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League of Legends News

How 100Thieves is Crafting Unique NFTs — and Avoiding Backlash

Esports organization 100 Thieves made their entrance into the World of NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens) earlier this week with the 100 Thieves Championship Chain digital collectible release. As a free NFT was given away to celebrate the team’s LCS Lock-In victory, the relatively small backlash was one of the more notable factors about the announcement.

NFTs have been a contentious subject within esports and gaming, as many organizations rush to capitalize on the current boom. But the response from fans has been tepid or worse, with examples like Ubisoft Quartz seeing universal criticism and Team 17’s MetaWorms project dead on arrival

That’s why 100 T’s relatively uncontroversial release of a digital image of the actual chain they gave their players is so surprising. The team has managed to dodge much of the negative PR. But how exactly did they manage this?

They controlled the narrative

100T Nadeshot introduced the NFT project in a carefully worded video announcement (image via 100T)

Careful use of marketing and branding meant that 100 T’s Championship Chain didn’t initially trigger the automatic backlash that NFTs have garnered. The term NFT is already tainted due to highly publicized scandals, scams, exit cons, etc. Just using the terms “fungible” or even “token” in a release can mean instant death for a launch like this.

Instead, 100T concentrated on the digital collectible aspect, comparing the project to trading cards, comics, and memorabilia. It’s a smart move, as while NFT’s are pretty much radioactive as investments, gaming collectibles and trading cards are surging in value. So while this is also a bubble that is perhaps inflated by disingenuous investment, it’s still a more prestigious and valuable option.

In fact, the first mention of NFTs is in the FAQ section. While savvy consumers will have already noted that you needed to connect a token wallet to get the collectible, the less informed or interested just won’t get that far. The marketing and messaging on this release were targeted at 100T fans who are already investors in crypto, NFTs, and interested in digital collectibles.

It did not make the mistake of attempting to appeal to the general fan base aggressively. This limited the criticism to elements that they’d prepared for. They explained the environmental impact, comparing it to “sending ~2.5 emails.” And they headed off people asking why you’d buy a digital chain by explaining it as an achievement system or a collectible.

They gave it away for free — for a reason

100T’s Championship Chain was a digital replica of a real-world object. Owners of the new NFT will bank on the collectable surging in value in the future (image via 100T)

Giving away the Championship Chain was a smart move for several reasons. Firstly, it’s hard to criticize giving away something for free because it’s free at the end of the day. Secondly, 100T has created a built-in consumer base for its next NFT. 

The release already alluded to the fact that the team hopes “fans can look back on the moments in our history that they were there for and have pride in.” This would suggest the team will be creating more tokens in the future. Whether these will be free or not remains to be seen.

While currently the collectibles “aren’t intended for resale,” there’s nothing to say that will be the case in the future. The high-minded, read between the lines pitch of these tokens is that you will have a collection of 100T Championship collectibles in the future. At some point even further in the future, this exclusive and limited collection will be valuable because of its scarcity. And then, the free token that 100T has given fans will reward both parties with financial boons.

It’s theoretically one of the smartest moves into NFTs we’ve seen in the gaming space so far. But like with most NFT projects, it’s built on assumptions about the future that all parties are now gambling will come true.

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League of Legends

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

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

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CS:GO

ESL Pro League Season 12 North America – Who made it?

The ESL Pro League Season 12 North America Group Stages are over and it was an incredibly close four week of matches. There was a race for the fourth seed into the playoffs with 100 Thieves, Chaos, and Gen.G all racing for that final spot. However, 100 Thieves came out on top and head to the playoffs with Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses and FURIA Esports.

The race for fourth

The race for the fourth seed has been stemming from the beginning of the third week. The likes of Chaos, Gen.G and 100T had their super week, and it came down to the wire. Gen.G, unfortunately, had to compete against the top three teams after starting strong, but sadly they went 1-2 in week three. Meanwhile, Chaos started growing wins in week three with a 2-1 week, only losing to Evil Geniuses. 100 Thieves had a strong showing in week three, with a 2-1 week, only losing to Gen.G.

With these results, Chaos managed to take the fifth place from Gen.g, and the race was on between Chaos and 100T in week four. If either team lost and the other one it could decide the fourth-place team. Only in week four, both teams won. Chaos came in clutch with the 2-1 series win over FURIA. Chaos needed to get a sizeable round lead in their wins if they wanted to close the gap of positive round difference to contend against 100T. And that is what they did. Chaos brought their Overpass CT side to 16-3 in an impressive game three.

Chaos had a great Overpass showing against FURIA

Nevertheless, Chaos’ dream of making playoffs was shut down. 100T was the match after Chaos, and they got the clean 2-0 series win against Triumph. With that victory, 100T qualified to the ESL Pro League Season 12 North America Playoffs.

Evil Geniuses top the groups

Evil Geniuses remain the most consistent North American team in CS:GO. Throughout the four weeks of the EPL, Evil Geniuses has only lost one series to FURIA 0-2 and Triumph is the only team to take a map off them in their series wins. With Chaos beating FURIA, EG secured first place as the only team with a 6-1 record in the Group Stage.

Since FURIA and Evil Geniuses are the top two seeds from the Groups, they both head to the Upper Bracket Final. This will be a rematch, and it will be interesting to see if FURIA can beat EG once again on 24th September. Evil Geniuses are back-to-back North American champions, and they have continued to grow their trophy cabinet since coming back from the player break. Perhaps Evil Geniuses are destined for another trophy if FURIA is not able to repeat the Group success they had in week three.

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 ESL / Helena-Kristiansson.

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CS:GO

ESL One Cologne 2020 NA – Who made it out?

ESL One Cologne 2020 NA is through to the playoffs. Four teams from the eight teams in the event have made it to the playoffs. The remaining four teams are competing for pieces of the ESL Pro Tour points, cash prize and RMR points for the Rio Major. Let’s take a look at the teams that made it to the playoffs.

Group A

ESL One Cologne 2020 NA works a little different to their European counterpart. With way fewer teams, the event uses a GSL format. Teams that win two series qualify for the playoffs, while the losing two series eliminate you. In Group A, Chaos surprised the scene with a standout win over FURIA in their opening match 2-0. Nuke went to Chaos 16-11 with Inferno won on 22-19. They then met 100 Thieves in the Winners match. The Aussies were upset too, as they lost 2-1, with Chaos taking Nuke 16-10, losing Inferno 16-6, and taking Mirage 16-13.

leaf with the amazing clutch to the win the round.

Meanwhile, FURIA redeemed themselves after their first-round loss to Chaos. FURIA had a close call with Gen.G beating them 16-14 on Train and 16-10 on Inferno. Moving on, Furia took down 100T in the decider match 2-1. FURIA battered 100T on Inferno 16-1 but lost Mirage 16-13, but FURIA took the series on Vertigo 16-7. The two big dogs of Group A had been taken down by the rising stars in the FURIA and Chaos.

Group B

Group B had no major surprise for their results. Both Team Liquid and Evil Geniuses dominated their group. Evil Geniuses showed the skill gap in NA clearly. They beat Triumph easily with a 16-6 victory on Overpass and a 16-5 win on Inferno. Moving on, they battered Team Liquid in the winners final 16-7 on Mirage and 16-9 on Nuke. Evil Geniuses new coach seems to be keeping the fire under EG’s feet, which we first witnessed during the CS_Summit 6 event.

A fun fact for all those North American CS:GO fans.

On the other hand, Team Liquid had to fight for their storyline. TL recently signed Jason “moses” O’Toole as the coach and Michael “Grim” Wince as their new 5th over Nicholas “nitr0” Cannella who retired to compete in Valorant. The team needs more time to gel, so it’s isn’t a surprise to see them be a bit rusty. Their first match against Cloud 9 quite long, going 2-1 to Team Liquid. C9 won the first map on Overpass 19-17, with TL taking Vertigo 16-8 and Nuke 16-10. Moving on they got battered by EG as already mentioned, facing the decider match once again against C9. Here TL had a much better time against C9, beating them 2-0. Overpass did go into overtime with a 19-15 win, while Vertigo was a 16-11 victory.

With that mentioned, North America now moves into the semi-finals of ESL Once Cologne 2020 NA. Chaos and Team Liquid will go one on one against Chaos, with EG facing off against FURIA. The North America Finals will conclude on Saturday, 29th August.

Read More: Who made it out of ESL One Cologne 2020 Europe Groups?

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 ESL.