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U.S. Politician Blames Video Games for mass shooting in Texas & Ohio

Prateek Jain
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U.S. Politician Blames Video Games for mass shooting in Texas & Ohio

Kevin McCarthy, a top Republican politician from California suggests that video games โ€œdehumanize individualsโ€ which contributes to events of mass shooting. In a television interview on Fox News โ€œSunday Morning Futuresโ€ when asked about the two deadly mass shooting in Texas and Ohio the top Republican expressed his concerns about the โ€œbad influenceโ€ of video games.

Quoting directly from the interview, Kevin McCarthy said:

The idea of these video games, they dehumanize individuals to have a game of shooting individuals and others. Iโ€™ve always felt that is a problem for future generations and others. Studies have shown before what it does to individuals. When you look at these photos of how (the El Paso shooting) took place, you can see the actions within video games and others.

Earlier, responding to mass shooting in Texas, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, another fellow republican called for federal action on โ€œVideo Game Industryโ€ and argued that the video games were root cause of shooting in Texas quoting the gunmanโ€™s manifesto as proof.

Just before shooting in Texas the gunman had posted a 4-page manifesto on social media site 8chan describing the attack as โ€œHispanic invasion of Texasโ€. The manifesto also reportedly included a brief reference to the โ€œCall of Duty.โ€ Game. Although the investigation is still ongoing about the credibility of manifesto whether it was posted by the gunman or is just a false document making rounds on the internet.

Politicians in USA (specially Republicans), have for a long time insisted on links between mass shooting and violent video games despite various studies showing otherwise. They insist on regulating the โ€œVideo Game Industryโ€ as solution to mass shooting rather than stricter gun laws.

Various researches and studies have shown that there was no relationship between aggressive behaviour in teenagers and the amount of time they spent on playing video games. In other parts of the world, where the same games are available and similarly popular didnโ€™t experience the same amount of gun violence as USA did.

Most of those countries have stricter gun laws which prohibits majority of population from owning a gun and require them to pass several tests and screenings before getting license to owe a gun that too a handgun/pistol or hunting rifles only.

But, even after repeated calls for tightening of gun laws the politicians believe that the gun control wonโ€™t be solution for the rising gun violence and believes innationwide mental health improvement programs as the only solution.

MortaL announces break from competitive PUBGM scene

Abhishek Bajaj
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MortaL announces break from competitive PUBGM scene

Indian PUBGM star and Team Soul member Mortal has announced an indefinite break from the competitive PUBGM scene. The Youtube star iterated that the PMSC 2019 will be his last competitive event with Team Soul, after which he plans to focus on streaming full-time.

Mortal explained his decision in length, citing family responsibilities and the inability to balance streaming hours as the main reasons for his decision to move away from the competitive scene. While he did not pinpoint a certain time period of the break, he did hint that he could come back to the competitive scene in the future.

Mortal was part of the Team Soul roster that recently participated in PMCO 2019 in Berlin. The only Indian representatives finished 12th in a pool of 16 teams in the 2.5 million USD event. While disappointed with the result, Mortal highlighted that the poor placement was not a reason behind his decision to take a step back.

There has been no decision as to who will replace Mortal within the active lineup for Team Soul. But, Mortal explained that he will continue to stream with his current teammates Ronal, Owais and Viper and will focus on being a full-time streamer for the foreseeable future.

Mortal though, did say that he was open to work as a full-time mentor for emerging PUBGM teams in India.

What the future holds for Team Soul and their active lineup remains to be seen. Bittersweet news for Mortal fans though, as they will get to see more of their favourite PUBGM star on his streams, albeit at the cost of him being a professional in the competitive circuit.

FaZe Clan countersues Tfue for ‘betrayal’ and breach of contract

Prateek Jain
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FaZe Clan countersues Tfue for ‘betrayal’ and breach of contract

Fortnite star Turner โ€˜Tfueโ€™ Tenney becoming a rising sensation in May when he sued his employer, Faze Clan, claiming that they took most of his income for themselves and had a very exploitive contract which was illegal according to Californiaโ€™s law. Faze Clan denied the reports and claimed that they didnโ€™t do anything illegal and didnโ€™t exploit Tfue.

Later, things went silent and there was no new information about the case. But, just yesterday new information surfaced online, according to which Faze Clan had sued Tfue for violating his contract and trying to form a rival esports organisation.

According to Faze Clan, Tfue made more than $20 million from streaming, game endorsements and sponsorship deals and he didnโ€™t share this income with Faze Clan. Tfue had violated his contract and tried to keep all the earns for himself without sharing the agreed percentage with the organisation.

The organisation is seeking compensation from Tfue for their services and an unspecified damage amount under the contracted terms. Faze has also asked court to prevent Tfue from revealing any confidential information publicly which may harm and interfere with other talents and future business deals of the organisation.

In a statement Faze Clan said:

Faze Clan taught Tenney how to be more than just a skilled gamer. Faze Clan taught him to be a professional. It schooled Tenney in the business, social media and gaming practices that have made Faze Clan successful. And he certainly has been successful. It is understood that Tenney has earned over $20 million since joining Faze Clan in April 2018, when he was earning virtually nothing. We have collected a total of $60,000 from our partnership, while Tfue has earned millions as a member of Faze Clan.While contracts are different with each player, all of them โ€” including Tfueโ€™s โ€” have a maximum of 20 percent to Faze Clan in both tournament winnings as well as content revenue, with 80% to the player. In Turnerโ€™s case, neither of those have been collected by Faze Clan.

Reacting to Faze Clanโ€™s lawsuit, Tfueโ€™s lawyer issued a statement to The Hollywood Reporter saying:

Faze Clanโ€™s lawsuit in New York is a ridiculous and obvious attempt to avoid the consequences of its clear violations of California law. Filing the lawsuit in New York is actually an admission that Faze Clan has no defence to these violations of California law. Ask yourself, why is Faze Clan is afraid to litigate its wrongful conduct in California? The answer is obvious. Faze Clan will lose. In the New York lawsuit, Faze Clan actually admits to violating Californiaโ€™s Talent Agencies Act by procuring employment without a license. Equally egregious is the fact that Faze Clan is suing Turner under its illegal contract for the monies it publicly represented that it was not collecting. This is the first time in the history of Esports that an Organization has had the audacity to try and enforce contractual provisions that are so clearly illegal against one its gamers.

There are other issues that Faze Clan also brought up in the lawsuit. The organisation claims that Tfue is trying to build his own rival esport organisation and have breached his contract several times by revealing sensitive information to media or to rival gamers and organisations.

ESL ONE New York to Debut Reworked Cache in Showmatch

Abhishek Bajaj
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ESL ONE New York to Debut Reworked Cache in Showmatch

Itโ€™s official! Shaun โ€˜FMPONEโ€™ Snelling broke the news via a video iterating that the rework of Cache is complete and the improved map will make itโ€™s debut at ESL ONE New York. Although, FMPONE added that it will merely be played in the Showmatch that will precede the Grand Final of the event.

FMPONE stated that he had worked extensively with the original creator of Cache, Salvatore โ€˜Volcanoโ€™ Garuzzo and that the two will be in attendance at ESL ONE New York as the reworked map makes itโ€™s debut.

An added perk for the fans in attendance at the Barclays Centre will be the prospect of being the first and exclusive ones to play the new Cache at ESEA booths before it is released to the public via a global update.

Cache was removed from the Active Duty pool in March. But, the decision to add Vertigo to it has been a much-contested affair. The map has been played at reputed LAN Events and in important scenarios between top teams, with everyone coming to the conclusion that it is just not a map worthy of being in the Active Duty pool.

Vertigo leaves little to innovate in terms of tactics and itโ€™s mechanics donโ€™t make sense in a competitive setting. Everyone who has been against the inclusion of Vertigo would be glad to take a closer look at the reworked Cache.

But, with its debut at ESL ONE New York, one thing is certain. Vertigo will remain in the Active Duty pool for the Starladder Berlin Major 2019, despite some calling for Cache to reintroduced in place of Vertigo before the Major.

BIG Clan bench denis, brings in smooya and nex

Bhavya Shah
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BIG Clan bench denis, brings in smooya and nex

In the aftermath of Fatih โ€œgob bโ€ Dayik’s retirement and a chain of unsatisfactory results, BIG Clan has made a roster change. Denis “denis” Howell will be moving back to the bench while Owen “smooya” Butterfield and Johannes “nex” Maget will return to the active line-up. This move comes in as the management was convinced that a radical change was needed due to recent sub-standard results.

Owen “smooya” Butterfield will return back to his previous role of an AWPer while Johannes “nex” Maget will be joining the team after he fully recovers from the surgery due to wrist pain which was operated back in December 2018. Until he recovers, Nikola “LEGIJA” Niniฤ‡ will stand-in for BIG Clan and Alexander “kakafu” Szymanczyk has also stepped down from his position in coaching department.

Daniel Finkler, CEO: “2019 has been a challenging year so far, but every difficult situation comes with opportunities to make the right decisions. We went through many difficult and challenging periods and we always managed to overcome those times with hard work and dedication. But not everything went as expected this year and we had different expectations at the beginning of 2019. For this reason, we decided to make significant changes within our CS:GO division. The decisions we had to make were difficult and tough on a personal level. We are not a โ€žcoldโ€œ organization, we believe in friendship, team spirit and all of us have a good heart โ€“ we are a family and share the same values. That is why I want to express my gratitude to all of the people who are affected by those decisions.”

Christian Lenz, CGO: “We took our time to evaluate the best possible roster for the second half of 2019, which will feature the return of the โ€œUK hopeโ€ smooya and our founding member nex. Owen worked hard for his second chance, so did nex for his comeback. Of course, Iโ€™m sad about gob not being in the team anymore, he is a longtime friend of mine and was the reason of our success in the past, but we will see him soon in another important position in BIG. Letโ€™s go BIG! #gemeinsam”

BIG Clan’s roster for the second half of 2019 is:

  • Johannesย “tabseN”ย Wodarz
  • Tizianย “tiziaN”ย Feldbusch
  • Ismailcanย “XANTARES”ย DรถrtkardeลŸ
  • Owenย “smooya”ย Butterfield
  • Johannesย “nex”ย Magetย (Recovering)
  • Nikolaย “LEGIJA”ย Niniฤ‡ย (Stand-in)
  • Denisย “denis”ย Howellย (Benched)

The organization is expected to shed light upon coach as the time comes.

gob b announces retirement

Bhavya Shah
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gob b announces retirement

32-year-old German in-game-leader Fatih “gob b” Dayik has decided to retire from professional Counter-Strike in order to ‘spend time with family and friends’. Faith is a brilliant in-game and his leadership has produced excellent results for BIG. Fatih has been a member of BIG Clan since around thousands days, claimed the organization. Further, he will continue under managerial position in the BIG Clan.

As many of you have already guessed, I will end my career as a player. First of all I want to thank all the fans and my team. Without you I would have never played this long. You were my motivation and inspiration.

I got a lot of messages that I shouldnโ€™t stop playing. This is not the end and I will of course continue to be with BIG. I just felt it was time for me to take on a new role. The team and the management want to support me in every way and I appreciate that very much. Maybe some of you are sad but I can assure you and underline it again it is not an end. It is a new chapter and I hope for the support you have given me throughout my career.

I hope you understand that I want to have some time for my family and friends, before I take on my new role in BIG, which all these years came definitely too short. Of course I will always stand behind the team and hope for your support. We had a disappointing six months, but right now, we need you more than ever. We will do everything we can to improve ourselves, but we need you, to do it #gemeinsam. I hope you can understand and comprehend my decision. I just need a little break to prepare myself for the upcoming tasks.ย  I have some plans you can look forward to. I hope you understand my decision and I am sure, together we will once again have great and beautiful moments.

“In love, your gobelante,“ said the German IGL.

Faith has a long-lasting career in CS which dates back to Counter-Strike 1.6. He has played for prominent organizations like mousesports, Team ALTERNATE, NRG Esports and lastly BIG Clan. His most recent success under BIG Clan includes reaching playoffs at two majors โ€“ FACEIT: London 2018 and PGL: Krakรณw 2017 while they had decent run at ELEAGUE: Boston 2018 and quite a poor outing at the recently held IEM: Katowice 2019. Apart from majors, their runners-up finish at ESL One: Cologne 2018 on their home soil was a praiseworthy performance.

“The respect I feel for Fatih โ€œgob bโ€ Dayik can not be put into words. He is one of the greatest and most intelligent personalities I`ve ever met. Surely, without any doubts, he helped to push BIG onto the biggest stages of esports. I feel thankful for all his efforts, the sweat & hard work he did put into our family. He is a true leader and a person I will always look up to,” said Daniel Finkler, CEO of BIG Clan.

“While we will surely miss him on the server, I`m looking forward to welcome Fatih in a leading position behind all our teams and players. This is a new era in our history. Thank you, Fatih,” he further added.

BIG Clan is set to update their roster in some time from now. BIG Clan’s present roster is:

  • Johannesย “tabseN”ย Wodarz
  • Tizianย “tiziaN”ย Feldbusch
  • Ismailcanย “XANTARES”ย DรถrtkardeลŸ
  • Denisย “denis”ย Howell

Ninja To Stream Exclusively On Mixer, a streaming platform owned by Microsoft

Malav Popat
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Ninja To Stream Exclusively On Mixer, a streaming platform owned by Microsoft

Tyler โ€œNinjaโ€ Blevins, a world-famous video game streamer, has announced that he will no longer be streaming on Twitch. He will exclusively be streaming on Mixer, a streaming platform owned by Microsoft.ย ย 

Ninja made the announcement on his Twitter via a video.

In the video, which is shot in the form of a press conference, Ninja can be heard assuring the reporters that everything would be the same as before, there would only be a change in the streaming platform. In the video, Ninja says that this would be a great time for him to touch his roots and experience the reason he fell in love with streaming.

Ninjaโ€™s switch to Mixer will have a huge impact on Twitch. Ninja holds the record for the streamer with the highest followers on Twitch, a number which lies close to 14 million followers. Shortly after Ninjaโ€™s announcement about shifting to Mixer, he was removed as a Twitch verified streamer from the website.

On Mixer.com, Ninja will be forced to rebuild his audience from scratch. He currently sits at 43,000 followers on Mixer.co, a number way smaller than 14 million followers.

One Billion People Watch Esports Games

Satendra Krishna
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One Billion People Watch Esports Games

The 2019 report published by Q3 Global Digital Statshot shows the number of viewers of esports games have breached the one billion mark. The report comes in line with the number of people using social media which has crossed the 3.5 billion.

‘Almost 1 billion people around the world have watched an esports tournament in the recent months, with interest particularly high in Asian countries,’ the report suggests.

Further, according to the conducted survey, almost 33% of the internet users say they watch someone else play videogames, which makes up the global audience of over 1.2 billion people.

The demographics says the story well, 32% users aged 16 to 24 say they have watched an esports tournament compared to 31% who say they’d like to watch conventional esports like football & cricket more.

Astralis gets a new owner for $15 million

Abhishek Dave
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Astralis gets a new owner for $15 million

The Danish organization RFRSH has sold it’s Counter-Strike group Astralis. Besides, RFRSH’s League of Legends group has moved to new-organization Astralis Group ApS.

The CEO of RFRSH Nikolaj Nyholm has left his situation at the organization to progress toward becoming chief of the previously mentioned Astralis Group ApS. Also, he is presently in responsibility for. Steen Laursen, Kasper Hvidt, and RFRSH fellow benefactor Jakob Lund Kristensen will go along with him after they quit RFRSH.

As per TV 2 Sport, the arrangement is set to cost $11-16 million (75-112 million DKK). The report likewise guarantees that this valuation will rely upon the proprietorship. The exchange is set to be finished one week from now.

The move comes after several reports which asserted that Astralis will part from RFRSH sooner rather than later and that Astralis will be free. The report guaranteed that the groups will be completely isolated from the association by the StarLadder Major, which starts on August 28 2019.

Already, Astralis has won three BLAST Pro Series occasions; Lisbon 2018, Istanbul 2018, and Sรฃo Paulo 2019. Since the FACEIT Major 2018, Astralis has gone to six BLAST Pro Series occasions.

CSGO ranks second in harassment rankings according to survey done by Anti-Defamation Leauge

Malav Popat
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CSGO ranks second in harassment rankings according to survey done by Anti-Defamation Leauge

In a survey conducted by Anti-Defamation Leauge, CS:GO has ranked second in harassment levels. In the survey, 75% of users reported that they have been harassed while they have played CS:GO.

CSGO falls just short of DOTA 2, which leads the race with 79% of users reporting that they have been harassed while playing the game

According to the ADL website, 65% of players have experienced harassment will playing online games. This harassment includes โ€œphysical threats, stalking and sustained harassmentโ€. Adding on, 74% of online gamers have experienced one form of harassment in their time playing games online. 

Bullying has been present in CS:GO for a long time. The earliest case of bullying can be said to be the incident between Freakazoid and s1mple. The former was recorded bullying s1mple on Tarik’s stream. More recent incidents include Loop, the handicapped gamer, being bullied on his stream from his impairments which led to him getting emotional on stream.

However, on the brighter side, another report by the same organization states that 88 % of adults who play online multiple games have had positive experiences while playing. They have had the opportunity to benefit from the gaming industry with 51% of players reporting that they have been able to make friends and 50% reported having helped other players while playing the games.ย  The report further mentions that 59% of players have had positive experiences while playing Warcraft, the highest value reported. While playing Fornite, 47% of players have reported positive experiences, the lowest value reported.ย 

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