Month: November 2020

Categories
League of Legends

Before Free Agency, the Culling Begins: A List of Leaving Players

The most exciting part of the League of Legends off-season is here: Free Agency. At the stroke of midnight GMT, the window for teams to sign free agents will finally be open, and the big names signings and trades can begin.

But before that is the most scary time of the year for players: The cuts! Although most players will have known for weeks their time is limited, fans and observers will now get to see the full damage inflicted by the off-season shuffle.

North America

NA often seems like the centre of the League of Legends universe, especially when the money starts flying. The region can drop big bucks, and free-agency is perhaps the only time of the year where the size of your wallet matters more than where you finished at Worlds. But in order to make big trades, you need gaps in your roster. So for these NA players it was time for the chopping block.

With rumours of a Perkz signing, and a move to midlane, it was only natural Nisqy would be on the block. This move all but confirms the signing of one of the best players in the LEC to Cloud9.

Having spent much of it’s offseason attempting to save the planet, FlyQuest will say byeQuest to Terry “Big” Chuong. The academy support looked poised to take over from sought after Korean support Lee “IgNar” Dong-geun, but those hopes have been dashed with his release.

But the biggest move has to be from Dignitas. The team has slashed its roster, saying goodbye to Kim “Fenix”  Jae-hun, Henrik “Froggen” Hansen and Omran “V1per” Shoura. The team is likely to look to completely rebuild this off-season.

Korea

We were well into Tuesday for South Korea when the free agency window opened, meaning these guys got a sour start to their Tuesday.

Gen.G parts ways with support Kim “Kellin” Hyeong-gyu. The removal throws into speculation whether the teams other support, Kim “Life” Jeong-min, will explore his free agency, or use this lack of competition to secure his spot.

Hanwha Life Esports cuts Son “Lehends” Si-woo and Park “Viper” Do-hyeon. The pair previously played together on Griffin, and would them finding a home together again would be a lethal combination.

Meanwhile in a huge blow to World Champions DAMWON Gaming, top laner Jang “Nuguri” Ha-gwon, Cho “BeryL” Geon-hee have decided to explore free agency. The pair could resign with DAMWON, but as Worlds-winning players, they’ll likely have a lot of suitors.

What’s more, things went from bad to worse for DAMWON when later in the day Lee “Flame” Ho-jong agreed to part ways with the team. DAMWON, champions less than a month ago, now seem to be in full rebuild mode.

Cuts and notifications of free agency are just the opening shots of the offseason shuffle, and more bombshells will likely drop in the near future.

Need more info on free agency? Count on Dart Frog for all the latest League of Legends news! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!.

Categories
League of Legends

T1 Disables LoL Twitter After Backlash Over LS Controversy

It’s the coaching drama that just won’t die – despite how much T1 would like it to. Storied Korean organisation T1 was today forced to disable its League of Legends Twitter after a wave of backlash against a statement released by the team. Just hours after the squad’s most recent post, Twitter visitors were greeted with news that the account had been disabled.

The page visitors to @T1LoL’s account were greeted with after the deletion

In the statement, the team talked about it’s decisions to educate it’s staff on appropriate ways to use voice chat program Discord. This was due to recent leaks from the program about its future coaches. However, it was the absence of any explicit mention of its most recent coaching drama that inflamed tensions.

The statement released by T1 which many felt didn’t go far enough to address harassment by its fans

T1’s refused to properly address the harassment received by Nick “LS” De Cesare after he was rumoured to be the team’s newest coach. Korean T1’s Fans had very vocally complained of the non-Korean’s signing, and it was ultimately announced that Dae-in “Daeny” Yang and Jae-min “Zefa” Lee would instead by taking the coaching roles.

However, the seeming switch in coaching appointment was widely regarded as T1 caving to fan pressure. What’s more, LS had received extreme harassment due to his rumoured coaching position. T1 fans had attempted to contact the prospective coach’s grandmother. Fanatical supporters even went so far as hiring a van to drive around Seoul adorned with slogans complaining about his appointment. LS was ultimately forced to delete his Twitter account and limit his online presence to avoid the continued harassment.

T1’s failure to address the extreme behaviour of their Korean fans in their latest announcement infuriated LS supporters on Twitter. Especially those within the western League of Legends community. After receiving a huge amount of criticism on their post, the organisation opted to delete their Twitter – ironically following in the same footsteps LS was forced to tread.

The deletion leaves T1 League of Legends without it’s most followed social media account just hours before the start of free-agency – and T1 fans in the dark during this crucial period. The team will have to rely on others to break the news of it’s signings, another misstep for the organisation.

Still hungry for League content? Count on Dart Frog for all the latest League of Legends news! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!.

Categories
Call of Duty

Black Ops Cold War: Top plays, best clutches & reactions so far

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was finally released to the public on November 13. After only a couple of days, we have seen plenty of amazing moments from the world’s best players.

Cold War is the fifth instalment in the Black Ops series and the eighth Call of Duty game developed by Treyarch.

Successful Alpha and Beta events left fans in eager anticipation for the new Call of Duty to be released. Expectations were high for this year’s release and it seems that it’s gone down a treat with players across the globe.

Here are some of the top moments post-release so far that you definitely won’t want to miss:

Snipers take centre stage in our top plays

The snipers in Cold War are popular amongst many players and seem to pack a real punch. Our first top play sees pro player, Dillon “Attach” Price, clutch a 1v3 with just a sniper and a pistol.

The pros have been running riot so far hitting clips left, right and centre. Unsurprisingly, three-time world champion, James “Clayster” Eubanks followed suit with a sniper-only 1v3 of his own.

https://twitter.com/Clayster/status/1327516950474403840

Our final top play sees FaZe Pamaj wipe out four players during a Search and Destroy in the $25k Atlanta FaZe Cold War Clash. The ease of his triple kill at the end of the clip shows why Pamaj remains one of the best snipers to ever grace the game.

Cold War’s best clutches

With so many to choose from, we could only pick out three of the best clutches so far. First up, Doug “Censor” Martin goes big for his team in a 1v3 against LA Guerillas’ academy team.

Many consider Damon “Karma” Barlow to be the GOAT of Call of Duty. This Search and Destroy clutch against former teammate Ian “Crimsix” Porter and co indicates why.

Brandon “Dashy” Otell never fails to amaze on the sticks. His ability to clutch in almost any circumstance makes him one of the most valuable pros in the league. Here is Dashy pulling off a 1v4 for $800.

https://twitter.com/DashySZN/status/1327624540239900674

The pros react to Cold War

Black Ops Cold War has seen predominantly positive feedback since the release of the full game. Professionals, content creators and even casual players seem to be enjoying Treyarch’s latest creation.

Every year, the professional CoD scene cries out for one thing – ranked play. However, it never seems to be released until months later and when it is, it causes a lot of controversy.

Seth “Scump” Abner was “genuinely confused” when speaking on the matter via Twitter. Will we ever see Call of Duty released with a popular ranked playlist? Who knows!

What are your thoughts on Black Ops Cold War?

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

Just Error secures a spot in EPIC League Division 1

Even though the team was formed just a few days ago, Just Error has managed to secure the last spot for the EPIC League Division 1. During the last couple of days, we got the chance to watch the closed qualifiers of EPIC League. After numerous interesting matches, the last series was between Just Error and Yellow Submarine. The stakes were pretty high here, and many were eager to see the end result.

Many considered YS to be the favourite, yet they were unable to win. Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev and his team-mates absolutely ripped through their enemies.

What happened in the series?

Just Error is the newest CIS team in the Dota 2 world. It has some of the best teams in the region, including the ex-EG player Syed “SumaiL” Hassan, who is widely regarded as one of the best mid laners in the world. His core-role partner is RAMZES666, who is back on the carry role after he played as an offlaner during his time in EG.

The first game of the series against Yellow Submarine was great to watch as both teams tried to pressure the enemy squad. Even though the Snapfire-Mars combo was really deadly, JE’s Drow + Vengeful lineup proved to be stronger. As a result, the CIS team were able to deliver a knock-out punch and get ahead in the series.

It seems that the loss had a positive impact on Yellow Submarine as because they looked fully motivated in game two. They decided to pick a draft focused around Slardar, a hero that’s famous for his devastating right-click damage. Fortunately for them, he had a fantastic time and was the main reason for their success.

Despite the dominant performance in game two, the next two maps went in favour of the CIS powerhouse. Sumail and Ramzess proved once again why some people consider them to be two of the best core players in the world. Thanks to them, Just Error successfully secured a spot for Division 1.

As for Yellow Submarine, they will move down to Division 2. The teams they’ll find there are not on their best form, yet they’ll still have to face off against the likes of Gambit and Ninjas in Pyjamas. Be sure to watch this amazing event which starts on the 12th. Don’t forget that the prize pool is $500,000 – which is pretty big for an event of this size.

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

Categories
League of Legends

Perkz to NA? Reported 5 Million Dollar Move For G2’s Golden Boy

LEC fans brace for the worst as G2’s Luka “Perkz” Perković is reportedly preparing for a move across the Atlantic to North America. The alleged transfer of Perkz to NA was revealed by journalist Jacob Wolf in a tweet posted late evening, November 9.

North American League of Legends is well-known for hooving up the top European talent in a desperate attempt to improve its international performances. But this latest move dwarves all of them. With a reported $5 million buyout, and “record-setting” salary, the potential switch would make the 22-year old the single most valuable player in all of esports.

Perkz has been a core component in G2’s lineup since late 2015. Originally a mid laner, the Croatian star swapped to bot lane, to facilitate the signing of Rasmus “Caps” Borregaard Winther. Together, the duo became the two best carries in the LEC, taking G2 to three world championships, twice making it to the semi-finals. In 2019, Perkz was part of the G2 roster which came within a hair’s-length of winning Worlds, only falling to FunPlus Phoenix in the finals. 

A Perkz move to NA would be a huge blow to G2 and the LEC as a whole, giving up a generational talent as they move towards the prospect of a huge payday. North America has historically struggled at international competition, especially at Worlds. Many believe a move to NA would by default eliminate any chance that Perkz sees another Worlds final in his career. 

While all this remains speculation until an official announcement, some teams are more likely destinations than others. A move to Cloud9 would reunite Perkz with old EU LCS teammates. Meanwhile, 100 Thieves just announced the departure of Liyu “Cody Sun” Sun, giving them a spot that needs filling. It’s also not certain whether Perkz will continue to play bot lane, instead returning to Mid, where he’s played for many seasons. 

Wherever Perkz finally lands will gain the benefit of one of the most internationally experienced players in League of Legends. Having been to three MSI tournaments, and had four consecutive Worlds appearances with G2, there’s few with a similar resume in the game. Perkz is an upgrade over almost every player in his role in the North American region.

Still hungry for League content? Count on Dart Frog for all the latest League of Legends news! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!

Categories
League of Legends

LS Will Be T1’s Next Coach But Korean Fans Aren’t Happy

Fans can be relied upon to criticise the signings of players to their teams, but rarely in esports has the signing of a coach created similar controversy. That was until a leak surfaced detailing the potential that Nick “LS” De Cesare could T1’s next coach.

(Image via  Lee “Effort” Sang-ho)

The leak came from a discord message sent to Lee “Effort” Sang-ho, who was streaming at the time. According to the message, LS, alongside former StarCraft 2 pro and current TFT player Choi “Polt” Seong Hun, will join T1 as coaches for the 2021 season. Almost immediately, speculation about this coaching move circulated around Twitter. Some heralded the potential signings as a great move, and others doubting the veracity and quality of the choices.

T1 suffered a humiliating end to their season after a loss to Gen.G in the finals of the Worlds Regional Qualifiers. The loss was especially crushing with rumours of the legendary mid laner Lee “Faker” Sang-hyeok reportedly considering retirement. Three days later, their coach Kim Jung-su resigned. 

LS is an experienced analyst, commentator, and League of Legends personality. His career started when he moved to South Korea to pursue a career as a StarCraft pro player. After living with several Korean organizations, LS became focused on LoL, becoming a coach to many pro players. Since then, he’s served as a coach on multiple teams such as Supa Hot Crew, Roar, Gravity Gaming, and bbq Olivers. 


However, despite his laundry list of qualifications, his controversial style of analysis has often drawn the ire of critics. Most recently, they have focused on his overuse of the “Boris” meme (the name of the shopkeeper on Summoners’ Rift) on his stream, and his often off-topic tangents – both staples of his broadcasting and streaming style rather than his analytical ability.

The most vocal critics of LS’s appointment to T1 are Korean fans who see his appointment as inappropriate. Their criticism varies from concerns about his qualifications, to ad hoc attacks. 

The criticism got so bad that this morning T1 issued an official statement on their social media. In it they addressed the concerns from fans, asking them for patience. “We want to reassure our fans that we are working hard to implement a coaching structure that will position us to win”

It’s likely the statement will do little to comfort T1 fans. Many are worried about a formerly world-class team going yet another year without international success. The former Worlds champions have failed to perform to the level which fans have grown accustomed to. Regardless of who ends up as part of T1’s next coach staff going forwards, they’ll be under a microscope for some time. 

Still hungry for League content? Count on Dart Frog for all the latest League of Legends news! Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook!

Categories
Call of Duty

LA Thieves officially join the Call of Duty League

After weeks of speculation the Los Angeles Thieves have joined the CDL for the 2021 season.

The franchise is owned by Nadeshot’s organisation, 100 Thieves, and will compete against the 11 other CDL franchises.

Rumours of 100 Thieves’ return to Call of Duty began circulating after it was reported that the organisation had acquired OpTic’s CDL spot.

The rumours have now been confirmed meaning that we will see fan favourites 100 Thieves back in competitive CoD once again.

However, this time the squad will be officially named Los Angeles Thieves making them the second LA-based franchise alongside LA Guerillas.

https://twitter.com/LAThieves/status/1324758533108215808

The Los Angeles roster will include: Austin “Slasher” Liddicoat, Kenny “Kuavo” Williams, Thomas “TJHaly” Haly and Zack “Drazah” Jordan.

This was the original roster that would have competed under OpTic Gaming LA before they were bought out by Nadeshot and 100 Thieves.

100 Thieves entered competitive CoD in 2016 during the Black Ops 3 season. Their stay was short-lived however as they then left and did not return until the 2018/19 Black Ops 4 season.

The team performed very well in Black Ops 4 and gained a huge following whilst doing so.

They won both CWL Anaheim and CWL London as well as coming second in the CWL Championship 2019.

Fans were extremely disappointed that 100 Thieves were not participating in the Call of Duty League introduced last year.

Despite opting out of purchasing a spot last year, Nadeshot felt that now was the right time to enter the league.

Hector “H3CZ” Rodriguez, who was rumoured to have bought OpTic Gaming back, is thought to have sold the franchise to good friend Nadeshot.

Eric “Muddawg” Sanders will retain his position of General Manager under the LA Thieves. He exceled in this role during 100 Thieves impressive season in 2018/19.

Are you happy to see the 100 Thieves brand back in Call of Duty?

Let us know!

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Categories
CS:GO

Vitality impress at BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Group B

Vitality is the champion of the BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Group B, and they pulled off the victory in an impressive showing. The French organisation unleashed their six-man roster on the CS:GO world for the first time, and it was indeed a sight to behold. Let’s see what happened through the Group.

Vitality’s path

Vitality is one of those teams that have been consistently good near enough all year long. Unlike many top teams, Vitality hasn’t faltered in the online era, and they consistently put up good showings in almost every tournament. However, the roster seems to choke on the final hurdle, as they have been to four finals and failed to lift a trophy in 2020.

With the context set, Vitality entered their BLAST Premier Fall Group B with a fresh start. The team brought its six-man roster forward, and it got better and better as the event went on. On the other hand, Complexity had their new player, Justin “jks” Savage begin playing for the team after recently departing from 100T. So the series was definitely a warm-up for both sides. The French started off against the juggernaut, Complexity. The series went the full distance, wit Nuke going 16-14 to Vitality. Nabil “Nivera” Benrlitom then got his debut match on Dust ii, but unfortunately, Complexity had a great map and won it 16-12. The final map had the new player head to the bench, and that was the recipe for Vitality claiming another 16-14 win on Vertigo.

Moving on, they faced BIG in the Upper Bracket of Group B. BIG found their way to this after facing off against FaZe Clan in the other opening round of Group B. FaZe just lost their best player, but the roster put up a good fight forcing them into overtime in the first map, and taking the second map. However, BIG ended up winning it. But the same could not be said about their series vs Vitality as they lost 2-0. Int eh first map both Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut and Richard “shox” Papillion combined to have 36 kills in the first half of Dust II. Vitality took Dust II 16-10, with Overpass a 16-11 win.

Vitality had to make the odd comeback here and there to get the series win

Vitality’s Final

Once again, Vitality met BIG in the Grand Final of the BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Group B. BIG came in a bit more prepared this time, but it wasn’t enough to stop the reformed French side from taking the Group win. Vitality once again showed off their favour for Dust II and won it 16-12. Vitality’s T side was nigh unstoppable, as the working combination of Nivera and ZywOo shared 25 kills opening and clearing the CT side.

BIG may have lost the series, but they had grand moments of their own throughout the series

Big did get their own back against Vitality on Nuke. 16-14 seems to be the default for Nuke in this Group B event, and that’s how BIG won against Vitality. BIG dominated the first half with a 12-3 showing, but somehow Vitality almost managed the same scoreline on the next half. It was only in the key moment of round 30 that BIG switched the narrative on its head and secured the third map.

Inferno made an appearance as the final map of the series. Vitality would once again earn a 16-12 to take the series 2-1 and win BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Group B. Once again, Vitality’s new pairing of ZywOo and Nivera popped off again, and that was the key to a successful 10-3 half, claiming the map at a 16-12 win.

Vitality has done nothing but impress throughout this Group B showing. The ability to mix and match to the team with strategies and setups in mind obviously proved crucial in Vitality’s aim to get wins on the board. With them and BIG in the final, they both Head to the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown Finals later in the year. We look forward to seeing how Vitality redefines the six-man roster.

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 BLAST.

Categories
CS:GO

G2 Esports comeback to win BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Group C

G2 Esports has pulled off a huge victory at the BLAST Premier Group C with their brand-new team. G2 Esports is temporarily running a six-man team has the roster is attempting to step up after falling off a bit over the last few months. The organisation recently brought on Nikola “NiKo” Kovač to the roster, to reunite the Kovač family as he and his cousin Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač are finally on the same team.

A slow but steady climb

G2’s new roster was no doubt going to be a big deal when they announced NiKo as the new player on the team. The star player on FaZe Clan is one of the best European CS:GO players in the game. However, he sometimes has the odd difficulty here or there. Teams with new rosters tend to take time to gel, but they started strong against North America’s #1 team, FURIA.

The series was quick and efficient for G2, as they managed a 2-0 series. This is a bit fo a shock considering the strength of the FURIA roster and the newly formed G2 roster. Anyway, G2 took Mirage 16-10, followed by a Nuke win on 16-11. Moving on, they faced Astralis in the Upper Bracket.

However, the freshness of the roster caught up with them, as the reuniting Astralis five-man core had returned. The major winning team won the series 2-1, but thy did have to reverse sweep it. G2 pulled off a 16-11 win on Dust II, but that isn’t too much of a surprise. The major winning era of Astralis had two weak points, Cache and Dust II. The biggest factor about Dust II was the arrival of NiKo onto the team. The new player found himself getting his first ace on G2, only three live games into his tenure on the team. It may have been against pistols, but the shutdown clearly encouraged him as he went on to 38-16 kill death, and a 135.1 ADR.

NiKo’s first ace on G2 Esports

With Astralis’ loss out of the way. They bounced back with a classic Nuke 16-12 victory, and a 19-15 Inferno win. Astralis’ T side Nuke earned an 8-7 lead, which is always bad news for Nuke’s CT sided favour. Over on Inferno, the match was super close. Once again, NiKo was getting some insane clutches to get G2 rounds. On the other hand, Astralis was pulling off smoke rushes with a UMP. Inferno was completely feral, which explains why the first half went 8-7 to Astralis and won 19-15 in overtime. Also, Astralis had the gameplan in mind, with one of the greatest fakes we’ve seen in a while on Inferno. Round 28 was certainly exciting.

How does this even happen?

The comeback

G2 is the only team to get sent down to the Lower Bracket and return to win a BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Group. The roster met MiBR’s new temporary roster after they succeeded in the Brazillian darby against FURIA.

The series was looking a little doom and gloom as G2 Esports was forced to contend overtime on Nuke. The G2 side managed the victory, even with the MiBR T-side getting 8 rounds to 7. The scary part was players like Vito “kNgV” Giuseppe pulled out a server high of 31 kills and 93.1 ADR. MIBR’s roster was looking great for a team that had only just reformed.

The narrative continued in the second map, as MIBR secured themselves the third map. Dust II went to overtime, with MiBR taking it 19-17. G2 started well with their players dominating on the T side of Dust II as expected. Potential bench candidate, Francois “AmaNEk” Delaunay even got on the top of the leaderboard with his 1.22 rating by the end of the map. Although, Alencar “trk” Rossato bodied everyone on the server with his 1.4 rating. The young Brazillian star came in when it mattered for his new teammates., ensuring big frags and stopping G2 getting to match point when they were rounds behind

trk coming in clutch

Although, the temporary Brazillian squad’s dreams were dashed as the roster found themselves falling out of the BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Group C. G2 Esports came out of nowhere on Train to destroy this tense series. Train was the decider, and G2 secured it 16-5, which is one of the biggest stomps throughout the Fall event. With the hype map win coming in at the right time, G2’s momentum was strong heading into the rematch with Astralis.

The rematch

G2 Esports was definitely prepared for the rematch against Astralis as they took the finals 2-0. Nuke and Dust II were the maps back in play, and they certainly took them in style. The first map on Dust II was good for G2, as they started the series off strong with a 16-11 win. The entirety of G2 put out a relatively equal contribution to the team, as they floated around the 1.13 – 1.19 rating area. The exceptions here are for Nemanja “nexa” Isaković, who played a more supportive role, and NiKo, who dragged out of his mind with 27 kills and 106.7 ADR.

G2 with the pistol rush to get their first Dust II round, which snowballed them rounds after.

G2 found Nuke a much easier experience compared to their last few runs. Astralis fell 16-13, thus ending the series. The likes of NiKo dominated the map with his 1.59 rating; the highest NiKo has had on G2 the entire event. No doubt this result had shaken Astralis, and the world will watch G2 much closely as the new roster is already dominating against top EU teams.

With the win, G2 Esports advance to the BLAST Premier Fall Finals. G2 Esports is one of the hottest teams heading to the event, and there’s no doubting why after this incredible showing her in the BLAST Premier Fall 2020 Group C.

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 the BLAST

Categories
Dota 2

Cyber Legacy rebuilds their squad

After a few disappointing results, the Russian eSports organization Cyber Legacy has announced that they will change their roster. Many thought that they would keep at least two or three players, but it turns out the organization decided to leave only Zaur “Cooman” Shakhmurzaev.

Who will join the new team?

The main reason for Cyber Legacy’s decision was their poor results in recent tournaments. Although the team had a good squad on paper, they were simply unable to live up to expectation. Recently they finished last at ESL One Germany after being eliminated in the Group Stage.

What’s interesting is that the team still received an invitation for the EPIC League closed qualifiers. This is a tournament with a prize pool of $500,000. Sadly, CL had no other option but to withdraw from the competition after they made the announcement.

Unfortunately, we don’t have any information about which players will be joining Cyber Legacy. CeMaTheSlayeR, Bignum, Magical, Blizzy, and their coach ArsZeeqq are no longer a part of the team, which means that they are officially free agents. Hence, we might see them in a new CIS team soon.

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