Spells come with one of three different tags, Slow, Fast, and Burst. These can be used at different times and the opponent will either have a chance to react, or not. Slow spells can be cast outside of combat, but the opponent has time to respond with a spell of their own which can counter the spell you have cast either by cancelling it, or adding conditions that waste its eff

Blizzard, rather than come to a compromise to benefit all parties, chose instead to abandon KeSPA and partner with Global StarCraft League (GSL) . The decision was catastrophic from the start, as KeSPA prohibited its member teams from participating in any StarCraft II competitions. The best talent in the world was effectively prevented from playing in any tourname

Cards are played out an alternating fashion, which is a unique twist on the standard card game formula. Turns are split into rounds, and players alternate between their attacking and defending rounds. During these points, marked clearly by a Sword to Attack or a Shield to defend, each player can play cards, either spells or units. Attack rounds play out like Magic , where a player commits their units to a general advance, and the defending player chooses block

_ Counter-Strike _ ’s Mathieu "ZywOo" Herbaut made a splash in 2019, lighting up scoreboards with a consistent form that rivals the game’s best historic talents. The 19-year-old star debuted with Vitality in late 2018, and immediately turned heads as the newest French star. Following in the footsteps of legendary AWPer Kenny "kennyS" Schrub, ZywOo took over every server he played on . In 2019 alone, ZywOo lifted trophies at cs_summit 4, the ECS Season 7 Finals, and EPICENTER 2019, earning the MVP accolade at each event. Vitality also reached the Grand Finals of ESL One Cologne and DreamHack Masters Malmö, and, despite losses, the teenager was named MVP of both tournaments. ZywOo boasts staggering statistics, having maintained a 1.31 rating for big LAN events in 2019. His consistent performances this year place him among _ Counter-Strike _ ’s very best, and this is only the beginning of his car

League of Legends is rooted in its many Champions, and they are ever present as powerful cards in this game. These look similar to normal units with a powerful exception, and is that they have clear goals written in their text that when completed transform the card into a leveled-up version of the Champion, complete with new abilities and often an increase to their stats. These goals range from doing a certain amount of damage to the enemy core, healing a certain amount, casting spells, and m

To no one’s surprise, the long-awaited release of Starcraft II launched with esports as an integral part of Blizzard’s marketing strategy, and yet, it never reached those same peaks as its predeces

Aphelios has 5 unique weapons that each start with 50 Moonlight (Ammo). His basic attacks cost 1 Moonlight, and his abilities (Q and R) cost 10. Once his Moonlight hits 0 he will switch to the next weapon in the queue. Also, instead of upgrading his abilities when he levels up (like the other 146 champions in the game), the player can choose to upgrade either his Attack Damage, Attack Speed, or Armor Penetrat

Aphelios casts a lunar spotlight that stops when it hits an enemy champion. Centered around the hit enemy, Aphelios deals damage and locks on to each enemy hit. A volley of basic attacks rain from the sky on top of each locked on enemy with global range based on Aphelios's main wea

_ Tekken _ phenom Arslan "Arslan Ash" Siddique skyrocketed to the top of the fighting game scene in 2019. Though he competed in very few professional events the year prior, Arslan Ash cemented his name in FGC history in 2019. The 24-year-old kicked off the year at Evolution Championship Series Japan, where a lower bracket run ended in a Grand Final victory over Alexandre "AK" Laverez. He next won the TGU x SEA Thailand Major over two-time EVO champion Jae-Min "Knee" Bae. The _ Tekken 7 _ star then doubled up on his EVO Japan title, defeating Knee once again to take home the EVO Las Vegas title. He became the first player to win EVO Japan and Las Vegas in the same y

With Aphelios' 5 weapons, two teamfights will never play out the same. The way he wants to approach a full 5v5 or a small skirmish will depend on his current main and off-hand weapons. The Calibrum, Infernum, and Crescendum Moonlight Vigils are very strong during developing teamfights, especially in small areas. The AOE damage and healing can win fights single-handedly. He can also use the AOE crowd control from his Gravitum Moonlight Vigil to initiate or disengage a fi

Back in the LEC, G2 won the Summer season before moving on to the World Championship. They advanced to the Worlds play-offs, racing past DAMWON Gaming and SKT to reach the Grand Final. Though FunPlus Phoenix took home the Worlds title, Pacific theater WWII G2 Esports had a formidable year. PerkZ was a massive part of G2’s legendary run, in which they stood just one series away from a never-before-done grand slam. He fit into the AD carry role nicely, holding his own against the game’s b