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League of Legends

Backlash after MAD Lions “owner” Slams Carzzy in Twitter Rant

Social media erupted late on Sunday evening (Oct 24) as it appeared that one of MAD Lion’s owners had heavily criticized the performance of Matyáš “Carzzy” Orság in a post on Twitter.

The tweet by “Revenant”, whose Twitter bio described him as a MAD Lions Co-owner, was a scathing critique of MAD Lion’s starting AD player. Roughly translated to english, the tweet stated that Elyoya and Kaiser are trying to carry the rest of the team. The tweet also claimed that Revenant thinks Carzzy is not good enough for the LEC level, and if it were up to him he’d have put Victor “Flakked” Lirola in as a sub.

Fans and personalities instantly jumped to the defense of Carzzy who felt it was incredibly unprofessional for an “owner” to criticize a player in this manner. 

However, in a tweet posted some time later, it was revealed that Revenant was not a MAD Lions owner at all. He was instead a partnered content creator who’d taken it upon himself to add the “co-owner” title to his Twitter profile.

In a statement by MAD Lions, the team backed Carzzy and stated they fully supported the team and all of its players.  

MAD Lions were eliminated from Worlds 2021 in a Quarter Finals match on the afternoon of Oct 24. The team managed to successfully navigate the group stage and put on a good showing for most of the tournament.  

However, many feel they faced one of the eventual finalists of the tournament in DWG Kia. MAD Lions were the last LEC team remaining in Worlds 2021.

Categories
League of Legends

League of Legends Netflix Series Gets Trailer and Release Date

After months of speculation and just teasers to go off, we now have concrete information about Arcane, Riot Games’ League of Legends-inspired Netflix Series. The developer released a full trailer on Saturday, September 25, as well as release dates and more details.

The trailer seems to show the story will focus on LoL characters Jinx and Vi and their lives in Piltover. What’s more, the trailer appeared to show Caitlyn, Jayce, Heimerdinger, and Viktor, giving us a full array of the Hex-tech wielding cities champions.

We’ve known about the series since May, when Netflix first leaked details. Netflix has recently taken a big drive into video games, and specifically Moba-related, IPs. The streaming platform debuted Dota 2: Dragon’s Blood earlier this year to critical acclaim. Now Dota 2’s rival game League of Legends is set to hit the platform.

Along with a trailer, we also found out more about the cast. Vi will be played by Hailee Stenfield, with sister Jinx played by Ella Purnell. Have will be played by Kevin Alejandro, and Caitlyn by Katie Leung. 

Riot also revealed the staggered release schedule of the series. The show will release in three episodes’ Acts,’ with the first debuting just after the end of Worlds 2021 on November 6. The remaining parts will release on November 13 and November 20, giving us a month of Arcane action.

The hype around the series is tremendous, as for years, fans have been clamoring for something deeper than League of Legends’ champion profiles to sink their teeth into. Comics and interactive events have satisfied up until now, but a whole Netflix series is sure to please dedicated LoL lore fans.

Categories
League of Legends

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

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
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 TwitterFacebookInstagram, and Twitch.

Categories
League of Legends

Riot Games unveils its new Champion: Viego, The Ruined King

It’s only a few days into the new year, but League of Legends is already being shaken up as Riot Games reveals their latest champion, Viego, The Ruined King. The new champ was unveiled across social media on the evening of Jan 8, with a new animated cinematic. The cinematic initially debuted on Riot’s 2021 League of Legends celebration video, but a full champion reveal followed shortly after.

However, this wasn’t the first time we’d seen Viego. Hero has been hinted earlier in 2020 as part of a new game revealed by Riot Forge partner Airship Syndicate. Ruined King: A League of Legends Story, is set to be a turn based RPG based in the League of Legends universe. Viego, the titular Ruined King is set to be a major character in the game.

Viego’s Abilities

For now though, Viego enters Summoners Rift as LoL’s latest champion. And his list of abilities looks incredibly impressive. First up, his passive, Sovereign’s Domination, which allows Viego to possess the enemy champion he kills. This lets Viego take on their abilities, effectively turning him into a version of Sylas that can copy every ability except an ultimate.

https://twitter.com/Blizz_lol/status/1347609507220779008

Viego’s Q is a percentage health draining passive, with a nasty stab added as an active for good measure. His W is, of course, a dash, and a stun – because what new champion would be caught dead without a mobility move and a hard crowd control ability?

The Ruined King’s E is Harrowed Path, which casts a wave of black mist around nearby walls. It grants camouflage to Viego and gives him extra attack and movement speed. This is definitely his major ganking ability.

Viego’s ultimate is Heartbreaker, allowing Viego to discard anyone he currently possesses with his passive, and blinking forward. Once he’s finished his blink, Viego will attack the nearest champ with the lowest percent health, dealing damage based on missing health.


With his plethora of damage abilities, and stealthy dashy fun, Viego The Ruined King is seemingly set to be primarily played in the Jungle role. However, a champion that can steal literally any non-ultimate ability in the game is surely destined for more than just a single spot on the rift. The Ruined King will likely be seen in many lanes, especially right after release.

Keep your eyes peeled to Dartfrog on TwitterFacebook, Instagram, and Twitch for all the latest League of Legends News.

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

Team Liquid’s Jensen signs 4.2 million dollar deal

Worlds 2020 might not be wrapped up, but the big offseason deals are already flying! Namely Team Liquid’s starting mid laner, Nicolaj “Jensen” ( Link listen) Jensen, reportedly signing a $4.2 million, three-year deal resigning with his squad.

Travis Gafford broke the news of Jensen’s 4.2 million dollar deal, and it quickly spread across social media.

The move locks in one of North America’s most talented regional stars for Team Liquid. What’s more, the signing prevents TL’s major rival, Team SoloMid, from making a bid for the player. TSM recently saw their own starting midlaner, Søren “Bjergsen” Bjerg, retire to a coaching position. As a result, TSM are just one of many NA organisations in the market for a new star mid player.

Jensen was a key part of the Team Liquid squad that represented NA at Worlds 2020 this year. After a sketchy season that saw the team fall to third seed, the squad redeemed themselves with one of the best international performances for NA in recent memory. Jensen has always been an international-calibre star, but his NA teams have often prevented him from proving himself on the Worlds’ stage.

Jensen’s 4.2 million dollar deal makes him one of the highest paid players in North America – for now. Especially as rumours stir that one of the best players in Europe, G2 Esports’ Luka “Perkz” Perković, may be headed to free-agency.

Wherever Perkz lands, TL have still managed to secure their talented mid star and in many cases, team leader. With more security in their roster, the organization can make aggressive moves in the off season.


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

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 Damwon’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, DRX’s poke comp attempted to whittle down Damwon from range. With a Jayce/Orianna composition, the plan seemed to be to delete Damwon’s champions before they could engage. However, expecting mistakes from their opponent’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 Damwon’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 opponent’s Twisted Fate pick with their own Galio. 

However, just as in the first game, the squad underestimated Damwon’s raw ability. DRX’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 Damwon’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 we’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

Worlds 2020 Play-In results: Who advances to groups?

In one of the hardest fought Play-in stages in recent memory, four teams have advanced to the Worlds 2020 groups after a tight series of games. Team Liquid, PSG Talon, Unicorns of Love, and LGD Gaming will all advance to the next stage of the event. It is set to kick-off on Saturday October 3. 

But despite the huge names that have made it through, it was no cake walk. LGD in particular had tremendous trouble, almost dropping out of contention entirely. Their opening days were a disaster, and only by clawing things back in the knock-out stage did they eventually advance.

The two automatic advancements, PSG Talon and Team Liquid effectively flipped their groups on their head. The NA team in particular were uncharacteristically dominant. They then advanced to the main stage after highly proficient play-ins. However, the other major western region, Europe, was left to mourn the loss of MAD Lions. The underdog (or underlion) team were eliminated from contention by Turkish TCL team SuperMassive in a close 3-2 defeat.

But things weren’t sunshine for the TCL representatives. The pink ponies themselves, The Unicorns of Love from the CIS summarily defeated them earlier today. The CIS team looks to beat it’s regions best record at worlds in 2016, where Albus NoX Luna advanced to the quarter finals after upsetting some of the biggest names that year. UoL are potentially a far better team than that 2016 lineup, and could easily cause some heart break in the Worlds bracket.

The first day of Worlds 2020 main stage games looks something like this:

Keep your eyes locked on Dart Frog on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for all the latest League of Legends Worlds 2020 news and analysis.

Categories
CS:GO League of Legends

Origen rebrands as Astralis ahead of 2021

Storied EU LCS and LEC organisation Origen has revealed a dramatic name change as it rebrands as Astralis. The team, originally founded by legendary mid laner Enrique “xPeke” Cedeño Martínez, revealed the rebranding on Twitter on the morning of September 15.

With the change in name, the squad takes on the branding of its sister team within parent company RFRSH Entertainment. In 2019, Origen was acquired by RFRSH to become part of the Astralis Group. Astralis’ most notable contributions to esports have been in the form of its CS:GO roster.

As part of the announcement, it was also revealed that general manager Martin “Deficio” Lynge and founder xPeke would be stepping away from the organisation. Both veterans of the European League of Legends Scene, Deficio has since seen multiple roles from broadcaster to manager. Meanwhile, xPeke has primarily been known for his ownership of Origen. Both will now move on to new opportunities.

New Name, New Opportunities?

However, the name change isn’t all good. As Origen rebrands as Astralis, the team leaves behind a plethora of hashtags, nicknames, and memes which have energised their player base. But as some are quick to point out, Origen’s brand is one that has drastically fallen in stock during its six years of existence. 

https://twitter.com/Froskurinn/status/1305791153728520192

Astralis, on the other hand, is one of the biggest names in CS:GO. They’re also a rising star within the esports scene as a whole. Since their rise to prominence, the team has had its fair share of controversies and scandals. But overall remains a strong brand. The revitalised team will enter the next scene with a new identity and perhaps a chance for a fresh start. 

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