China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd said on Tuesday it would additionally check minors’ admittance to its leader computer game, hours after its offers were battered by a state media article that depicted internet games as “otherworldly opium”.
Economic Information Daily cited Tencent’s “Honor of Kings” in an article in which it said minors were addicted to online games and called for more curbs on the industry. The outlet is affiliated with China’s biggest state-run news agency, Xinhua.
“They don’t believe anything is off limit and will react, sometimes overreact, to anything on state media that fits the tech crackdown narrative,” Ether Yin, partner at Trivium, a Beijing-based consultancy.
Tencent stocks tanked the most in a decade.
China’s biggest web-based media and computer game firm saw its stock tumble over 10% in early exchange, cleaning nearly $60 billion from its market capitalization. The stock was on target to fall the most in 10 years prior to managing misfortunes after the article disappeared from the power source’s site and WeChat account.
In the article, the paper singled out “Honor of Kings” as the most mainstream internet game among understudies who, it said, played for as long as eight hours every day.
“‘Spiritual opium’ has grown into an industry worth hundreds of billions, no industry, no sport, can be allowed to develop in a way that will destroy a generation.”
The news paper said.
Opium turned into a delicate subject in China after it surrendered Hong Kong island to Britain “in ceaselessness” in 1842 toward the finish of the First Opium War, battled about the fare of the medication to China where fixation became broad.
The organization didn’t address the article in its assertion, nor did it react to a Reuter’s demand for input.
The article likewise hit the industry and competitive stocks tanked as well. Net Ease Inc dropped over 15% prior to paring misfortunes to lounge around 8% lower in late evening exchange. Game engineer XD Inc fell 8.2% and mobile gaming organization GMGE Technology Group Ltd dropped 15.6%.
Deputy Chief Minister of the Indian Capital, Delhi has formally announced its support and allegiance to the growing industry that is Esports. In a closed event at the Delhi Chief Minister’s Office, India Today’s Vishwalok Nath and Delhi’s lawmaker Manish Sisodia unveiled Delhi Dukes, a team that will participate at India Today’s ESPL.
India Today’s ESPL season one of Free Fire is currently underway with registrations blowing the charts breaching a million mark. The event is currently in its third leg out of the four and is heading towards becoming one of India’s most anticipated and premier mobile gaming events.
It speaks of a unique franchise-based model where states would represent the teams. In a rather fascinating move Vishwalok Nath, Head of Esports & Gaming at India Today Group along with Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia have drawn the curtains for the finale which is scheduled for later this month.
ESPL has already attracted millions of eyeballs with top content creators and gamers being official partners of the event, which will fundamentally alter the notion of gaming and its career opportunities in India. Aaj Tak has partnered with Garena, Infinix Mobile, EsportsXO, Playtonia, and your favorite esports portal, TalkEsport, for the debut event of ESPL.
Esports is one of the fastest-growing entertainment industries of the world and India is not far in the league. Estimations for the year 2022 say India will record more than 400 million casual and competitive gamers, a number which was poised to grow following a few successful years.
This unveiling is a significant mark in the history of esports and gaming in India as a sitting Deputy Chief Minister of the Indian Capital has opened up in promoting the growth of esports and gaming in India.
More details about the franchise-based model will be out soon.
Berlin, August 2nd, 2021 – Berlin International Gaming (BIG) and OMEN, HP’s gaming brand, are extending their long-standing collaboration.
After joint successes such as reaching the finals of ESL One Cologne 2018, and securing multiple trophies and the top position in the World CS:GO Rankings, BIG and OMEN are also focusing on the promotion of young esports talent as a key element of the cooperation.
“Since the unforgettable moments at ESL One Cologne 2018, we count OMEN among our loyal collaborators, and it has been an important pillar of our organization ever since,” says Daniel Finkler, CEO of Berlin International Gaming (BIG).
“At the heart of the tie-up is our talent development program. Building on the success of the BIG. OMEN Academy team, which is a key part of our talent program, we are launching an international Academy League. Together with OMEN, our Academy team will be competing across Europe, and by doing so, we’ll reach another milestone in our work together.”
OMEN is also now the main supporter of the new BIG Valorant team built around Fatih “gob b” Dayik. Valorant was released in summer 2020 by Riot Games – the developers of League of Legends – and has already taken the esports world by storm. BIG announced its entry into Valorant with a professional team under team captain Fatih “gob b” Dayik in July 2020.
“OMEN has been an outstanding collaborator over the last few years, and their support of the BIG Valorant team is testament to the ongoing relationship and our collective engagement in one of the strongest growing esports titles out there,” says Daniel Finkler, CEO of BIG.
“BIG has proven with the CS:GO, team, that they understand how to set up successful teams for the long term and establish them at the top. Our support of BIG’s Valorant Team and the renewed collaboration between OMEN and BIG is the next logical step towards the future. With gob b, we have an absolute esports veteran on board who has already been able to celebrate great successes in CS:GO and we are pleased to continue working with one of Germany’s most successful FPS players,” says Jochen Ziegler, Director Personal Systems Marketing DACH, HP Inc. “We’re excited to see how the ongoing tie-up between OMEN and BIG will develop as we continue to support esports and the amazing talent in this industry.”
In addition to continuing the BIG. OMEN Academy, the founding members of the WePlay Academy League are expanding the academy team scene and driving the professionalization of esports even further.
The League enables players to take part in an international competition with prize money of over USD 100,000, which is intended to give rising talents the opportunity to work towards a professional career.
BIG and OMEN are also continuing their joint commitment in the amateur sector. This year, for example, the “BIG Academy Hunt” tournament was held for the first time. The tournament is intended to encourage amateurs to test themselves against semi-professional teams such as the BIG. OMEN Academy Team and compete under professional conditions.
OMEN Squad
With OMEN Squad, OMEN has launched a streaming format this year in which personalities such as Headshinsky, aSmoogl, Maty and Sissor face new gaming challenges twice a month. This project has now been extended for another year.
“OMEN Squad allows us to be close to the gaming community and interact directly with them. The partnership with BIG also plays a big role here. For example, in April we were able to hold a League of Legends showdown against the BIG League of Legends team successfully. We hope to leverage even more synergies between OMEN Squad and BIG in this area in the future,” said HP’s Jochen Ziegler.
Popular variety streamer Felix Lengyel aka xQc has revealed that he plans to take legal action against the brief DMCA ban which he feels was unfair.
Days ago, xQc was handed a long ban for streaming copyrighted content from the Tokyo Olympics 2020, which was surprising given he re-broadcasted the games with all the necessary precautions. Despite all the shenanigans, he sent on a brief hiatus that he plans to answer back with a DMCA counterclaim aiming to get the earlier one dismissed.
Following his return, xQc explained his plans to take legal countermeasures and what made him do so. “Normally, strikes don’t get you banned,” said xQc, “but because it was a live strike, they banned.” he clarified.
“But then I looked at it, and I talked to my team, and was like ‘Can you do anything about this? two days sounds like a crazy amount of time for this,” xQc explained.
Even though xQc is aware that he will be fighting the Olympic committee on this, the Canadian believes that his case is strong enough to go through with it anyways. Upon consulting with his legal team xQc is confident that the result will be in his favor, he said “I, and [my counsel] truly believe it’s fair use and transformative, and have grounds to stand on. I genuinely think we’re right about this.”.
Fortnite’s next biggest event, Rift Tour will feature Arianna Grande not only as a playable character but also as a virtual performer. The event will take place from August 6-8 across a total of 5 showings.
Epic suggests that fans should login to the game at least an hour before the scheduled showtime and the Rift Tour will be live 30 minutes before the show where it’ll “kick off with Fortnite-themed experiences — pairing popular tracks with moments based on elements from the game.”
Players who attend the live Tour will receive the Cuddly Cloudcruiser umbrella while members of Fortnite Crew subscription can obtain the Rainbow Cloudcruiser Umbrella, the Skye up High Loading Screen, and a Rift Tour-themed Banner by simply logging in anytime from August 5, 10AM ET to August 9, 10AM ET.
North American esports organization TSM is looking to expand their presence in Riot Games’ competitive shooter Valorant by forming an academy roster in the title, according to a recent report by Upcomer.
While the organization hasn’t signed any players to their academy roster yet, the project has been greenlit by TSM after being “discussed internally for some time,” the report states.
Needless to say, this project is likely to be another great opportunity for the rising talent in the North American Valorant scene.
Previously, we have seen other organizations like T1 fielding academy rosters in Valorant. Players from the academy rosters often get the chance to play in the main roster during the absence of a player.
For instance, when Ha “Spyder” Jung-woo was benched from the T1 roster due to health issues, he was replaced by Anthony “dawn” Hagopian who formerly played for T1 academy.
The report also states that some other renowned organizations like Cloud9 might also be looking to form academy rosters for Valorant.
The project hasn’t been confirmed by TSM as of yet, but an official announcement might be coming in the near future.
Four teams from North America have been determined for the upcoming VCT Stage 3 Challengers Playoffs event, while the rest would now have to weigh up their options going forward, towards the Champions Last Chance Qualifier, to be held in October. The qualified teams were later seeded according to their table standings.
All eyes will be on the eight teams that have qualified for Challengers Playoffs. The battle to represent NA at Masters Berlin begins on Wednesday, August 11. pic.twitter.com/fvQDoB0lmu
Teams qualified for the Challengers Playoffs event
TSM FTX
FaZe Clan
Luminosity Gaming
Rise
Coming from the Open Qualifier event of the same, we saw T1, FaZe, TSM FTX, and Luminosity move on to the VCT Challengers 2 event in a bid to book a spot at the Playoffs event, towards Berlin. These four met the ones who ran out of luck in the first iteration of Stage 3.
In VCT Challengers 2, TSM FTX maintained a flawless run in the Upper Bracket (UB) over Gen.G Esports, T1, and Luminosity while we saw Kevin “poised” Ngo-led Rise stun FaZe Clan in their UB matchup. The new-look T1 roster managed to break the Open Qualifier curse but were denied a spot further in the Challengers event by FaZe Clan who jumped in the driver’s seat to secure a spot at the Playoffs, going past Pioneers and Rahul “Curry” Nemani led side.
FaZe were able to carry forward their momentum as they made it to the event’s Grand Finals where they locked horns against TSM FTX to determine their seed although both sides had already made it through.
The Best of five Grand Finale saw TSM FTX start with a comfortable lead of 8-4 on Ascent but their rhythm further entered a downward spiral as they dropped the first map 11-13 in favor of FaZe. Starting from their map pick Split, the James “hazed” Cobb led side showcased utter domination over their opponents as they went on to win the series 3-1 (13-6 on Split, 13-6 on Breeze, and 13-2 on Haven) and scooped up $20,000 USD from the prize pool.
Gradually, esports is becoming the new interactive entertainment zone, and it is not surprising that Dota 2 game is taking the center stage.
Following the postponement of the international Dota 2 schedule for its championships games in 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic, many e-sports pundits and fans are have been looking forward to when and where the game will take place this year.
The latest Dota 2 news is available at DotA 2 betting site Philippines, including related information such as Dota 2 schedules and Dota 2 upcoming matches for betting tips and odds.
In early July, Valve, the main organizer has announced that one e-sports Dota 2 game which has become arguably the biggest e-sports tournament in the world will be held in the latter part of the year 2021.
Initially, the tournament was expected to hold in Stockholm, Sweden, and was scheduled to start by August 5th. However, due to series of unforeseen contingencies, including the need to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the sport organizer has now finally moved the $40 million tournament to Romania and is now hoped to begin in October as against the earlier time scheduled.
Valve Announcement for New Location and Dates for the International – Dota 2 Championships
“We are thrilled to announce The International 10 – Dota 2 Championships will be held this October in Bucharest, Romania, and the epic battle for the Aegis of Champions will fittingly unfold inside the country’s largest stadium — Arena Nationala,” the Valve statement read.
The DotA 2 upcoming matches for the tournament have been scheduled to hold for ten days, and it will be between October 7, starting from the group stage fixtures, before the final that is now scheduled to take place on October 17, 2021.
According to the statement from Dota 2 official website, the tournament has both the preliminary stages known as the group stage and the elimination rounds, before the final game to be played on October 17. The final battle is termed the battle for Aegis of Champion.
While thanking the Romanian community and stakeholders for their cooperation, in agreeing to hold the e-sports championships, the organizers have also the total sum of the prizes that awaits all the participants of the tournament.
According to a statement released, Valve showed their gratitude, by stating their genuine appreciation to their host community, particularly the whole of Bucharest, Romania, and the level of partnership cooperation they formed despite the circumstances. They also mentioned how they are already anticipating the whole of the tournament including the coming together of the players, and fans across the world, both in person and through virtual streaming.
However, considering the covid-19 pandemic that is yet to be fully solved, Evelyn Balyton, an expert in esports analysis have gathered that there is the likelihood of each of the tournament to be streamed internationally all over the world. Evelyn Blayton’s profile can be followed here for the latest stories on e-sports analysis.
It is no secret that this tournament is set to award an incredible prize package to the winning team, which is believed to be around tens of millions of dollars, while other participating teams are expected to go away to money but lower amounts as prizes as well.
The International 10 Dota 2 Championship Format
Participants
12 teams qualify through Dota Pro Circuit, and 6 teams qualify through Regional Qualifiers; one team each from North America, South America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, China, and Southeast Asia. Thereby making a total of 18 invited and qualified teams for TI10 (The International 10).
Here are the 12 invited teams from the 2021 DPC season:
Evil Geniuses from North America with 1,600 DPC Points
PSG.LGD from China with 1,200 DPC Points
Virtus.pro from Eastern Europe with 1,200 DPC Points
Quincy Crew from North America with 1,100 DPC Points
Invictus Gaming from China with 1,100 DPC Points
T1 from Southeast Asia with 1,070 DPC Points
Team Secret from Western Europe with 950 DPC Points
Vici Gaming from China with 900 DPC Points
Team Aster from China with 800 DPC Points
Alliance from Western Europe with 800 DPC Points
Beastcoast from South America with 800 DPC Points
Thunder Predator from South America with 800 points
Here are the 6 teams that qualified through Regional Qualifier
Team Spirit from Eastern Europe
SG e-sports from South America
Fnatic from Southeast Asia
Undying Team from North America
OG from Western Europe
Elephant from China
Dota 2 Schedule:
Group Stage begins on October 7th till October 10th, 2021
Main Event begins on October 12th till October 17th, 2021
What Next?
Now that the tournament is to begin in a few months, bookmakers and bettors can now expect to bet and play fantasy games as they are watching them through streaming channels.
Following a convincing takedown of Regal Esports in a 3-0 fashion no less, Exceeli became the team with tickets to the VCC Main event from Bangladesh Qualifiers.
Both Exceeli and Regal Esports boast players hailing from a Counter Strike background and are usually favourites of the region, however a grand final means that only one team can proceed and unfortunately it wasn’t Regal Esports.
Viewers expected a close affair, however, the match was far from it as Regal failed to put up a single map victory making it an easy 3-0 for Exceeli.
With sheer dominance Exceeli Esports have won the Bangladesh Qualifier of @nodwingaming’s Valorant Conquerors Championship by beating Regal Esports with a 3-0 scoreline 🔥🔥
— NODWIN Gaming South Asia (@NodwinSouthAsia) August 1, 2021
Haven, Bind, Ascent, Icebox, Breeze were vetoed by both teams for their best of 5 Grand Finals Faceoff, however, Exceeli made a quick work of the match, closing it out before we could reach the fourth map.
Map 1: Haven(Exceeli Esports 13-6 Regal Esports)
Exceeli Esports had a strong start, picking up 8 rounds in the first half. The story didn’t change much in the second half, Regal managed 2 rounds by the time Exceeli reached 13, thus securing a convincing victory to start off the game.
Map 2: Bind(Exceeli Esports 13-3 Regal Esports)
Map 2 was even less of a match, given how Exceeli Esports once again picked up the lion’s share of their rounds in the first half. 10 rounds in the first with 3 more in the second saw them breeze past Regal Esports.
Ascent housed a promising start for Regal with either team securing 6 in the first half. Regal Esports took 4 more rounds before Exceeli Esports secured seven rounds, ensuring their place in the next stage of the tournament.
BIG Clan on Twitter have announced the exit of İsmailсan “XANTARES” Dörtkardeş from their active CSGO division and have been put on the transfer list. While on the latter, the German organization will help the player to consider incoming offers and a new home.
As of today, @XANTAREScsgo moves to the transfer list and we will be helping him in finding a new home.
The removal of XANTARES makes way for Nicklas “gade” Gade who previously signed up for BIG. Earlier, it was deemed that BIG would go on to field a six-man roster but the former insisted to stay tuned for further news on their team composition.
The roster change comes after a series of mid-table finishes as BIG struggled to put up a better showing across their recent outings, including the FLASHPOINT Season 3 and at the recently concluded IEM Cologne 2021. Post the latter, the German side were poised to re-consider their options going forward and to compete in the second half of 2021.
During his time with BIG, XANTARES helped the German side bag four titles, including the ones at DreamHack Masters Spring and at the Open Summer event in Europe where he notably was adjudged with the Most Valuable Player award by HLTV.org after BIG breezed past through Heroic in the Grand Finals. Before everything got shifted to an online format due to the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic, XANTARES alongside two new players, Nils “k1to” Gruhne and Florian “syrsoN” Rische went on to win the first-ever LAN tournament for BIG at Leipzig, a part of the DreamHack Open circuit in early 2020.
Through a Twitlonger, XANTARES stated,
I have decided to follow a new path both for my career and for myself. Therefore, I shall not be at the BIG Organization next term. Aside from the good times I have spent while I played at BIG I have also had the opportunity to be able to realize my dream of being ‘Top 1’ among the teams rating and we succeeded in making our team the world’s number one.
I have made many good friends and I shall cherish my memories with them. I shall always remember these times with good sentiments. I would like to take this opportunity to express to BIG my gratitude for having given me their support in this regard as always.
Under the Turkish player, BIG sat at the top of HLTV CSGO rankings for a brief period across July 2020.
