interesting to see what he can do this season.

Bryan “Apathy” Zhelyazkov

Apathy is another player who has nearly a decade’s worth experience in competitive CoD. He was alongside SiLLY in their CWL Championship win in 2018.

The veteran will fit in perfectly to this squad that already has so much history and in-game chemistry.

Adam “Assault” Garcia

Assault began his competitive career back in 2013. His big break came in 2016 where he was part of the squad which famously sent home OpTic Gaming from the Call of Duty World Championship.

He then went on to win his first championship ring with SiLLy and Apathy on Evil Geniuses. The three of them reuniting will be great to see in the new season’s matches.

Reece “Vivid” Drost

Vivid is relatively new to competitive Call of Duty. At 20 years old, he is one of the younger players in the league.

Despite not having much success beforehand, Vivid was picked up by LA Guerillas in February 2020. He impressed many last season and broke the record for the most kills in a single 5v5 S&D match at a major championship with 20 kills.

It will be interesting to see how the young-gun performs this season amongst the best.

Players Chino and MentaL are also currently signed as substitutes for the 2021 season with the option to bring up Exceed and Nero if necessary.

Follow Dartfrog for all the latest Call of Duty news and analysis on our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch.

Categories
League of Legends

Riotā€™s OCE League, the OPL ceases operations: What Happens Now?

On Wednesday morning, just as Worlds 2020 entered its first major break in the action, Riot Games shocked the world by announcing the OPL would cease operations. The news broke on the OPLā€™s own official Twitter page and in brief announcement on the LoL Esports website.

The scrapping of the league has mortified the League of Legends community, especially those hailing from the OCE region. Riding high after an incredible showing for Legacy Esports during Worlds 2020 Play-Ins, the region has seen it’s hopes crash violently to the ground.


As the gravity of the dissolution of an entire region sinks in, itā€™s time to ask questions. Such as what happens next for OCE League of Legends?

A New Life in the LCS

With the dismantling of the league, all 60+ OPL players are now potentially without jobs. To soften the blow, Riot Games announced that players from the OCE region would no longer take up import slots on LCS rosters. This essentially means NA organisations are free to sign any former OPL talent they wish.

The idea of free movement for talent between NA/OCE isnā€™t new. The concept that OCE talent wouldnā€™t count towards an import slot in the LCS was first floated in 2019. Following NAā€™s disastrous performance at Worlds 2019, the OCE and Latin America were both considered for this treatment. Additionally, the move to a major region from the OPL isnā€™t without precedent. One of the OPLā€™s biggest stars, Mitchell “Destiny” Shaw, signed with the LEC’s Origen in 2019.

However, the free movement to NA initiative will be of little consolation for the vast majority of Oceanic players. The LCS already has a fully talent base. Despite criticism of the regionā€™s development of talent, it still manages to fill out its 50 roster slots each season. Chances of OCE talent making it to an academy roster, let alone a main LCS lineup, are slim indeed. But thereā€™s certainly some standouts who could make the jump.

OPL Qualifying Tournament for Worlds 2021

The other consolation offered for fans of the OCE region is that teams would not be completely shut out of the international scene. As per the announcement, Riot Games ā€œwill also hold qualifying tournaments in OCE for both MSI and Worlds in 2021, ensuring teams from the region will continue to be represented at our two major global events next season.ā€ 

As a result, OCE will still have a chance to be represented in the wider world. But without an official league, teams will be desperately waiting for two events a year. Riot Games gave no elaboration in their announcement – and so it’s unclear what talent pool these teams would be drawn from. Or how teams are supposed to sustain themselves without an official league. Without support, it would be incredibly challenging for an organisation to maintain an internationally competitive team in the OCE region.

Again this promise will do little to comfort OCE fans and players who have seen their league dismantled in front of them.

Picking up the Pieces

The one shining light for the OCE is that League of Legends isnā€™t going to go away completely. With a player count somewhere in the hundred thousands at the last count, OCE is on a similar level to the likes of the CIS or Singapore. With the former represented by the Unicorns of Love in the group stages of Worlds 2020 and the latter a part of the PCS, which has two representatives at the same event, thereā€™s no reason the OCE couldnā€™t still be competitive internationally.

The OPL had been built on a strong foundation of grassroots events, amateur play, and independent tournaments. OCE teams had great showings at Intel Extreme Masters events and the Gamescom International Wildcard Tournaments. Combined with an exploding playerbase at the time led to the initial founding of the OPL. Five years on, and Riot is pulling the plug.

https://twitter.com/Froskurinn/status/1313754512922943488


When Riot Games says ā€œthe OPL has not met our goals for the league,ā€ it ultimately refers to the failures of Riot Games. Not the OPL. The OPL had incredible talent who competed at an international level for many years. But even this hasnā€™t helped to staunch the bleeding of a declining player base in the region. This was further compounded by a lower level of cosmetic sales thanks to unfavorable exchange rates in the region. A combination of reasons that likely saw Riot Games decide to cut the cord on an unprofitable region with limited scope for growth.

Out of the ashes of this abandonment, the OCE region will likely return to the smaller tournaments. And perhaps thanks to this the region will begin to shine again, and teams like Legacy Esports and MAMMOTH, who made waves on the international stage, will rise again.

Worlds 2020 continues tomorrow. For all the latest Worlds 2020 news and analysis check out Dart Frog on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Categories
Dota 2 Uncategorized

Lil is now a part of HellRaisers

Although ESL One Germany has already started, one of the participating teams has decided to make an early roster change. HellRaisers have had some dramatic roster changes in the last couple of months. The team swapped out most out of their players – seemingly a good decision as their results have improved significantly.

Who’s the newest team member?

The newest addition to HellRaiser’s squad is none other than Ilya “Lil” Ilyuk, one of the best CIS support players. He will take the position four role, where he shines the most.

Although some of you might be surprised, this move was expected. Lil played for HellRaiers in the BTS Pro Series Season 3: EU/CUS. Now, a few days later, HR have confirmed that Lil is a fulltime member of the team.

After this addition, we’ll now have to wait and see whether Alexey “nongrata” Vasilyev will do the same. The player will be a part of HR’s team for the upcoming event. Speaking of the event, you can watch it by clicking HERE.

Feel free to follow DartFrog on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch for the latest Dota 2 news.