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Immortals raises $30mn to takeover OpTic Gaming

ESPN
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Immortals raises $30mn to takeover OpTic Gaming

Immortals have completed a $30 million Series B funding round and will rebrand their holding company and undergo executive changes that include founder Noah Whinston stepping down from a managerial role in the company, the team told ESPN on Wednesday.

Immortals will rebrand their holding company to be named Immortals Gaming Club, which owns the Immortals, Los Angeles Valiant and MIBR brands. The company has also acquired Gamers Club, the leading Brazilian game matchmaking platform.

Immortals CEO Ari Segal told ESPN the company will use the $30 million to fulfill their franchise payments to the Overwatch League, expand Gamers Club and seek new opportunities in the market.

Among those opportunities, Immortals is currently one of a few bidders looking to acquire part of Infinite Esports & Entertainment, which would include OpTic Gaming and their League of Legends Championship Series spot, sources familiar with that sale process told ESPN. The sale is currently being facilitated by investment bank J.P. Morgan Chase. Segal declined to comment on Immortals’ bid on Infinite.

Infinite first went up for majority sale in January, originally seeking $150 million for all of their business, which includes OpTic Gaming and their Overwatch League team, the Houston Outlaws. If Immortals were to win that bid, they would not be allowed to retain the Outlaws due to league-wide multi-ownership rules, league sources said.

The $30 million raise comes from several existing stakeholders, including L.A. Live owner AEG, Lionsgate, D.C. United and Swansea City A.F.C. co-owner Steve Kaplan, former eBay and HP CEO Meg Whitman, and March Capital Partners founder Gregory Milken and his father, Milken Family Foundation co-founder Michael. New investors in the group include John Griffin, Oaktree Capital managing director George Leiva and March Capital Partners.

Whinston has stepped down from his role as executive chairman, which he was given in December after former Immortals president Ari Segal succeeded him as CEO. Whinston declined to comment on his departure.

“Noah is a significant holder of company stock,” Segal told ESPN. “He is no longer with the company in an official capacity, but I actually talked to him [Tuesday]. The startup experience is turbulent; esports is a tough industry, and our company now is a mature operating business. I very much appreciated that Noah tapped me on the shoulder and felt that I would be capable of leading the company in this next phase. He’s not in the office day-to-day, but as an important shareholder, has every desire to succeed.”

Valve announces format and schedule of next DPC season

Prateek Sahoo
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Valve announces format and schedule of next DPC season

Recently valve announced the dates of the next Dota Pro Circuit season (2019-2020).

Along with the dates. Valve has also announced that they will be in charge of determining the formats for both Minors and Majors in the upcoming DPC season.

As the DPC 2018-2019 season is moving towards its end, with only 1 minor and 2 majors remaining, tournament organisers will welcome this announcement as they can plan their future events.

Just like the current DPC season, the upcoming season will also have 5 minors and 5 majors, with each minor preceding the respective major. Tentative dates for the events have been announced by Valve as follows:

Majors:

  • Nov 16-24
  • Jan 18-26
  • Mar 14-22
  • May 2-10
  • June 20-28

Minors:

  • Nov 5-9
  • Jan 7-11
  • March 3-7
  • Apr 22-26
  • June 9-13

Valve is accepting proposals for the said events from Tournament Organisers until May 25th 2019.

Valve had the following statement to make:

โ€œAlthough we’re still in the heart of the 2018/2019 competitive season, it’s time to start planning for next year’s Majors and Minors. We’re requesting that any organizations who are interested in hosting a Major or Minor in the 2019/2020 DPC seasons email us with their proposals.

Details on what we’re looking for are below.
Proposals should be emailed to [email protected].
Proposals should contain as many details about the tournament as possible — location, venue, etc.
Starting in Fall 2019, Valve will determine the format for both majors and minors, as well as qualifiers.
Though we are accepting proposals for both Majors and Minors, we will be making our selections for Majors first, followed by the Minors.
We will be accepting proposals for Major and Minors through May 25, after which we will begin reviewing submissions.โ€

Valve stepping in to control the format of the events, is a welcome change. Some of the events have had weird formats in the current DPC season, while the qualifiers have had a different format, even for the same event in different regions.

Hopefully, the upcoming season will be better with Valve deciding slot allocation for majors and minors for the different participating regions.

MDL Disneyland Paris Major set to begin

Prateek Sahoo
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MDL Disneyland Paris Major set to begin

Mars Media and Disneyland Paris bring you the fourth Dota 2 Major of the Dota Pro Circuit 2018-2019 season.

16 of the world’s best Dota 2 teams will battle it out at Disneyโ€™s Newport Bay Club and Disney Events Arena from 4th May 2019-12th May 2019.15 teams have been decided via the six online regional qualifiers, while one team (NIP) have qualified via the OGA DOTA PIT MINOR.

These teams will compete against one another in front of a 6,300-strong crowd at Disney Events Arena totally transformed for the occasion to secure their portion of the $1,000,000 USD prize pool and the invaluable DPC points to qualify for The International 2019.

This is the first time in the history of Mars Media that their flagship event will be hosted outside of China. It also marks the first DotA 2 Major held in France as well as the first E-Sports event in any game hosted by Disney Parks and Resorts since Disneyland Paris hosted ESWC 2010.

The teams have been divided into 4 groups:

MDL Disneyland Paris Major Format

Group Stage – May 4th – May 5th

Sixteen teams are divided into four GSL groups of four teams each.

The top two teams advance to the upper bracket of the playoffs.

The bottom two teams advance to the lower bracket of the playoffs.

All games are Bo3.

Playoffs – May 6th – May 12th

Sixteen teams play in a double-elimination format, with the final four days being in front of a live crowd.

Eight teams begin in the upper bracket, eight in the lower bracket.

All games except Grand Finals and Lower Bracket Round 1 are Bo3.

Lower Bracket Round 1 are Bo1.

Grand Finals is Bo5.

The talent line-up for the event consists of well-known casters and analysts like:

  • Kyle (Kyle Freedman)
  • Sheever (Jorien van der Heijden)
  • SirActionSlacks (Jake Kanner)
  • GoDz (David Parker)
  • Tsunami (Neal Khandheria)
  • Blitz (William Lee)
  • Fogged (IoannisLoucas)
  • GranDGranT (Grant Harris)
  • ODPixel (Owen Davies)
  • Capitalist (Austin Walsh)

MDL Disneyland Paris Major Prize Pool Distribution:

The total prize pool for the event is $1,000,000 split between all 16 teams. In addition to the handsome financial reward, teams will be awarded DPC points as well.

1st place: 4,950 DPC points
2nd place: 3,000 DPC points
3rd place: 2,100 DPC points
4th place: 1,350 DPC points
5-6th place: 900 DPC points
7-8th place: 450 DPC points
9-12th place: 150 DPC points
13-16th place: 75 DPC points

Forward Gaming replaces player, just before MDL Disneyland Major

Prateek Sahoo
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Forward Gaming replaces player, just before MDL Disneyland Major

The North American region is undergoing a huge shuffle with most teams making changes before the next set of events come around. First, it was Forward Gaming and J Storm making changes, then TEAM TEAM and Complexity came in with a few changes of their own.

Not long after their last roster shuffle, Forward Gaming have gone ahead and made changes to roster yet again, following their 5th-6th place finish at the OGA DOTA PIT MINOR.

The player in question is Kartik โ€˜Kitrakโ€™ Rathi, who joined Forward Gaming in March 2019, on a trial basis, and played for them at the recently concluded OGA DOTA PIT MINOR. Obviously, the team was not satisfied with the result, thus ending up making the change.

He will be replaced by a well-known face in the Dota scene, Johan โ€˜pieliedieโ€™ ร…strรถm, who will step into the role of position 5 support for Forward Gaming and will also take over the role of team captain.

Forward Gaming will be next seen playing at ESL ONE Birmingham 2019 happening in the last week of May. Going โ€œforwardโ€, the team will be docked 20% DPC points as a penalty, for future events for making a roster change.

Current Forward Gaming Roster :

  • Yawar โ€˜YawaRโ€™ Hassan
  • Quinn โ€˜CCnCโ€™ Callahan
  • Jinjun โ€˜Sneykingโ€™ Wu
  • Arif โ€˜MSSโ€™ Anwar
  • Johan โ€˜pieliedieโ€™ ร…strรถm

NiP, fnatic deliver game of the year at IEM Sydney 2019

Deepak Ojha
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NiP, fnatic deliver game of the year at IEM Sydney 2019

The Swedish Counter Strike presented an epitome of their performance in Australia. Decade-old rivals Ninjas in Pyjamas & fnatic awe’d fans in the quarter finals of IEM Sydney 2019.

Fnatic finally beat NiP 2-1 in the series, but the scores won’t tell you the full story of the game.

The impressive display of skills, experience & new talent proved once again that Sweden is byfar the home of Counter Strike. The likes of Gtr, F0rest, Dennis, JW, Krimz, Xizt tells a lot of about the experience in the game. Not to forget the firepower of the new talent REZ, Brollan, twist & Lekr0.

f0rest was just sigh of 6 frags from the 100-mark. Epic powerpack performance by the Counter Strike legend.

The quarter-finals of IEM Sydney was byfar the premier best-of-three series of Counter Strike pro series in 2019. Statistically, this was the only series in the history of IEM Sydney to have over 100 rounds (115 to be exact) in 3 maps in one single series.

Perhaps, if you’re not following IEM Sydney 2019, you should still watch this game.

If you’re a Counter Strike fan, you wouldn’t want to miss this series, head over to the ESL Counter Strike YouTube channel to experience the masterclass by Swedish Counter Strike.

IEM Sydney 2019 now progresses with NiP & mousesports getting eliminated. Fnatic, Liquid, NRG Esports & mibr battling for the title in the semi-finals.

Virtus.pro sign OKOLICIOUZ

Pranav Nalawade
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Virtus.pro sign OKOLICIOUZ

Vitrus.Pro, the legendary Polish organization, has confirmed the addition of Michal โ€œOKOLICIOUZโ€ Glowaty from EURONICS.

Yesterday, Byali confirmed all rumors of him leaving Vitrus.Pro through an Instagram post where he stated that the team was unable to โ€œagree on general principlesโ€.

The addition of OKOLICIOUZ had been on the cards as the Polish side fielded the player from Euronics in their clash against ex-3DMAX in Kalashnikov Cup Season 2. The 22-year old player is currently in Mรผnster, Germany where he is learning economic informatics.

Roman Dvoryankin, Virtus.pro-General The manager said that โ€œWeโ€™ve decided to part ways with byali due to different views on how the team should be performing both inside and outside the game. Paweล‚ is a talented player and Iโ€™d like to wish him all the best. Iโ€™m optimistic about having OKOLICIOUZ onboard and hope that weโ€™ll do a great job togetherโ€

With this move, the complete Virtus.pro roster stands as:

  • Michaล‚ โ€œMICHUโ€ Mรผller
  • Michaล‚ โ€œsnatchieโ€ Rudzki
  • Janusz โ€œSnaxโ€ Pogorzelski
  • Arek โ€œVegiโ€ Nawojski
  • Michaล‚ โ€œOKOLICIOUZโ€ Gล‚owaty
  • Jakub โ€œkubenโ€ Gurczynski (coach)

Photo: Virtus Pro

North replace Cadian with JUGi; Valde steps up as team captain

Malav Popat
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North replace Cadian with JUGi; Valde steps up as team captain

North, the Danish team have announced that they have signed Jakob “JUGi” Hansen who will be taking over the big green from Cadian.

https://twitter.com/TheNorthIsHere/status/1123920073872347136

With Cadian leaving, 8 months since he joined the team, North were crowned championships at GG.BET Ice Challenge trophy. The team made damage at tournaments with deep playoff runs but none were converted to silverware.

Jugi is no alien to this setup. Previously, he has played with valde and gade during his times on Heroic and Optic.

Valde has also taken over the role of the IGL from Cadian.

In his own statement regarding becoming the team captain, valde said:

โ€œI feel that the time has come for me to take on extra responsibilities within the team. Becoming an in-game leader and team captain is not a decision you make overnight. It’s something I’ve thought about many, many times during my career and I knew within myself that the day where I would make that transition was gonna come at one point but I certainly didn’t see it coming this early.

I cannot promise you miracle-results overnight and there will definitely be bumps along the road, but what I can promise you is someone who’s willing to sacrifice what it takes to bring his team to the top. I really believe that my vision and leadership will take us there. I hope you guys will follow me on this journey. It would mean a lot to me.โ€

North now consist of:

  • Valdemar “valde” Bjรธrn Vangsรฅ
  • Philip “aizy” Aistrup
  • Markus “Kjaerbye” Kjรฆrbye
  • Nicklas “gade” Gade
  • Jakob “JUGi” Hansen

Photo: HLTV

The Battle Between DotA 2 and Artificial Intelligence

Deepak Ojha
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The Battle Between DotA 2 and Artificial Intelligence

DotA 2 is a Multiplayer Online Battle Arena or MOBA game developed by Valve Corporation which was based on the original game Defense of the Ancients or DOTA. The game is played by two teams of five players whose primary aim is to take over the opponentsโ€™ base located at the corner of the map. It was released to all the major PC platforms in July 2013 and has since grown to become one of the most popular games both in the games sector and on the Esports scene.

The game has been that popular in fact, that it has been the subject of machine learning experiments where AI has developed the capability to defeat professionals. Some have veered away from DOTA 2 and have gone for alternative MOBAโ€™s such as League of Legends with the main reasons being the learning curve in DOTA stats which has been said to be very steep in comparison and itโ€™s overall complexity in comparison to League for example. However, it is this challenge that some players take in their stride.

HOW HAVE THE PROFESSIONALS FARED AGAINST THE AI?

The team responsible for developing the AI application that is facing some of the best DOTA 2 players in the world is that of OPEN AI. Now you might be wondering just how has the AI managed to get so good? It is through machine learning; the AI will play hundreds of thousands of simulated games of DOTA 2 not necessarily winning each time but learning from its past mistakes. The total playing time between human players and the Open AI 5 was a staggering 10.7 YEARS.

Once the developers thought it had got to a good enough stage to be pitted against the professionals, the battle was on. There have been a total of 7,257 matches between humans and the โ€˜Open AI Fiveโ€™ in which the AI won a total of 4,075 games. The humans on the other hand only won 42 times forfeiting a staggering 3,140. Yes, the Open AI Five had a win rate or 99.4%. Once they had overcome this obstacle, they started allowing players to mix with the AI players in a co-operative game mode. This might seem like a humiliating defeat for the human professionals; however, the AI still lacks a game plan.

Despite it having learnt plenty of ways to counter nearly every strategy with the game, with every update arrives a new learning curve or an opportunity for the human players to get ahead. It should also be noted that specific in-game mechanics had been removed for the games that the AI played in including invulnerable couriers which previously had been a viable option for couriering essential items such as healing potions to the player so that an attack could be sustained.

WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD?

Away from the AI side of things, DOTA 2 has a very bright future. Just last year The International tournament had the biggest pot in the whole of E-Sports exceeding a staggering $25,000,000 with the winning team taking home over $11,200,000.

Many of the wealthiest E-Sports players in the world, for this reason, are DOTA 2 players, and despite its relatively low player base in comparison to other games such as League of Legends, the player base remains loyal, competitive and motivated to see the game succeed in the E-Sports world.

DOTA 2 has stayed ahead of the rest when it comes to E-Sports; it is just ahead of CS: GO in number one spot, and it doesnโ€™t look like it will be knocked off its perch anytime soon.

New York Is Soon Getting Its First Esports Arena

Johnathan Rainworth
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New York Is Soon Getting Its First Esports Arena

Talking at SportsPro Live 2019 in London, the previous Austria worldwide uncovered that he had bought a 36-section of land complex containing 70 structures for the advancement, which will incorporate an inn and the US city’s originally committed focused gaming scene.

Fuchs, 33, turned into the primary Premier League player to dispatch his own esports outfit back in June a year ago with a FIFA group under his #NoFuchsGiven image.

โ€œWe are in talks with partners right now. Itโ€™s a very exciting project. Itโ€™s definitely the future to have those dedicated esports arenas around. In America where esports is probably still a little bit bigger than it is here, there are a lot of areas to exploit.โ€

โ€œOne of my big goals right now is that I will build an esports arena in New York,โ€ Fuchs confirmed.

Various plans for dedicated esports venues have been put in motion across the US over the past year, with media giant Comcast Spectator the most recent to announce plans to build a US$50 million arena to house its Philadelphia Fusion Overwatch League franchise.ย ย 

Official: Byali leaves Virtus Pro

Malav Popat
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Official: Byali leaves Virtus Pro

In an Instagram post, Byali has confirmed that he has departed from the Virtus.pro active lineup.

The move was first reported by Cybersport.pl, which stated that Byali was set to depart the roster as he was โ€œunhappy with the teamโ€™s resultsโ€, putting an end to speculations which stated that internal conflict during a boot camp had not fueled his decision to quit the active lineup.

His exit marks an end to a legacy dominated by accolades such as EMS Katowice 2014 Major, ELEAGUE Season 1 and Dreamhack Masters Las Vegas.

The rumours about Byaliโ€™s replacement were correct as the Polish side played with Michal โ€œOKOLICIOUZโ€ Glowaty from EURONICS.

In his own Instagram post, Byali stated โ€œTe potฤ™ลผne zakola koล„czฤ… dziล› 25 lat. Dziฤ™ki wszystkim za ลผyczonka, te na priv jak i te w komentarzach na Virtus.pro fanpage. Pozdro ?? fot. @hltvorgโ€

“Nothing bad happened during the bootcamp, we just could not agree on general principles for the team,”

“I decided to leave without creating any problems.”

With byali leaving, Virtus.pro are down to:

  • Michaล‚ “MICHU” Mรผller
  • Michaล‚ “snatchie” Rudzki
  • Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski
  • Arek “Vegi” Nawojski
  • Jakub “kuben” Gurczynski (coach)

Photo: HLTV

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