Author: Michael Hassall

Categories
League of Legends

A New Champion: 100T Sweep Team Liquid in the LCS Championship

100T Raise the Trophy after an incredible 3-0 Victory over Team Liquid (image via Riot Games)
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.

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

Categories
League of Legends

Riot Games Expands Game Changers Program to League of Legends and the LCS

Following in the footsteps of its VALORANT initiative, Riot Games expands its Game Changers program to include LoL (Image via Riot Games)
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.

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.

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.

Categories
League of Legends

Official: Worlds 2021 Not In China, LoL Championships To Be Held In Europe

Worlds 2021 will now head to Europe instead of being held in China as initially announced (Image via Riot Games)
Worlds 2021 will now head to Europe instead of being held in China as initially announced (Image via Riot Games)

After over a year of expecting that Worlds 2021 in China, League of Legends fans must now look to Europe as the host venue of the World Championships.

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. 

On the morning of August 24, Global Head of Communications and Esports for Riot Games, David Higdon, said a statement from Riot Games would be released later that day.

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.  

Categories
League of Legends

With Worlds on the Line, Sunday 22nd is Make or Break for 4 LoL Teams

TSM's chances to attend the LoL Worlds 2021 event are on the line in Sunday's landmark matchup. (image via Riot Games)
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.

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.

Categories
League of Legends

100T Divides Opinion With Academy Roster Use In Week 9 Playoffs Push

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.

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.

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.

Follow DartFrog on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch for the latest League of Legends and LCS news.

Categories
League of Legends

LCS Forced Back Online As Positive Covid Tests Cause Havoc

It’s tempting, in the middle of 2021, to try and forget that the world is in the midst of a pandemic. Especially as people try and return to normal, with safety precautions and vaccinations helping to bring things back to pre-pandemic status.

However, LCS fans were reminded acutely reminded of how un-normal things really are as the League was once again forced online due to Covid-19. For the first time since the start of the Summer season, the LCS was returned to it’s online format, just like the bad-old-days of Summer 2020. With the new-look LCS of 2021, it was hoped issues like this were a thing of the past, but still the problems remain.

It all began as Immortals players were forced into playing remotely after a spate of positive tests. Immortals stated that all their players and staff were vaccinated. But even with their precautions, the team were unable to prevent the outbreak.

However, despite the swift response, just a day later the situation got worse. LCS Commissioner Chris Greely revealed that the league would be forced to move to an online format once due to the positive test. He stressed that the reasoning behind this would be due to an abundance of caution, rather than any positive tests inside the LCS Arena. No one at the on-site LCS staff has tested positive thus far. 

Making the Best of Online LCS Play

Despite the bad news, players looked to make the best of a bad situation. Immortals’ Mitchell “Destinyy” Shaw unwound by posting memes on Twitter, showing ‘Peepo’ playing things safe in a haz-mat suit. At the time of writing, Immortals were 2-0 on the weekend. It goes to show that playing from home wasn’t all that of a bad thing for them.

On the other hand, playing online was not all fun and sunshine for other teams. Evil Geniuses Coach Peter Dunn attested to some direct issues arising from their online play. Attributing their loss to Immortals to a missed Ryze ban, he bemoaned the issues with communication that can arise online.

The LCS continues this evening, with Immortals and Evil Geniuses in action. Follow DartFrog on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch for the latest League of Legends and LCS news.

Categories
League of Legends

The LCS Championship Will Feature In-Person Attendance

A taste of normality is set to his the LCS this fall, as the LCS Championship will officially allow in-person attendance for fans. The details of the LCS’s end-of-split championship event were revealed in a post by Riot Games released on the evening of July 9.

Riot Game’s announcement about the LCS Championship

On top of the crucial announcement that the event would allow in-person attendance, Riot also revealed the date and location of finals: The Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey. Formerly known as the Summer Finals, the LCS Championship will take place from Aug 28- 29. Riot endgoing so far as to put tickets on sale online. 

The LCS Championship is the last chance for LCS teams to gain the chance represent North America at the 2021 World Championship. The winner will also take home the new LCS Championship Trophy. The region only has three slots and there are plenty of organizations aiming to attend the tournament.

Finally the Fans are Back

Riot endorsed fans attending in person, going so far as to put tickets on sale online. However, it also encouraged fans to make plans to be vaccinated against Covid-19, but did not specify whether testing or other restrictions would be in place. It stated that all attendees must follow local health and safety protocols, which may include mask wearing. 

But Riot also faced criticism for the seeming in-auspicious location for the finals. Newark is normally seen as a b-town for events, with it’s New York City adjacent positioning. However, other suggest that Newark will be a fantastic venue for the event.

Journalist Jacob Wolf endorses the Prudential Centre in Newark as an Esports Venue

What’s more, others speculated online what this could mean for the VCT Champions event set for later in the year. The VCT has struggled in it’s opening year to find venues amid Covid restrictions. It’s first LAN event in Iceland was a closed-door tournament, with no press or fans.

Journalist Scott Robinson considers whether the LCS Championship news could have implications on the VCT Champions event.

Riot’s willingness to hold open-door events again is a good sign for LoL and VALORANT fans.

Follow DartFrog on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitch for the latest League of Legends and LCS news.

Categories
League of Legends

Schalke 04’s €26.5 Million Sale Reveals True Value of LEC Spots

After weeks of negotiations, the sale of FC Schalke 04’s LEC spot has been finalised. In a statement released on the afternoon of Tuesday, June 29, FC Schalke 04 Esports announced the completion of it’s sale of the LEC team to Team BDS across social media.

As per the announcement, from 2022, Team BDS will take over the LEC spot. With the sale, the team takes on the current contracts of the staff and players of the team—although many have already announced their departure. 

The agreed upon amount for the spot? A whopping €26.5 million ($31.5 million USD). The amount more than doubles the price first paid by teams when franchising was introduced in 2018. At that time, spots were slated to costbetween €8 million ($9.93 million USD) and €10.5 million ($13.02 million). This means at least a €16.5 return on investment for Schalke.

Schalke’s Record Sale Amount

If the amount seems high, that’s because it’s an enormous amount of money, and the largest paid for a franchise spot in any esports league. Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch League and Call of Duty League Franchise spots were initially offered for $20 million and $25 million respectively. The sale to many acts as a proof of concept that these franchise spots are worth their initial investment.

Beyond just a spot in the LEC, Team BDS has bought a portion of Schalke’s fanbase. What’s more, the LEC, a drastically improved product since 2018, has garnered huge amounts of good will. A premier esports league globally, the LEC is one of the top regions in the world for League of Legends. 

The news will be music to the ears of fans of FC Schalke 04’s football team. Their recent financial woes have been well documented. Likewise, LEC owners will be rubbing their hands in glee knowing a mid-table team such as Schalke could sell for such a vast amount. The valuations of companies such as G2, Fnatic, and others are sure to rise.

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

Categories
General League of Legends

G2 Esports Enters Historic Deal with Ralph Lauren

High fashion and esports collided today as G2 Esports announced a landmark deal with fashion label Ralph Lauren. The new partnership was announced across social media and in a promotional video on June 21.

In a detailed post on their website, G2 outlined the partnership. Describing it as a collaboration, both brands explained that they’d be launching a series of digital-first activations across Twitch and TikTok. 

They went on to outline some of these collaborations: “One such campaign is the Ralph Lauren Wimbledon campaign, which celebrates Ralph Lauren’s 16th year anniversary as the official outfitter of The Championships, and sees our League of Legends star, Martin’ Rekkles’ Larsson, feature among some of the biggest global athletes.”

G2’s A=announcement video of the Ralph Lauren partnership

Higher-ups from both G2 and Ralph Lauren weighed in on the deal. Carlos “Ocelot” Rodriguez, former League of Legends pro player and founder and CEO of G2, shared his thoughts: “Today is one of the most special days in my life and G2’s history. A brand I have loved for many years is now part of the G2 family. Ralph Lauren has entered the world of gaming in partnership with G2, and nothing makes us happier and prouder than to be able to execute on their strategy while doing our thing.”

Covering New Ground

Fashion and esports haven’t always gone hand in hand, with the average esports team putting out nothing more than a series of hoodies and polyester team shirts. However, some organizations have transitioned into creating more stylish offerings, such as 100 Thieves clothing drops. 

With G2’s partnership with Ralph Lauren, perhaps the couture will start making more of an impact in esports. It’s fun to imagine scenes of pro players walking from buses in stylish suits or collecting trophies dressed to impress. Maybe we’ll see some of those energy drink fridges on streams traded in for tie racks and coat hangers.

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

Categories
League of Legends

Schalke 04 Puts LEC Spot Up For Sale Following Financial Woes

For months, Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known FC Schalke 04, has reported financial difficulty. Now, following an announcement by club officials, the team will put up for sale their LEC team of the same name.

The Bundesliga team has been a part of the European League of Legends scene since 2016, after it purchased the spot and roster of team Elements. Dubbing their new squad FC Schalke 04 Esports, the team has played in the EU LCS for five seasons. While only seeing limited success, and struggling to find a solid roster, the team has still gathered a loyal fanbase.

The team perhaps peaked in 2018, when the squad secured second place in the EU LCS Summer Playoffs. The squad would also take second place at the EU Regional Finals that same year, but fell short of a ticket to Worlds. As the EU LCS rebranded to the LEC, Schalke 04 failed to replicate the success that had brought them so close to international competition. Instead they have remained a middle-of-the-pack team looking for renewed success.

Rumours first emerged that the LEC spot might be sold in February, and the team put out a statement. Today, Schalke 04 announced the sale of it’s spot. The sale was first hinted earlier in the day in a report by sports journalist Dirk Schlarmann, translated by esports journalist Tom Matthiesen.

Later in the day, additional sources started to confirm the reports. Many now speculated at the value of the LEC spot. In November 2020, Immortals sold their Call of Duty League spot for an undisclosed alleged seven-figure amount. The CDL averages around 40,000 viewers a stream. The much more popular LEC regularly peaks at over 200,000 and looks set to grow. As a result, the potential sale value is very high.

What this means for the members of Schalke 04’s League of Legend’s roster is uncertain. Ultimately the player’s fates will be in the hands of whoever owns the spot after purchase.

And while Riot Games is able to block the sale in principle, it seems unlikely they’d prevent a sale which could potentially show off the value of its league’s spots. 

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