Wildcard are one of the weakest Rainbow Six Siege teams in the North America League. They have already lost three games in regulation at this stage; however, they beat Oxygen Esports last Thursday, which was a good sign.

DarkZero Esports performed poorly in their 2-7 defeat to Soniqs to open the stage, but they have since beaten Spacestation Gaming and LOS. It’s not a terrible start for Roberto “Panbazou” Feliciano and company, but we will have to see more from DarkZero to make any firm conclusions.

The departure of Troy “Canadian” Jaroslawski has put DarkZero Esports in a questionable spot. Still, while they should do worse without the 28-year-old veteran, DarkZero are unlikely to struggle against one of the bottom teams in the region.

Oxygen Esports are 0-0-1-2 with a -7 round differential. They have so far lost to Spacestation Gaming, LOS, and Wildcard, although they should have won the most recent of those series. This core has been together for over six months, so there is no excuse for Oxygen’s struggles.

M80 are not one of the leading contenders to win the league, but they have done well beating Cloud9 Beastcoast and Wildcard Gaming and forcing Soniqs to overtime. That is a promising run, but like with most other mid-table teams, M80 still need to show more against the top sides.

While M80 are rightly favourites with top Rainbow Six Siege betting sites, their odds look far too short. With a 3.5-round advantage at $1.64, Oxygen are the clear choice.

Luminosity Gaming are 2-0-0-2 with six points; however, they still have a lot more to prove, having only beaten M80 and LOS. On the other hand, Luminosity posted good results in Stage 1, and they did not do too poorly during the Esports World Cup 2024.

With the signing of Troy “Canadian” Jaroslawski, Soniqs became the leading contenders to win the league, and they have started strongly. So far, Soniqs have beaten Wildcard, DarkZero Esports, and M80, although they lost their most recent outing against Spacestation Gaming in overtime.

Even though Soniqs have failed to produce a perfect record, it is hard to doubt them against any team outside of the top three.

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Complexity Gaming are priced as heavy underdogs for this match, which isn’t surprising considering they’re only third-best Rocket League team from North America. However, they might be a bit underrated.

Even though Complexity haven’t found much success in the regional league, this is a group of very experienced players with a solid synergy. As Europe’s third seed, Vitality deserve a bit more respect since they hail from a more challenging region, but they’ve not shown much more than Complexity Gaming this season.

Vitality have a higher ceiling, and they’ve won seven of their last eight series. But the quality gap between the two sides isn’t nearly as large as the offered Rocket League esports betting odds suggest. Trust Complexity Gaming to keep it close.

Rule One are considered one of the weakest teams attending Rocket League Championship Series (RLCS) 2024 Major 1. Still, it’s easy to forget how good this core (ex-Team Falcons) was in previous seasons. Hisham “Nwpo” Alqadi is still an excellent player, and while Khalid “oKhaliD” Qasim and Ahmad “Ahmad” Abdullah might not be viewed as top-tier, they can carry their weight.

Gentle Mates Alpine are getting a lot of respect as Europe’s no.4 squad, but they’ve not beaten any notable teams over the last month. During RLCS 2024 Major 1: EU Open Qualifier 1, Gentle Mates looked great, but they’ve since cooled down, so we should take their early-season success with a grain of salt.

The current offer seems to be based a lot on the perceived strength of the team based on the region they’re from. But believing that Europe’s no.4 seed is much stronger than MENA’s no.2 team is too optimistic.

Team Falcons signed Saleh Abdullah “Rw9” Bakhashwin and Yazid Abdullah “Kiileerrz” Bakhashwin from Rule One at the end of 2023, forming the most dominant MENA Rocket League team. Team Falcons have won all three RLCS 2024 Major 1 MENA Open Qualifiers and cruised their way to the Saudi eLeagues 2024 Major 1 Final title last week, proving they’re more than ready to do some damage in Denmark.

OG have not been as early as successful this season, but this is an extremely experienced roster with players who all won at least one big LAN event title. Form-wise, OG aren’t in a good spot, but this could be one of the teams that will do much better on LAN.

Team Falcons are very talented and not an easy opponent. But we’re putting more weight on the LAN experience, which makes OG a very attractive choice.

FURIA Esports have been dominating the South American Rocket League esports scene. Despite their slip-up in the first RLCS 2024 Major 1: SAM Open Qualifier, FURIA hold an absurd 41-2 record since October 2023. From the start of the RLCS 2024 season, FURIA Esports are 23-2.

Beating on regional opponents doesn’t guarantee that FURIA Esports will do well on the international stage. But they’re in excellent form and have enough talent to do some damage in Denmark.

Luminosity Gaming, on the other side, haven’t looked great recently. They’re 12-6 since the start of RLCS 2024 Major 1: NA Open Qualifier 2, and their recent results are even more worrying, with three wins against The Muffin Men, M80, and Boulevard and three losses against Dignitas, OG, and Omelette from their last six.

A team’s online form doesn’t always indicate their chances to do well on LAN. But in this match, it’s tough to find a good reason to fade FURIA Esports.

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The strategic partnership will focus on the Apex Legends scene and see both parties create a new co-branded property named LG Chivas.

Per the terms of the deal, Chivas will allow Luminosity access to its state-of-the-art esports facilities at the Akron Stadium in Zapopan, Mexico. Leveraging Chivas’ popularity and massive fan base, the esports organisation will be able to expand its footprint in the rapidly growing Latin American esports market.

Head of Luminosity Gaming, Alex Gonzalez, said in a statement, “We are incredibly excited to work with such a massive football club such as Chivas.”

“We believe that this partnership will provide new and thrilling opportunities for Luminosity, and we’re looking forward to what we can achieve together.”

Luminosity, owned by Canadian company Enthusiast Gaming, is a big part of the Apex Legends esports scene. Besides Apex Legends, Luminosity fields teams in Rocket League, Brawl Stars, and PUBG. They recently became a partner team in the Brawl Stars ecosystem.

Chivas, on the other hand, remains one of the most successful football teams in Mexico, with over 10 wins in the country’s domestic league. Chivas previously participated in the esports sector, competing in the Rainbow Six Siege and League of Legends regional stage.

The partnership will signify a collaboration of traditional and electronic sports and strengthen Latin America’s place in the global esports and gaming scene.

In a statement, Chivas, Head of Innovation and Digital Business, Santiago Montes, revealed that the collaboration was a major step towards their goal of strengthening the company’s esports portfolio.

“Our collaboration with Luminosity Gaming opens up a new chapter in Chivas’ esports journey. This partnership not only strengthens our presence in the esports world but also aligns perfectly with our ambitions to reach and engage with the younger audience and the digital generation,” Montes said.

“This strategic alliance with Luminosity Gaming will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in Chivas’ growing esports narrative.”

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The players are some of the most sought-after free agents in the esports scene and have one of the most famous rivalries in modern Smash history. After years of competing against each other, Tweek and MkLeo are now signed to the same team and will help Luminosity create the “greatest smash roster of all time.”

“Everything’s happening so fast, but I never thought we’d be on the same team. It’s just crazy how all of this lined up. I’m a big basketball guy, and it feels like LeBron going to Miami,” Tweek said during an Ultimate Summit broadcast shortly after the announcement.

Tweek and MkLeo were let go from their respective teams in February following tournament organizer, Beyond The Summit and Nintendo’s decision to shut down the 2022 Smash World Tour finals. Within five days of each other, Tweek ended his four-year stint on TSM, while MkLeo concluded his three-year contract with T1.

After the players left, Smash fans were worried about the potential long-term negative effects Tweek and MkLeo’s departure would have on the esports scene. Weeks later, Luminosity swooped in to sign the players in time for the Smash Ultimate Summit 6.

The addition of the two Smash bro. legends to Luminosity’s already appealing team have placed them on top of the esports ecosystem in terms of competition. The squad also has Mr Game & Watch player Enrique “Maister” Hernández Solís and Avery ‘Ginger’ Wilson.

At some point in their careers, Tweek and MkLeo have reached No. 1 status in the esports scene and played against each other in several tournaments’ grand finals. The gamers famously competed to win the best in the world title in 2019, shortly after the Super Smash Bros. release.

Tweek and MkLeo have faced off in the major grand finals at Evo, MomoCon, and Frostbite, with MkLeo winning two out of the three games. They last competed against each other in the finals match during the 2021 Smash Ultimate Summit 3.

Tweek and MkLeo have met in bracket numerous times; however, the latter player has broadened the gap between them. Both players have already won major tournaments this year, namely Let’s Make Big Moves and Genesis 9, and will debut on Luminosity’s lineup during the Smash Ultimate Summit 6 this weekend.

The event will be the last Summit tournament organized by Beyond the Summit, which is popular for its high-profile Melee and Ultimate tournaments. The tournament organizer is reportedly shutting down operations this year due to financial challenges.

Smash Ultimate Summit 6 kicks off on March 24 and continues over the weekend until the Ultimate singles bracket ends on March 26.

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In the Grand Finals of the 2022 COD Mobile World Championship, the North American esports franchise, emerged victorious against Luminosity in an exciting match that went all the way to the sixth round.

The victory earned Tribe Gaming the highly coveted trophy. Both teams put up a fierce fight, making it a thrilling showdown to determine the World Champions.

Even though Tribe Gaming lost their first playoff match against China’s Wolves and had to fight their way through the lower bracket, they made a stunning comeback and reached the grand finals.

On the other hand, despite Luminosity’s impressive record leading up to the grand finals, they were unable to secure a victory over their opponents even though they had a one-point lead. Prior to the grand final event, Luminosity had not lost a single match and were in top form, as such the franchise were favorites to win the tournament.

However, Tribe Gaming dominated winning 4-3, earning prize money of $700,000. While Luminosity were rewarded with a $250,000 windfall, INCO Gaming, the team that came in third after being defeated by Tribe, received $150,000.

Eight teams qualified for the Playoffs phase after a competitive Group Stage. The Playoffs used a Double Elimination Bracket format, that saw Omega Esports defeat SKADE and advanced to the COD Mobile World Championships Semifinals, while INCO Gaming demolished Japan’s SCARZ to also secure a spot in the next round.

The other two matchups had the Wolves scaling through Tribe Gaming and Luminosity trashing STMN Esports as both winners strutted to the upper bracket semifinals. The losing teams, on the other hand, went on to compete in the lower bracket. While the two winning teams took on each other in the semifinals, both losing teams dug it out for a chance to remain in the tournament.

After winning their semifinal matches, INCO Gaming and Luminosity advanced to the upper bracket finals. However, the Brazilian squad were unable to win and were instead relegated to the lower bracket finals, where they faced Tribe Gaming, who had previously eliminated STMN and Omega from the event in a clean sweep fashion. Tribe got the better of them and made their way to the grand final against all odds.

The COD Mobile World Championship grand finals pitted two North American teams, Luminosity, and Tribe Gaming, against each other in a tense matchup. Tribe Gaming took the first three rounds, but Luminosity managed to win the next two rounds and secure an additional point (default) due to their previous victory in the upper bracket.

After five rounds, both squads were tied with 3 points each, and then they played a deciding match. The Tribe ended up taking the lead and winning the tournament. The Sunday fixture marked the end of the 2022 COD Mobile Esports season.

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The letter was reportedly penned by four VP-level executives who claimed that the publicly traded company’s strategic vision, staffing issues — particularly within the human resources department — and equity distribution were evidence of Montgomery’s mismanagement.

??The current leadership of Enthusiast – notably the Chief Corporate Officer, Eric Bernofsky – responded to these worries by saying that they are unfounded. Bernofsky conveyed to the company’s workforce its dedication to them while also highlighting the “dramatically improved” financial performance of the firm as well as its status in the public markets.??

This letter is an extension of a public effort that has been waged by Greywood Investments, the largest stakeholder in Enthusiast Gaming, to oust Montgomery and the board of directors and replace them with its own nominees. Enthusiast is owned by the investment group to the extent of 9.3 percent, while the board of directors holds 5.7 percent of the company, the majority of which was not purchased but rather given as a gift.??

A representative for Greywood stated that the company was not involved in the letter that was written by the employees of Enthusiast. On the other hand, both the campaign and the employees are drawing attention to the fact that their economic interests do not correspond with those of the board.??

Greywood is of the opinion that choices are being made by the board of directors that are not beneficial to the long-term health and prospects of Enthusiast as a result of the board’s lack of financial investment and the CEO’s excessive salary. Employees raised similar concerns about the plan to give 80 percent of restricted stock units (RSUs) to the board of directors and executives in the C-suite rather than to other employees.

??It is possible that previous layoffs are also adding to the antagonism that exists between employees and management. Upcomer, the esports and gaming news site owned by Enthusiast, had its editorial team reduced in the month of March. The majority of the staff who were terminated were allegedly not given their promised yearly bonuses and were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements before they were eligible to receive one to three weeks of severance pay.??

The second quarter will soon come to a close, and all financial reports should be complete by the middle of August. It is probable that these documents will fuel the next confrontation in the current proxy struggle for control of the board of directors of Enthusiast.??

Enthusiast Gaming has a roster of players in various esports titles including Valorant, Apex Legends, Call of Duty, Rocket League, Overwatch, and Fortnite. These titles are covered by Enthusiast’s subsidiary esports teams such as Vancouver Titans, Seattle Surge, and Luminosity Gaming.

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The latest team to share their experience on their path to the 2022 ALGS Championship is Luminosity Gaming. The North America-based team took to Twitter to announce that they will have to field replacements for the event.

Two of their players were unable to secure visas for the tournament, despite the efforts of PGL, RESPAWN Entertainment, and the host city.

“Due to issues securing visas, YanYa (Ghanja) and Neazul will not be able to attend the upcoming ALGS Championship. We would like to thank the City of Raleigh, PGL, and RESPAWN for their assistance throughout the process and working with us to try to secure the visas in time for the event.

“As temporary substitutes, we will have Monsoon and Shiny joining us from Complexity for next weekend’s event.”

The tournament is scheduled to be held at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina USA. Action will commence on July 7 with group stage bouts and will run through to July 10.

During the second split of the Pro League, LG were one of the teams with an incredible campaign in NA. It will be a shame to not witness them operate at full strength on the world stage.

The Mexican trio of Jacobo “NMEgo” Rios, Luis Enrique “Neazul” Ramos Suarez, and Saul “YanYa” Ocampo (also known as GhanjaMen) qualified for the Stockholm LAN despite competing as free agents, thanks to YanYa’s enthralling display.

In April, they were signed by LG just before the ALGS Split 2 playoffs, and have since flown the banner of the organization. They ended up finishing fifth in Sweden, which earned them a prize of $60,000 and a spot in the ALGS Championship.

Unfortunately, they will have to compete in the upcoming event without YanYa and Neazul. YanYa’s absence will prove to be a devastating loss for LG.

The talented team has taken a significant hit as a result of losing YanYa, in particular. The 18-year-old finished fifth overall after the conclusion of North America’s Pro League Split 2 in terms of the number of total kills. Added to that was a third-place finish in the Split Two Playoffs for most total damage registered.

One area where Luminosity Gaming could be thankful for, compared to other teams, is the ease of finding substitutes because they are based in the region. As stated in the press release, Complexity’s Bowen “Monsoon” Fuller and Bryan “iShiny” McCarthy will be the stand-ins.

Complexity’s failure to qualify for the event made it a lot easier for LG to attract both players. Although they failed to lead complexity to the LAN event, Monsoon and iShiny are two skilled veterans who have built chemistry over the years.

While they are undoubtedly not LG’s first choice, one could argue that they are the best available.

Recall that pros have expressed their displeasure with how events have unfolded in the past. Element 6’s Ali “Naghz” Naghawi will not be participating as the UK-based player failed to secure a visa early enough. He blamed the organizers for the late announcement of the schedule.

Team Empire also announced their withdrawal from the event after all three players were denied visas to the US. As things stand, only 39 teams will be competing as EA and Respawn have not announced a replacement for Empire.

LG is the first NA team to use substitutes for the tournament, which promises a prize pool of $2 million.
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It has been an eventful few weeks for Luminosity at the management level. The Canadian esports organization announced their exit from Valorant and shortly after revealed they will be making a return to Rainbow Six after a two-year hiatus.

The reason for their exit from Valorant was not clear, but reports suggested that they are not thrilled about the new Riot Games structure for the 2023 season. However, Luminosity is not ruling out the chances of returning to Valorant down the road.

Meanwhile, Shopify Rebellion have swooped in to pick the exciting talents that became free agents as a result of Luminosity’s decision. In an announcement via Twitter, they revealed that Kaleb “moose” Jayne, Will “dazzLe” Loafman, Tanner “TiGG” Spanu, Adam “mada” Pampuch, Brandon Michael “bdog” Sanders, and head coach Jared “mac” Schneider have been signed.

Following their release by Luminosity, moose revealed that the team is looking to remain together. Moose requested that as he called out for teams to consider signing them.

“Luminosity Valorant, including staff, are now restricted free agents. Keeping our roster AND staff together is incredibly important to us, and vital to the long term success of this team.”

Shopify Rebellion have finally confirmed earlier reports of them initiating conversation with the free agents. It was reported that Shopify Rebellion made contact shortly after the players and staff were released.

To many, the need for Shopify Rebellion to acquire a men’s Valorant roster might be strange, seeing as they are active in the North America men’s Valorant. All of that might soon change as the American organization have applied to be a partner with Riot and Valorant esports in 2023.

Over 150 teams have reportedly submitted applications for partner status with the Valorant franchise league, and Shopify Rebellion is one of them. The decision was made public by Shopify Rebellion’s program development lead Dario Wunsch via Twitter.

“Today we submitted ShopifyRebels partnership application for Valorant Esports! The future of Valorant is bright and we’re excited to grow our role in it. So much is happening with Rebellion right now and I can’t wait to share it all!”

At the time of their application, they did not have an active roster. With the latest development, it seems like they were working on putting one together before getting word back on the status of their application.

Some of the teams who have publicly revealed their intention to partner with Riot ahead of 2023 are:

• TSM
• 100 Thieves
• OpTic Gaming
• XSET
• Sentinels
• The Guard
• Version1
• T1
• Cloud9
• Evil Geniuses
• G2 Esports
• Counter Logic Gaming (no active roster)

Although Shopify Rebellion are just getting into men’s Valorant, they have been in the esports scene since 2021. They have active teams in Halo, Rocket League, and StarCraft II.

The organization has also run a Valorant women’s team. Although they have had great outings, they have failed to overcome Cloud9 in back-to-back NA Game Changers Series to clinch first place.

Before Luminosity exited the scene, they qualified for the NA Last Chance Qualifier. With Shopify Rebellion signing their entire roster, the players will compete under their banner.

It is a unique opportunity for Shopify Rebellion to hit the ground running. If they manage to clinch the top spot in the event scheduled for August 8, they will get direct seeding to the 2022 Valorant Champions.

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The organization made the announcement via Twitter, also listing the members of the roster.

LG left the competitive scene in April 2020 in a rather controversial way. While the change in competition format was a reason for their departure, the players were not happy with how things played out, especially Kian “Hyena” Mozayani.

The 23-year-old went on a rant, calling out Ubisoft for handling the situation poorly. Via Twitlonger, he claimed that communication between Ubisoft and the players was poor, leaving them in limbo for about three weeks.

“Roughly 3 weeks ago, we were told that LG would be releasing us since they could not come to an agreement with Ubisoft regarding the upcoming LAN league,” he said.

“Over the course of these 3 weeks (during the season) we practiced and played our matches not knowing if we would have a spot in pro league next season. Throughout this whole period, LG and Ubisoft re-entered negotiations without our knowledge (up until recently) and they fell through again.

“Ubisoft delayed our meeting multiple times leaving us in the dark not knowing if we should pack up and leave our team house.”

In his outburst, he also called considerations, stating that he is willing to accept a player or coaching role.

However, his course of action was frowned upon by Ubisoft, resulting in a one-year ban. Hyena shared the email received from Ubisoft regarding his ban via his Twitter page with a sarcastic caption.

“Best communication I have received from Ubisoft in months.”

Regardless of all the ugliness that transpired in the past, Hyena returned to competitive gaming in 2021. For Luminosity, it took an extra year before they made their re-entry.

Before they were taken over on April 10, Wichita Wolves won the North American Challenger League Stage 1. They had the best record in the league and finished with 24 points, one above Arial Arise and 1shotLFO.

For their effort, they will be participating in the NACL Stage 2. Details on the start of the event are yet to be released. However, a top-nine finish will guarantee them a place in Stage 3.

Luminosity, which was founded in 2015, now boast active rosters in some of the most popular esports titles, including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Overwatch, etc. Unfortunately, the announcement of getting back into the Rainbow Six scene came weeks after LG announced their departure from Valorant.

LG’s decision to leave came days after a reported meeting with Riot Games. In their statement, they hinted that the structure might be the reason for their exit but made no definite claim.

The Canadian organization will be looking to make their way to the NAL league. To achieve that, they will have to finish all three stages in the NACL with the best record. LG finished sixth the last time they were in the league, walking away with $14,000 from the US$157,000 prize pool.

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On map one, Fracture, C9 sought to change the roles of Rahul “curry” Nemani and Anthony “vanity” Malaspina, reverting the IGL to the controller (Brim) and bringing curry to the initiator via Breach.

LG’s attack was not slowed by the shift, with Kaleb “moose” Jayne making major winning plays throughout crucial full buy rounds and C9 tossing away several rounds late to go down 8–4 at halftime. Despite this, C9 managed to stage a comeback on the attack side, and the game was tied at 11–11.

LG, on the other hand, held off two consecutive A smashes to win the game 13–11.

C9’s enthusiasm following their comeback attempt carried across to Icebox, who got off to a strong start on attack. Early on, C9 thrived at gaining map control and getting entry kills, but LG were able to recoup owing to great playmaking and retaking spearheaded by Tanner “TiGG” Spanu (Sova) and Adam “mada” Pampuch (Jett), giving LG a 7–5 halftime advantage.
?
C9 came back with some big rounds to grab a brief lead, but LG closed out the series with a 13–9 triumph on Icebox due to a run of solid attack rounds.

Luminosity announced their plan?to exit?VALORANT for the “foreseeable future” just days before the commencement of the group stage’s fourth week of matches, ahead of the?Riot-run partnered VCT system, which is expected to begin in 2023. The organization stated that the roster would continue playing?under LG still?for the duration of the stage and that it is proactively looking for a new home for the players. The LG players qualified for the playoffs with a 3–1 record, and if they defeat OpTic next week and Evil Geniuses lose, they could claim the Group B first seed.

C9 are out till the Last Chance Qualifier after losing their last three games since?giving Son “xeta” Seon-ho to T1 in a VALORANT?trade that netted them curry.

NA VCT Stage 2 playoffs set up with 12 teams

With OpTic Gaming’s victory at VCT Masters Reykjavik, all eyes are on North America, which won its second international VALORANT LAN title in Iceland. The main event of the NA VCT Stage 2 Challengers is set up, with 12 teams competing in a round-robin group stage before a double-elimination playoff bracket.

With only two stages scheduled for the 2022 VALORANT Champions Tour, everything is on the line for these teams hoping to compete at the Masters and Champions at the end of the year.

The 12 teams competing in the main event of the North American VCT Stage 2 Challengers are as follows: OpTic Gaming, The Guard, Cloud9, XSET, NRG Esports, FaZe Clan, TSM, Luminosity Gaming, 100 Thieves, Evil Geniuses, Ghost Gaming, Sentinels.

After finishing in the top four in NA VCT Stage 1, OpTic, The Guard, Cloud9, and XSET were invited to the main event. NRG, FaZe, TSM, and Luminosity came through the first open qualifier, while 100T, EG, Ghost, and Sentinels emerged from the second.

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