NiKo featured e

Category: CS-GO

G2 to pick up FaZe star NiKo

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

According to a report made by neLendirekt on 1pv, G2 have shown an interest to pick up FaZe star player NiKo. Here below is a link to the report:

Who is NiKo?

23-year old Nikola “NiKo” Kovač has been playing CS:GO professionally since 2012, but is mostly known for his time with Mousesports and his current team, FaZe Clan. Despite his legendary status as a professional player, he is yet to win a Major.

Niko Credits ESL
Credits: ESL

Who will they be replacing?

As stated in the report, the player that NiKo will replace (if the deal goes through) is none other than Amanek. His performance during this online CS era has been slowly declining, and it has been affecting the entire roster’s performance in their recent events. Here are their most recent placements:

G2 to pick up FaZe NiKo – How will this affect G2?

NiKo is incredibly efficient when it comes to firepower, and that might just be what G2 needs right now. Especially when you have a great player like Nexa leading your team. 

Niko Dreamhack
Credits: Dreamhack

This roster move, despite the controversy it brought up, might be one of the biggest roster moves this year. Mostly because of the money involved in the deal and the impact it will have on a team like G2. An interesting fact about the move is that if the move does happen, NiKo will be joining his cousin Nemanja “huNter-” Kovač. We don’t often see teams including relatives, and this will certainly be a special one if everything goes as planned.

Be sure to stay tuned to www.esportsguide.com for more esports news!

Gambit crowned NineToFive Champions

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

After 4 intense weeks of action packed CS:GO events, the NineToFive series hosted by Relog Media has finally come to an end. Gambit Youngsters come out on top in the 4th edition of the NineToFive, being their 3rd victory throughout the series.

Gambit crowned NineToFive Champions – How did they do it?

Ever since Counter-Strike veteran Hobbit joined the roster, the team has been doing exceptionally well. Despite having their coach suspended due to abusing the coaching spectator bug, the team has still had very good results. This is mainly due to Hobbit’s role within the squad, being that very experienced leader that the team needs in order to move forward in the right direction.

Who was the tournament MVP?

The tournament MVP for the NineToFive event was none other than Abay “Hobbit” Khasenov. He had a total of 82 kills in the Grand Final and an ADR value of 90.5. Hobbit topped the leaderboard in almost every game, and was definitely the winning factor for his team.

Hobbit MVp
Credits: GRID

What’s next for Gambit?

Gambit crowned NineToFive Champions is a good start for their rise to the top. Considering their recent results, I’d say they’re in a pretty good position and they’re going towards the right direction. The next event lined up for the Russian squad is IEM New York CIS, and they’re matched versus very strong teams from their region. Teams like: Natus Vincere, ForZe, Hard Legion, as well as Team Spirit. It will certainly be a challenge for Gambit, but if they keep up this performance and hunger for success, they’ll rise to the top in no time.

Keep yourself updated on www.esportsguide.com for all your latest esports news!

BLAST shift prize pool for future events

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

BLAST have just announced that they will be reducing the season prize pools to increase the participation fees paid to teams. In addition to this, Non-partnered teams will also benefit from the 2021 season onward. Here is their announcement: 

BLAST shift prize pool – Why?

The pandemic affected many things in esports, especially when it comes to LAN (offline) events. The travel bans and restrictions that were implemented made it impossible to fly out players and play the event offline. BLAST think this is the best way moving forward in order to build a better foundation for esports.

Nexa credits Blast
Credits: BLAST

BLAST have made this change in agreement with its partnered teams to safeguard, develop and grow all teams and organizations that are participating in BLAST events. Despite the agreement between both parties, the Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association (CSPPA) stated that this decision was made without consulting them and their players. They have now made it public that they are discussing the issue internally and are planning to discuss with BLAST as soon as possible.

Here’s what CEO of OG Esports, JMR Luna had this to say about the changes:

“Investing in the ecosystem enables all organizations, whether new or established, to develop infrastructure around the players. This change is crucial for the long term sustainability of our ecosystem.”

Source
ISSA credits BLAST
Credits: BLAST


BLAST implementing a shift in prize pool is definitely a big change, especially for all the teams that are BLAST partners. Hopefully it will work out and all parties are happy with the changes.

Make sure you don’t miss out on any important esports news by keeping yourself updated on www.esportsguide.com! 

MAD Lions exploring new player options in Refrezh and HooXi

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

According to a report made by Jarek “Dekay” Lewis, MAD Lions will be exploring new player options in refrezh and HooXi. Here is his report below:

Who will they be replacing?

In the report, there is no definite answer as to who will be transferring to the bench, however, Dekay states that one of his sources indicated a possibility of Paweł “innocent” Mocek and Asger “AcilioN” Larsen being replaced.

MAD Lions picking up in Refrezh and HooXi – Who are they?

Both refrezh and Hooxi are currently players for x6tence, previously Copenhagen Flames earlier this summer. Refrezh was one of the best up and coming Danish players back in 2018 after standing in for Cloud9 for a short period. HooXi on the other hand has spent the majority of his CS:GO career representing Copenhagen Flames having 2019 as his most successful year.

Refrezh Blast Pro Series
Photo of Refrezh playing for Cloud9
Credits: Blast Pro Series

Why are they making changes to the roster?

MAD Lions have had major success earlier this year with a victory at the 1st Season of Flashpoint, however when it comes to recent results it’s a totally different story. Here are some of their recent placements:

Sure, their results aren’t completely terrible, but they have gone very far from becoming the best Danish CS:GO team. Hopefully these changes will help MAD Lions improve on their mistakes quicker and rise back to the top alongside the best teams in Europe.

Make sure you don’t miss out on any important esports news by keeping yourself updated on www.esportsguide.com!

MiBR rehaul CS:GO roster

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

Yesterday, MiBR announced that they will be making a rehaul to their CS:GO roster. They have decided to part ways with 2 of their players, and their manager which has recently received a 6-month ban from competitive CS:GO. The members that MiBR will be letting go are: TACO, Fer, and Dead. Here is their announcement:

MiBR rehaul CS:GO roster – Why did they make these changes?

If you look at the past few months, even some of last year’s matches, it is very evident that the Brazilian roster hasn’t found any success since before the departure of Coldzera. The MiBR squad has been going through a very rough stage of player swaps, and despite some of the players working for a short period of time, they were not a permanent fit for the team.

MiBR recent
Credits: MiBR

Who else will be departing the roster?

MiBR In-Game leader FalleN has also announced that he will be stepping down from the active roster. As he did not agree with the changes made to the lineup.

Dreamhack
Credits: Dreamhack

How does the lineup look like now?

Active Squad:

  • Vito “kNgV-” Giuseppe
  • Alencar “trk” Rossato

Inactive members:

  • Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo
  • Fernando “fer” Alvarenga
  • Epitácio “TACO” de Melo
  • Ricardo “dead” Sinigaglia
Credits MIBR e
Credits: MiBR

The MiBR squad parting ways is truly saddening to see, however one cannot say it wasn’t expected. Despite the teams constantly working hard on their performance, their results were still not up to par with the organization’s standard. It will be very interesting to see where the rest of the roster ends up, with slight indications showing that some might end up an international roster, or coaching.

Be sure to stay tuned to www.esportsguide.com!

DreamHack Masters Winter 2020 – Preview

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

Dreamhack have just announced that they will be moving forward and hosting DreamHack Masters Winter 2020 in December. Here is their announcement:

Format

Due to the event being hosted online, it will be split into 4 regions (North America, Europe, Asia, Oceania). Here below are the different formats for each region:

Europe:

  • Group Stage:
  • Two groups with 8 teams each
  • Each match will be Bo3
  • Only the top 4 teams advance to playoffs.
  • Playoffs:
  • Single elimination bracket
  • All matches are Bo3
  • Grand Final is Bo5

North America:

  • Group Stage:
  • Two groups with 4 teams each
  • Each match will be Bo3
  • Only the top 2 teams advance to playoffs.
  • Playoffs:
  • Single elimination bracket
  • All matches are Bo3
  • Grand Final is Bo5

Asia & Oceania:

  • Double elimination bracket
  • All matches are Bo3
  • Grand Final is Bo5 (1 Map advantage to Upper Bracket team)
Glave e
Credits: Dreamhack

Prize Pool

There will be a total of $250,000 to be spread between all 4 regions. $150,000 for Europe, $70,000 for North America, and $15,000 for both Asia and Oceania.

Teams announced

At the time of writing, only 6 teams have been invited. Four from Europe (Astralis, G2, Complexity, Natus Vincere) and Two from North America (Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid).

Event dates

The event is set to start on the 30th of November with Europe and North America, whereas Asia & Oceania will be starting the event on the 1st of December. The DreamHack Masters Winter 2020 will be running for an entire week, and ending on Sunday the 6th of December.

Where will it be streamed?

The main english-speaking stream will be on the official Dreamhack Twitch channel; however, there will also be other streams available for different languages. Russian / Portuguese / Swedish / Serbian / Chinese / Hungarian / Finnish

Make sure you keep yourself updated on www.esportsguide.com for all your latest esports updates.

Cloud9 hinting at core UK CS:GO roster

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

Cloud9 has recently announced that they have parted ways with the ATK roster. Alongside this news, they have also revealed that they have signed HenryG as their general manager and Kassad as the head coach. Now, Cloud9 have been hinting at signing a core UK CS:GO roster:

According to rumors, who will Cloud9 be signing?

French team Vitality have announced that Alex, ex-IGL for the team has departed the squad. After his departure Alex posted a tweet which stated that he will be receiving his new team’s jersey from the UK. Rumours have pointed out that since Cloud9 own the London Spitfire (which is based in the UK) it is connected to Alex’s signing. 

Cloud9 hinting at core UK CS:GO roster – Who else will they be signing?

Another extremely talented UK CS:GO player is Smooya. Smooya is currently standing in for c0ntact, but has played for Chaos Esports earlier this year.

Starladder
Credits: Starladder

Yesterday, Smooya released a tweet, which further increases suspicion about him joining the core UK CS:GO roster. Here is the tweet below:

It has been rumored that Cloud9 will be revealing their CS:GO announcement later today. The 2 other players have not been hinted at, however these two UK players have been basically confirmed. We’ll just have to wait and see for their announcement later today.

Alex Dreamhack e
Credits: Dreamhack

Cloud9 hinting at core UK CS:GO roster – UPDATE

Cloud9 have now officially announced that Alex has joined the roster. Here is their announcement:

Make sure you keep yourself updated with www.esportsguide.com to never miss out on any important esports news!

ESL One Rio 2020 Major Cancelled

Posted on by Gabriel Sciberras

Unfortunately, the ESL One Rio 2020 Major has just been cancelled. Indeed, as the largest event of the competitive year for CS:GO, it’s a massive loss for the community. However, the announcement does not come out of the blue. It’s been a ticking time bomb since the switch to online.

Here’s the statement from organizer ESL:

Together with Valve we had to make the tough but safe decision to cancel the ESL One Rio Major 2020 due to the ongoing disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

We worked through several alternative options down to the last hour to make the Major a reality, but ultimately have to face the fact that the global situation currently does not allow for a Major to take place.

Credits: ESL
Credits: ESL Counter-Strike Twitter

Accordingly, the event had $2,000,000 on the line for 24 of the best teams in the world. Set to take place in November, it acts as the only form of Major this year.

Besides this announcement, a few other details have been spilled with regards to the remainder of the year:

  • IEM New York – Online 6-25th October
  • IEM Beijing-Haidian – planned for November
  • Finally, IEM Global Challenge planned for December

The final event prize pool has been formed from cancelled events earlier this year.

For more esports news, visit: https://www.esportsguide.com/news.

Cloud9 sign HenryG as GM and Kassad as Head Coach of CS:GO division

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

Cloud9 have just announced that they have opted to sign HenryG as GM (General Manager) and Kassad as Head Coach of their newly implemented Team Development Program. Here is their announcement:

Who are HenryG and Kassad?

Henry “HenryG” Greer has been casting CS:GO since 2014. His first casting appearance was during the Gfinity G3 tournament, and a few months later he was joined by Matthew “Sadokist” Trivett and they became one of the best casting duo’s in esports. He has casted multiple events & majors, and in 2019, Henry won the esports Caster of the Year award.

Aleksandar “Kassad” Trifunović has a very long history in Counter Strike, however he is mostly popular for his coaching work with the well known Australian squad which are now under 100 Thieves, previously Renegades. Some of his best achievements as a coach are:

Cloud9 sign HenryG & Kassad – What will their new roles consist of?

HenryG, which will be Cloud9’s General manager will be overlooking the entire Team Development Program, whereas Kassad will mainly focus on picking up some of the most talented players in the World to represent the Cloud9 organization and win tournaments and events.

Dreamhack
Credits: Dreamhack

Here are some thoughts from HenryG regarding their plan for the future:

“My plans for this team are certainly ambitious. I wouldn’t be involved in any sort of General Manager role unless I had absolute full control of the roster and direction we plan to head. C9 have entrusted me with their entire CS:GO dynasty and, honestly, I think that’s one of the boldest moves any org has made in a long time. The Cloud9 Brand speaks for itself, it is one of the absolute cornerstones of the esports landscape. I’m aware there is a certain level of expectation going forward now. Failure simply isn’t an option.”

Interview with Dexerto


Very exciting to see top figures in Counter-Strike taking on new challenges in the industry, such as Moses joining Team Liquid as their coach. Will definitely be looking forward to seeing this Cloud9 roster form under the leadership of Kassad. Make sure you don’t miss out on any important esports news by keeping yourself updated on www.esportsguide.com!

BLAST to host VALORANT event – report

Posted on by Nathan Bonello

A report by Arran “Halo” Brown, writer for Halo of thoughts, indicates that BLAST will follow in Flashpoint’s footsteps and host their very own VALORANT event for Europe. Here is his report:

Tournament information:

In the article, he states that BLAST have not yet revealed their tournament format, event name, or team invites, however sources have confirmed that there will not be any sort of qualifying stage as BLAST have invited 4 of the best european teams already. Sources have also indicated that BLAST will be offering a total of $50,000 in prize pool.

Why is this big news?

If you’re a CS:GO fan, you’ve definitely seen at least one of BLAST’s events. If you don’t know what BLAST is, they’re a tournament organizer which hosts events everywhere around the World for the best CS:GO teams. Despite the pandemic, they have still managed to host a couple of CS:GO events. Two of them being: BLAST Premier: Spring 2020 European Finals & the BLAST Premier: Spring 2020 American Finals.

BLASTT
Credits: BLAST

BLAST to host VALORANT event – Update

On the 4th of September, Halo released an update on the article, stating that multiple sources have confirmed that FunPlus Phoenix, G2, Ninjas in Pyjamas and Team Liquid are 4 invited teams for the event. He also stated that the event is intended to take place between the 12th & 13th of September. The format will consist of a double elimination bracket. Having matches set in a bo3 format whereas the final will be set to a bo5 format.

BLAST VALORANT event UPDATE

BLAST have now tweeted the below video, confirming that BLAST x VALORANT is definitely happening.

Tournament overview:

Tournament overview BLAST
Credits: BLAST

It will be very exciting to see the top European VALORANT teams competing against each other once again. Will G2 prevail once more? Or will Team Liquid, NiP or FPX topple them over? The official announcement for the event will be releasing very soon, so keep your eyes peeled on their twitter and our website for more esports news!