Author: Pedro Romero
Although Leviatan started their VCT Americas Last Chance Qualifier run on the wrong foot, losing to KRU Esports, they were able to rebound, taking down Sentinels and reaching the lower bracket finals against Cloud9. The team was one map away from qualifying for Masters Tokyo and Champions.By taking down C9, LEV would be one step closer to qualifying for Champions and finally fulfilling the expectations most fans had of them as a top-tier Americas team. However, through consecutive losses in Lotus and Pearl, Leviatan found themselves in a 2-0 hole and in prime position of being eliminated via a clean…
Despite MIBR’s efforts to rejuvenate their 2023 season following a dismal VCT Americas League showing, which saw them miss playoffs, they became the first team eliminated from the Last Chance Qualifier after losing to KRU Esports in the first round of the bracket. Furthermore, by losing to KRU, which by that point had been the only winless team in the region, MIBR’s season was over as well, thus leaving plenty of time for the org to ponder on their next move for 2024.Looking over at the team, one of the people who laid a notable mark throughout the season was…
Due to the way the VCT Americas Last Chance Qualifier is formatted, the two lowest-placed teams from the regular season started the competition by facing each other. That put both MIBR and KRU Esports in the precarious position of facing elimination from the outset as a loss in this opening match signaled the end of LCQ and the end of the 2023 season entirely.Despite MIBR’s best efforts, which saw the team integrate André ‘Txozin’ Saidel to the lineup after he replaced Olavo ‘heat’ Marcelo during the late stretch of the season, the team lost 2-0 to KRU, marking the end…
Sentinels kicked off their 2023 VCT Americas Last Chance Qualifier run on the right foot, taking down 100 Thieves in the second round of the competition. By defeating their North American counterparts, besides the result sending the team to the next round and setting up an encounter with Cloud9, Sentinels received another lifeline as they reached the double-elimination phase of the bracket.Despite seeing various changes to their coaching staff and lineup, Sentinels look to continue their march towards Champions 2023 against all the odds and return to the event for the first time in two years.Following Sentinels’ victory over 100T,…
Acend announced their formal entry to the Game Changers scene when they signed UNtapped during the 2022 season. Though UNtapped failed to qualify for Series 2, the org weren’t dissuaded in the slightest. Seeing enormous potential in the squad after their 5th-6th place finish in Series 1, Acend acquired them ahead of Series 3 and rechristened them Acend Rising.From there, Acend Rising picked up right where UNtapped left off by finishing in 5th-6th place in Series 3 to solidify themselves as a top European GC team. Soon enough, the team would surpass their previous benchmark by finishing Top 3 in…
Stories, regardless of the subject, can be interpreted in various ways. On one hand, it can be explained through a simple feature writing piece. The emotions of a player behind a critical moment can get fleshed out to provide an immense effect on a story. Other times, a video can apply the same impact on that same time frame but with a different lens.Of course, the same can be said about photography. With an expert handling of a camera, photographers can capture moments in real time and use the ensuing collection of images to paint a bigger picture of how…
The South American Dota 2 scene has taken a tremendous leap thus far in 2023. On top of being the host for the Dota Pro Circuit’s first Major of the season, the region saw two of its best teams contend for the top spots at subsequent international events: Evil Geniuses and beastcoast.Evil Geniuses, the North American organization which moved to South America at the end of last season, has enjoyed the largest success so far between the two teams as they followed their 5th-6th finish in Lima with a Top 4 placement in the Berlin Major, a 7th place in…
Even though Anastasija “Heccu” TolmaÄeva entered the Counter-Strike scene less than a few years ago and has less experience under her belt compared to other established talent, she has undoubtedly become one of its most recognizable interviewers in the events she has participated in.This concerns ESL Impact, ESL Pro League, the Rio Major and many more. Undoubtedly, she has had multiple moments and multiple highlights to choose from while reflecting on her career.In the second part of BLIX’s interview with Counter-Strike host and interviewer Heccu, she covers the people she thinks has stood out in developing a career from ESL…
For the majority of ESL Impact events that have taken place in an in-person LAN capacity, the talent has worked remotely. That meant the casters and analysts and hosts largely did their coverage from a separate studio. While the move offered stability to the broadcast, it simultaneously prohibited those from in front of the camera from matching the energy and vibrancy of their work to that of the crowd, thus setting a rough bar to surpass.Fortunately for Impact, there has been one person who serves as the middleman for the entire show’well, middlewoman to be exact. That person is Anastasija…
Arguably, OG has not enjoyed a relatively stable 2023 in the Dota Pro Circuit. Even after upgrading itself by bringing in offlaner Dmitry ‘DM’ Dorokhin from Virtus.pro, the team weathered various obstacles in seemingly every competition they have competed in.Coming off a pair of mid-table finishes in the first two tours of the season, which featured Misha and Chu switching back and forth as Position 5 and head coach, OG competed in the Berlin Major with two stand-ins in the form of Ivan ‘Mind_ContRoL’ vanov and Kartik ‘Kitrak’ Rathi as a result of visa complications.While OG defied the odds once…