Well known League of Legends veteran Marcus “Dyrus” Hill has made the switch to Heroes of the Storm, and he made his pro league debut on the final week of league competition. Dyrus was subbed in for Orie ‘YoDa’ Guo on Team 8 in their HGC North America match against No Tomorrow. Dyrus and the squad won 3 – 1, and the team will move on to the playoffs where they must win at least two matches to qualify for the Mid-Season Brawl.
As mentioned above, Week 10 is the final week of Phase 1 of the Heroes Global Championship (HGC) and that meant triumph or heartbreak for teams on the cusp of relegation. Team 8 opponents No Tomorrow are heading to the Crucible for the NA region where they’ll have to defend their league spot from the top two Open Division teams.
In Europe, Team Dignitas had to handle a five game series scare from Tricked esport. Though Dignitas came away with the 3-2 win, the dropped games were enough to put them just behind Team Liquid on points and affect their playoff placement. Team Dignitas now have to win two playoff games to make it to the Mid-Season Brawl alongside the already qualified Fnatic.
The HGC Playoffs begin this weekend, May 19-21. The Mid-Season Brawl will be June 10-20 in Jonkoping, Sweden.
The Madden Championship series ended with a bang, as top ranked player Michael “Skimbo” Skimbo beat the legendary Eric “Problem” Wright, 24-20 in the finals.
Skimbo hit early and often, taking a 10-0 lead to start the match before Problem could respond with the pair of field goals to whittle the lead down to just four. The veteran player turned things around after the half, marching all the way down field for a touchdown on his opening drive and then capitalizing on an interception from Skimbo on the next drive. He eventually found himself with a 20-17 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
Skimbo played a tough defense and forced Problem to punt with 1:24 left in the game. On the next drive, Skimbo threw for the game winning touchdown.
Skimbo takes home $150,000 in prize money for the Madden Championship victory.
A bit of Hollywood glamour is coming to esports, as the TCL Chinese Theatre and Hammers Esports announced the formation of Hollywood Esports (HWES). The Hammers are an up-and-coming organization with Overwatch, Vainglory, and Clash Royale teams. The organization’s esports teams will all be known as the Hollywood Hammers going forward.
The new organization also comes with a new venue for esports: the historic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. The org is concentrating its efforts on the local esports scene in LA, hoping to attract college students and other local gamers to come to their events in the new esports venue. Fans can also watch the esports action from home on “Tournament Tuesday”, a new esports news and entertainment show that will be broadcast from the theatre.
Hollywood Esports has plans to manage esports theaters around the United States to provide venues for local tournament organizers that are well equipped for streaming and the needs of pro gamers. A similar chain of esports theaters is planned for construction in China as well.
