Samsung’s recent semi-final against KT Rolster was the benchmark for whether the roster were truly overachievers or if they’d just squeaked into 2nd place in the standings with a miracle 9-1 run in the second half of the split. The newly assembled super team dismantled Samsung 3-0, resetting their reputation as a contender to become SKT’s …
Continue reading “Samsung Galaxy: Establishing the Rebuild Model”
With the end of the season wrapping up with a Cinderella story, RunAway making the finals and meeting the perennial throne-chasers in Lunatic-Hai, what can we look forward to in the next season? With OGN’s APEX Season 3 is right around the corner, let's take a look at some of the prevailing storylines coming out …
Continue reading “Volamel"e;s Viewpoint: Scouting Ahead — APEX Season 3 Storylines”
A recurring debate in the Overwatch community has been the discussion of what map draft formats should be used in tournaments. Which one is the best? But also, what will Blizzard approve of and allow for? In this piece, I examine three well known formats that have been used in big offline events, pointing out …
Continue reading “Assessing the Overwatch map drafting formats”
Journey to Un’Goro is by far and away Hearthstone’s most diverse expansion. Not even during the first days of League of Explorers and Whispers of the Old Gods did we see such wide variety of viable decklists. Take the Hearthstone Global Games, as an example, the first major tournament played in the new meta. 25 …
Continue reading “Ten awesome decks from the first week of Un"e;Goro to help you crush the ladder”
To the pleasure of some but, to the dismay of others, CONBOX Spirit remains in OGN’s APEX Overwatch League as its perennial dark horse team. After repeat performances that left much to be desired, in both Season 1 and Season 2, CONBOX retains their grit and defies all expectations to advance convincingly out from the …
An oft-repeated comment on Reddit, especially with regard to why Western teams have not succeeded in international competition, is the assertion that the top Western teams are merely aping the ‘Korean meta’, and that they will never win playing like the Koreans when Koreans are obviously going to be better at playing standard. Before …
Nathaniel ‘Nathanias’ Fabrikant. If there has ever been a more perfect name for a StarCraft 2 caster and American Terran diehard, then I haven’t heard it. Nathanias is an absolute staple in the SC2 scene, casting some of its biggest events, as well as creating his own personalized and unique tournaments such as the Kappa …
In a Cinderella story reverse-sweep against CLG on Sunday, team captain Hai “Hai” Liam solidified his place in North American LoL history as an unrivaled leader and shotcaller. However, that wasn’t the only thing historic about the 3-2 quarter final victory, it also makes FlyQuest the first team in North America since LMQ in the Summer …
Continue reading “Exploring the Deviation of Success Between NA and EU Challenger”
The germination of esports talent in Seoul, South Korea happens at a very young age. Many children grow up watching their favorite progamers on television, just as you might follow your favorite sports team at a young age. It instills a sense of motivation, an aspiration to become weighed evenly with your role model. Think …
Continue reading “Volamel"e;s Viewpoint: The Duality of Prodigies”
The second season of OGN's APEX is over and Lunatic-Hai have emerged as the victors, taking home ~$90,000. In this article, I bring you my key takeaways from the tournament. Where the Korean scene stands — compared to the West — has been an ongoing discussion, ever since teams from the small Asian peninsula started …