Latest news with #eSports
Forbes
08-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Inside Alienware And Liquid's $1M Play To Reignite NA Counter Strike
Team Liquid and Alienware know how to throw a party. North American Counter Strike just had one of it's biggest moments in years. The BLAST TV Major broke records globally, becoming the most watched CS Major of all time, all in a region that many have claimed in dying when it comes to Counter Strike's popularity. It was, without question, a defiant challenge to that way of thinking, showing that North American Counter Strike is well and truly alive. While BLAST deserves a lot of plaudits for its event, alongside it were two organisations that have been continuously supporting NA CS for over 13 years, Team Liquid and Alienware. The duo have long been partners, and have made the region a focus of their deal, supporting an NA based CS team, and activating continuously in the region, including the major where they had over $1 million in activations, featuring two fan-facing booths, a giant laptop centerpiece, 1v1 competitions, a NA GOAT Tier List experience, and a two-day watch party. 'North America is a key region for CS2, and we have a long history in the region,' said Steve Arhancet, co-CEO of Team Liquid. 'We've won titles in Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Boston, so this is definitely not a one-off, it's a part of our long history representing North America in Counter Strike. Some of our organization's greatest moments have come on home soil, and with Valve bring the Major back to the US, it's our chance to let the world know that NA CS is still alive and kicking.' Liquid players still had fun at the Major despite a 15th place finish. The commitment to North American Counter Strike has been one of the key parts of the deal with Alienware, with both partners keen to make sure they keep active in the region even if others have started to leave in recent years. This is not only because they see potential financial rewards from NA, but also because they want to continue to support the region they have been such a key part of for many years and not leave it without another major player. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder 'There's been significant consolidation within gaming and esports in the region in comparison to Europe, and because the total number of teams has been reduced, that's left a lot of fans yearning for someone new to cheer for,' said Arhancet. 'They want someone that represents North America, taking the gold against the rest of the world. Doing this in North America with North American fans makes perfect sense for Team Liquid and Alienware because we understand that the region is a critical part of our growth strategies and worth investing in.' While the commitment to NA CS is admiral and from a business point of view is working out, on the competitive side of things, it isn't quite as simple. At the Major, Team Liquid finished in 15th-16th place, right in the middle of the pack. Not a terrible result by any means, but for an organization as storied as Liquid, the expectations are to be right at the top of the pack, even with the challenges their commitment to NA adds. 'Operating a Counter Strike team with a North American base is incredibly challenging,' said Victor Goossens, founder and co-CEO of Team Liquid. 'The talent pipeline has thinned significantly in recent years. This is largely due to ecosystem disruptions during COVID, a shift in focus toward Europe, and the rise of Valorant, which attracted many of North America's promising players. This has made building competitive rosters extremely difficult. Not only is the talent pool limited, but it is also hard to find high-quality practice within North America. Most top-tier teams with American players now spend the majority of their time in Europe, where the practice environment is much more competitive. While this is the only viable path to remain globally relevant, it has accelerated a downward spiral for the North American scene.' North America still loves Counter-Strike The extra challenges being an NA team brings obviously make things harder, but with the support of Alienware the Liquid organization has gone a long way to minimise them. The two companies have built state of the art training facilities on both sides of the Atlantic, which gives the team the chance to compete in both regions and should help even up the gap. 'Together with Alienware, we've built training facilities around the world, including in North America and the Netherlands,' said Goossens. 'That global infrastructure was critical during COVID, when we hosted our North American team in the Netherlands to keep them competing at a high level. And that support hasn't stopped, it's something we benefit from every single day. Thanks to our global setup, we're able to give our North American core the best environment possible. We believe in the region, we believe in our players, and with the backing of partners like Alienware, we're confident we'll make it back to the top of the podium.' It may be a while until a Counter Strike Major graces North American soil again, but with Alienware by their side, there is no doubt that Liquid will still be there, waving the flag for NA CS and supporting a region that many have developed. There is obviously a financial side that the companies see as viable, but it is clear that the deal between the two and the focus on North America is much more than that. Liquid and Alienware have built a legacy in the NA CS scene, and they aren't going to let that come to an end anytime soon, even if others start to walk away.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Liverpool football star Diogo Jota killed in car crash
Liverpool star Diogo Jota has died in a car crash. The 28-year-old Portuguese forward died in the accident in the early hours of Thurdsay morning near Zamora, in northwestern Spain. His brother, Andre, was also killed in the crash on the Rias Bajas Highway (A-52) near Palacios de Sanabria, heading towards Benavente. Follow the latest updates following Diogo Jota's death The Guardia Civil in Zamora told Sky Sports News the accident happened at 12.30am. "A vehicle left the road and everything indicates a tyre burst while overtaking," it said in a statement. "As a result of the accident, the car caught fire and both people were killed. Pending the completion of forensic tests, one of the deceased has been identified as Diogo Jota, a Liverpool FC player, and his brother, Andre Felipe." It comes just 10 days after the player married his long-term girlfriend, Rute Cardoso. He had three children. played as a striker for Liverpool. He began his career in his native Portugal and played at Atletico Madrid in Spain before coming to England. He joined the Merseyside club from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020. Jota played an important role throughout his five years with the Reds, including scoring six times in Liverpool's recent Premier League-winning season. An avid video gamer, Jota also owned an eSports team and regularly streamed on Twitch. His brother, Andre, 26, played for Pennafiel, a Portuguese second division club. The Portuguese football federation said it was "utterly devastated by the deaths". "Far beyond being an exceptional player, with nearly 50 caps for the national team, Diogo Jota was an extraordinary person, respected by all teammates and opponents, someone with a contagious joy and a reference within his own community. "We have lost two champions. The passing of Diogo and Andre Silva represents irreparable losses for Portuguese Football, and we will do everything to honour their legacy daily." This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the latest version. You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow us on WhatsApp and subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
Sky News
03-07-2025
- Sport
- Sky News
Liverpool football star Diogo Jota killed in car crash
Liverpool star Diogo Jota has died in a car crash. The 28-year-old Portuguese forward died in a crash near Zamora, in northwestern Spain. His brother, Andre, was also killed in the crash early on Thursday morning on the Rias Bajas Highway (A-52) near Palacios de Sanabria, heading towards Benavente. The Guardia Civil in Zamora told Sky Sports News the accident happened at 12.30am. "A vehicle left the road and everything indicates a tyre burst while overtaking. "As a result of the accident, the car caught fire and both people were killed. Pending the completion of forensic tests, one of the deceased has been identified as Diogo Jota, a Liverpool FC player, and his brother, Andre Felipe." It comes just 10 days after the player had got married to his long-term girlfriend, Rute Cardoso, before sharing photos from the wedding on his social media. He had three children. Diogo Jota played as a striker for Liverpool. He began his career in his native Portugal and played at Atletico Madrid in Spain before coming to England. He joined the Merseyside club from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2020. Jota played an important role throughout his five years with the Reds, including scoring six times in Liverpool's recent Premier League-winning season. An avid video gamer, Jota also owned an eSports team and regularly streamed on Twitch. His brother, Andre, 26, played for Pennafiel, a Portuguese second division club. Please refresh the page for the latest version.
CTV News
29-06-2025
- Sport
- CTV News
Call of Duty League Championship weekend wraps up in Kitchener
The Aud in Kitchener echoed with cheers for virtual victory during the Call of Duty League Championship. CTV's Hannah Schmidt reports.
CNET
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CNET
Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Double XP Weekend Is Live Now
It's finally time to get ahead on the battle pass with the first set of double XP boosts in Black Ops 6 Season 4. Developer Treyarch has your back with a new double XP weekend featuring three boosts for players to take advantage of -- you'll be able to speed through account levels, weapon attachment unlocks and battle pass tiers to kickstart your advancement of the newest seasonal content. This double XP weekend runs from Thursday to Monday. Anyone playing Black Ops 6 during the event period has a universal double account XP, weapon XP and battle pass XP earn rate applied to their account. If you log in now, you can hop into battle and reap the rewards of this double XP weekend right away, including the LC10 submachine gun and the FFAR 1 assault rifle. After the notoriously slow battle pass progression of Season 3, it seems Treyarch wants to give you a better shot at advancing the battle pass early in Season 4. This isn't a Quad Feed double XP weekend, which means zombies mode players won't be able to benefit from double GobbleGum drop rates. But the big three boosts are active, which means your double XP tokens will be locked for the duration of the event. Here's everything you need to know about this double XP weekend. If you're looking for something else to play, see our recommendations for the best game subscription services. When does the double XP weekend start in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6? During the event, players will benefit from double player and weapon XP. Activision It's live. This double XP weekend kicked off on Thursday at 1 p.m. ET. Not sure when the double XP weekend went live for you? Here's when the event started in your time zone: ET: June 19 at 1 p.m. June 19 at 1 p.m. CT: June 19 at 12 p.m. June 19 at 12 p.m. MT: June 19 at 11 a.m. June 19 at 11 a.m. PT: June 19 at 10 a.m. It's always worth starting your game ahead of your gaming session if possible. As with every Black Ops 6 patch, the update is going to require you to download new content and restart the application. When does the Double XP Weekend end in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6? Some double XP "weekends" are much longer events, lasting five to seven days. That's not the case with the latest event. This double XP weekend will end on Monday. Your double XP tokens will once again unlock after this time. Here's when the double XP weekend will end in your time zone: ET: June 23 at 1 p.m. June 23 at 1 p.m. CT: June 23 at 12 p.m. June 23 at 12 p.m. MT: June 23 at 11 a.m. June 23 at 11 a.m. PT: June 23 at 10 a.m. Does Call of Duty Warzone have double XP this weekend? Warzone players will also be able to earn double player XP and double weapon XP during the event. Activision Call of Duty Warzone has a double XP weekend running in tandem with Black Ops 6. That means Warzone players will also be able to benefit from this boost by leveling up their account, weapons and battle passes at twice the normal speed. New players have a chance to level up the weapons they unlock from the new and improved Warzone Armory, and returning players can continue unlocking new attachments for the suite of Black Ops 6 weaponry added to Warzone. Black Ops 6 double XP FAQ Is there double battle pass XP this weekend? This is the first double XP weekend that revolves solely around double battle pass XP. The usual double XP boosts are double player XP and double weapon XP, but they're absent for this double XP weekend.
