In this week’s In Case You Missed It:
- Nigma reverse sweep Team Secret to win the WePlay! Tug of War: Mad Moon
- A 7-year-old girl wins an International Pokémon Sword and Shield tournament
- Valve announces major changes to next year’s DPC
- And the LPL returns on March 9
Nigma Esports came back from a 0-2 start against Team Secret in the grand finals of the WePlay! Tug of War: Mad Moon tournament, pulling off an incredible reverse sweep to claim their second tournament win of the season.
After Secret dominated the first two games, things were looking grim for Nigma, but an early Aghanim’s Scepter pickup for Aliwi “w33” Omar’s Outworld Devourer in game three led to Nigma seizing control of the game and getting on the scoreboard.
In game four, it was Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen who put Nigma on his back, racking up seven kills in just 14 minutes to start the game. With the early advantage, Nigma’s deathball comp snowballed to a quick 21-minute victory, forcing a game five.
In the deciding game, Nigma had another quick start, winning all three lanes while Secret struggled to get things going. Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi and Kuro “KuroKy” Takhasomi both had strong games, notching a game-high eight kills each as Nigma rolled to victory, completing the incredible reverse sweep.
7-year-old girl wins an International Pokémon Sword and Shield tournament
7-year-old Simone Lim has won the Pokémon Oceania International Junior Championships, winning the hearts of Pokemon fans around the world with her amazing tournament performance.
The Singaporean Pokémon prodigy beat number one seed Justin Miranda-Radbord, an older and more experienced player who has won multiple Pokémon tournaments, including the Hartford Regional Championships.
On the very last game of the Grand Finals match, Lim was down to her final Pokémon, a Tyranitar; while Radbord still had both his Rhyperior and Dusclops. With no room for error, Lim correctly predicted that Radbord would use Protect on Rhyperior. This gave her the perfect opportunity to knock out another enemy Pokemon with Crunch, a Dark-type ability that Radbord’s Dusclops was weak against.
Lim then used Tyranitar’s Superpower attack on the enemy Rhyperior to finish the tournament and secure her first tournament win.
Valve announces major changes to next year’s DPC
Valve has announced that following the conclusion of The International 2020 (TI10), the Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) will have a new Regional League system.
Under the new system, the yearly DPC will be divided into three seasons –Fall, Winter, and Spring — each composed of six regional leagues. Each season will conclude with a Major event that will feature the best teams from each regional league.
As always, the DPC will conclude with The International in August.
For a full rundown of the changes, click here.
The LPL returns on March 9
The League of Legends Pro League is officially returning on March 9 after reviewing its situation with the coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic.
However, instead of the usual studio set-up, teams will play online matches from their club headquarters, accompanied by on-site referees. Exceptions will also be made for players in quarantined provinces who are unable to leave their homes.
To ensure the safety and health of LPL’s teams and staff, all players are required to complete a 14-day monitored quarantine period and meet all local health requirements before they can play in LPL again.
The league’s broadcasts will still be available on YouTube and Twitch, with the Chinese broadcast happening from March 9-15 and the English broadcast happening right after.
This is the first time a pro League of Legends league will be played entirely online.
