The team’s new roster is a European mixture, with a headline signing of one of the top Polish players in the game, Michal “snatchie” Rudzki. The signing of snatchie, which comes after he recently left AGO Esports, is considered a major coup for Entropiq.

The AWPer starred during his six-month stint at AGO, boasting a 1.10 average rating over 72 maps and consistently delivering above-average performances. His impressive record has made him a highly sought-after player in the competitive CS:GO scene.

Snatchie is accompanied by another Pole, Mariusz “Loord” Cybulski, who will be leading the team as head coach. With a background of serving as the captain of Kinguin and Wisla Krakow, Loord brings a significant amount of experience to the team. Despite the fact that he is currently under a five-major ban due to his involvement in the controversial coaching bug, this is unlikely to hinder his capability to guide the team toward success.

The Czech Republic continues to be a dominant force in the new Entropiq roster with the inclusion of Filip “AJTT” Dolensky and Josef “MoriiSko” Maurenc. These two riflers have been essential in the team’s past domestic and regional successes and will play a vital role again in the 2023 season.

Completing the lineup are Rudolf “Rutk0” Kovalcik from Slovakia and Christoph “red” Hinrichs from Germany. Rutk0 is a bit of a wildcard addition to the team, as he has only played in five HLTV-featured series throughout 2022. Red, meanwhile, joins Entropiq after previously playing for NLG, where he had a 1.09 rating over 91 maps and participated in several local LAN events.

2023 Entropiq CS:GO roster:

• Filip “AJTT” Dolensky
• Josef “MoriiSko” Maurenc
• Michal “snatchie” Rudzki
• Rudolf “Rutk0” Kovalcik
• Christoph “red” Hinrichs (in-game leader)
• Mariusz “Loord” Cybulski (head coach)

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The game was a much-anticipated rematch of the IEM Dallas 2022 Grand Final, which was won by Cloud9 in a nail-biting contest. This time, both teams came to the stage with altered rosters.

ENCE fielded Olek “hades” Miskiewicz and Alvaro “SunPayus” Garcia on the AWP, with Janusz “Snax” Pogorzelski filling in for the missing Lotan “Spinx” Giladi. Cloud9 entered the game with a refreshed lineup featuring Timur “buster” Tulepov in his first official match with the team.

On the first map of the series, ENCE selected Anubis in an effort to catch Cloud9 off guard. However, C9 dominated from the start, establishing a commanding lead with Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov and Sergey “Ax1Le” Rykhtorov proving to be a deadly combination on defense, each finishing with 17 kills. Despite ENCE’s best efforts, led by in-game leader Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer and solid play from Pawel “dycha” Dycha, Cloud9 secured the first map 16-10.

The second map was Inferno, and it started out as a close contest. Throughout the first half of the match, both teams exchanged rounds, with ENCE starting strong and taking an early lead. The first half of the map ended with ENCE slightly ahead at 8-7.

READ: NiP defeat Team Spirit to reach IEM Katowice group stage

With a one-round lead, the Finnish esports team a chance of forcing the game to a decider map by securing the pistol round and establishing control of the attack. In-game leader Snappi led the charge on the scoreboard and took the team to map point, losing only one round along the way, before clinching the win with a score of 16-8. Snappi’s 21-16 kill-death ratio saw him finish the map with a 1.38 rating and 100 ADR, the most by any player in both teams.

The highly anticipated decider map of the series was the nail-biting Vertigo, where both teams put on a thrilling show of competitive gaming. The game kicked off with both Cloud9 and ENCE displaying neck-and-neck gameplay, but ENCE managed to turn up the heat and claim the advantage at the halftime break (8-7).

Cloud9 secured a win in the final pistol round by successfully defusing the bomb, marking the start of the second half. However, ENCE quickly regained their lead with a successful attack on A site during a force buy. As the game progressed, the Russians put up a formidable defense, with Abay “HObbit” Khassenov’s four-kill defense on B site showcasing the team’s confidence and control in the later rounds of the series, which led to a 16-13 victory in favor of C9.

Although they came up short, ENCE still have a shot at making it to the IEM Katowice group stage. They will be given a second chance through the lower bracket of the play-in, where they will face off against Complexity on Friday.

Cloud9 can now breathe a sigh of relief and prepare for the group stage. The team’s star player, sh1ro, was a standout performer in the qualifying series, finishing with a 1.20 rating having posted 61 kills and allowed only 41 frags.

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The Swedish esports franchise became the first team to qualify for the group stage, defeating their Russian counterparts on Nuke (16-7) and then wrapping things up on their map pick, Mirage (16-8). Due to the loss, Spirit will make their way to the lower bracket of the play-in stage for an opportunity to continue their campaign in the $1 million tournament.

The opening map of the match was Nuke, selected by Spirit. From the outset, NiP demonstrated their dominance on the map. They started strong by winning the first two rounds with multi-kills from Fredik “REZ” Sterner.

However, Spirit quickly regained control by securing four consecutive rounds to establish a lead on the T-side. But NiP managed to bounce back thanks to Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen’s double-kill hold on the A site in the eighth round. The half ended with NiP maintaining a three-round advantage, and with Aleksib standing out with a 21-13 K-D and 1.45 rating.

READ: Best CS:GO betting sites in 2023

During the second half, Ninjas in Pyjamas started with a successful swift attack on the A bombsite, which provided them with an economic edge. They only lost one more round, securing their win on the map with a score of 16-7. The success was largely attributed to their smart map strategies and a standout performance by Aleksib.

The second map of the match was Mirage, chosen by NiP, and they maintained their winning streak in pistol rounds by securing their such round of the series. NiP established a commanding 6-0 lead on the T-side, with REZ spearheading their efforts. However, Spirit managed to make a comeback after two missteps from Aleksib, closing the half with NiP leading 8-7.

The second half of the game began with an outstanding defense of the A bombsite by REZ, resulting in a quadruple kill. This allowed NiP to convert their pistol round win and increase their lead to 10-7. Throughout the rest of the map, NiP kept their momentum and dominated the game, ultimately securing a 16-8 victory. Every player on the NiP roster ended the map with a rating above 1.00, highlighting a strong team performance.

This victory was a significant milestone for NiP as they strive to assert themselves in the tournament. Despite limited preparation time with only half-a-day’s worth of training, Kristian “k0nfig” Wienecke still managed to elevate his game, posting a 1.04 rating over the two maps, compared to his less impressive 0.88 rating in the team’s opening match against MIBR.

Meanwhile, Spirit appeared to be out of their element during the entire series. The entire roster ended the two maps with an average rating below 1.00, with Igor “w0nderful” Zhdanov, who is usually a reliable player, facing difficulties and ending the series with a 0.66 rating.

Spirit now only have one opportunity to advance to the top 16 of IEM Katowice. On Friday they will face Sprout, who defeated Evil Geniuses in the first round of the lower bracket on Thursday.

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Challengermode took to its Twitter page to share the news of the partnership. BLAST also confirmed the announcement by retweeting the original post.

“We’re teaming up with @BLASTtv to host the European and Oceanic RMR Qualifiers for the https://BLAST.tv CS:GO Paris Major,” Challengermode tweeted.

“Open and closed qualifiers are taking place between Feb 13-19, sign up is already open.

“Best of luck to all teams!”

As part of the partnership, teams eager to take part in the open qualifications for the upcoming Paris Major tournament will now have the opportunity to do so through the Challengermode platform. The platform will handle both the open and closed qualifications in Europe and Oceania. These will be held entirely online prior to the Major, with the open qualifiers commencing on February 13-19.

This collaboration between BLAST and Challengermode is not the first time both organizations have worked together. In 2021, the two companies joined forces to host the North American and Nordic qualifiers for the BLAST Premier Spring Showdown. This successful partnership has now resulted in their new venture for the Paris Major qualifiers.

The Commissioner for BLAST Premier, Andrew Haworth, spoke on the partnership. He shared his excitement about collaborating with Challengermode, describing the company as a “tried and trusted partner”.

“Challengermode is a tried and trusted partner for BLAST and we are delighted to have their expert support in delivering the Qualifiers for Europe and Oceania – which will both provide a key pathway for all aspiring teams in their efforts to reach Counter-Strike’s most iconic event,” Haworth said.

The Chief Business Development Officer at Challengermode, Philip Hubner, also commented on the partnership.

“It’s an honour to be a part of such a milestone event for CS:GO, and an even greater honour to give thousands of aspiring players a chance to play and qualify for an event of this scale,” Hubner said.

The partnership between the two companies is a major boost for aspiring teams in their efforts to reach Counter-Strike’s most iconic event. It will not only provide aspiring players with the opportunity to participate in the event but also ensure that the qualifiers are managed efficiently and effectively.

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The announcement was made in a blog post on the company’s website and confirmed that the shutdown would be effective on May 1, 2023. The 90-day window starting today is being given to players to wrap up their in-game activities before the mobile version of Apex Legends is officially terminated.

“We have made the painful decision to sunset Apex Legends Mobile. This decision does not come with ease. Factors beyond our control have prevented us from maintaining the high-quality experience and content that our players deserve,” Respawn said.

“As a result, the game will sunset on May 1, 2023 at 4pm PDT after which it will no longer be playable. Our gratitude to our players and teams for joining us on Apex Legends Mobile, even if for a short while, is unending. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.”

In the blog post, Respawn explained the reasons behind the decision to shut down the mobile version of Apex Legends. The company stated that it strives to provide players with consistently outstanding games and that, unfortunately, the content pipeline for Apex Legends Mobile had fallen short of the bar for quality, quantity, and cadence. Respawn further explained that, after months of working with its development partner, it was a mutual decision to sunset the mobile game.

“At Respawn, we aim to provide players with games that are consistently outstanding. Following a strong start, the content pipeline for Apex Legends Mobile has begun to fall short of that bar for quality, quantity, and cadence,” Respawn said.

“It is for this reason, after months of working with our development partner, that we have made the mutual decision to sunset our mobile game. Although disappointing, we are proud of the game we launched, are grateful for the support of the Apex Legends community, and are confident that this is the right decision for players.”

Apex Legends Mobile made its debut on May 17, 2022, featuring unique content such as the Legends Rhapsody and Fade, alongside classic maps and weapons from the original Apex Legends game. Despite the disheartening news, Respawn expressed its appreciation for the support of the Apex Legends community and stressed that the shutdown was in the best interest of players.

The shutdown of Apex Legends Mobile has been met with disappointment and frustration by many players, who have invested time and money into the mobile version of the game. However, Respawn has emphasized its love for the Apex universe and its players and has expressed its hope that the shutdown will not deter players from exploring the Apex Legends universe further.

“Our love for the Apex universe and our players remains unchanged,” the statement read.

“We look forward to exploring this universe, its characters, and its stories along with you. In the meantime, we appreciate your continued support and patience as we navigate these next steps.”

According to Respawn, no reimbursements will be offered for any transactions made using real money within Apex Mobile, in accordance with the EA User Agreement. To clarify any questions or concerns players may have regarding the shutdown, the company has also published a FAQ in its blog post.

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One of the standout teams is HONORIS, led by the legendary Polish figure Wiktor “TaZ” Wojtas. TaZ has been absent from major LAN events since ESL Pro League Season 10 in 2019 and is now on the hunt for his first significant LAN appearance in years.

In the closed qualifier, HONORIS faced off against Falcons, pitting TaZ against former opponents Nathan “NBK-” Schmitt and Kenny “kennyS” Schrub. Despite facing tough competition, HONORIS emerged victorious and will now be moving on to the qualification match.

In the IEM Brazil Europe closed qualifier, top-30 teams such as GamerLegion, 500, Eternal Fire, and Copenhagen Flames were eliminated from the competition. GamerLegion, in particular, was a standout casualty as they were defeated 5-16 by the Falcons in the round of 16. Other notable losses include 500 losing to SINNERS, Eternal Fire falling to VOYVODA, and Copenhagen Flames being ousted by 9INE.

Monte and HEET emerged victorious from the first open qualifier in Europe and secured their spots in the closed qualifier. Despite facing off against higher-ranked teams, both teams were able to come out on top and secure their place in the next round of competition. Monte had a relatively easier road, with their toughest match coming in the round of 16 where they overpowered HAVU.

HEET, on the other hand, encountered tough competition from the highly ranked teams Apeks and Eternal Fire. Despite recently undergoing a roster change with the departures of Aurelien “afro” Drapier and Alexandre “bodyy” Pianaro, HEET managed to come out on top.

While the Europe closed qualifier is set, there are still spots up for grabs for the South American and North American regions. In North America, Complexity, paiN, and Vendetta have already been confirmed, while 9z, 00NATION, and O PLANO are set to compete in South America.

The final team lists and dates for the remaining closed qualifiers are as follows:

Europe, February 8-10: ENCE, BIG, Bad News Eagles, Sprout, Monte, HEET, 9INE, and HONORIS.

North America, February 15-16: Complexity, paiN, Vendetta, and the winner of NA Open Qualifier 2.

South America, February 15-16: 9z, 00NATION, O PLANO, and the winner of SA Open Qualifier 2.

With four teams left to be found for IEM Brazil, the competition is expected to be intense as each team strives to earn a spot in the final event.
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PUBG took to its Twitter page to announce the new development. The post also featured a minute-long video clip and a link to a statement.

“We are excited to announce our eight founding Global Partner Teams,” the organizers tweeted.

“Congratulations to the new PUBG Esports 2023 Global Partner Teams and our greatest thank you to all the teams that showed interest in our new GPT program.”

The PUBG Esports partner team program was launched in December 2022, offering a new level of support to participating teams. Similar to partner leagues such as the Valorant Champions Tour, the program will provide increased financial rewards for teams and ensure a spot in the 2023 PUBG Global Series, which is scheduled to be held in April and September.

The partner teams were selected through a rigorous evaluation process led by a committee created specifically for this purpose. The committee evaluated applications from teams based on three main factors – governance, fandom, and history.

“A PUBG Esports evaluation committee was created to review applications, and each submission went through a final check under three major categories: Governance, Fandom, and History,” the statement read.

“An organization’s ability and will to participate in the PUBG Esports journey and help to develop an even stronger ecosystem were key factors in the selection methodology. Additional criteria such as past performance in top-tier events were also included.”

The ‘Governance’ factor assessed the stability and future commitment of the team to the PUBG Esports scene. The ‘Fandom’ factor measured the team’s ability to generate a large and valuable fanbase. Finally, the ‘History’ factor considered the team’s previous success in PUBG events.

PUBG Esports also announced plans to hold regional events in Asia, the Americas, APAC, and EMEA regions to find the best teams for PUBG events. Non-partner teams will also have a chance to participate in PUBG Esports events in 2023 through a series of qualifiers. This will provide opportunities for up-and-coming teams to showcase their skills and make a name for themselves in the competitive gaming world.

The announcement of NAVI, Gen.G, and FaZe Clan — all major esports brands — as partner teams for the 2023 season of PUBG Esports is perceived to have marked a significant milestone for the PUBG competitive gaming scene. The partner team program is also said to be a step in the right direction for PUBG Esports by fans, as it will help establish a strong and competitive ecosystem.

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The organizers took to their Twitter page to break the news. They also clarified that it does not mean the tournament has been shut down, stating that it is only on pause.

“Sadly, due to financial issues, we won’t be able to make Copenhagen Games 2023 happen,” the organizers said.

“This doesn’t mean that we are shut down permanently, but are on pause for the time being. We will continue to fight for the event, but only time can tell if it will happen.”

The decision comes just three months before the tournament was scheduled to take place. This marks the third time in a row that the event has been cancelled since the last staging of the event, back in 2019. The 2020 edition of the tournament was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and efforts to bring it back in 2022 were unsuccessful as a result of financial constraints and insufficient support from sponsors.

The main reason cited for the postponement of the 2023 tournament is the inability of the organizers to secure enough commercial and financial support from sponsors and exhibitors. The ongoing economic crisis, the after-effects of the coronavirus pandemic, and increased competition in the gaming industry are cited as the key factors.

The organizers, a small team with a passion for organizing esports, expressed disappointment in their statement.

“We have tried to get Copenhagen Games 2023 up and running, but unfortunately we have to throw in the towel now,” they said.

“There still is a huge interest from players all over the world for the event, and the City of Copenhagen is still supporting the event financially. But unfortunately it has not been possible to find enough commercial support for the event.

“The reason is a combination of after-effects of corona, the current economic crisis and increased competition. We are a very small organisation, that have been struggling with esports for many years, mostly because we have a very strong passion for organizing esport.”

The Copenhagen Games have been an important event in the esports calendar, acting as a proving ground for Danish and international talent. The tournament usually begins with a BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer) competition where players from around the world compete for the opportunity to participate in the main tournament, which offers tens of thousands of dollars in prizemoney.

The cancellation of the Copenhagen Games is a significant blow to the esports community in Denmark, which has been eagerly awaiting the return of the event. The tournament has been running since 2010, providing an important platform for players and teams to showcase their skills and compete for large prizes.

Over the years, the tournament has witnessed some of the best talent in the industry, including Gambit Youngsters, Imperial, Heroic, and Sprout, with the 2019 event being won by the Russian team forZe. The postponement is a reflection of the challenging times faced by the esports industry, with the ongoing pandemic and economic crisis taking their toll on many events.

Despite the setbacks, the organizers remain hopeful about the future of the tournament. They expressed gratitude for the continued support from the City of Copenhagen and the huge interest from players worldwide. They emphasized that their passion for organizing esports events remains strong and they will strive to bring back the tournament in the future.

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The first round of games recorded a peak viewership of 178,784, down from 243,217 viewers garnered in the 2022 LCS Spring opening weekend.

“Compared to the results of the first day of last year’s spring split, LCS Spring 2023 started much worse,” Esports Charts said.

“The league’s Hours Watched, Peak Viewers, and Average Viewers decreased by 18.6%, 12.6%, and 12%, respectively.”

The most watched match during the first week was between Cloud9 and 100 Thieves, but Evil Geniuses generated the most total viewing hours across the week, with their matches totaling about 337,000 hours of watch time.

The drop in viewership may be due to the significant changes to the LCS broadcast this year. Like many of Riot Games’ main leagues, the LCS was moved from the weekend to Thursday and Friday, which initially faced criticism from the community for its start time.

“In total, five matches of the first day of LCS Spring 2023 generated more than 775K Hours Watched and attracted 127.4K Average Viewers,” the data aggregator reported.

“The Peak Viewers mark was just under 178.8K viewers and was reached during Cloud9’s opening match against 100 Thieves.”

READ: Best League of Legends betting sites in 2023

Initially scheduled for 12pm PT (3pm ET), the league’s airing time caused complaints from North American viewers as it would take place during working hours. To resolve the issue, Riot Games altered the start time to 2pm PT (5pm ET).

During the broadcast, the commercial partners for the split were also announced, featuring notable brands such as Mastercard, Secret Lab, Alienware, Buffalo Wild Wings, and GrubHub.

The decrease in viewership is not unique to the LCS. The newly rebranded LoL EMEA Championship (LEC) saw a drop in peak viewership during its opening week, registering at 454,630 viewers.

The LoL Champions Korea (LCK) also had lower viewership in its first week; the Gen.G vs T1 match attracted 525,468 viewers, compared to the 675,389 from last year’s LCK Spring opener. But in week two, the T1 vs Dplus match had a higher peak viewership of 720,712, which partially made up for the dip.

It is worth noting that Esports Charts data does not include Chinese viewership figures, which can be difficult to measure.

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The teams battled it out in an intense series that went the distance. Having lost on Inferno (14-16), Astralis claimed the remaining maps, Vertigo (16-14) and Ancient (19-17), to seal the result.

The debut tournament for Christian “Buzz” Andersen as a member of Astralis was filled with excitement. Although Andersen had a difficult individual performance throughout the event, he showed signs of improvement towards the end. On the other hand, Nicolai “dev1ce” Reedtz was a consistent force and played a crucial role in securing victories on Vertigo and Ancient.

The opening map of the series was Inferno, and it was a tightly contested battle. Astralis nearly claimed the pistol round, but after a force buy and a 3v5 comeback in the next round, they regained control.

They then established dominance on the T side and built a lead of 8-3, thanks to multiple kills by Benjamin “blameF” Bremer and dev1ce. However, Adam “NEOFRAG” Zouhar’s quadruple-kill shutout helped OG to fight back and end the half trailing by just one round.

READ: Best esports betting sites in 2023

OG managed to take the lead in the second half, thanks to the combined efforts of Abdul “degster” Gasanov, Shahar “flameZ” Shushan, and Maciej “F1KU” Miklas, putting them ahead 13-8. Despite this, Astralis mounted a late comeback and were the first to secure a match point. However, OG managed to delay Astralis’ victory and narrowly secured their own in the 30th round.

The second map, Vertigo, was equally intense as Inferno. After winning the pistol round, Astralis took a three-round lead but OG’s flameZ put up a remarkable performance, leading them to a 7-4 advantage. Despite OG’s strong attack, Astralis managed to recover and close the gap by the end of the half, but OG looked set to take the map with a 6-8 round lead. However, Lukas “gla1ve” Rossander’s triple kill and 1vs2 clutch sparked a comeback for Astralis as they won four consecutive rounds on the T side, securing a narrow 16-14 victory and forcing a decisive match on Ancient.

Astralis continued their strong play on Ancient and built a commanding lead with a 10-1 start on the T side. Buzz’s quad kill and 1v2 clutch helped lead the way, while blameF also contributed with multiple kills. Despite their strong start, OG managed to make a comeback, with degster shining at the end of the first half and inspiring his team in the second half.

However, Astralis tightened their defenses and secured match point before eventually winning in overtime (19-17), taking advantage of OG’s mistakes and securing a narrow victory in a messy match. The Danish team’s AWPer dev1ce was awarded the Player of the Match with a 1.17 rating across the three maps. The 27-year-old recorded a total of 73 frags and allowed only 59 kills to garner a differential of +14, alongside 75.8 ADR.

The victory over OG guarantees Astralis a spot in the main event of the Spring Final. OG will now head to the Spring Showdown, where they will need to fight through the single-elimination bracket if they hope to be among the remaining two teams to make it to the Spring Final.

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