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IEM Katowice 2022 Playoffs Preview

Mohd Laraib
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IEM Katowice 2022 Playoffs Preview

Intel Extreme Masters Katowice is an event like no other. Almost simultaneous with Counter Strike itself, Katowice is regarded as one of THE biggest events in esports. Dipping its toes into Starcraft 2 and even League of Legends, IEM Katowice’s pedigree is unmatched. The fans, as claimed by a lot of the players themselves, are the best in the world, the atmosphere, the electricity, the crowd are almost second to none.

Katowice has seen greatness first hand. Be it the renowned home team ‘Virtus.pro’s victory stage, featuring the likes of Pashabiceps and NEO, to being the place where Astralis stamped their authority as the best of all time by defending their Major crown in 2019. 

In its 10th edition – IEM Katowice 2022, the action returns to LAN. And not just any LAN, at the revered Spodek Arena, filled to the brim with fans – something we had been missing since 2019. Taking place without a crowd in 2020, and then online in 2021, IEM Katowice may be missing some of its glory in the 2 years gone by, but the love for Counter Strike brings back everything we had been missing, and more.

IEM Katowice 2022 Playoff teams – 

  • Natus Vincere
  • Gambit 
  • G2
  • FaZe Clan
  • Virtus.pro
  • Heroic

NATUS VINCERE

NaVi finished 2021 as their best year ever. Winning everything there was to win – the Major, the Intel Grand Slam, BLAST World Finals you name it. IEM Katowice 2020 though, is where it all began for the world’s best. They kicked off 2020 with a thumping win at Katowice over G2, and perhaps that is where their era began. Cut short by the switch to online, Katowice still contributed to NaVi’s Intel Grand Slam. 

Albeit not looking as dominant as the NaVi of 2021 just yet, s1mple is as good as ever and in front of a crowd, we all know what the rest of the  CIS powerhouse can bring. They will look to defend their crown as the best team in the world and Katowice is where they need to begin.

G2 ESPORTS

Being memed on for playing second fiddle to NaVi, IEM Katowice 2020 is where the misfortune began for G2. Losing 3-0 at Katowice 2020, then 3-0’d at the first LAN back in the form of IEM Cologne and then 2-0’d in the Grand Final of the First Major in 2 years, NaVi had become G2’s kryptonite. Interestingly, apart from m0NESY, all 4 of G2’s players have played in an IEM Katowice Grand Final.

NiKo was part of FaZe Clan when they lost to fnatic in 2018, Aleksib’s fairytale run with ENCE was cut short in the Grand Final by Astralis and huNter- and JACKZ were the ones that lost to NaVi in 2020. After making changes in 2022, G2 will look to write their own history at the Spodek in 2022.

GAMBIT

The defending champions of IEM Katowice will need to do it on LAN to keep their crown. No strangers to a LAN environment anymore, Gambit have given enough evidence that they can be on par with the best. Semi-Finals at the PGL Major, Grand Finals at BLAST Premier World Finals, and winning V4 Future Sports Festival – Budapest 2021 are testament to their ability. 

But playing in front of an electric crowd, there may still be a long way to go for Gambit. Their dismal performance vs NaVi in the Semis of the Major had everyone doubting their capability in an arena, but coach Groove says they have improved over time, despite the inexperience. Will they be able to defend their title? Time will tell.

FAZE CLAN

FaZe Clan are no strangers to the biggest stages of Counter Strike and even they have been in a Grand Final at IEM Katowice. For two years straight, rain, Karrigan and NiKo made it to the final of IEM Katowice only to fall at the final hurdle. 

Back with a different look with the return of Karrigan and new blood in the form of broky, Twistzz, and ropz, FaZe look the best they have in a long while. Dominant performances throughout, even with a stand-in, and making NaVi sweat in their last game, FaZe can surprise everyone and go all the way this time.

WePlay esports to Continue Working Remotely To Fulfill Legal Obligations

Mohd Laraib
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WePlay esports to Continue Working Remotely To Fulfill Legal Obligations

After the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army, things have taken a turn for the worse and everything has been thrown into a frenzy.

Reports of a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine by Russia surfaced after Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian Army will carry out a ‘military operation’ in Ukraine.

Videos and pictures of bombings, missiles, troops moving in and more have been circulating on the internet since morning and ground reports attest to the same.

Naturally, after such an invasion it is understood that the first priority of the citizens would be to ensure their own safety. Be that as it may, Ukrainian esports organisation – WePlay esports have released a statement regarding their current situation.

WePlay have their offices in Ukraine and will continue working remotely till the time a solution is found. The WePlay office in the United States will continue functioning as it has been. 

In the statement WePlay esports stressed on the fact that they will do their best to fulfill the legal and financial obligations of the stakeholders while working remotely.

Oleh Humeniuk, CEO of WePlay esports issued a statement saying 

“Russian Federation attacked Ukraine. Even though it’s frightening, the people of WePlay Holding and all of Ukraine know how to maintain common sense and stay calm.

Work in the WePlay Holding Ukrainian office is in full swing. At present, all the company departments, from Legal and Finance to Studio and Esports, as well as infrastructure institutions, are doing their best to keep in touch and provide partners with the information necessary to solve any issue. All WePlay Holding employees are aware of the government instructions they need to follow and continue working from home. The company keeps everyone posted on current updates affecting the workflow.

Thank you for your words of support and sensitivity that all Ukrainians need now.

Together we are strong and unbreakable.

With you always,”

WePlay regularly hosts CSGO tournaments, most notably and recently – the 3 seasons of WePlay Academy League for the academy rosters of CSGO teams. The Finals of the first 2 seasons took place on LAN while the third had to be moved online due to the political situation. 

More about the statement can be read here on WePlay’s website.

Turkish International Relations Expert Uses Counter Strike Map as Background on TV

Mohd Laraib
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Turkish International Relations Expert Uses Counter Strike Map as Background on TV

In a weird instance on Turkish television, a Counter Strike map was featured on National TV.

When international relations expert Dr. Muhammet Koçak was on air to talk about the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army, he put up a virtual background during his appearance.

The background was an iconic Counter Strike map cs_assault. Cs_assault was a very popular map back in the 1.6 days.

Turkish ”International Relations Specialist” Puts up cs_assault as his background while discussing about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
by u/iwanthidan in GlobalOffensive

Dr Muhammet Koçak was on tv to talk about the current state of affairs regarding Ukraine and Russia, with the latter invading the former in the wee hours of morning yesterday.

Many users took the appearance of a CS 1.6 map as a background to mean that he was, in fact, calling the ‘military operation’ by Russia, a straight up assault on Ukraine and its people.

Users also reminisced, seeing a counter strike map appear on national TV reminded them of the time they spent playing CS 1.6 on the map

cs_assault. One user said “So many good memories on this map from the lan-houses era…”. This isn’t the first time Counter Strike or it’s version have made it to National TV as an Indian channel used the terrorist model from CSGO when talking about the taliban and Afghanistan.

Local news channel in India using a CS:GO terrorist model while reporting the news about Afghanistan
by u/suhaga15 in GlobalOffensive

The full video can be found here

The r/globaloffensive subreddit also coloured their icon in the colours of Ukraine, to show their solidarity and support for the country. They followed in the footsteps of many esports orgs like Natus Vincere, Astralis and Ninjas in Pyjamas.

Soul Sid responded on Team Udog suspension

The Crew
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Soul Sid responded on Team Udog suspension

Siddhant Joshi aka Soul Sid, manager of Team Soul reacted to Team Udog’s suspension in the ongoing Villager Esports Winter Masters. To let you know, Team Udog, one of the teams competing in the winter masters was accused of violating tournament rules.

As a result, the team got suspended from the event. Presently, the semi-finals round is taking place where a total of 23 teams are competing for the grand finals slot. Villager Esports Winter Masters features a prize pool of 15,00,000 INR which will be distributed among the top five teams of the grand finals.

Soul Sid took his Instagram account to react, he wrote “Every time a POV is asked from any of their players about fishy plays, it is either directly rejected or delayed until other teams give up. There is enough evidence about players of this team using unfair means to play”. He further wrote, “We will be avoiding events where Udog or their players get an invite or qualify”.

The statement came after one of the officials from the organizing team announced the suspension of the team. He wrote, “Team Udog has been penalized with a suspension until further notice for the violation of tournament rules. Further decision on the situation is yet to be made as it is under investigation.”

“Esports has given me the opportunity of a lifetime” says Ronak in an exclusive interview

Divyesh Moghe
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“Esports has given me the opportunity of a lifetime” says Ronak in an exclusive interview

Every Indian remotely familiar with video games has heard the name of PUBG Mobile in the past few years. PUBG Mobile became the face of gaming and esports in India after it was launched in 2019.

When the game was first launched, its mechanism and play style attracted the youth in India. Soon, this mobile game achieved a status that no other game could ever achieve and became a majorly sustainable and competitive esports title in India.

As PUBG Mobile esports was becoming a thing in India, players that were phenomenal at the game started to form their own rosters and compete in grassroots level tournaments. Many esports personalities that have millions of fan following in India started their journey from here and Harpreet Singh “Ronak” Janjuha was one of them.

Ronak entered into competitive PUBG Mobile with the world-famous roster of Team Soul. This team would go on to become one of the most beloved esports organisations in India. Ronak has seen the rise and downfall of PUBG Mobile and a comeback in the form of BGMI as well.

We have a short chat with Ronak and discussed his journey so far, his current journey with Skylightz Gaming, and his future plans.

Here are the excerpts:

According to you, how has the competitive BGMI trend shifted with the game’s comeback? 

The standard of gameplay has increased significantly. Every team has worked well on their tactics, which is reflected in every match. The intensity level in each game has been at the highest level consistently. Some great underdog teams have also come up. 

How do you fit into the assaulting meta while being a proactive sniper? 

Well the game has changed quite a bit and it is now becoming common nowadays for snipers playing aggressively and everyone is now focusing on assaulting as well.

How are you planning to cope with the rising stars in terms of playstyle? 

It is essential to work on your game and focus on consistency. My goal is always to improve my game, and I believe everything else will work out. However, it’s great to see so many rising stars in IGN. 

What is your dream team/roster? 

The current Skylightz roster is my favorite roster. We have a great set of players who share the same goals. I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

What is your plan? Will you be seen more often on the active roster after the departure of Destro? 

The plan is to work hard, learn new things, and improve my skills. We will do what’s best for the team. 

What does your daily practice routine look like? Do you do any special drills specifically for sniping? 

I do not follow any practice routine. I prefer to take it day by day. Generally, I practice for about 7-8 hours a day, where I try out different things while also working on improving my game. 

In what areas do you think you have room for improvement? 

There’s always room for improvement in every area. To be at the highest level, you need to look for learning opportunities at every chance. 

As Asian Games are approaching, have you set up any special training regimen or goals for it? 

As a team, we will work hard and try to get the opportunity to represent India at the Asian Games. If we do get the opportunity to do so, our goal will be to get the gold medal. We are ready to give our 100% on this. 

If you were not into the esports industry, what would you be doing right now? 

That is really difficult for me to even think about. Esports has given me the opportunity of a lifetime. I am incredibly grateful I get the chance to make a career out of something I love. 

Skylightz Gaming is the best BGMI team in India after winning BGIS. What do you think was the x-factor that helped you to dominate in this tournament? 

I think the team found their rhythm well. The roster had been playing with each other for a while, so the team chemistry was incredible. Everything clicked for the team, and Skylightz won the tournament. 

Where do you see yourself after retiring from the competition? Will it be streaming games or coaching rosters, or something else?

I do not think about those things. I am an Esports player, and my focus is entirely on that. When the time comes, I will make the necessary decision.

_______________

This conversation certainly reflects that Ronak has always been passionate about PUBG Mobile and BGMI and will continue to do so in the future. He has an amazing charisma and incredible dedication towards gaming that inspires his fans around the world.

Ronak is completely dedicated to shining as an esports athlete and not moving towards any other routes in gaming. This dedication has helped him to stay on the top for the last three years with some ups and downs on the way.

His achievements have left a mark on the Indian gaming community and will continue to do so in the future as well.

Indian players get access to Free Fire via VPN services

Divyesh Moghe
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Indian players get access to Free Fire via VPN services

Indian Govt. recently instated a ban order on 54 mobile apps and Garena Free Fire was one of them. Since this unprecedented action on Free Fire, its massive player base in India is left with no option but to wait for the ban to be removed or for Garena to come up with a solution. Many players have found other ways to enjoy their favourite game during this ban period itself.

Free Fire players in India have found a loophole in this ban and discovered that they can still use different VPN or IP changing services to play the game in India. The game is not accessible via normal internet connection but once you connect with a VPN, the game is still apparently playable.

A Virtual Private Network or VPN service allows its users to mask their private details online and also bypass several restrictions by connecting to different servers across the globe in an encrypted manner. It is often used to access global content from areas where it is restricted and Indian players are using it in a similar manner.

This was first pointed out on the Reddit megathread where the Indian fanbase was discussing the Free Fire ban in India. There were several mixed responses in the thread but some players were discussing ways via which the game can still be played in India.

As the ban has been placed on Free Fire only, the majority of its player base has shifted to Free Fire Max, the advanced version of this game. The future of this other iteration is still shady as it could be restricted by the authorities at any time. Free Fire Max is very similar to Free Fire with minor advancements in the user experience.

Players can access the game using VPN but we urge players to abide the Indian norms and wait for further progress before playing this game.

NiP, Astralis Extends Support to Ukraine

Mohd Laraib
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NiP, Astralis Extends Support to Ukraine

The esports community came together in support of Ukraine after the country was invaded by the Russian army earlier today. Organizations and players alike took to their social media handles, Twitter and Instagram in particular to show that they stand in solidarity with Ukraine in these troubled times.

Earlier today, reports of a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine by Russia surfaced after Russian president Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian Army will carry out a ‘military operation’ in Ukraine. Videos and pictures of bombings, missiles, troops moving in and more have been circulating on the internet since morning, and ground reports attest to the same.

Ukrainian CSGO player Aleksandr ‘s1mple’ Kostyliev too tweeted about his city (Kyiv) being shelled. 

Natus Vincere, an org from the country of Ukraine itself changed their profile picture to that of the Ukrainian flag to show their support for Ukraine just after reports of the invasion surfaced.

NaVi also released a statement regarding the situation wherein they said “Russia attacked Ukraine. And now there are hostilities that take human lives and destroy actual destinies on the territories of our country.

It is impossible that during this war we pretend that everything is okay. It is not. We are devastated. Our main goal right now is to try to stay calm and take care of ourselves, our loved pens and those who need help. We are all together in this. And together we’ll get through it.”

Natus Vincere is perhaps an org that will be one of the most affected ones as they have their headquarters in Ukraine, and majority of their staff and players are from Ukraine. The esports world replied with words of kindness to their situation.

Astralis extended their support for Ukraine on Twitter as their social media handles changed their display pictures, in the colors of Ukraine’s flag captioned “We stand with our friends in Ukraine, peace, and free people across the world.”

Ninjas in Pyjamas soon followed suit and came out in support of Ukraine. The profile picture of NiP on Twitter and Instagram has been edited to match the colors of the Ukrainian flag. The picture was uploaded with the caption 

“We stand with the people of Ukraine and for peace in Europe.” and the hashtag #StandWithUkraine

https://twitter.com/NIP/status/1496781552075870209

Apart from the organizations, Pro CSGO players, k0nfig, Stewie2k, gla1ve, and others too tweeted out supporting Ukraine.

Long-time CSGO caster, Anders Blume and host Tres ‘Stunna’ Saranthus, among others stood in solidarity with Ukraine and extended their thoughts and prayers.

Riot Games Expands Publishing Business Into Asia-Pacific Region

Prateek Jain
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Riot Games Expands Publishing Business Into Asia-Pacific Region

Riot Games, developers of popular esports titles LoL and Valorant, is all set to further expand its business into the Asia-Pacific region via hyper-localization and expanding its publishing reach to now include Japan and India.

In a major reshuffle to its previous strategy, Riot Games will now open new publishing offices in the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand. These new offices will lead Riot’s push to localize its businesses of Games, Entertainment, Esports, and Enterprise with publishing being the forefront of the new strategy. 

Riot had previously run the SEA business out of its Singapore hub office and also had an office

in Japan. The lead the new APAC strategy, Riot has brought in Alex Kraynov, its previous Managing Director of Emerging Markets (Southeast Asia, India, Latin America, Brazil, Middle East, North Africa, and Japan), as the new Managing Director for APAC.

With its goal of being the most player-focused game company in the world, Riot is all set to lead its businesses to new heights in every country they operate. In the last couple of years launched several new titles including VALORANT, League of Legends: Wild Rift, Legends of Runeterra, as well as Riot Forge titles Ruined King and Hextech Mayhem. Riot’s games within the League of Legends universe have garnered over 600 million players globally in the past decade.

Apart from the usual gaming business, the company had recently released Arcane, a globally acclaimed Netflix animation series set in the universe of League of Legends. The Riot Games Music group has also expanded its efforts by releasing royalty-free music under Riot Sessions, and virtual metal band Pentakill’s comeback EP, Lost Chapter.

Riot has also continued to widen its fashion presence and formed special partnerships with brands like Uniqlo to release a collection of League of Legends UT t-shirts, or Team Mania a Flipino streetwear brand to promote the release of Neon, the first Filipino agent in its tactical shooter VALORANT.

Speaking of the reorganization, Riot Games, Managing Director for the Asia Pacific, Alex Kraynov said:

This is a natural step in progression for our publishing business in Southeast Asia, and Riot recognizes that APAC has the potential to become the biggest region in the world for Riot. This region is intricately diverse, with massive gaming communities that have diverse needs and a strong appetite for mobile gaming.

In the past few years, our offices in Singapore and Japan have worked hard to release several new games and have nurtured new esports leagues to excite and delight players. Working towards more physical presence in our key APAC markets, we’re extremely excited to double down on these efforts to continue striving towards being the most player-focused gaming company in the world.

On top of bringing Alex Kraynov to lead APAC Publishing, Riot has also appointed the following

leaders within Alex’s team:

● Shinji Komiyama, Director of Country Management, APAC

● Jennifer Poulson, Head of Publishing Partnerships, APAC

● Alasdair Gray, Head of Marketing, APAC

● Derek Winder, Head of Business Development, APAC

● Yasushi Fujimoto, Country Manager of Japan

● Joel Guzman, Country Manager of the Philippines

● Resha Pradipta, Country Manager of Indonesia/Malaysia

This leadership team will continue to grow from 2022 and beyond, with a Country Manager of

Thailand, Country Manager of India, and a Head of Regional Tech to be appointed very soon. 

Ninjas in Pyjamas To Bid for fnatic’s Brollan

Mohd Laraib
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Ninjas in Pyjamas To Bid for fnatic’s Brollan

According to a report by HLTV.org, Ninjas in Pyjamas are going to make yet another superstar signing for their CSGO roster, this time lining up a bid for fnatic’s star player Ludvig ‘Brollan’ Brolin. The bid will cost NiP around €600,000, or 680,000 USD should it come to fruition.

The move comes after inconsistent performances by the Ninjas in Pyjamas CSGO squad, despite the addition of Legendary AWPer Nicolai ‘dev1ce’ Reedtz from Astralis. Ninjas in Pyjamas were knocked out of IEM Katowice 2022 by Gambit in 7-8th place while fnatic went home ranked 9-12th at the hands of Astralis.

With the PGL Antwerp Major 2022 coming up in May, NiP have decided to ramp up their firepower once again. dev1ce has been out of action since December 2021, and the lion share of fragging output has been put on IGL hampus’ shoulders. The signing of Brollan would greatly help with that, once dev1ce comes back and phzy returns to the academy roster.

As a result of the bid from NiP, fnatic will be playing without Brollan in the first open qualifier for the first European RMR event for the PGL Antwerp Major. Just yesterday, fnatic announced that smooya would not be continuing with the roster and was benched, following that Brollan wasn’t part of the roster that played in the open qualifiers. smooya was replaced by fnatic academy player ‘regali’ while Brollan’s place was taken over by ‘Peppzor’ 

Brollan has been a part of fnatic since October 2018, joining the org as a 16-year-old. Since then he has been an HLTV top 20 player twice, #19 in 2019 and #15 in 2020. Still 19 years of age, he would be the youngest player on the NiP squad if he decides to join. Who he will replace on NiP’s CSGO roster remains to be seen.

Riot Games Reportedly Investigating KRÜ Esports’ Keznit For Alleged Racist Comments

Sonu Banerjee
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Riot Games Reportedly Investigating KRÜ Esports’ Keznit For Alleged Racist Comments

Riot Games is reportedly investigating South American Valorant pro Angelo “keznit” Mori for allegedly making racist comments that led to his suspension from a Brazilian Valorant practice Discord server.

Mori is a part of the KRÜ Esports Valorant roster that was suspended from the aforementioned Discord server on February 20th for violating the third rule of the server: “Any kind of prejudice is unacceptable. Racism, homophobia, bullying and derivatives lead to expulsion (kick) and banning.”

According to a recent statement by the KRÜ Esports Twitter handle, the org was reinvited to the server on Tuesday. 

“We have resolved the corresponding sanctions internally and, in turn, both teams were warned by the PRACC administration,” the statement reads. “After a good conversation with our Brazilian pairs/partners, the suspension that we’ve received has been lifted.”

Following the incident, Mori put out his own statement on Twitter. 

“KRÜ sanctioned me and may ruin my career and I have to keep quiet?” Mori said in his Tweet. “You can tell me that I don’t know how racism affects over there and I apologize for not having thought about that before making the comparison but NEVER put in my head thoughts I don’t have or words I didn’t say.”

According to Lau Agnolin, a journalist with OnlyGames, Riot Games Brazil is “internally evaluating” Mori’s incident. 

“Keznit apologized after what happened with the Brazilian player and mentioned that ‘I may lose my career’ because Riot Games is also ‘internally evaluating’ the case, according to the note issued to the Brazilian media,” Angolin said. 

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