The Top Can’t Miss Esports events for the Rest of 2020
If you haven’t been following this year in esports there’s still time to get in on the excitement. Get set for the playoffs and championships rounds. We knew the trend was building, and now it’s here. This year has been like no other. Esports have enjoyed a boom in viewership capturing and entertaining millions of worldwide viewers with intriguing storylines of triumph and defeat.
Overwatch and League of Legends World Championships will be filled with players and teams competing for glory. Brush up on your knowledge, break out that YouTube or Twitch app, and cheer alongside the masses this month and beyond.
Don’t miss a minute of it!
Overwatch League Playoffs
If you’re new to esports, you have to check out Overwatch. If not, you’ve been tuned in to this amazing first-person shooter game, all year. The Overwatch League consists of 20 city-based teams from across the world. The best players in the world will be competing for glory.
One of the biggest upsets of the year came with the success of the LA Valiant. Featuring an almost entirely new roster of young talent this season, many in the Overwatch community predicted that the LA Valiant would finish at the bottom of a 20-team pack. The Valiant finished 5th in the division and 8th overall putting the esports and video gaming community on alert.
Then there was the wager. Former LA Valiant player turned in-game analyst, Scott “Custa” Kennedy, still believed the LA Valiant could make waves and made a small wager with fellow caster, Josh “Sideshow” Wilkinson. The wager: if the Valiant finished higher than 10th, Sideshow would shave the team’s logo into his head. Knowing how the Valiant finished, let’s say it didn’t bode well for Sideshow.
See how the LA Valiant thought the season shaped up plus everything else you want to know about the team on their YouTube channel.
The regional post-season play started on September 3rd. This was the first time all 20 teams in the league had a chance to make it to the 2020 Grand Finals. Now only a handful are still in the running. The top two teams from the North America and Asia brackets have been sent to Korea for the Grand Finals. Check out whether the San Francisco Shock, Philadelphia Fusion, Shanghai Dragons or the Seoul Dynasty will be the new champions.
Tips for catching the final action showdown. First, make sure your internet can handle the live stream by doing a quick speed test. Because the video is live, you may be taxing your internet’s bandwidth. Consider ways to have faster downloads by checking out if Fiber is an option in your area. Finally, tune in starting October 8th for the Overwatch Grand Finals, streaming live on YouTube and check out the current standings to learn how the teams got there.
League of Legends World Championship
Let’s say you hear that Madison Square Garden is packed with fans even though the Knicks, Rangers, or a mega music act are not playing. Then you hear that same event’s viewership rivaled the Super Bowl crowd. Shocking, right? Not to League of Legends World Championship fans. They won’t be filling arenas this year, so the online viewership is bound to be massive. You get a great view because you can tune in from the comfort of your home.
This annual event, hosted by Riot Games, will feature teams competing for the Championship title, the coveted Summoner’s Cup Trophy, and its multi-million-dollar championship prize. Pretty sweet way to end the year.
League of Legends esports is split into four major regions: North America (NA LCS), Europe (LEC), South Korea (LCK) and China (LPL). A myriad of minor regions also has a chance to qualify through play-ins.
Starting in 2020 rules changed when Riot Games announced that major regions would have the chance to send four or three teams based on their performance in the previous season, instead of the previous three from each region. For 2020, Europe and China, 2019’s finalists, sent four teams to Worlds, while Korea and North America sent three teams. 2020’s teams from North America included Team Solo Mid, FlyQuest, and Team Liquid.
While other teams automatically qualify for the World’s group stages, the last seed team of every major region must compete in play-ins with the minor regions for a place in the group’s stages.
Teams that compete in the group’s stages are placed in one of four categories. Major regions are seeded throughout to make sure that matchups are fair. The top two teams from each group advance to the quarterfinals, then to the final stage of the tournament. These teams will compete in a series of best of five games for the chance to claim the Summoner’s Cup.
Obsessed with eSports?
You’ve got plenty more to watch. Check out these excellent documentaries on Netflix. Get the whole story on how it’s rapidly taking over as the sport and entertainment of the future. Check them out here:
- “Vox Explained: esports”
- “7 Days Out” Episode 6: League of Legends
- League of Legends Origins – 2019 Documentary Film
While you’re following these tournaments at home, binge watching the documentaries, and getting prepped for the 2021 season, you won’t be alone. You’ll be in sync with masses of fans who flock to their screens to see the masters of gaming at play.
About Immortals Gaming Club: Michael Schwartz is the Director of Competitive Esports at Immortals Gaming Club. Immortals Gaming Club (IGC) is a proud partner of Frontier Communications and the world’s first vertically integrated, truly global esports and gaming company. IGC owns and operates IGC esports, which houses the company’s competitive esports brands Immortals, Los Angeles Valiant (Overwatch League), OpTic Gaming and MIBR; and Gamers Club, the leading matchmaking platform and community hub for gamers in Brazil and Latin America. IGC’s mission is to create the world’s most inclusive, engaged, and connected community of gamers.
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