Gaming YouTuber, Vizeh, was able to access the FIFA 22 closed beta and revealed a lot information for FIFA players. Two of the most important aspects he touched on was the noticeable difference in game physics, and a huge change to off-chemistry gameplay. He described the players as feeling “heavy” when controlled, while the ball felt extremely “light.” He also confirms that using players off-chemistry actually impacts the way they perform.
When playing the beta, Vizeh was able to experience controlling high level dribblers, like 98-rated Neymar, as well as lower level ball handlers. There seemed to be no difference in the “heavy” mechanics he experienced across different players. In contrast, the ball seemed to ricochet wildly, travel 30 yards, and bounce up to seven times a half. According to Vizeh, these mechanics make it more challenging to execute passes and hurts the overall game feel. This translates to difficult dribbling and inconsistent physics during gameplay.
He also play-tested using players off-chemistry, and the impact this has on the game in FIFA 22‘s beta is far ahead of where is was in previous editions. Plugging in players anywhere seemed to have little to no consequence in past FIFA‘s. This year, playing a right back or left back at center is not as affective as it once was; quite the opposite actually. Vizeh describes being able to feel the difference in how these players moved with the ball and the lack of comfortability in their new positions. These changes will not only impact gameplay, but could affect the FIFA esports scene as well.
If the mechanics Vizeh described exist in the final version of the game, it could lead to more fast-paced matches with frequent possession switches. It’s likely that the odd and sometimes random off-chemistry lineups players created in past years will start to disappear quickly as the games developers lean into a more realistic style of play. It will be interesting to see the communities reaction to these changes when FIFA 22 releases on October 1st.
100T Raise the Trophy after an incredible 3-0 Victory over Team Liquid (image via Riot Games)
Change is in the air in North American League of Legends, as 100 Thieves defeat Team Liquid to win the LCS Championship. 100T swept opponents Team Liquid in three straight games in the best-of-five series to become champions of the league.
The win makes 100T just the fifth ever team to capture an LCS title. Cloud9, Team SoloMid, Team Liquid and Counter Logic Gaming—All storied teams in the league—are the only other organizations to claim an LCS seasonal victory.
In an empty arena (fans were unable to attend the event in person), the LCS 2021 season wrapped up with a bang. Team Liquid, who had been on an incredible hot streak before tha match, struggled immediately with the pace at with 100T played. Having met previously in the Upper Bracket finals, it seemed logical that TL would again have 100T’s number.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53EjdlmdfNc
But as the teams met on Sunday, it was almost like a completely different 100T than the one TL faced in round four of the playoffs. Chief among the success was Can “Closer” Çelik. The Turkish Jungle dominated his opponent, showing the raw power of picks like Viego jungle.
Ian Victor “FBI” Huang, import Australian ADC was also a standout for the team. Already the best in one region, Oceania, FBI was on the warpath on Sunday. He wanted to prove he was the best in NA as well. In three games, his scores of 5/1/4, 3/1/9, and 3/0/7 showed just how dominant he is.
FBI Best ADC has arrived
I'm so happy that an Oceanic player has looked this good and finally has an LCS trophy to show for it. No shade to Fudge, that man is a beast but this is a moment that is very special to me.#LCS
Unfortunately, the crowning of a new champ in North America will once again spark a debate about imports. This year NA will only send three native NA talents to Worlds 2021. LCS teams must field a minimum of two NA players on a roster. However, with Oceanic players counting as NA residents, and import players who have become a lawful permanent resident in North America able to count as one of those two, 100T is able to field zero native NA players.
Despite a victory that is sure to be tinged with controversy, it is a well deserved win for 100T
Following in the footsteps of its VALORANT initiative, Riot Games expands its Game Changers program to include LoL (Image via Riot Games)
Building upon its success in VALORANT, Riot Games has expanded its Game Changer program to include League of Legends. Revealed on August 24, in a post on the LoL Esports website, LCS Game Changers looks to build diversity in the scene.
Introducing #LCS Game Changers, Coming September 2021
Previously, Riot had revealed the original Game Changers program for VALORANT. That initiative sought to help “marginalized genders within Valorant.” To that aim it formed a fully-fledged competitive ecosystem for women’s Valorant. In supporting teams and offering prize pools for teams, the program looked to make women’s Valorant.
LCS Game Changers will differ from it’s Valorant counterpart in a number of ways. Instead of of looking to support teams and tournaments, the will instead focus on high ELO LoL players. The program aims to mentor and work with these players to transition them into amateur and professional players.
However, in spite of the differences, the aim for both programs is the same: To support women in the esports space.
With the success of Valorant Game Changers, Riot has now announced LCS Game Changers, a way for women to eventually be fed into the amateur and professional leagues
The program aims to take 10 players to field two teams. Over the course of a two-week training camp, Game Changers will support the selected players with a “life as a pro” experience. Scrims, VOD reviews, and panels will support players and will hopefully help them secure a place on an amateur or pro team in the future.
Just like its predecessor this initiative has lofty goals. But even so, it’s an admirable effort by Riot Games to attempt to support women entering professional play.
Applications for the program are open now, and candidates can apply here. Selection is set to take place on September 3rd, and the event proper will take place between September 27th until October 8th, concluding with a best-of-five between both teams of candidates.
Worlds 2021 was initially set to be held in five cities across China in 2021. This was due to last year’s Worlds 2020 occurring with no audience for most of the event due to Covid restrictions. To make up for this, Riot Games announced previously that Worlds 2021 would be held in China again in 2021.
However, just a few months out from the expected start of the event, the regional host has now changed. The event will now take place in Europe. Many expect the event to be held in Germany, where the LEC studios are based.
News of the venue change was leaked on August 23, when news outlet Upcomer revealed the alteration. The publication broke the news, citing numerous sources within Riot Games.
In the eventual official announcement, John Needham, Global Head of Esports for Riot Games, broke the news. In the statement, broadcast on Twitter, Twitch, and YouTube, Needham apologised to fans, especially those in China. Explaining the situation around the decision, he emphasised the desire for teams to compete with their entire rosters. This sentiment alluded to the visa issues that plagued teams as they attempt to head to Worlds 2021.
Instead, with the venue moving to Europe, more teams are likely to play with their full rosters, free of visa issues. In addition, most European countries have strict two-week isolation periods for those travelling from outside. However, these restrictions will likely be a small price to pay for most teams.
Ultimately, we are still unsure of the exact venue, timing, and circumstances of Worlds 2021. However, with only an ending date set, we must still assume that Worlds will look slightly different from usual, even with Riot Games trying everything they can to return to normality.
TSM's chances to attend the LoL Worlds 2021 event are on the line in Sunday's landmark matchup. (image via Riot Games)
League of Legends Worlds 2021 is set to kick off just a few months from now, but some of the best LoL Teams in the West find themselves on the edge of elimination from the event. Out of Team SoloMid, Cloud9, G2 Esports, and Fnatic, only two of these teams will make it to Worlds 2021.
In a landmark series of games over the weekend (Sunday 22), the very makeup of the LoL competitive scene is being reformed.
In the next 24 hours we have…
T1 vs. GenG EDG vs. WE G2 vs. FNC C9 vs. TSM
All with #Worlds implications on the line, and the finals spot for EU & NA
If these matches deliver, this could be the greatest day of @lolesports in the history of League of Legends across the globe. pic.twitter.com/4dsiu3XG8I
We break down these two huge matchups and how their outcomes will affect Worlds 2021.
Fnatic vs. G2 to Become an EU Representative at LoL Worlds
Fnatic and G2 Esports are the two most decorated LoL teams in Europe. With dozens of championships between them, it would seem trivial that these teams would head to Worlds 2021. But, instead, we find them battling it out to even attend.
Despite their normal top-tier play, Fnatic has struggled in both Spring and Summer splits. Sitting strictly at the middle of the table, the team has barely made it to the playoffs in both seasons. Now they have to win this game to even find their way to Worlds 2021.
G2 Esports, with its new roster including Martin “Rekkles” Larsson (a former Fnatic player), has managed to top the tables but struggled in both post-seasons. After two playoffs, they now find themselves taking on historical rivals Fnatic for an international competition spot.
As the teams clash at 16:00pm BST, in a best-of-five competition, they’ll be battling for more than a semi-final spot. They’ll be fighting for survival and the chance to join the ascendant MAD Lions as Europe’s representative at Worlds 2021.
Cloud9 and TSM to Clash With LoL Worlds Spot on the Line
After an incredibly impressive 3-1 victory over Immortals on Friday, the regular season champs, TSM, now have Worlds squarely in their crosshairs. Their match against Cloud9 on Sunday is their most important all year.
On Thursday, Cloud9 3-0’d Evil Geniuses to secure their spot in this matchup. Having spent much of their summer split trying to replicate the success of Spring, the team now struggles in the post-season. By rights, they’d automatically be headed to Worlds alongside Team Liquid. But, instead, they face LCS rivals TSM for this semi-final spot.
What’s so crazy about this matchup is that it’s only round 3 of the Championship. There’s still a trio of incredible matchups on the way, although few will have as high stakes. In the morning, we saw the LPL and LCK have similarly high-profile matchups, and LoL Worlds 2021 feels closer than ever.
Dota 2’s next big tournament before TI10 is starting tomorrow, and for avid viewers here’s who will be competing at ESL One Fall 2021.
TI10 is still two months away, but there are some big T2 tournaments to watch out for, especially for Dota 2 fans who want to see how professional players will handle the game’s latest patch. With the metagame about to see a pretty big shift, ESL One Fall 2021 will be ground zero for patch 7.30, and quite possibly setting the tone for The International this October.
This T2 tournament will host twelve teams from different regions, ten coming in from direct invites and two from the recently concluded closed qualifiers. Check out the participants for ESL One Fall 2021 and some details with regards to their rosters below.
ESL One Fall 2021 – the participating teams
Credit: ESL
Alliance (Direct invite) (EU) (TI10-qualified)
Roster:
Nikolay “Nikobaby” Nikolov (position 1)
Linus “Limmp” Blomdin (mid-lane)
Gustav “s4” Magnusson (off-lane) (C)
Simon “Handsken” Haag (soft support)
Artiom “fng” Barshack (hard support)
Team Liquid (Direct invite) (EU)
Roster:
Michael “miCKe” Vu (position 1)
Maximilian “qojqva” Bröcker (mid-lane)
Samuel “Boxi” Svahn (off-lane)
Tommy “Taiga” Le (soft support)
Aydin “iNSaNiA” Sarkohi (hard support) (C)
Team Spirit (Direct invite) (CIS) (TI10-qualified)
The tournament will begin with a four-day group stage set of matches, divided into the A and B streams. The A streams will be happening on ESL Dota 2’s Twitch channel, while the B Streams can be watched on the tournament organizer’s B channel. T1, Team Spirit, Thunder Predator, Tundra Esports, Team Liquid, and SG esports will open the tournament for the A streams, while the B streams will have Virtus.pro, Creepwave, Alliance, Team Empire, Team Spirit, and Thunder Predator matches. You can check out the full group stage format and schedules here. The group stages will run from August 21 to 24.
Credit: Liquipedia | screenshot by the author
After group stages, the teams will be seeded according to their W-L records into their respective playoff brackets. This will run from August 26 to August 29 and is a double-elimination bracket Bo3 format. The grand final will be Bo5, and the winning team will take the lion’s share of the $400,000 prize pot, totaling $175,000.
Valve has just updated Dota 2 for the first time in months, and with the metagame now shifting once again here are the OP heroes for patch 7.30, as well as some to avoid due to their nerfs.
With another big tournament incoming later this week in the form of the ESL One Fall 2021, Dota 2 players finally had their prayers answered with the release of patch 7.30, the game’s next big update and one that will save the player base from lobbies filled with Broodmothers and Templar Assassins.
However, this does not mean that nobody will be there to take their places instead, and indeed there are some standout heroes that will most likely be considered OP for patch 7.30. On the other side of the spectrum, there are some heroes as well who should be avoided due to some very big nerfs.
With all of that in mind, let’s take a closer look at the biggest winners and losers of patch 7.30 for Dota 2.
OP heroes for Dota 2’s patch 7.30
Tinker
Credit: Valve
As an avid Dota 2 player myself, I believe Valve might have made a very big misstep with the 7.30 iteration of Tinker. At a glance, it will seem like the changes for him made him slower in farming due to the removal of March of the Machines, but it’s important to look at what this entailed in return.
KEEN CONVEYANCE
New Rearm Sub-ability. Channel for 4.5/4/3.5s to teleport to a friendly Building. Level 2 allows targeting units and level 3 allows targeting heroes. Mana cost: 75
This sub-ability levels up in conjunction with Rearm, Tinker’s signature ultimate skill. This ability is, for lack of a better term, ‘stupid beyond belief,’ and it makes Tinker one of the most OP heroes in patch 7.30.
What makes this ability broken is the fact that now, Tinker can spam Rearm and Keen Conveyance to keep himself topped up in terms of health and mana at all times, and the only barrier to it is hitting level 6. Previously, for Tinker to meet these conditions, he would have to first farm 2500 gold for Boots of Travel, a fairly decent tradeoff for what it can provide him. Now, with Rearm and Keen Convergence immediately available, Tinker can be a terror in the side lanes with the reworked Laser and the always reliable Heat-seeking Missile with very little tradeoff to keep him in check.
Tinker’s rework added the Defense Matrix skill in lieu of March of the Machines, basically interchanging the Shard skill with the original one. The skill is incredibly potent at shielding himself and his allies, with the status resistance on top to help increase its potency.
All of that said, there is a bit of a nerf to Tinker’s overall farming and split-pushing power, as March of the Machines now requires an Aghanim’s Shard to be skilled. Shard costs 1400 gold and it will be available 20 minutes into the game, which means that so long as you can shut down the Tinker before he hits big items like the Scythe of Vyse, you will have a chance to win against him.
TL; DR — Tinker no longer needs BoTs to make an impact, lowering his barrier to usefulness in the team.
Slark
Credit: Valve
The small, amphibious terror may be on his way back to the big leagues, as slight changes to Slark made him one of the OP heroes to check out in Dota 2 patch 7.30. What will make him top-tier in this current metagame are not those slight changes themselves, although they did help a lot; what will push him to see more play are the significant nerfs to other carries, such as Medusa, Luna and Terrorblade.
First and foremost, Slark got a sizable buff to his Dark Pact skill, significantly lowering its own damage while keeping most of the other values intact. This means that this spell is now definitely more spammable in-lane, allowing Slark to have kill potential even before he gets to level 6. His ultimate, Shadow Dance, also had its cooldown reduced by a noticeable margin, giving him more chances to use it.
His Talent tree saw a mixed bag of changes, although it’s arguable that overall it made Slark more formidable across all stages of the game. He lost some lifesteal and attack speed but gained the latter back while in Shadow Dance, so it balanced itself out in the end. The +1 Agi per Essence Shift stack talent at level 20 is possibly OP, especially if he’s built himself a lead before he hits that magic number.
TL; DR — Slark moved to the top tier thanks to small buffs and heavy nerfs for other top-tier carries.
Lycan
Credit: Valve
Before 7.30 came out, Lycan was one of the heroes that were in a weird, not-quite-carry, not-quite-off-laner state. This loss of identity was one of the biggest reasons why his pick rate suffered, but thanks to significant buffs for this patch he may have found his calling as a powerful core that can fit into a ton of team compositions.
One of the biggest changes for Lycan to make him one of Dota 2 patch 7.30’s OP heroes is with regards to his Wolves. Upgraded Shard Wolves have been made to be much stronger, making them split-pushing monsters that can passively generate income for Lycan after minute 20. They now have Low Attack Priority, meaning that they are the last to be targeted by enemy creeps, and they can now Cripple towers as well, giving them massive bonus damage overall.
He also got a minor buff for his level 15 talent, which changed the percentage cooldown reduction into a flat -20s cooldown on his ultimate, Shapeshift. This makes it easier to play with your team overall.
TL; DR — Lycan’s Shard Wolves got buffed by a ton, and his 15 talent makes his Shapeshift ultimate much more reliable overall.
Beastmaster
Credit: Valve
The walking zoo himself should see a bit of a boost on his Dotabuff stats thanks to buffs across the board. Beastmaster is easily one of the most OP heroes in Dota 2’s patch 7.30 thanks to not only changes within his skillset, but with regards to changes for Helm of the Overlord as well.
One of the better changes made within Beastmaster’s kit is with regards to his Shard upgrade for Call of the Wild Hawk. Previously, the stun skill that came along with it was ground-targeted, meaning that if the enemy can move outside its range they’ll be safe. The 7.30 changes made it so that it is now unit-targeted instead, giving it tracking abilities and a reliable stun, to boot. The Board and Hawk also got significant upgrades as well, with the former getting more damage at earlier levels while more vision was given to the latter.
To make matters more interesting for Beastmaster, Helm of the Overlord’s components have also been reworked. Beastmaster is one of the heroes that make use of this primarily, thanks to its abilities to dominate creeps. With the added Vladmir’s Offering component, Beastmaster can now provide more aura for his team and creeps, including his annoying Boars, without needing to take up one more slot for it.
TL; DR — Beastmaster’s pets have been buffed significantly, and his Shard Hawk is now a reliable, unit-targeted stun.
Shadow Fiend
Credit: Valve
Nevermore has always been one of the poster boys, not only for Dota 2, but for the original Warcraft III mod released more than a decade ago. While he was not in the worst spot ever before patch 7.30, certain buffs to his abilities will push him to OP for the rest of this patch (barring big changes, of course).
The first is with regards to his Shard upgrade, which affects Necromastery. Patch 7.30 changed it to be an attack modifier once you’ve purchased a Shard, and just like all of Shadow Fiend’s abilities it makes use of his soul collection number at any given moment. The reworked Shard upgrade for Necromastery now consumes one soul, but grants your next atack 170% crit damage on a three-second cooldown. To make things better, killing an enemy unit with this modified attack grants two souls instead of one.
This buff makes it so that Shadow Fiend does not fall off too much in the late game, while keeping his early terror laning presence intact. Several buffs to his Talent tree made him very OP for patch 7.30 as well, including increased attack speed and spell amplification as well as earlier Shadow Raze damage boost at level 15 instead of 20.
TL; DR — Shadow Fiend is now not as reliant on his spell damage thanks to the new Necromastery Shard upgrade.
Patch 7.30’s biggest losers
On the other end of the spectrum, some heroes got struck by Valve’s nerf-hammer too much to drop off in overall viability for high-level games. In particular, there are two heroes who are less likely to be useful this patch 7.30, compared to their previous status in the last patch.
Broodmother
Credit: Valve
In the span of a few hours since the patch hit, the Spider Queen herself went from one of the highest win-rate heroes on Dotabuff to currently its lowest, an oversight that will most likely be fixed soon by Valve. Broodmother is currently one of the weakest heroes in the patch, with a ton of her strengths outright neutered in an effort to curb her curb stomping nature.
It’s a classic case of over-nerfing, as Spin Web’s overall utility has been reduced to almost nonexistent once Broodmother hits a certain health percentage. Spawning Spiderlings is also more costly now, with reduced damage on top. Her Scepter upgrade also does not grant her more Webs, which is a big part of the purchase and why Broodmothers tend to go with it. Its replacement, Spinner’s Snare, looks intriguing, but at the moment it does not seem to be very useful as most players are figuring out.
All of this said, Broodmother can still be good in some scenarios, she is no longer the game-wrecker she was previously known as.
TL; DR — Broodmother is weak now due to nerfs to her Spin Web and increased mana costs on Spiderlings. Removing additional Webs from her Scepter upgrade also seemed to have killed its potential.
Templar Assassin
Credit: Valve
Another hero who needed hitting with the nerf-hammer for 7.30 is Templar Assassin, and she got what she deserved – and some more on top. She’s not as useless now as Broodmother, but it has made enough of an impact to stop her from snowballing out of control just by farming endlessly for the first 15 minutes of the game.
One of her biggest points of contention was Psi Blades, and now it has been slightly reworked to keep her from constantly out-farming everyone else just by staying at a distance. The range multiplier has been decreased, from 2 to 1.5, meaning that no more Psi Blades to kill you even from fog of war. The Psi Blades also deal less and less damage for each unit it passess through, a good trade for keeping the damage still Pure at the end of the day.
Her Scepter upgrade has also been nerfed, with Psionic Projection now requiring a longer channeling time and preventing TA from teleporting if she’s rooted or leashed. Her Psi Blades range Talent has also been moved to level 15, curbing her early game snowball potential.
TL; DR — Nerfs to Templar Assassin’s Psi Blades and Psionic Projection has somewhat curbed her disgustingly potent farming potential at all stages of the game.
Resting your players for a playoff push is a common site in traditional sports, but in esports it’s far rarer.
That’s why 100 Thieves caused commotion among fans and analysts alike this week. The controversy occurred when 100T announced on late Friday evening (July 31), that they’d be resting their main roster for playoffs, and playing their academy side during Week 9.
With a top 2 finish locked in for the regular season, we will be playing our Academy roster for tomorrow's LCS match to give our LCS team extra time to prep for playoffs & our Academy team an opportunity to play on the big stage!@tenacityna@KenviLoL@Ryoma1@lugerlol@poomelolpic.twitter.com/mnCNo2Hz7f
Having locked their spot for the playoffs in Week 8, 100T benched their entire starting roster and opted to give their academy team some playing time. However, the practice immediately drew criticism.
100 Thieves is facing backlash for starting their academy roster in LCS to give their main roster more time to prep for playoffs
Fans and esports personalities were split across a line of saying the move by was unreasonable or unfair to their opponents. Others pointed out that the format of the league and the rules facilitated this issue. The move could potentially affect the results of other teams, if not their own. Cloud 9 was the biggest potential loser. The result of their Week 9 matches heavily affected their eventual seeding in the LCS 2021 Championship playoffs.
Opinions Divided on 100T Playoffs Strat
Ultimately, the practice of resting players before the playoffs is common in many traditional sports. In the NFL it’s not uncommon for teams to rest a quarterback ahead of the playoffs. The move hides strategies, protects from injury, and otherwise rests the athlete. However, even in traditional sports, though, the practice is often frowned upon—especially by opposing fans.
While the practice does not often come up in esports, and especially not League of Legends, nothing in the LCS rules prevented 100T from doing this ahead of the playoffs. With competitive LoL still in its infancy compared to traditional sport, it’s unsurprising fans do not look favorably on the tactic. Seemingly unfair tactical advantages will never be seen positively under the lens of a critical fan.
