Team Dignitas

Team Dignitas

A new day

Patoy/Kiwikid/Crumbzz/Scarra and Imaqtpie, the memes lords

Officially founded in 2004 under the name "Team Dignitas Ltd", the American company is one of the oldest organization in Esports. Regrouping a lot of different teams like "Legion Condor" and "Sweden Kompanix", Dignitas managed to built a solid reputation in the world of Esports.

Sponsoring teams and players around the world in many games such as Fifa, Starcraft, CSGO and League of Legends. Dignitas has been a worldwide organization throughout the years. But the road of the organization got stopped in the North American Promotion tournament in 2016.

Going with a record of 4-14, Dignitas had to fight in the Promotion tournament to try to rejoin the LCS like they did a year sooner, thanks to an amazing Kiwikid.

But this time, there was no miracle, the team suffered a large defeat (3-0) over Team Dragon Knights sending them to the Championship Series. Dignitas was relegated.

And with the retirement of Kiwikid some time later, it felt as if the story of Dignitas in the LCS was completely over (Dignitas also had sold his Challenger spot).

But in September of 2016, the dream of all Dignitas fans came back to life. Both Dignitas and Apex were bought by the Philadelphia 76ers, a basketball team. Apex who had just qualified for the LCS and Dignitas who seemed to have been lost everything they had bought so far reunited to bring back the mythic organization in the LCS.

Dignitas was alive and ready to fight once more. Before that, the team decided to change some things. Despite bringing the full roster of Apex on their side, Dignitas had greater ambitions. Their goal this time was not to fight against relegation but to fight in order to reach the summit (1G).

From the original Apex roster, only 2 players remained, Keane for the midlane and Xpecial as the support. Apollo left for EnvyUS while Shrimp left to play in the Japanese LoL scene. Ray, on his side, joined Cloud 9 to fight for a starting position against Impact. Last but not least, Cris, a soloQ monster who had never been able to show his true value on the scene, was put to the bench.

Apex was already no more. That's when the fans began to wonder, what is Dignitas trying to do?

The answer didn't wait long. 2 weeks after the release of most of the roster, Dignitas announced the recruitment of Chaser, LOD and more importantly, Ssumday. The organization had made a huge deal, an excellent ad carry and a carry jungler followed by the second best toplaner in the entire world. Dignitas was ready to fight in order to receive some recognition, some fame.

Ssumday was playing for KT Rolster before joining Dignitas

But things didn't go as good as they expected. The first week ended in a correct 1-1. The second marked the start of a struggle. Losing against TSM and Echo Fox, the team was already in a tricky situation. Dignitas would end up losing 5 series in a row, placing them in the bottom of the rankings alongside EnvyUS and Immortals

Since then, Dignitas managed to find a second breath, fighting for every inch to get closer to a playoffs spot. And with a 5-2 record for the past few games, the team seems to have found his identity and their communication, while being sloppy at some point, has improved a lot since the start of the split.

If Dignitas can continue to grasp every victory possible, the playoffs will open their doors for them. The dream of seeing the World Championship isn't so far away anymore, but the first step for it has yet to come to a close.

Dignitas, an unlimited failure or a bright light in the dark?




Sources: lolgamepedia, lolesports

 Kevin Fischweiler

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The road to the top

Cloud 9 / TSM / Flyquest

3 Kings for a Throne 

 

With week 5 coming to a close, it's time to check on the rankings and take the firsts conclusions of the North American LCS.

After a wild preseason and a lot of movements in North America, the region was set to be stronger than ever, more competitive and more fearsome. While it might not be the case for some, it is still a fact that North America as a whole has become a place of hard fought battles. The opportunity of being stronger has reached every organization's will.

Everyone share the same goal, wether you're on top or bottom, you always have the Worlds Championships in mind. For some, the road might be harder and longer, but for the Kings, Worlds is inevitable.

TSM and Cloud 9, the 2 biggest and ancient organizations in America are looking strong and already rule the top of the region. Despite shady performances, and a team looking weaker than last year, TSM is still one of the strongest team right now and their second place with a 7-2 record shows it. Their victory yesterday against C9 might be the final click for the team to reach his true potential and they will have the occasion to show it again tonight against Flyquest, the number 3 in NA.

Cloud 9 has a long history in the LoL scene, winning 2 times in North America, once at IEM and reaching the quarter finals at Worlds last year. The team directed by Jack Etienne is looking to win for the third time in North America. After separating definitely from Meteos and Hai, the team looks, once again, in their best form. Having known many struggles especially with their shotcalling in the absence of Hai, Cloud 9 finally seems to have found their own new playstyle and it seems to work, seeing that the team is currently 1st with a 8-1 record, only dropping their first series yesterday. C9 is definitely a title contender but the road is far from over, it's only the beginning for them.

Flyquest is the new team that everyone talked about in the preseason. The C9 Challenger team, victorious in Challenger Series, had to sell his spot or find a new sponsor in order to remain in the LCS. And the sponsor came. Bought by the co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, the team changed his name to Flyquest but the team remained. No big changes, just a good amount of fate for those veterans of the scene. The old C9 was back in the LCS, in the exception of Moon, whose performances in the past were a big question mark for the fans.

 

But it didn't last, the old C9 was truly back in business. Dominating, all in control and with a excellent Moon, Flyquest was on a rampage to lead the North American LCS. Until they began to fall last week, losing to C9 and then Dignitas. The team now has to face TSM tonight. The question is, will they come back on track or will they sink along with their dreams?

The answer will have to wait, but the team clearly has a lot of potential and could step on top of the league to disturb his sister and the current Kings.

While those 3 teams seems to be the closest to the Grail, some still have their words in the matter. Immortals, Echo Fox, Dignitas, CLG, and more importantly, Phoenix 1, have not lost sight of the podium, and the playoffs will surely be bloodier than ever before.

The Kings are set to rise, but in the same time, they are set to fall. So ask yourself, who will rule?

Sources: lolesports, gamepedia, cloud9.gg

Kevin Fischweiler

All rights reserved

PSG Esports

Paris Saint-Germain eSports

Un départ raté

 

Alors que le monde de l'Esport ne cesse de croître et d'attirer de plus en plus de regards, de nombreuses personnalités et organisations bien connues se décident à se lancer dans l'Esport.

L'implication continue de figures telles que Rick Fox, le FC Valence, Schalke 04 et plus récemment l'Olympique Lyonnais (FIFA) et le PSG prouvent que, ce qui n'était autrefois considéré que comme des jeux de "geeks", sont devenus une part importante de notre époque et de cette, toujours nouvelle, industrie en croissance perpétuelle.

Après un 3ème titre mondial en faveur de SK Telecom, le monde se tournait alors vers ces régions, qui, une nouvelle fois, ont failli à leur tâche de détrôner le géant Coréen. De nombreux changements étaient espérés, aussi bien en Europe qu'en Amérique. Les fans désiraient voir leurs équipes au sommet, mais pour cela il faut parvenir à battre les Coréens qui monopolisent le trône depuis 4 ans maintenant. Il fallait du sang neuf, du changement.

C'est dans cette perspective que fin 2016, le club de football dirigé par Nasser Al-Khelaïfi, annonce le rachat de l'équipe HUMA, une équipe des Challenger Series en Europe. L'annonce est un choc, l'actuel champion de Ligue 1, et l'un des plus grands clubs de France se lance dans l'Esport. Un choc qui contient une annonce encore plus choquante, l'arrivée du support français Yellowstar qui dirigera l'équipe. Le monde se tourne alors vers cette équipe. Une grande structure, s'associant avec Webedia pour créer une équipe Esportive afin de participer aux Challenger Series en 2017, le tout dirigé par une légende, une icône de Fnatic pendant des années.

Yellowstar signe avec le PSG en compagnie de 2 joueurs FIFA

Il ne reste alors qu'à attendre l'annonce officielle de l'équipe.

Le 14 Décembre, le Paris Saint-Germain annonce finalement son équipe. Celle-ci sera composée de figures connues telles que Steve, Kirei, Sprattel et surtout Pilot. Le petit dernier se révèlera être Blanc, un midlaner Coréen de division secondaire.

L'annonce semble bonne, une équipe jugée "suffisante" pour se qualifier, dès l'année suivante, aux LCS. Malgré des adversaires qui s'annoncent coriace en la présence de Misfits Academy, Schalke 04 et Fnatic Academy, les fans semblent confiants mais le PSG ne répondra pas présent.

Lors de la 1ère semaine et leur 1er match, le PSG affronte déjà l'un des autres favoris. En effet, Fnatic Academy leur barre la route. Après une première game maîtrisée par Fnatic, la seconde est plus difficile. Malgré son avance, le PSG ne parvient pas à clôturer la game et Fnatic aura le dernier mot et s'imposera finalement 2-0 face à la formation française.

Une défaite pour débuter, mais une défaite face à Fnatic n'est pas "outrageux" mais le PSG doit se reprendre s'ils ne veulent pas, déjà, se retrouver derrière.

Seulement voilà, la 2ème semaine voit le PSG affronter l'autre cador, Schalke 04. Après avoir été relégué en Challenger Series l'année passée, Schalke ne souhaite qu'une chose, remonter le plus vite possible. Le PSG commence alors la 1ère game d'une très bonne manière, dominant complètement Schalke durant 20minutes. Mais la réponse de la formation Allemande est cinglante, combat après combat, ils reviennent et prennent l'avantage sur le PSG de Yellowstar. La 1ère game se solde par une défaite, mais Steve et les siens ont toujours l'occasion d'arracher le match nul durant la 2ème game. Seulement, en confiance après leur victoire, Schalke prendra l'avantage après un début de match serré entre les deux formations. Une seconde défaite et Paris perd la série, leur deuxième en 2 semaines. Une catastrophe pour l'équipe française.

Le classement des Challenger Series après 2 journées

Certes nous ne sommes toujours qu'au début des Challenger Series mais si le PSG souhaitent figurer parmi les grands en été, il faudra montrer autre chose durant les prochaines semaines. Sans quoi, la grande annonce faite il y a quelques mois, pourrait se transformer en désastre.

Sources: gamepedia, Eclypsia.com, PSG.fr

Kevin Fischweiler

All rights reserved

Fnatic, the downfall

FNATIC

The downfall  

 

Fnatic is one of the biggest and oldest Esports organization in the world. Created in 2004 and well-known for his CSGO and League of Legends team, the organization is also the first winner of the LoL World Championship in season 1, at the time only including European and North American teams.

Fnatic was once the best CSGO team you could find, winning titles after titles. Even winning the Esports team of the year award for 3 consecutive years. The team finally separated in august 2016 when 3 of their players left for Godsent. It was the start of the fall for Fnatic, in CSGO and soon in League of Legends aswell.

Beginning

In 2011, the first ever World Championship came to life, only regrouping North America and Europe in a competition to determine the best team in the world. Few months after the creation of a LoL team, Fnatic went on to win the whole tournament, beating AAA in the final and giving xPeke is first and only World title. The same year, Fnatic would win IEM New York and finish 3rd of the IEM Cologne.

Fnatic winning LoL season 1

The next year, Fnatic would bring Soaz into the team, aswell as nRated and Rekkles. They would also win Dreamhack and perform to others tournaments.

In January 2013, the organization would welcome Bora "Yellowstar" Kim, giving him the best opportunity of his career, with the success we all know. Fnatic would also win their first consecutive LCS titles, winning both the Spring and Summer splits. Later on, the team would also end in 3rd place at Worlds with the help of Puszu, soon replaced by Rekkles, finally on age to compete.

Rebuilding

2014 marked the year of change for Fnatic but also the start of their greatest success.

After another good season, their 3rd LCS title and a good show up at the All-Star Paris. The team failed to succeed at Worlds, with one of the most painful ending against OMG. The team broke apart.

Rekkles was the first to leave but was soon followed by Xpeke, Cyanide and Soaz. The three of them would join Origen, a new organization formed by Peke himself while Rekkles would join Alliance, Froggen's superteam at the time.

Yellowstar was left alone, having to rebuild a whole team with the pressure to compete and win again. Very little were the people who knew that this would be the beginning of Fnatic rebirth.

Consecration

In 2015, Fnatic went through the biggest changes in his history. Welcoming 4 rookies in their team was a huge bet for them, but it later paid on. Febiven who had only played in the Challenger Series for H2k had the hard task to replace Peke. Steeelback would arrive has the new AD Carry supported by the new captain, Yellowstar, sole survivor of the precedent team. Finally, a unknown Korean duo would make his appearance in the top side. With the addition of Huni and Reignover, Fnatic was ready to take over the World.

At the announcement of this new roster, the fans were unhappy. Leaving Yellowstar alone with 4 rookies was a bold move, a bet, but also a frightening move that could have ended Fnatic.

But it never happened, the new Fnatic would show his strenght in their very first match against Elements (formerly Alliance), the new team of Rekkles, with a dominating and convincing victory.

Weeks went on and Fnatic finally won the Spring split with a win 3-2 in the final over the Unicorns of Love. It was a success for the organization but it was only a beginning.

Few months later, the new roster, led by Deilor, would realize the unthinkable, the perfect split. No one had ever done it, completing a whole split without a single loss, 18-0. In summer of 2015, Fnatic entered the legend, becoming the first ever to realize such a performance. Fnatic was back to being the Kings of Europe and the hope to win their second World Championship was real.

Sadly, it never happened. After the first week of Worlds, Fnatic disappointed and had a record of 1-2 in their group. But it wasn't the end yet, they had much more to show in this tournament. The next week, Fnatic went back to his usual self, completing a come back with 4 victories in a row and finishing 1st of their group. The dream was still alive, especially with Origen still in the game aswell. The fans began to believe in a European final on the biggest stage. 

And they started to believe it even more when both of them qualified for the Semi-finals, Fnatic crushing the Chinese, last hope, EDG.

But it didn't last... Both Origen and Fnatic would fall against the 2 favorites in the Semis. Origen would fall to the future 2time champions while Fnatic would be outclassed by the ex-rejects of Korea, the Rox Tigers. The road stopped abruptly for the best team in Europe.

Fnatic at the 2015 Worlds Championships

The fall

After a season that would stay as the best ever for Fnatic, the image of the Worlds was still in their head. Everyone was already looking at 2016 with envy and excitement to see what this team could do.

But this excitement never lasted and died with a shocking news. The magical duo, Reignover and Huni had left for Immortals, a newly created organization in North America. There they almost realized a second perfect split in a row, only losing one time.

Yellowstar also left for Team Solomid, leaving his status of captain to Rekkles.

Fnatic had to rebuild again, but with solid basis like Febiven and Rekkles the team had high hopes

Then arrived a new Korean duo, Spirit and Gamsu. While the first one was very welcomed, Gamsu was praised for his ability to carry games through carry toplaner, just like Huni before him. But meta changes and Gamsu never adapted to the new tanks meta and never convinced, just like Fnatic that year. Febiven had become a shadow, far from his level from a year before and Spirit was unable to fit into Fnatic style of play.

Fnatic would ultimately live their worst season ever, even after the return of Yellowstar in summer. Unable to reach Worlds, a year after their spectacular season, Fnatic was no more.

It was a hard hit, for the fans and for the organization. Europe had lost his Kings, to find others.

Dawn or sunrise

The first of December, Fnatic once again announced a new roster. Gamsu, Spirit and Febiven gone and Kikis and Klaj put into the secondary team. With the retirement of Yellowstar, they had to find something else.

This time, it was Rekkles that was left alone, having to rebuild the whole team. Fnatic decided to bring back their mythic toplaner, Soaz, followed by his teammate Amazing. Jesiz also made his comeback in the LCS, this time not as a midlaner but as a support while Caps, a new rookie, has to fill the shoes left by Peke and Febiven in Fnatic's midlane, a hard task.

After 3 weeks of competition, Fnatic is now 3rd place of their group with a disappointing 2-2 record. And it feels like the last season is not so far behind. Fnatic hasn't seen the light since a long time and it may continue for a while. It is only up to them to escape the darkness in order to become, once again, the Kings of Europe. And Broxah might be the candle they need.

Fnatic, the upcoming dawn or a permanent sunrise?

Kevin Fischweiler

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