Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is touching new highs even 7 years after its launch. The game since the last couple of years was losing it’s playerbase to popular battle royale (BR) games. However, much of the hype around BR games have settled and the players seem to be returning back. CS:GO is regarded is one of the most-popular and player-friendly first person shooter (FPS) game.
The game went free to play in December 2018 which might have attracted a whole new playerbase. Also, the major is underway and several users would tune in to GOTV to watch pro teams compete against each other. For casual players, this game provides various modes โ Wingman, Danger Zone, etc.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive touched 402,524 average player base in August 2019, breaking the previous best of February 2017. This was quite a surprise since the game historically sees a slump in player base during summers while the playerbase reaches it’s best during December-January season.
Valve announced The International’s 10th edition that will be held in 2020 to take place in Stockholm, Sweden. The International had been taking place in just one continent and mostly one city (Seattle apart from TI 1 and TI 8) before TI 9, which happened at Shanghai.
But, TI will now return to Europe after TI 1 in Cologne, Germany with Sweden, the heart of Dota 2, playing hosts. Stockholm is a storied place in Esports history and it is a tribute of sorts, to have TI in the city of Esports.
TI 9 saw It will be interesting to see whether Alliance, TI 3 champions and a Swedish majority stack, are able to qualify for the Stockholm TI and give the home crowd something to cheer for.
OG have now been crowned the first Two-Time TI champions and the first to defend the Aegis. Will a new contender rise to claim it’s stake or will the old foes finally overcome the Green hurdle. Or maybe, we will see OG create history with a three-peat. A great storyline awaits the Dota2 fans at Stockholm.
Complexity, the North-American organization, has announced that the organization will be making roster changes following an elimination at the StarLadder Major Main Qualifier.
In a series of tweets by Jason Lake, Founder & CEO of Complexity Gaming, Jason cited his frustration about the teamโs recent losses. The CEO expected his team to fair better at this tournament. The team suffered elimination following 1-3 record at the Main Qualifier. The first loss came against Avanagar when the North-Americans were unable to close the game out, conceding it 16-13. Next, the North-Americans were blown out of the water by HellRaiserswith a 16-5 scoreline. Staring down the barrel of elimination, Complexity lived on another day with a 2-0 victory against Tyloo. However, Complexity was unable to survive another day at the Major after being beaten 2-0 by Grayhound.
I love our players as individuals but these results wonโt be tolerated.
If youโre a Tier 1 player looking for a fresh start at the best facility in the world, HMU. Iโll pay your buyout and give you the worldโs highest salaries.
Following the results, Jason Lake took to Twitter to vent his anger about the recent results. Jason confirmed that the team was looking to make changes. He called upon all Tier 1 players who were โlooking for a fresh startโ and told them to contact him. He added that he would pay for their buyouts and give them extremely high salaries.
Jason received a lot of flak for going out to the online community about internal problems faced by the roster without discussing them with the team members. However, Jason was quick to clarify that the players had already been made aware of the coming situation.
To be clear, I discussed this tweet and our way forward with our players before tweeting it.
I care about our guys but I also have a job to do.
NOBODY in the world loves this game more than me and itโs time to win again. https://t.co/KOXKpGvDDI
European-based Dota 2 outfit, OG, has won this yearโs edition of the Dota 2 International Championships (TI 9). As winners, the team brings home the lionโs share of the $34.5 million prize pool, bringing home a cool $15 million.
The grand final match saw OG demolish European outfit Liquid 3-1. Liquid, also a tournament favourite, missed the opportunity to be the first Dota 2 outfit to lift Aegis twice. Nonetheless, the team brings home $4.4 million as the second-placed team.
According to Natalie โStratospandaโ Kristiansen, a former League of Legends player of Beลiktaล Esports revealed that the organisation isnโt paying player salaries on time and in some cases havenโt even paid them. The issue isnโt limited to only League of Legends players, rather players from other games also reported the same.
Beลiktaล Esports is owned by Turkish
football club Beลiktaล J.K. Currently the organisation has teams for Men and
Womenโs League of Legends, a Womenโs only CSGO team and a team for Zula.
Natalie โStratospandaโ Kristiansen in her Twitlonger revealed that the organisation had problems from day one. Teams first salary was delayed for weeks and the team went 5 months without receiving payments on time. This was also similar for other staff members of the organisation and other rosters owned by the org.
She also said that Beลiktaล had all their present and past players sign a non-disclosure agreement and threaten players to not go public about the ongoing issue or else their salary will be withheld.
One of her former teammates, Olimpia โKomedyjaโ Cichosz replied to her tweet saying that Beลiktaล had promised for things like boot camps and media days for which the organisation was unable to pay for.
I think its worth to mention how much was promised – bootcamps, media days etc, meanwhile they couldnt even pay in time if at all. They shut down BJK players discord server cuz players from diffrent games started to realize there is sth wrong happening for example ๐คก
Allegedly, Beลiktaล took down players Discord server when players from other rosters started asking each other if they were being paid and the situation was starting to get out of hand.
According to some other sources, Beลiktaล J.K. (the football club and owner) have amounted a debt of more than $450 million dollars after building a new football stadium in February 2018. As a result of the rising debt, the organisation even had troubles paying its football players. Later in 2018, the organisation revealed that they were on brink of financial collapse, but they were somehow able to pull through that and were able to stabilize the situation.
Which comes to question about the organisationโs esports division being unable to pay its players even after the stable situation on the football side.
The first series of the day saw Team Secret take on Vici Gaming, who were pushed to the lower bracket after their loss against PSG.LGD. Seemed like Team Secret, did a lot of homework on Vici Gamingโs playstyle and absolutely crushed them. Two quick games against the Chinese favourites Vici Gaming. With a soul-crushing performance, Team Secret 2-0 Vici Gaming and knock them out of the tournament.
The players are in the pods, the heroes are drafted, and Game 1 of Vici Gaming vs Team Secret in the Lower Bracket is underway. Welcome to Day 5 of the The International Main Event! #dota2#TI9pic.twitter.com/RSisfK5k0N
Team Secret copied the concept of IO carry from Team OG and put it to use against the Chinese giants Vici Gaming. Early Aghanim Sceptre and level 15 talent deals insane amount of damage to the heroes. Vici gaming had a draft which would be stronger in the late game, but Team Secretโs constant pressure never allowed Vici Gamingโs draft to reach that point. Team Secret ended the game within 24 minutes. Team Secret take the lead in this series 1-0 over Vici Gaming. Here are some clips from Game 1.
Game one in the bag! We are now just one game away from securing Top 4 at The International 2019.
Vici Gaming drop a challenging Game 1 vs a dominant Team Secret. Vici's tournament survival now depends on a critical Game 2. #Dota2#TI9pic.twitter.com/QL7fhp9ob6
With an early game draft and a safelaneBristleback, Team Secret managed to clean sweep Vici Gaming out of the tournament. Puppy read the game very well. Vici Gaming again had a lacklustre draft. Even though they had an alchemist, who farms really fast, Team Secret never allowed him to farm, Vici Gaming draft was unable to make space for the Alchemist to come online. Vici Gaming were unable to defend their throne from Team Secretโs constant barrages. Another quick game from Team Secret lasting 22 minutes. Here are some clips from Game 2.
Our light at The International 2019 #TI9 has been dimmed down! We wouldโve liked to go further, but alas it wasnโt meant to be. Congrats @teamsecret and GL further!
The unyielding assault of Team Secret proved too great for Vici Gaming. The Lower Bracket series ends 2-0 and leaves Vici Gaming with no path forward but a swift elimination from the tournament. #dota2#TI9pic.twitter.com/QtF4kobfA8
Team Secret proceed to the next round of the lower bracket to face Team Liquid for a spot in the top 3, having already secured a top 4 finish.
A blistering pace see Team Secret emerge victorious in their Lower Bracket series vs Vici Gaming. Secret finish the series 2-0, and end Vici's possibility to remain in the hunt for the Aegis of Champions. #dota2#TI9pic.twitter.com/hcOrPiJnWV
The second game of the day involved OG and PSG.LGD, The International 8 grand finalists.There was an air of revenge around the match up , with PSG.LGD players mentioning in many interviews that they have been waiting a year for this match.
OG had a very experimental draft, when compared to LGDโs draft which looked complete and solid. But knowing OG and their playstyle, they can make anything work, and they almost did.
The game was pretty even, but then a few mistakes and untimely deaths on Anaโs faceless void allowed PSG.LGD to grasp victory in game 1 of the series.
PSG.LGD take on the tournament juggernaut OG and secure a Game 1. OG will now have to adapt to face their toughest opponent yet, or risk dropping to the Lower Bracket. #dota2#TI9pic.twitter.com/CMBiWh2YpI
Beaten in game 1, OG took no chances with the draft in game 2. OG grabbed the alchemist and had the other 4 heroes to support him. The Chen provided sustain, while dark seer and tiny ensured that the OG draft would maintain a high tempo. Ana got a 10-minute radiance on the alchemist which meant that it was time to go. After that, OG never let the pedal off the gas and ran over PSG.LGD in just under 24 minutes. Safe to say that LGD were massively out drafted and had no way to deal with a farmed alchemist.
OG return to form and find a dominant victory over PSG.LGD in Game 2 of this Upper Bracket series. With the series tied, one game now determines who goes to the Grand Final, and who drops to the Lower Bracket. #dota#TI9pic.twitter.com/qgVV3sDGSn
This time around PSG.LGD grab the tiny first, but OG still goes for the alchemist pick for ana and Chen pick for N0_tail, just like game 2. But this time PSG.LGD were prepared for the alchemist. Somnus on his tiny and chalice on his sand king constantly invaded the radiant side of the map to disrupt anaโs farm and kill him a few times in the early game. Despite this, Ana gets his radiance in the 14th minute, 4 minutes slower than game 2. As soon as the radiance is online, anaโs farm rate skyrockets. Although ame on his slark countered alchemist up to some extent, OG kept outplaying LGD. After multiple attempts at taking the high ground and multiple won fights, OG finally beat PSG.LGD to take the series 2-1 and proceed to the grand finale of TI9.
With this win, OG advance to the grand final of TI9 and await their opponent, whom they will paly tomorrow in a Best of 5 series.
OG are the First Grand Finalists of The International 2019. Congratulations! This is a back to back TI Grand Final for the squad. #TI9pic.twitter.com/sKcQ0pMhlM
OG's reign of the Upper Bracket remains unchecked as they dismantle the heroic efforts put forth by PSG.LGD and end the series 2-1. OG now awaits the final challenger to come forth and meet them in the Grand Final. #dota#TI9pic.twitter.com/ywrxNiBsxU
Last game of the day saw Team Liquid take on Team Secret. Both teams know each very well and hail from the EU region. Both teams were considered to be even, but Liquid had a surprise in store for us.
Game 1
Team Liquid last picked meepo for w33, which is one of his signature heroes. Nisha, on the other hand, was playing IO, a draft which only OG has been able to pull off successfully multiple times.
Team Liquid ran over team secret to take a 1-0 lead in the best of 3 series. Puppey got heavily out drafted this game.
Team Liquid came ready to fight and ready to Meepo. They take Game 1 of the Lower Bracket series vs Team Secret. Secret, with their back against the wall of an elimination series, must pull out all the stops to avoid going home. #dota#TI9pic.twitter.com/8lO50Kn8LY
Game 2 was no different, puppey got heavily out drafted again , this time around it was the alchemist pick which proved to be the downfall of team secret. Their draft was not well equipped to deal with it. They tried hard but it was not enough. Team Liquid won the series 2-0 in a dominating fashion to advance to the top 3 and book a place in the lower bracket final against LGD tomorrow.
It's the end of the road for @teamsecret. Despite an incredible year and coming top in the DPC rankings, they are knocked out of #TI9 2-0 by @TeamLiquid for 4th Place.
This win marks team liquidโs 9th
consecutive victory in a row in the lower bracket.
Liquid's inexorable march through the Lower Bracket continues on as they eliminate Secret from the tournament with a 2-0 series. Liquid, now so close to the Grand Final, will first have to test their mettle against PSG.LGD. #dota#TI9pic.twitter.com/tJHXjHQOwY
Team Secret are eliminated from TI9 in the 4th position.
Unfortunately, our run at #TI9 comes to an end. GGWP to @TeamLiquid.
We fought to the end, but it wasn't the result we wanted. Special thanks to all of our fans and sponsors who supported us throughout this season. ๐ค#SecretFightingpic.twitter.com/lQPqrPeU0E
Secret's run through the Lower Bracket is snuffed out with their 2-0 loss to Team Liquid. They now must bow out of the race as their elimination from the tournament gives way to only three teams left vying for the ultimate prize. #dota#TI9pic.twitter.com/96gKZsai4H
Soon after the ESL India Premiership 2019 – Summer LAN Finale in Mumbai, Horizon Sports India Pvt. Ltd. announced the dissolution of Signify citing conflict of interest with another subsidiary โ COBX Gaming Pvt. Ltd. CS:GO and Dota 2 teams were no longer under the legal contract with Signify and the teams were set to disband.
A major part of its Dota 2 roster was signed by Global Esports and the CS:GO lineup also received individual offers. The offers were pretty decent, but the players were quite hesitant regarding individual offers and the five stuck together like an adhesive. They began playing under a new banner – Orgless5 and secured promising results in the online season of ESL India Premiership 2019 – Fall Season and various other online qualifiers.
Antidote and co. triumphed the Summer Finale of ESL India Premiership 2019 being their last event with Signify organization. They did not even drop a single map in the following online season of ESL India Premiership 2019 Fall Season and reached until the grand-finale of Conquerors Insignia Asian Subcontinent qualifier. But, every good thing has an end. Orgless5 couldn’t sustain it the long term without an organization.
Sabyasachi ‘Antidote’ Bose and Sunny ‘DEATHMAKER’ Das were reported to be playing together from Kolkata while Tejas ‘Ace’ Sawant played from his home in Mumbai and Vishal ‘haiVaaN Sharma and Lucas ‘yb’ Groening played from a cafe in Mumbai. However, ex-Signify management did provide them with significant assistance even after the dissolution. But their overall gameplay did take a toll.
They were the absolute favourites to win the Conquerors Insignia qualifier but Global Esports got the best of them. The pressure to find a new home, a pause in constant monetary support (i.e. salary) and absence of Bootcamp severely affected their state of mind in-game. The string of muddles finally led to an end in Orgless5’s journey.
After an arguably heated negotiation, Sunny ‘DEATHMAKER’ Das was eventually signed by Entity Gaming and Orgless5 is set to see the climax. “DM (Sunny Das) has returned to where he started from to complete his character arc,” Sid Joshi downright mentioning about his addition into Entity Gaming.
Surprisingly, Sabyasachi ‘Antidote’ Bose remains quite isolated this time. 23-year-old star AWPer from Kolkata is yet to find a new home. “It’s time to move on. I had a wonderful time at Signify then at Orgless5, but every story has its ending,” Sabyasachi wrote on Twitter.
It's time to move on. I had an wonderful time at Signify then Orgless5 but every story has its ending. I'll be looking into other options in India and also Internationally.
Antidote is plausibly one of the highest-rated players in the recently concluded ESL India Premiership 2019 – Fall Season online phase. Exceptionally accurate and precise with the big green gun, Antidote is regarded as one of the finest snipers in the subcontinent. I personally was never a big fan of his AWPing but I must say that his recent plays with AWP have soberly grabbed my attention. He is a savage on the server and becomes much more fierce as he grabs further confidence.
He was also an integral part of much-hyped OpTic India roster. However, his significance dates back to JMD Gaming, Dare2Dream, Team Malhar, 2EZ Gaming and Global Esports rosters. His absence from the professional ecosystem will be a major loss to Indian Counter-Strike.
ESL India Premiership 2019 – Fall Finale will be the last event to witness Orgless5 play.
A Global Treasure Hunt has been announced within PUBG Mobile where players can complete in-game missions and stand a chance to win an all-paid trip to the PMCO Fall Split finals in December. This event has been divided into 4 major stages where each stage will take place on a different map: Erangel, Sanhok, Miramar and Vikendi. Each stage will feature seven levels with two distinct missions for each level.
The dates for the four different stages are:
Erangel: Aug. 20 to 28
Miramar: Aug. 28 to Sept. 5
Sanhok: Sept. 5 to 12
Vikendi: Sept. 12 to 20
These seven levels will involve missions based on locations in different maps and at least one of the two missions is related to a particular area. The Erangel stage is already underway and one of the current levels requires the player to kill one enemy at Hospital with an M16. Such area and location related missions are to be expected across all stages.
Players can enter into a lucky draw once they complete a mission. Completing seven or more missions in a single stage will grant players a progress reward. Completing all of the missions in single-stage grants the player with World Travel rewards. Progress rewards will be limited-time outfits (which will expire with passing time), whereas world travel rewards will be permanent outfits and titles
A $1 million prize pool has been reserved for
the winning playersโ travelling expenses to the PMCO global finals in December.
The winners will be announced upon completion of the stage and upon completing
missions in a stage, players can also enter into a lottery pool to win more
rewards.
The exact number of winners which will be selected has not been revealed yet but it has been made clear that the $1 Million prize pool is available only for the playerโs travel expenses as it will be non-transferable. The winners will also be required to participate in promotional activities regarding the event.
The International 2019 Day 4 Schedule โ 3 more teams go home. It's gonna be a big day. Set your All-Stars. Good Night. #TI9pic.twitter.com/PfkAdmOaTR
The first series of Day 4 involved an exciting matchup between home team Royal Never Give up and Ti7 winners Team liquid. Both teams have been in the lower bracket since round 1, so for them, every game was a do or die situation. The local favourites put up a fair fight against ti7 winners Team Liquid. Even though RNG put up a fair fight, the local Chinese Dota 2 community were not happy about it. Team Liquid knock out RNG with a 2-0 stomp.
Game 1 โ With one of their best drafts, Team Liquid completely destroyed RNG in the first game. Miracleโs Gyro with over 800 gold per minute and with the support of GH destroyed RNG single-handedly. Letโs just say, Miracle 1v9.GHโs IO kept healing him and RNG was never able to win a fight due to such high sustain from the team liquid line-up. Here are some clips from Game 1 of the series.
The teams are in the pods and drafting has begun! Day 4 of the Main Event kicks off with a best-of-three Lower Bracket brawl between Royal Never Give Up and Team Liquid. #TI9pic.twitter.com/6ihy4lk1J4
Game 2 โ Miracle again with an outstanding performance on Arc Warden, carried Team Liquid to victory against Royal Never Give Up. With, insane gold lead on the Arc Warden & the completely broken Tiny Aghanim Sceptre buff, Team Liquid managed to close this series out with a 2-0. Here are some clips from Game 2 of the series!
With this win, Team Liquid proceed to the next round of the lower bracket to face Evil Geniuses later today.
Royal Never Give Up lived up to their name, fighting for survival until the bitter end. Liquid however, proved too much of a challenge and take the series from RNG 2-0. Liquid move on to meet the familiar faces of Evil Geniuses. RNG now eliminated, meet the end of their run. #TI9pic.twitter.com/hz0x4YEzF0
Although RNG tried hard they couldnโt stop the Liquid Juggernaut, exiting TI9 in the 7th-8th place.
Royal Never Give Up lived up to their name, fighting for survival until the bitter end. Liquid however, proved too much of a challenge and take the series from RNG 2-0. Liquid move on to meet the familiar faces of Evil Geniuses. RNG now eliminated, meet the end of their run. #TI9pic.twitter.com/hz0x4YEzF0
Little late on this because sleep but RNG's road at TI9 ends as Team Liquid takes them out to build further on the Lower Bracket run. #TI9pic.twitter.com/JKywtG63o1
The second series of the day saw Team Infamous take on Team Secret. Infamous squad, these guys already surpassed everyoneโs expectations putting South American Dotes on the world map. Well, Team Secret had the upper hand in this match up with a lot of experience in the scene and superior draft. Puppy clearly out drafted them and with an explosive performance on MidOneโsEarthshaker mid, Team Secret was able to close this series out 2-0 over Infamous. Huge respect for the Infamous guys coming out of nowhere upsetting top teams in the world, itโs quite rare.
Game 1โ Going into this series, mindset was pretty clear for both of them. Counter each otherโs drafts. With the last pick advantage for Team Secret, it indeed worked wonders for Team Secret, pulling out Earthshaker mid countering the safe lane Phantom Lancer pick. Insane AOE fights and comebacks by Team Secret. Here are some clips!
Game 2 โ Textbook draft by Puppy and good Black Holeโs by YapzOrโs enigma sealed the deal for Team Secret. Winning all three lanes enabled Team Secret to capitalize on this lead and end this series with a 2-0 sweep against Infamous.
With this win, Team Secret move on the next round of the Lower Bracket and will face Vici Gaming in a BO3 elimination game.
Team Secret continue their warpath through the Lower Bracket. Infamous Gaming, showing incredible resilience in Lower Bracket themselves, fall to the overwhelming might of Secret, losing the series 2-0. pic.twitter.com/iHaGwdQpXx
Meanwhile, Infamous have now been eliminated from TI9 in the 7th-8th place.
Infamous have been eliminated from The International 2019. They've put up a great show this year representing SA Dota. Team Secret advance to Top 6. #TI9pic.twitter.com/le3h6zY33a
Infamous should be proud of themselves. Before the event, no one expected them to make it past the group stages. Not only did they prove everyone wrong, they got into the top8 as well, which is the highest placing for a SA Team at any International.
Team Secret continue their warpath through the Lower Bracket. Infamous Gaming, showing incredible resilience in Lower Bracket themselves, fall to the overwhelming might of Secret, losing the series 2-0. #TI9pic.twitter.com/sVx5QDEm6T
The last lower bracket series of the day saw Team Liquid, who beat RNG earlier today, take on Evil Geniuses, who were knocked down to the lower bracket by EG yesterday.
Once more, into the fray.
Our lower bracket run at #TI9 begins with a match against @TeamLiquid. It isn't the same team as last year, and we're #EGReady to put the best foot forward.
Game 1- Liquid kind of out drafted Evil Geniuses and executed their draft to perfection, hitting the correct item timings as well. Evil Geniuses could never get a footing in the game. Miracle on his Faceless Void was unstoppable and a treat to watch, with some miraculous chromospheres throughout the game.
There was no hiding from @Liquid_Miracle and his Chronosphere!
Game 2 was an even bigger outplay by Team Liquid. W33โs Alchemist was never challenged, and when EG tried, they died. The alchemist got free farm throughout the game and could not be stopped. As if this was not enough, Miracle was playing his signature Ember Spirit as well, and EG could not cope with this Liquid draft at all and succumb to a 2-0 loss. This was a very anti-climatic end to the series, as everyone was hoping for/expecting a close series, but Team Liquid were in no mood to show any mercy.
We take revenge for last year's loss and move in to the Final 4, but the hardest challenges lay before us.
GGs to @TeamLiquid โ they continue their lower bracket run at #TI9, and eliminate us from the tournament.
We finish in 5th/6th place at the end of a long and difficult Dota season. We appreciate your support the entire way, even if it didn't end in the victory.#BleedBluepic.twitter.com/5CGVmb0cfc
With this win, Team Liquid proceed to the next round of the lower bracket, to face the winner of Secret vs Vici Gaming.
Team Liquid continue their seemingly unstoppable tear through the Lower Bracket, ending their series 2-0 against Evil Geniuses. EG, although eliminated, may only watch as the remaining teams pursue the shared dream of obtaining the Aegis of Champions. #TI9pic.twitter.com/CiqXof4uvt
Day 5 of the The International 2019 Main Event comes tomorrow as the remaining teams pursue the ultimate prize โ the Aegis of Champions. Three best-of-three series will see two facing elimination as we get even closer to the Grand Finals. #Dota2#TI9pic.twitter.com/2KsOQfL3CC
