In the following general article, we’ll be taking concise looks across multiple esports topics at the moment including Fortnite, CS:GO, PUBG and Rainbow Six: Siege., including events being postponed, updates and also banning teams. Hold on tight as we dive straight into this quick crash course of esports news!
ESL Rio Major Delayed to November
The 2020 season of competitive CounterStrike: Global Offensive was set to kick off in Rio next month, involving a Minor Circuit, play-in and Major qualifier in May – however, due to the ongoing pandemic, ESL have taken an official stand for everyone’s safety by delaying all of the excitement to November. To be clear, the Championship will be taking place in November (19th-22nd) while the preceding stages are yet to be confirmed.
To anyone knowledgable of the competitive schedule for CS:GO, this date is rather alarming – in November, the second Major of the year was planned to take place. Due to this, only one Major will grace competitive CS:GO for 2020. To compensate for this major loss, ESL have doubled the prize pool from $1,000,000 to $2,000,000, making it the largest prize pool ever for a CS:GO Major; so it turned out well in the end! The Jeuness Arena in Rio, Brazil will be lit up with excitement, especially since no tickets were cancelled, but simply transferred to the new date with an optional refund too.
ESL has definitely made the most of the situation.
PUBG’S Third Anniversary Update
For its third birthday, apart from the overwhelming competition offered by Call of Duty: Warzone, PUIBG is treating the community with a special update tackling multiple aspects of the game together with promises for new content. Take a look at the bonuses below:
- Reworked Vikendi sneak peek showcased: it’s still being finished up
- Promising new maps, weapons and mechanics
- Exclusive Third Anniversary Item Box (free) – parachute, hoodie, gun skin – automatic log-in reward
For its fourth year, PUBG will need to step up the content available to challenge the likes of Fortnite, Apex Legends and now, Call of Duty Warzone.
Cheating Professional Fortnite Duos Banned for 60 Days
In the time that Fortnite’s been around, there have been momentary plights of cheating and abuse of the in-game mechanics, but on this occasion, the competitive cheating was more interpersonal. The professionals by the names of “Kreo”, “Bucke”, “Slackes” and “Keys”, forming duos respectively in the first week of the FCS (Fortnite Champion Series) are the culprits in question.
Following their first and second-place finishes, a tweet from the user of ‘Droxide’ compiled a suspicious amount of footage in which the two duos would utilize one another for ‘Free Storm Surge Tags’. Before moving on, the Storm Surge mechanic was introduced into competitive play by Epic Games to reduce the number of players alive at the end of a competitive game, to slightly reduce the insanity of the final rounds – teams who have done little to no damage to others will be eliminated – so tagging up the opposition is essential to staying in the game.
From the footage, it seems that the two duos were utilizing one another for tags: surrendering free shots to one another but not finishing; shielding up and challenging continuously to allow for a substantial amount of damage to avoid the new mechanic, and forcing themselves into undesirable gunfights. Take a look for yourself below:
Some corners of the community, including the competitors themselves, are surprised at how quickly Epic Games acted. However, the fact that “Kreo” has been convicted of scamming back when he was on Luminosity made this an easy decision for Epic to ban for 60 days, while some might argue that a lifelong ban is in order.
Rainbow Six: Siege Season 11 Continuing Online This Week
Season 11 will be ‘getting cosier’ according to ESL Rainbow Six’s Tweet, as they announced a speedy transition to an online format after confirming that casters will be tuning into the action and broadcasting online from their own homes too!
Right in the middle of Season 11, North America in specific has 6 playdays remaining to earn the newly added $157,000. This prize pool was added following the saddening cancellation of the Season XI May Finals and the APAC Finals being split across all regions to fuel the remaining competition.
With that being said, the competition will ramp up in the remaining few days, so be sure to tune in!
Let us know which bit of news appealed to you the most in the comments section.
