ESL ONE RIO TO SHOWCASE PLAYER-SELECTED SEEDING


The system will largely be the same as the one used for the previous Major hosted by ESL, IEM Katowice 2019, where ahead of the first two stages the participating teams themselves ranked their opponents from 1-15, which was then used to seed teams into the opening round of matches in the Swiss format. In this system, the seeding of each team is adjusted after every round based on the opponent they faced and on the result, with teams who pulled off an upset gaining a significant portion of the difference between theirs and the opponent's seeding (and vice versa), for example. One important change that will be introduced to the player-selected ranking at ESL One Rio is that, before...

Bulls’ Zach LaVine will participate in 3-Point Contest, per report


Bulls guard Zach LaVine didn’t get voted into the 2020 All-Star Game in Chicago, but he’s going to participate in the 3-Point Contest: https://twitter.com/ShamsCharania/status/1224480639409364998 As of right now, it looks like LaVine may not take part in the Slam Dunk Contest. There are already four committed participants in Dwight Howard, Aaron Gordon, Derrick Jones Jr. and Pat Connaughton, though perhaps there will still be a late surprise. However, LaVine had hinted previously that if he didn’t make the All-Star Game he’d likely focus on the 3-Point Contest because nobody has ever won both a Slam Dunk Contest and 3-Point Contest in their career. He won back-to-back Dunk Contests in 2015 and 2016. LaVine is having a stellar 3-point shooting season, hitting on 37.6% of his long-range attempts on 7.9 per game. He’s eighth in...

TEAM RANKING: JANUARY 2020


We have updated our Global team ranking - powered by EGB.com - for January 2020, a quiet month with only one notable LAN event. One month into 2020 and we're still only getting the first taste of top-tier Counter-Strike of the year after a rather dull month of January, featuring just one international LAN, DreamHack Open Leipzig, where BIG ran out victorious to prove that German CS is finally back on the menu. With the ICE Challenge only halfway through and BLAST Premier merely regarded as a qualifier, there aren't many changes across the board, with the top five looking exactly the same as in last month's ranking. BIG are knocking at the door for a top 20 place Despite a strong...

NBA Buy or Sell: Zion Williamson could still win Rookie of the Year


Buy or Sell: Zion Williamson could still win Rookie of the Year Zion Williamson looks like he's going to win a lot of hardware over the course of his career, but the Rookie of the Year Award won't be part of his collection. Since he made his debut last month, Williamson has lived up to the immense hype as he has quickly developed into a productive highlight machine for the Pelicans. However, he missed the first 44 games of his rookie campaign, and in that time, Grizzlies guard Ja Morant built up too large of a lead for Williamson to make up in the second half of the season (barring a major injury for Morant, of course, which no one wants to see). Morant has been as...

Wizards vs. Warriors odds, line: 2020 NBA picks, Feb. 3


The Golden State Warriors (11-39) will visit the Washington Wizards (17-31) to help get the Monday NBA schedule underway. Standout guard D'Angelo Russell (quad) is officially listed as questionable for the Warriors, while the Wizards' rotation is largely free of injury concerns. Washington will be looking for a third consecutive victory in the game, while Golden State broke its five-game losing streak with a win over Cleveland on Saturday. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena. Sportsbooks list the Wizards as 5.5-point home favorites, up slightly from the opening line, while the over-under, or total number of points Vegas thinks will be scored, is 234 in the latest Warriors vs. Wizards odds. Before making any Wizards vs. Warriors picks or NBA predictions, see what SportsLine's advanced computer model...

Clippers vs. Spurs odds, line: 2020 NBA picks, Feb. 3


The Los Angeles Clippers look to stay within striking distance of the top spot in the Western Conference NBA playoff picture when they host the San Antonio Spurs in the final game on the Monday NBA schedule. The Spurs (22-26), who are 12-14 against Western Conference teams and 10th in the standings, are 8-14 on the road, while the Clippers (34-15), who are 20-11 against conference foes and are 3.5 games behind the Los Angeles Lakers, are 20-5 on their home court this season. Tip-off from Staples Center in Los Angeles is set for 10:30 p.m. ET. Los Angeles is 2-1 against San Antonio this season, including a 103-97 win at Staples Center on Oct. 31. Los Angeles is a 10-point favorite in the latest Spurs vs. Clippers...

Natus Vincere announced the departure of Zayac to join VIRTUS.PRO


Natus Vincere have announced the departure of Bakyt "Zayac" Emilzhanov from the organization due to his willingness to join Virtus.pro. In the nearest qualifiers Na`Vi will play with Semion "CemaTheSlayer" Krivulya. Na`Vi CEO Yevhen Zolotarev explained the situation in great detail in a lengthy video statement, which is attached below. In short, Zayac wanted to join Virtus.pro and despite having an active contract with Natus Vincere used a legal formality to leave the organization without buyout. Virtus.pro have yet to comment on the issue. https://twitter.com/natusvincere/status/1224040425146720258 Zayac has been playing for Natus Vincere since April 2019 and became the team’s captain this October. In the previous season the team managed to qualify for The International 2019, where they placed 13-16th. This season the team missed the first two DPC events, however later made it to DreamLeague Season 13: Leipzig Major, where they finished...

Nigma joins the WePlay! Tug of War: Mad Moon team line-up


Coming our way in about two weeks' time, WePlay! Tug of War: Mad Moon is the final part of the WePlay! Tug of War trilogy. The tournament will be played February 19-23 in a LAN setup in Kyiv, Ukraine, with eight teams fighting for the trophy and a share of the $300,000 prize pool. Team Nigma, the WePlay! Bukovel Minor 2020 champions are the latest addition to the tournament. They will be joining Team Secret and Gambit Esports from a direct invite spot. Ninjas in Pyjamas secured their place at the final part of the trilogy by claiming the title of Tug of War: Radiant online event last year, while Royal Never Give Up and Infamous are coming to Kyiv...

Chiefs part ways with 2019 lineup, sign ex-Genuine


Chiefs have announced the signing of the ex-Genuine roster, replacing their former lineup headlined by Tyler "tucks" Reilly. Departures of Chris "ofnu" Hanley and Peter "BL1TZ" Athanasatos to AVANT, and not taking part in the IEM Katowice Qualifiers signaled big changes in Chiefs, which are now finally confirmed. The three remaining players from the 2019 lineup — tucks, Matthew "Texta" O'Rourke, and Ryan "zewsy" Palmer — are now free agents, with a new five-man lineup coming in. Chiefs have cut ties with texta, tucks, and zewsy The ex-Genuine roster averages just 21.4 years of age, and has recently reached the grand final of the IEM Katowice qualifier where they put up a fight against Renegades. As the third-highest ranked team playing in the region currently — behind Renegades and ORDER —, the team featuring Hugh "stat" Anderson has been scooped up by Chiefs. In the announcement of the signing, Tom "apocdud" Henry stated his excitement for the chance to represent...

SmithZz announces retirement


Edouard "SmithZz" Dubourdeaux has announced that he has ended his career as a professional player. The Frenchman's official departure from G2 marks the end of an exceptionally long playing career, which began in Counter-Strike: Source, where SmithZz won a plethora of tournaments as a part of various VeryGames rosters in 2008-2012 before transitioning to CS:GO. In the new game, the now 31-year-old became the 17th best player of 2013 and won 14 more titles as a player, including the game's fourth Major at DreamHack Winter 2014 with LDLC. He went on to put his playing career on hold as he moved to a coaching position in G2 at the beginning of 2017 and added three more trophies to his name from behind the team. SmithZz officially ends his playing career In mid-2018, SmithZz was...

NA`VI BREEZE PAST OG EN ROUTE TO ICE CHALLENGE SEMIS


Natus Vincere picked up a convincing two-map victory over OG to secure first place in Group B at ICE Challenge and move on to the tournament's semi-finals. The Kirill "Boombl4" Mikhailov-led team continues a successful run at the ICE Challenge with their second consecutive victory with Ilya "Perfecto" Zalutskiy, this time looking much more convincing compared to their close debut against GODSENT in the opening round. After a great start to the tournament against ENCE, OG looked completely outclassed throughout their second series in London, starting Dust2 and Mirage down 0-7 and 0-8, respectively, which eventually led to their quick demise. Nonetheless, they have advanced to the quarter-finals, where they'll face the winner of MAD Lions and Heroic. A red-hot Denis "electronic" Sharipov started off with seven kills in the first two rounds of Dust2, helping Na`Vi assert dominance on the...

MAD LIONS SEND HEROIC PACKING; GODSENT DOMINATE ENCE AT ICE CHALLENGE


In the Danish derby of group A MAD Lions overcame Heroic to book a place in the playoffs, while GODSENT outclassed ENCE to eliminate the Finnish side from the tournament. The two elimination matches wrapped up the group stage at ICE Challenge 2020 in London, with the first match being another meeting of MAD Lions and Heroic. Nicolai "HUNDEN" Petersen's team secured their third victory of the year over Marco "Snappi" Pfeiffer and co., proving to be the second-best team in Denmark at this point. After losing to OG in the opening match, ENCE were looking to get out of the rut with a win over GODSENT. However, in the meeting of two former mousesports players, Martin "STYKO" Styk came out on top, eliminating Miikka "suNny" Kemppi's team from the tournament. Heroic kicked off the series with a 4-0 start on the offensive side of Mirage before MAD Lions could reply with two...

Houston Rockets are engaged in Clint Capela trade talks with Eastern Conference teams, including Atlanta.


According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Rockets were engaged Sunday with multiple Eastern Conference teams — including Atlanta — in trade talks regarding their 25-year-old big man. The NBA’s trade deadline comes at 2 p.m. Central time on this Thursday, Feb. 6. While the Rockets and GM Daryl Morey might not can get the object of their desires from a trade with a rebuilding team, it seems they’re interested in repackaging a draft asset for Capela from a team such as the Hawks in another deal for the type of wing player they reportedly crave. https://twitter.com/wojespn/status/1224133493111902208 Related Report: Rockets have received several trade calls on Clint Capela Report: Rockets prioritizing trade for wing player by deadline At just 25 years old, Capela is averaging...

FAZE DEFEAT LIQUID; QUALIFY FOR BLAST PREMIER SPRING SERIES FINALS


FaZe have dominated the first two days of the BLAST Premier Spring Series with two-map victories over NiP and Liquid to become the first team confirmed at the BLAST Premier Spring Series Finals in Moscow, Russia. FaZe ended 2019 on a low going out in last place at the BLAST Pro Series Global Finals, but they have now opened the 2020 LAN season by becoming the first team to qualify for the BLAST Premier Spring Series Finals after defeating a lackluster Liquid in a two-map series. The match highlighted the North American side’s struggles, which were seen in their opening map against MIBR where several players had to go above and beyond individually to close it out in overtime. Despite easying past the Brazilians in the second map of the...

Uniforms To Honor Kobe, Gianna


Team LeBron to wear No. 2 and Team Giannis to wear No. 24 as a tribute to the Bryants during 69th NBA All-Star Game NEW YORK -- The NBA, NBPA and Nike announced today that the 2020 NBA All-Star uniforms will pay tribute to the late Kobe Bryant, his daughter Gianna and their seven friends and teammates who tragically passed away in last Sunday’s helicopter accident.  The 2020 NBA All-Star Game will feature Team LeBron (James) wearing the No. 2 and Team Giannis (Antetokounmpo) wearing the No. 24 – Gianna and Kobe’s basketball jersey numbers, respectively. In addition, both teams will wear jersey patches displaying nine stars, representing those who lost their lives in the crash, including John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah and Payton Chester,...

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