Tag: GLHF

Blizzard cancels Overwatch League postseason live events in Los Angeles and Dallas

Matches will now take place entirely online for now.

If you were going to attend Overwatch League live events in either Los Angeles or Dallas, it might be best to make new plans. Blizzard recently announced the cancelation of its postseason events in both cities.

“The League announced yesterday that due to significant changes in the environment affecting travel for some teams,” read a statement from Overwatch League on its official site. “We’ve decided to pivot away from originally scheduled live events in Dallas and Los Angeles; instead, postseason competition will return to Hawaii.” It goes on to stress that competition will continue online rather than in person. 

Overwatch League also left a statement on Twitter which you can check out below. 

This news comes as a significant loss to Overwatch fans and players alike, as online play often has connection issues that aren’t present during events like those that were supposed to take place in Los Angeles or Dallas. Though to (hopefully) mitigate those potential issues, teams from the west will travel to Hawaii so that they’re a smidge closer to their European and Asian competition. 

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF. 

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Former ‘Valorant’ pro wins gold in swimming at Tokyo 2020 Paralympics

Doesn’t matter if its Valorant or swimming, Rowan “Magnetbrain” Crothers is a legend all the same.

It’s not every day that an esports star wins Olympic gold, but Rowan “Magnetbrain” Crothers of Valorant fame did just that. On Wednesday, representing Australia, Crothers came in first during the Men’s 50m freestyle S10 Swimming at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Known to most gamers for crafty maneuvers in Valorant, Crothers took a break from esports to train for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. And, well, it certainly worked out as he finished first at a staggeringly impressive 23.21 seconds.

The champ took the time to share a photo of the medal with his head held high, which you can check out below.

“I’ve proved that I’m not just a person with a disability,” said Crothers in an interview with 7Sport. “But I’m also an elite athlete.”

Crothers has dealt with Cerebral Palsy all his life, yet it hasn’t stopped him from becoming a legend in swimming and esports.

The entire Valorant community were ecstatic for Crothers, of course.

How cool is all the support from his esports friends? To say this was an achievement would be quite the understatement.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF. 

Tyler ‘Ninja’ Blevins teases return to competitive ‘Halo’

The legendary Fortnite content creator might be returning to “Halo” this winter.

Halo Infinite will likely take the esports world by storm when it launches this December, and Tyler “Ninja” Blevins might get in on the action. 

Belvins made a name for himself playing Halo 3 and Halo Reach competitively nearly a decade ago, before he was ever a Fortnite megastar. For long-time fans of his, there have been hopes that he’ll make a return to the scene with Halo Infinite.

Well, that might happen, as Belvins recently teased a return on his personal Twitter. He even busted out a SpongeBob SquarePants meme for good measure, which nobody does unless they are committed to something, of course!

Check out the playful tweet from Blevins for yourself below.

Belvins tease even further by responding to former pro Halo player Faisal “Goofy” Khan later with a suggestive emoji. 

In all likelihood, Belvins is just having some fun amidst all this speculation of a potential return to Halo. At least for now, anyway. We won’t know for sure until there’s an official announcement of some sort. 

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF. 

The launch date for ‘Halo: Infinite’ was revealed, and fans went wild

Halomania swept Twitter this morning, here are some of the best reactions.

At long last, Halo Infinite has a release date: December 8, 2021, and fans are going wild. The announcement came today during Opening Night Live at Gamescom, sending Twitter into a frenzy because, well, it’s Halo!

Everyone from prominent industry figures, like Geoff Keighley and Tom Tarren, all the way to content creators, like Alanah Pearce, commented on the release date news.

Some were overjoyed while others dropped a spicy meme or two, though regardless, everyone was plenty excited. After all, back in November of 2001, Halo: Combat Evolved shook the gaming world by making console shooters respectable with its innovative controls and gave Microsoft a certified hit for the original Xbox. 

Check out the Halo-themed buzz for yourself below. 

Even Joseph Staten, one of Halo Infinite’s developers working at 343 industries got in on the hype.

Hard to believe that by the time Halo Infinite is out this December, the series will be over 20 years old. Here’s to hoping this latest entry lives up to expectations.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF. 

TimTheTatman responds to DrDisrespect’s Warzone challenge with heartwarming message

Sometimes, friendship is more important than bravado.

Recently, DrDisrespect challenged fellow content creator Tim “TheTatman” John Betar to a best of three matches in Call Of Duty: Warzone, and the response isn’t what you would expect: Tim said he misses playing with Doc. 

Ever since DrDisrespect’s ban from Twitch last year, he’s been unable to play games with any of his friends still on the platform, including Betar. Doing so would result in a breach of Twitch’s terms of service, potentially putting someone like Betar in hot water. So of course, Betar had to decline, but not before he voiced his support for his friend.

“Hey, Doc. If you’re watching, for what it’s worth, I miss you. I miss us,” said Betar in a recent Twitch stream. “And for what it’s worth, man. I’ve been tuning into your streams on YouTube, and honestly, for what it’s worth, you’re doing really well over there too.”

Check out the touching clip for yourself below.

“I retract this challenge,” said DrDisrespect on Twitter. “You’d rather spectate solos than win a legendary gaming memorabilia item fully matted, custom framed?” Just the sort of reply you would expect from the good doctor.

Streaming personalities are often full of chest-thumbing bravado when it comes to challenges like this, so it’s nice to see a genuine friendship blossom despite it all.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF. 

Check out the slick esports coffee shop Tim Hortons and Tencent just opened in Shenzhen, China

Probably the most tech savvy coffee place out there.

Esports is such a massive deal these days that Tim Hortons, in collaboration with Tencent, just opened a state-of-the-art esports facility in Shenzhen, China. This coffee shop will even have esports-themed food and drink items for those looking to get in a fine cup of joe in-between matches of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League Of Legends, or whatever the hottest game might be.

This facility is part of a joint venture between Tencent, the multinational technology conglomerate, and famed fast-food chain Tim Hortons. It’ll be a place for gamers to watch esports tournaments or well-known content creators in a social environment full of interactive screens. Kind of like an internet cafe, but with more modern technology that’ll better suit mobile and offline gaming needs.

You can check out some pictures of the restaurant below.

Looks pretty cool! According to games industry analyst Daniel Ahmad, this location is only the first of many that Tim Hortons and Tencent plan on rolling out.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF. 

9 great retro video games we’d love to see remastered

Our nostalgia-infused wishlist of retro games that deserve a makeover.

Look, new games are great and all; nobody’s saying they’re not. But the twin prongs of nostalgia and a young games industry giddy with possibilities are hard to resist. Ergo: Playing the cream of the ’90s or early 2000s is almost always brilliant.

Except, of course, when our modern hardware gets in the way. The cold, hard truth is that Half-Life doesn’t know what a GeForce RTX 2080 Ti is, and in all its futuristic imaginings, System Shock never dreamed of personal computers with 32GB of RAM.

So, folks, please welcome to the stage nine remasters we want to manifest into existence through sheer force of will.

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Old worlds made new with current engines, controls, lighting techniques, and resolutions. Together we can make them a reality. Well, us, a team of hundreds of talented devs and a few million dollars.

Fans react to James McAvoy setting a copy of The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion on fire

Yes, he burned the disk. Literally.

It turns out that James McAvoy was so addicted to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion that he burned it — as in, literally set the game on fire so it wouldn’t take up more of his time. 

McAvoy let it slip in a recent interview with Forbes that Bethesda’s seminal open-world RPG was his obsession. Stating that his partner at the time bought a copy of Oblivion, and he was always staying up late playing it. Then, one evening, he chose to end his addiction quite theatrically.

“I went to bed at 5:35 a.m.,” says McAvoy. “My car beeped its horn outside at, like, 5:45. And I’m like, ‘Oh my god, I need to do something.’ So I got the disc out of the Xbox 360, and I turned the gas hob on. I just put the disc on it and just watched it sort of, like, singe and melt a little bit. And I was like, ‘Right, we’re done, we’re over, never again!'”

Fans were either cheekily sympathetic towards McAvoy’s extreme measures or out to roast him.

That’s some extreme dedication right there.

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Ranking the 10 greatest sports video games of all time

Madden? NBA 2K? The Show? Or a near-40-year-old Atari game?

Welcome to hallowed ground. A virtual hall of fame where only the 10 absolute finest specimens of sports gaming are allowed in. Breathe it in – smell that? Greatness. (Don’t worry if you can’t smell anything, this is just a webpage.)

Sport is a broad term in gaming, of course. Competitive Starcraft is athletic as heck, and the rosters of certain Nintendo karting titles and era-defining skating games would argue strongly for their inclusion here. But we’re being strict.

You can keep your blue shells, Mario Kart. And yes, that is a sick stiffy, Tony Hawk’s 2, but right now we don’t care. It’s numbers, face scans, animations, and forensically accurate kits that matter here. Sports games are about engines simulating and imitating life, and, above all else, making you feel like you’re performing a real sport at a top-level.

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Below are the releases people still talk about, though their polygons might have wilted and their licenses expired because they took a leap forward toward perfect simulation and immersion of the stuff we shout at on TV. They’re the titles we dedicated ourselves to, and were richly rewarded for doing so. Ladies and gentlemen, the sports game GOATs.