NA LCS: Immortals continues to be undefeated and Cloud9 looks like the 2nd best team in the League.
EU LCS: H2k, G2, Vitality, and Unicorns of Love all seem contenders for 1st. H2k is much weaker without Ryu but should be stronger when he comes back.
LCK: SKT T1 wins against KT Rolster.
LPL: No LPL games this week.
NA LCS Recap and Standings
In week 5 of the NA LCS, the four way tie for 2nd place has been broken up with TSM and Cloud9 surging ahead. NRG looked particularly weak and Echo Fox looks like a wild card now that they have their full line up with Kfo and Froggen. Now that Echo Fox has its roster, they have the potential to bring down middle of the pack teams to make it to the playoffs.
Echo Fox (Photo Credit: ScreenCap)
Here are results of week 5 Day 1:
Echo Fox vs Renegades (1-0)
NRG Esportsvs Counter Logic Gaming (0-1)
Cloud9 vs Team Liquid (1-0)
Team Impulsevs TSM (0-1)
Immortals vs Team Dignitas (1-0)
Day 2:
Echo Fox vs NRG (1-0)
Counter Logic Gamingvs TSM (0-1)
Immortals vs Cloud9 (1-0)
Team Liquid vs Renegades (1-0)
Team Dignitas vs Team Impulse (0-1)
The game to watch is Immortals vs Cloud9. While there were other good matches, the IMT vs C9 match was arguably the most exciting and entertaining match of the split thus far. With a first time Jhin pick and 42 kills in almost 30 minutes, this is a match that will remind you why you watch LoL eSports.
Here are the standings after five weeks of play:
1. Immortals (10W-0L)
2. TSM (7W-3L)
3. Counter Logic Gaming (6W-4L)
3. Cloud9 (6W-4L)
5. NRG Esports (5W-5L)
5. Liquid (5W-5L)
7. Team Impulse (4W-6L)
8. Team Dignitas (3W-7L)
8. Echo Fox (3W-7L)
10. Renegades (1W-9L)
Week 6 Preview
Next week, the matches to watch are TSM vs C9 on Saturday and TL vs IMT on Sunday. As the two contenders for 2nd place, TSM and Cloud9's match should be a close one.
EU LCS Recap and Standings
After week five of the EU LCS, H2k, G2, Vitality, and Unicorns of Love are the top four powerhouses. However, H2k is notably playing without their star midlaner Ryu which makes them considerably weaker. While G2 Esports is still a strong team, their loss to Vitality demonstrates that they still have things to work out in order to be number 1.
Team Vitality
Here are results of week 5:
Day 1:
Unicorns of Love vs H2k (0-1)
Fnatic vs Elements (1-0)
Origen vs Splyce(1-0)
G2 Esports vs Team Vitality (0-1)
ROCCAT vs Giants (0-1)
Day 2:
Origen vs Team Vitality (0-1)
Unicorns of Love vs Fnatic(1-0)
H2k vs G2 Esports (0-1)
Elements vs ROCCAT (1-0)
Splyce vs Giants (1-0)
The games to watch from this week are Unicorns of Love vs H2k and H2k vs G2. Both of these games are between top teams and give a good insight on the strengths of these teams.
Here are the standings after five weeks of play:
1. G2 Esports (8W-2L)
1. H2k (8W-2L)
3. Team Vitality (7W-3L)
3. Unicorns of Love (7W-3L)
5. Fnatic (6W-4L)
6. Origen (5W-5L)
7. Elements (4W-6L)
8. Splyce (3W-7L)
9. Giants (1W-9L)
9. ROCCAT (1W-9L)
Week 6 Preview
The games to watch in week 5 are Vitality vs H2k on Thursday and Vitality vs Unicorns of love on Friday. Vitality is playing top teams in both of their matches which will be a test of whether they can be the top team in the EU LCS.
LCK Recap and Standings
SKTelecom T1 is back! With their win over KT Rolster, the reigning World Champions look back in form. While they are probably still weaker than the ROX Tigers, their performance this week gives hope that the World's curse will finally be broken. (For the uninitiated: the World's curse refers to the fact that no World's Championship team has ever qualified back to the tournament the year after their win.)
SKT Faker (Photo Credit: SKTelecom)
Here are results of week 5:
Day 1:
Longzhu Gaming vs SBENU SONICBOOM (2-1)
ROX Tigers vs e-mFire (2-0)
Day 2:
CJ ENTUS vs Afreeca Freecs (2-1)
SKTelecom T1 vs KT Rolster(2-0)
The series to watch is the storied rivalry between SKTelecom T1 and KT Rolster. While being a 2-0 sweep, seeing Faker carry (and throw) in Game 1 on Corki and Duke dominate on Quinn in Game 2 is a pleasure to watch.
Here are the standings after five weeks of play:
1. ROX Tigers (7W-0L)
2. Jin Air Green Wings (5W-2L)
2. SKTelecom T1 (5W-2L)
4. KT Rolster (4W-2L)
5. Longzhu Gaming (4W-3L)
5. Samsung Galaxy (4W-3L)
7. CJ ENTUS (3W-3L)
8. Afreeca Freecs (1W-6L)
8. e-mFire (1W-6L)
10. SBENU SONICBOOM (0W-7L)
Week 6 Preview
The full four days of LCK is back! The series to watch is KT Rolsters vs Jin Air Green Wings on Day 1, SKT vs Longzhu on Day 2, and Jin Air Green Wings vs ROX Tigers on Day 3. This week will mostly be a test for Jin Air as they will play the teams in front and behind them. Besides their upset against SKT in week 1, Jin Air has not won against the top five teams since the split started. Their tie in the standings with SKT is misleading as four of their five wins are against the bottom half of the bracket. This week will be a test if Jin Air truly belongs in 2nd place.
LPL Recap and Standings
LPL was on break this week as well due to Chinese New Years! Tune in next week for week 4's game results.
Here are the standings after three weeks of play:
Group A
1. Qiao Gu Reapers (5W-0L)
2. Team World Elite (3W-2L)
2. Snake Esports (3W-2L)
4. Master3 (2W-3L)
5. Energy Pace Maker (1W-4L)
5. LGD Gaming (1W-4L)
Group B
1. Royal Never Give Up (4W-1L)
2. Invictus Gaming (3W-1L)
2. Edward Gaming (3W-1L)
4. OMG (2W-3L)
4. Vici Gaming (2W-3L)
6. Hyper Youth Gaming (0W-5L)
Week 4 Preview
Next week, World Elite vs Royal Never Give Up on Day 1 is the game to watch to see if RNG is a top level team in China.
LCS Top 5 Plays | Week 5
A compilation of the top 5 LCS plays this week.
SKT Faker vs KT | THE CORKI SHOW
Faker shows why he's the best player in the world with his dominating performance on Corki.
SKT Faker vs KT | THE CORKI SHOW
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Tempo Storm wins the Intel Extreme Masters Season X World Championship - North American Qualifier
This past Saturday and Sunday, 32 teams battled in the Intel Extreme Masters Season X World Championship - North American Qualifier. The North American Qualifier decides the final seed for the Intel Extreme Masters Season X World Championship on March 2-5. After the round of 32, 16, and quarterfinals, the semifinals involved Cloud9 vs OpTic Gaming and Tempo Storm vs Counter Logic Gaming. In the end, Cloud9 won 2-1 and Tempo Storm won 2-0 to reach the grand finals. In the finals between Cloud9 vs Tempo Storm, Tempo Storm took the first map, Mirage, from 4-14 to 16-14 in a thrilling comeback. The second map, Cache, was also seemingly in Cloud9's hands 5-13. However, Tempo Storm made a fantastic comeback and took the final deciding game 19-17. Being a Brazilian team, Tempo Storm dashed the hopes of the top North American teams and has qualified for their first international tournament.
ESL Pro League Season 3
The second week of ESL Pro League is underway with matches in both the European and North American Divisions. Twenty-four teams fight for the right to play at the LAN finals in London on May 15th. So far, Fnatic is the clear leader in Europe and North America has Cloud9, OpTic Gaming, and Luminosity Gaming at the top. With games going on until April 26th, stay tuned for additional ESL Pro League coverage.
Tempo Storm's Reaction to their Victory over Cloud9
Captains Draft 3.0, organized by DotaCinema, is a Major tournament featuring a $100,000 base prize pool and the Captains Draft game mode. The participants included Evil Geniuses, Team Empire, Vega Squadron, Virtus.pro, Team Liquid, Alliance, Mamas Boys, and Digital Chaos.
Evil Geniuses won against Team Empire 2-1 and Vega Squadron 2-0 against Alliance in the semifinals. In the Winner's Finals, Evil Geniuses swept Vega Squadron 2-0 to make it to the Grand Finals. While Team Empire lost against Mamas Boys in the Losers' Round, Alliance beat Team Liquid 2-0 and the Mamas Boys 2-1 to make it to the Losers' Finals. The last two matches between these three teams will occur in February 16-17.
Tournament Qualifiers
The following tournaments are having Qualifiers to determine their respective seeds.
Starting April 22, ESL One Manila 2016 is currently holding its American Qualifiers with compLexity vs Digital Chaos and Team Archon vs Elite Wolves. The European Qualifiers include Vega Squadron vs Natus Vincere and Team Empire vs London Conspiracy.
WePlay Dota 2 League Season 3, which is on May 6, have also had their qualifiers with Vega Squadron coming out on top for EU East Division. Digital Chaos won the Americas Division and Team Liquid won the EU West Division. Lastly, Mineski won the South East Division. These teams will join Evil Geniuses, OG, and Virtus.pro who were all direct invites.
EG vs Vega Squadron Highlights
Watch the highlights of the second game of the Winner's Finals for Captain's Draft 3.0
EG vs Vega Squadron Highlights Captains Draft 3 SEMI Final Game 2 Dota 2
My first MMOs included Ragnarok Online, Gunbound, Diablo II, and World of Warcraft. Nowadays, my wife (also a writer on MMOs) and I play League of Legends and any other MMOs we can get our hands on. I also love following eSports and attending eSports events.
