Author: Pedro Romero

By this point, everyone has heard of Dota 2 caster Owen “ODPixel” Davies. For starters, he’s casted four consecutive TI grand finals from 2018 to 2022, been active in the since the early 2010s and became a beloved figure for his work specifically because of his diligence in honing his craft.Certainly, he’s come a long way from those early days of casting British Dota tournaments from his small streams, and now that he’s crossed the 30-year-old threshold, one has to wonder whether his perspective towards his road to the top has changed in any particular form. It is with that…

The return of The International to the city of Seattle ushered in a sense of homecoming to those who have been well immersed in the game for as long as one can remember. After spending the past six years seeing the event make its presence in different parts of the world, the scene welcomed back the Pacific Northwest city to serve as the forefront of the Dota world.For the players, broadcast talent and fans themselves, it marked a return to what many regard as hallowed grounds. With the city serving as the host for TI 2 all the way to…

T1 took down JD Gaming 3-1 in the semifinals of the 2023 League of Legends World Championship to return to the Grand Finals for the second consecutive year. Of course, this result will hand the team yet another chance to win their fourth Worlds title after last winning it in 2016.Undoubtedly, there was plenty of anticipation for this encounter, in particular given the high stakes that surrounded it, which concerned both teams. For JDG, defeating T1 meant taking another step towards completing the ever-elusive “Golden Road,” which no one has done before throughout the game’s history; and as for T1,…

In women’s esports, there are not many names as celebrated as Stephanie “MissHarvey” Harvey. With a career in the industry that has spanned over many years, she’s covered numerous roles ranging from a professional player to coach and, most recently, executive.In the spring of 2023, with the dissolution of Counter Logic Gaming, its RED division, which famously featured professional female players and had been one of the center pieces of the women’s esports scene since 2015, met the same fate. That meant its Counter-Strike and Valorant teams would operate without a sponsor for their ensuing competitions. That then led to…

KT Rolster fell in their fourth-round Swiss Stage tie to LNG Esports 2-1 in the 2023 League of Legends World Championship. Despite a back-and-forth affair that saw both teams split the series at a game a piece, LNG broke the tie off a resounding third game to book their places for the knockout stage.As for KT, due to the result, they now face a critical round in the Swiss Stage best-of series against Dplus KIA, for a chance to progress to the knockout stage for the first time since 2018. Failure to do so would mean outright elimination. Such has…

GAM Esports managed to extend their stay in the 2023 League of Legends World Championship for at least another week by defeating North America’s Team Liquid 2-1 in the third round of the Swiss Stage.Despite starting off their Swiss Stage showing on the wrong end by losing to both Korea’s Gen.G and Europe’s Fnatic, thanks to the contribution of players like top laner Trần “Kiaya” Duy Sang and mid-laner Đặng “Kati” Thanh Phê, the reigning VCS champions rebounded by dispatching one of North America’s representatives. As a result, they sit amongst the remaining 14 teams that still have a chance…

In an appearance that started with promise in the 2023 League of Legends World Championship, Team Liquid ultimately bowed out of the international tournament, dropping their third successive match in the Swiss Stage to become one of the first teams eliminated from the event in that phase.By losing to Korea’s T1–which saw the North American rattle their Korean counterparts to the limit–and reigning LCS champions NRG in consecutive fashion, TL were paired with Vietnam’s GAM Esports as one of the 0-2 matches that decided the first two eliminated teams in the Swiss Stage, thus putting the LCS’ third-seeded team’s Worlds…

A spot in the 2023 League of Legends World Championship Swiss Stage is within PSG Talon’s grasp following their victory over LOUD in Play-Ins. Crossing paths once again after initially facing off in MSI, LOUD opened the series on equal footing with their adversaries, but as the tie transpired, it was the reigning PCS champions who flexed their muscles, going on to close the series 2-0 and advance to the knockout phase of Play-Ins. It is there where they must play and win a single best-of-five series to advance to the Swiss Stage.Following PSG’s victory over LOUD, BLIX talked to…

When GAM Esports opened their participation in the 2023 League of Legends World Championship Play-In stage, there were fears that they would succumb to yet another early exit on the international stage. Back in MSI, GAM fell to North America’s Golden Guardians and Latin America’s Rainbow7 in succession and subsequently finished at the bottom of the standings.A few months down the line in Worlds, the same disappointing story looked to be repeating itself for the reigning VCS champions. They dropped their opening series to Brazil’s LOUD 2-0, thus sending them to the lower bracket and setting up a rematch with…

CTBC Flying Oyster kickstarted their participation in the 2023 League of Legends World Championship in style — defeating Japan’s DetonatioN Focus Me in a resounding 2-0 series. In a best-of-three affair that ultimately lasted approximately one hour and a minute, the PCS second seeded team cruised their way to the second round of the upper bracket in their group despite a shaky start in Game 1 where it was on equal footing.One of those who stood out in particular for CFO was mid-laner Tseng “JimieN” Hao-Chun, who made his international debut by finishing with a cumulative KDA of 12/5/14 with…