Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Published , by Ozzie Mejia
Welcome to This Weekend in Esports, a brief overview of what to watch in the world of competitive gaming for the coming weekend.
For this weekend, it's one of the biggest esports weekends of the entire year!
Game: League of Legends
When: November 3
Where to watch: Twitch.tv/RiotGames
In the wee hours of the morning on Friday/Saturday, Korea will play home to the World Championship game, as Worlds for League of Legends comes to a close. It's two teams that nobody expected to see in the finals, as Invictus Gaming enters as the favorite, representing China. They take on the unlikely opponent of Fnatic, which stunned all doubters of the EU LCS. Fnatic will look to complete its Cinderella story, knocking off the Chinese powerhouse and bring the championship to Europe.
As is usually the case with League of Legends, I'm not a particularly close follower of the scene. So I'll simply direct readers to the dynamite coverage on LOL Esports, particularly the 10 Thoughts Going Into Worlds piece from author Kien Lam.
Game: All things Blizzard
When: November 2-3
Where to watch: The official BlizzCon website
Blizzard's top esports games are all on display this weekend, with a handful of them set to crown world champions in Anaheim. The biggest game of the weekend ultimately depends on who you ask.
Heroes of the Storm has two Goliaths poised to meet, assuming HeroesHearth Esports and Team Dignitas can maintain their momentum. Meanwhile, over in StarCraft, the two top competitors, Korea's Cho "Maru" Seong Ju (Terran) and Finland's Joona "Serral" Sotala (Zerg), dominated their dual elimination sets, not dropping a single game. Their paths are almost certain to cross en route to that world championship game.
Elsewhere, the Overwatch World Cup will see the top eight teams battle it out for national pride, while the Hearthstone Global Games sees some of the top national teams in the world look to establish their dominance in the current meta before things change over to the next expansion. Lastly, there's World of Warcraft, hold its annual Arena World Championship, with new faces ready to carve out immortality in competitive WoW.
But on top of that, there's also the Mythic Dungeon Invitational, which sees teams of five race each other through Mythic Dungeons. The latter competition is a different kind of esport, emphasizing teamwork to overcome Azeroth's most potent enemies and its most grueling dungeons.
Game: Super Smash Bros. Melee, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, Dragon Ball FighterZ, and more
When: November 2-4
Where to watch: Full schedule
The first GameTyrant Expo from Salt Lake City was quietly one of the most exciting Smash Bros. tournaments of the year. With the tournament organizers shooting for a real sports atmosphere within the walls of an NBA arena, both the Melee and Wii U tournaments proved to be intense and a lot of fun to watch.
At the very least, the Melee scene will be ready to bring its A-game, particularly with a $7,500 pot bonus. Juan "Hungrybox" DeBiedma and defending EVO champion William "Leffen" Hjelte will undoubtedly continue their rivalry, while upstarts like Zain Naghmi will continue to try and etch their names into the top of the Melee scene.
While the same pot bonus will be offered to Wii U, don't look for many of those big names to compete. Many of the top players have retired in anticipation of next month's Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. But former EVO champion Saleem "Salem" Young, Matt "Elegant" Fitzpatrick, and Zack "CaptainZack" Lauth will be among those looking to stay focused ahead of Ultimate's release.
What will you be watching this weekend? Join the conversation and let us know in the comments.