We’re excited to announce a new weekly series we’re trying out, and present you the first installment. “Las Vegas Esports Roundup” is a recap of some of the news stories we found most interesting this week. We’re including a mix of national, international, and local Las Vegas Esports stories you won’t want to miss.
As this is something new we’re trying, please comment below (or on our Facebook page). Let us know what we missed and what you want to see more of. This roundup is for you, the community, so help us find the stories that matter most!
Las Vegas Esports News Stories
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Caesars Teams Up with Taito to Host Arcade Showdown in Las Vegas
Caesars Entertainment and the Japanese game development company, Taito are introducing a brand new arcade game expo in Las Vegas. The arcade gaming event is said to be one of the world’s largest! This is another attempt from Caesars to make their mark in the local esports scene, after the not-so-successful H1Z1 League. The event is slated to be held at the Rio on August 1st, 2019.
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Henderson man wins big at Las Vegas esports tournament
GameWorks has been making a big push into the local esports scene for years now. As you might have heard, they recently hosted their first “GameWorks Showdown” Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament. The championship was at the GameWorks here in Las Vegas, and featured finalist from regional events across the country. The winner, Freddie Williams, won $5,000 and an Alienware gaming laptop!
International Esports News Stories
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Riot details how Teamfight Tactics’ ranked system will work
League of Legends developer, Riot Games is about to release a new game mode: Teamfight Tactics. This week, they’ve released details on the new ranked system. It sounds like it will be similar to how ranking works in Summoner’s Rift, except it will be much easier to move up and down divisions. Also, if you’re Platinum or higher, you will only be allowed to team up in groups of 3.
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Fortnite pro leaves team after accusations of racist vitriol
The professional Fortnite player from Norway, Erik “Bloodx” Guttormsen, parted ways with Eleven Gaming after another pro, Issa Rahim, tweeted a screenshot of Bloodx using a racial slur against him. Guttormsen defended himself, saying he’s not a racist, but never actually denied using the racial slur (at least from what we could find online).
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DeepMind: Capture the Flag in Quake III
DeepMind gives some insight into one of their current projects: training AI to play Capture the Flag (and other game modes) in Quake III. DeepMind has developed a neural network that can learn how to play video games. (In 2016, it beat the top Go player in the world – something many people thought impossible). If you’re interested in what goes into training an AI to play Quake III, this article is a deep-dive into the intricacies.
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WePlay! Esports announces Dota Underlords open tournament
Also this week, WePlay! Esports announced the first open tournament for Dota Underlords, an Auto-Battler – the same genre as Teamfight Tactics and Auto Chess. The prize pool will be $15,000 and will feature an open qualifier in NA and Europe. The championship is set to take place August 1st – 4th.
