Paper

Valorant Champions Tour Stage 3: Masters Berlin Primer

ValorantFrom Sept. 10 to Sept. 19, 15 qualified teams will compete for the Masters Berlin trophy and a direct invitation to Valorant Champions. / Photo courtesy of Riot GamesThe third and final Masters event of the 2021 Valorant Champions Tour (VCT) is set to unfold at the Verti Music Hall in Berlin, where 15 of the 16 teams who qualified via Stage 3 Challengers Playoffs will compete for VCT Points, the trophy and a direct invitation to the end-of-year Champions tournament.Over the course of 10 days, Masters Berlin will consist

VCT Masters Berlin roundtable: Can anyone challenge Sentinels? Which agent will make the biggest impression? Which group are you most excited to watch?

With VCT Masters Berlin just around the corner, there are a few burning questions that desperately need answering. Sentinels are the team to beat after dominating the competition in Iceland. So who, if anyone, will challenge them? Which agent will step up and make the biggest impression at the tournament? And which of the four groups will make for the most exciting viewing? We asked our VALORANT writers to answer these questions as they gear up for Masters Three.  Can anyone challenge Sentinels? Photo via Riot Games Andreas: Nobody—at least,

Bren Esports Unable to Attend VCT Stage 3: Masters Berlin Due to Visa Issues

ValorantBren Esports, SEA's No. 1 seed for VCT Stage 3: Masters Berlin, has been officially ruled out from attending the tournament due to visa issues. / Photo courtesy of Bren EsportsBren Esports, the No. 1 seed from the Southeast Asia (SEA) region representing the Philippines, will not be competing in VCT Stage 3: Masters Berlin due to visa issues, Riot Games announced Friday.According to Valorant Esports Head of Competitive Operations Alex Francois, Bren Esports will be awarded 175 VCT points and the associated prize for qualifying for the tournament, while

How to watch VCT Masters 3 Berlin

VCT Masters Three Berlin will begin on Sept. 10. Sixteen teams from all over the world will be coming to the second international event in VALORANT history. The first one, VCT Masters Reykjavik, was won by North America’s Sentinels, who will also make an appearance in Berlin. Berlin will also feature teams like Gambit Esports, SuperMassive Blaze, Acend, G2 Esports, 100 Thieves, Envy, Kru Esports, Keyd Stars, Havan Liberty, Vision Strikers, F4Q, Zeta Division, Crazy Raccoon, Bren Esports, and Paper Rex. Here’s how to catch all the action. You’ll have

VCT Masters 3 Berlin: Scores, schedule, bracket

VCT Masters Three Berlin will conclude the third stage of the VALORANT Champions Tour and set the stage for the first VALORANT world championship at Champions at the end of the year. Sixteen teams will collide in a four-group group stage beginning on Sept. 10, with the top two teams from each group moving on to a single-elimination bracket. The winner of VCT Masters Three Berlin will earn one of the 16 spots at Champions, regardless of the amount of VCT points they’ve earned. All the teams that are participating

slap: “This academy league is a really big step for the future of esports”

Young Ninjas, who finished second in the WePlay Academy League group stage, are set to kick off their finals run when they face fnatic Rising on Friday at 18:00 . We sat down with Fredrik "⁠slap⁠" Junbrant during the media day before the beginning of the WePlay Academy League to hear the Young Ninjas coach's thoughts on the advent of academy teams and leagues, as well as his vision for the best possible way to make them successful in bringing up youngsters and equipping them with the necessary tools to

Aqua: “Every one of us wants to play at the top events one day, like the main team playing ESL Pro League”

The first match of the WePlay Academy League Season 1 Finals is ready to kick off with BIG Academy facing off against mouz NXT in the opening series of the tournament. Ahead of the bout, we spoke with one of the key players in BIG Academy's third-place finish in the group stage, Nico "⁠Aqua⁠" Kembitzky, who ended up as the team's highest-rated player in the round robin stage with a 1.09 rating across 14 maps played and crucial performances in the squad's early victories against NAVI Junior, Astralis Talent and

ESL Pro League S14 Group C preview

Group C in ESL Pro League Season 14 is set to kick off soon on Friday, August 27, with six more teams facing off in a round-robin format. This group features five partner teams and no team that qualified through ESEA Premier, meaning Group C boasts more of the large organizations, like Natus Vincere, FaZe, and fnatic, than the other groups. In this preview, we walk through the teams of Group C, determining who is prepared to advance to the playoffs, and who will likely finish their EPL run in

Who are Apex Legends’ LGBTQ characters?

Over the last several years, developers across the gaming world have been diversifying their casts of characters to more accurately reflect their player bases. Each of these characters have distinct personalities, traits, and interests to capture imaginations, support engaging gameplay, and reflect different communities. Apex Legends is one of these games. One of its strongest points is its characters, all of whom are interesting, diverse, and unique. “Our studio is comprised of a diverse group of people, the playerbase of battle royale is comprised of a diverse group,” Respawn Entertainment