TLDR
Xmithie on choosing Riot Player’s Association reps: ‘There are not many players who have knowledge outside of the game’
2017-06-08T14:36:18+00:00 TheScoreEsports LoL
  • "There are not many players who have knowledge outside of the game," Xmithie said.
  • "I think it benefits the players the most," said Xmithie, "especially salary-wise and job security-wise, if youre good enough...
  • Maybe form a superstar team with streamers."Xmithie did however express some concern about finding the right union representatives for players.
  • "It was pretty mutual and we all talked about it and we agreed that it was the best move for both players.
  • "I dont really talk that much about the trade because it was sudden," he said.
TLDR
Custom Game Roundup: How to win at Dota 2’s Gem TD
2017-06-08T14:36:12+00:00 TheScoreEsports Dota 2
  • And if you want to play the best of the best in Dota 2 tower defense, then Gem TD is for you.Originally created in Warcraft 3, Gem TD looks like other tower defense games at first glance.
  • If you take a brief look at the Arcade, you can easily find half a dozen very popular tower defense games.
  • Custom Game Roundup is your weekly highlight of the best (and weirdest) custom games in Overwatch, Dota 2 and more.Tower defense games have been a staple of custom game modes since the original Starcraft, and today Dota 2 carries on that venerable tradition.
  • There are eight different kinds of gems to build, with five different upgrade levels for each, and each has their own effect.
  • Creeps will always take the shortest route between checkpoints, so building an appropriately lengthy maze will do much to help you win later levels.
TLDR
Infographic: Top 5 bot lane duos in Platinum and Diamond on Patch 7.11
2017-06-08T14:36:06+00:00 TheScoreEsports LoL
  • Want to know the best bottom lane combinations on the current patch?
  • Here are the highest win rate ADC/Support combos in Platinum and Diamond.RELATED: Infographic: Top 5 top laners in Platinum and above on Patch 7.10With the current hyper carry meta, a good Twitch is definitely worth his weight in platinum, especially when paired with a decent Sona.RELATED: The metagame report: Bot lane hyper carriesIn Diamond, Kalista and Brand make an offbeat but effective combination.
  • One of the most mechanically demanding AD carry, Kalista flourishes in high Elo play and together with Brand the two can harass very effectively.Another strong diamond combo is Braum and Miss Fortune, who can dominate teamfights by combining Braums knock-up with Miss Fortunes AoE ultimate.
  • Theyre also great laners thanks to their high damage potential.Sasha Erfanian is a news editor for theScore esports.
TLDR
Esports Spotlight: Planet Odd co-founder on investing in an esports team: ‘Now is as good a time as any’
2017-06-08T14:30:18+00:00 TheScoreEsports Dota 2
  • Jonas Axelsson was working in digital marketing at Casumo, an online gambling site, before founding the Planet Odd.
  • According to Axelsson, Planet Odd will not be monetizing their organization for the first year and a half or so of their existence, and is focusing on branding instead.
  • That doesnt exist in esports."Part of that, Axelsson says, is the way esports teams have treated their players.
  • Which makes it strange that Planet Odd, a startup esports organization with just one sponsor and a handful of notable players, is making a go of launching a grassroots esports organization in the middle of a relatively unstable growth period.
  • I think its still very early days for the esports world.
TLDR
Infographic: Top 5 bot lane duos in Bronze, Silver and Gold on Patch 7.11
2017-06-08T14:30:12+00:00 TheScoreEsports LoL
  • Want to know the best bottom lane combinations on the current patch?
  • However, in the current hyper carry meta, strong Twitch players can succeed with basically anyone.Sasha Erfanian is a news editor for theScore esports.
  • While Draven is able to snowball very well, he might be a bit too mechanically demanding for low Elo players.
  • Blitzcrank holds the keys to the kingdom in Gold as lowbies have a hard time dodging his hook.
TLDR
This Week in Gaming: LCS franchising, trusting Twitch chat with money and the creation of Echo Fox’s meme team
2017-06-03T16:48:06+00:00 TheScoreEsports LoL
  • No, I can’t believe it either.Will LoL’s most popular streamers find success in the challenger series?
  • If you ask me, playing Final Fantasy music in subway stations across the world should be a high priority for everyone.Sean Tepper is the Senior Supervising Editor at theScore esports.
  • This Week in Gaming is your definitive weekly guide to the biggest stories and controversies behind the latest esport and gaming headlines.
  • Well, at time of publication, Twitch appears to be up some money, but like many things on the internet, this success may be short lived.
  • Think Twitch plays Pokemon but with the stock market.So how’s that working out?
TLDR
The metagame report: Abusing new jungle paths
2017-06-01T14:30:43+00:00 TheScoreEsports LoL
  • As you clear that side, you open up your Krugs as the only uncleared portion of your red jungle quadrant.
  • It involves less immediate farming of your jungle in favor of exploiting the blind spots of an optimal raptors start.
  • Secondly, he is able to make it back to his red side right on time for the spawn of his second Raptors camp.
  • This gives him a camp advantage overall as the game continues, until some mistakes by his mid and bot lane open up the game in favor of Longzhu.
  • At best, the enemy can match this path and trade Krugs and a gank attempt.
TLDR
Esports Spotlight with CLG esports director Matt Nausha: ‘It’s a performance-based industry. if you can keep doing it to your 30s…I’m gonna keep you on the roster’
2017-06-01T14:30:37+00:00 TheScoreEsports LoL
  • Is it realistic that an esports player doesnt have a decline due to age?" he said.
  • "Thats really something that kind of differentiates a player, right?
  • "Its a performance-based industry. if you can keep doing it to your 30s, good for you, Im gonna keep you on the roster."Sasha Erfanian is a news editor for theScore esports.
  • According to Nausha, his unique background in psychology has helped him identify problems and solutions that might be overlooked by others.
  • You can kind of see it from time to time, but its not really prominent or much of an issue.
TLDR
Custom Game Roundup: Dota 10v10
2017-06-01T14:30:31+00:00 TheScoreEsports Dota 2
  • Custom Game Roundup is your weekly highlight of the best (and weirdest) custom games in Overwatch, Dota 2 and more.The very first custom game available in Dota 2 was not created by a group of enterprising modders, but by Valve themselves.
  • This will also help to prevent major losses if the enemy team takes it down.Preston Dozsa is a news editor for theScore esports.
  • Its simple in design, with the company behind Dota 2 creating no new assets for the mode.
  • If you have not had the pleasure of watching it, take a few minutes to experience the glory of 10v10.
  • If you think a normal game of Dota is chaotic, you havent seen the amount of particle effects that are going off when 20 people are in the middle of a massive fight.This custom game mode debuted at The International 2015, in what is arguably the single greatest all-star match in Dota 2 history.
TLDR
CS:GO Skin MarketWatch: A look at the Operation Hydra Case and the 5 best transforming skins
2017-06-01T14:30:25+00:00 TheScoreEsports Counter-Strike: GO
  • While this doesnt affect their prices much, it can have a drastic change in how the skins look.
  • CS:GO Skin MarketWatch is a weekly look at the best deals and trends when it comes to skins.
  • Every week well help you get maximum value out of your loadout, highlight pro player inventories or clue you in on some must-buy skins.Operation Hydra Case revealedIts been well over a year since the last CS:GO Operation, Wildfire, but Hydra is finally here.
  • Lets take a look at the rarest skins from the Operation Hydra case.Five-SeveN | Hyper BeastQuality: CovertFactory New: $88.71The Hyper Beast is one of the most recognizable series of skins in CS:GO, notable for its AWP and M4A1-S renditions.
  • It features a number of fun game modes and missions but, more importantly, also includes a new case.
TLDR
Fnatic’s Amazing: We would have been a playoff team if we stuck together
2017-06-01T14:30:20+00:00 TheScoreEsports LoL
  • That means they are probably going to push a product or some kind of brand for themselves.
  • I think Unicorns were better, and then H2K on a good day probably too.
  • New organizations such as NiP, their process was basically like Which coaches are available right now that have some LCS experience?
  • They hired the right people, heard people out, had interviews even in Korea, and had these people be hand-selected.
  • He said "It didn’t really cross our minds that this would actually occur, because quite frankly I expected whatever organization was going to buy [the spot] was going to invest intelligently."The LCS has a history of last-minute LCS spot purchases.
TLDR
Riot announces NA LCS franchising, details Academy League and Players’ Association
2017-06-01T14:30:13+00:00 TheScoreEsports LoL
  • Riot also plans to implement financial incentives for teams that perform well.A Riot-funded Players Association will begin forming in June.
  • If the candidates are rejected by players, additional candidates can be provided, or Riot may accept other representation selected independently by the players.
  • When it ultimately launches, the PA will act as a way for players to represent their unified concerns in negotiations.Josh "Gauntlet" Bury is a news editor for theScore esports.
  • A shortlist of possible player representatives will pitch to players, who will choose who to elect.
  • From July to September, the elected representatives will begin their work and meet with players.
TLDR
G2 analyst enkay J on moneyball-ing CS:GO: ‘I think that certain stats could actually help to find the most suitable role/position for each player’
2017-05-30T14:18:11+00:00 TheScoreEsports Counter-Strike: GO
  • Do you believe CS:GO is at a point where support staff (coach, analyst, psychologist) are a big key to success?I personally believe that any sort of staff, be it coach, analyst or psychologist can be a pivotal part of a team’s success.
  • Niclas "enkay J" Krumhorn is a former pro turned analyst, now with G2 Esports, and was part of the formation of their French super team.
  • Most teams only have a general coach, while some don’t even have a dedicated coach or use their manager as one.
  • This should already be enough to actually convince them to outsource this task to an analyst.
  • To be honest, I am happy that I am not a player, because SmithZz is scary as f--k.
TLDR
You Laugh, You Lose with Splyce’s Trashy
2017-05-30T14:12:26+00:00 TheScoreEsports LoL
  • Splyces jungler, Jonas "Trashy" Andersen is the next player to take on the You Laugh, You Lose challenge with theScore esports.
  • Heres how it works: our guest is going to go through a list of funny videos.
  • If they laugh, they lose and will have to answer a difficult question.
  • If the guest is able to keep a straight face, they will get to answer an easy question.RELATED: You Laugh, You Lose with FlyQuests HaiWith special appearances from some of his teammates, Trashy discusses whether hed ever make a return to NA, who was the worst teammate hes ever had and what his favorite song is at the moment.For more video interviews and highlights, be sure to subscribe to theScore esports on YouTube.
TLDR
Around the Web: Far Cry 5, European underdogs and a very expensive dropped combo
2017-05-30T14:12:21+00:00 TheScoreEsports LoL
  • Basically phenom was a pixel off from $150k on Eleague tonight. https://t.co/YS1zGyAb2E— Ephemeral (@TsunamiSkweek) May 27, 2017 @EL @PunkDaGod Drop of the century.
  • Okay.The $110,000 dropped comboELEAGUE wrapped up its inaugural Street Fighter offering on the weekend, with the seemingly unstoppable Victor "Punk" Woodley taking home the trophy.
  • Did he mean to DP? Either way, many Norwegian fans hearts were broken.Am I saying Phenom would have won the tournament if hed hit that combo?
  • He could almost taste it.Until he couldnt.Was he going for the super combo?
  • Spoiler: there are towers.And, naturally, games Twitter warmed up for some sizzling hot takes.