Dreamhack 2014 - The Scandal of Esports

"Oh Why of Why Fnatic?!"

Dreamhack has always been one of my favorite events to follow and it's always fun to watch the various competitions going on like CS:GO, SC2:HOTS, LOL and DOTA2.

But this year it was really a moment of madness that drew the most attention. See the video.

 Fnatic have always been strong at Dreamhack being the past winners for many years. And facing them in the quarter finals was LDLC which always come up short when facing Fnatic. However this time at Dreamhack they put up a very good fight and managed to split the first 2 maps.

On the deciding map de_overpass they managed to win the pistol round and pulled ahead with a 13-3 lead. But then Fnatic decided to do a 3-man boost that essentially broke the map as they had almost full view of the entire map. With the boost they were able to make an impossible comeback and win the second half and secure their spot in the semi final.

In my opinion it was a racy decision from Fnatic as even though it wasn't an illegal boost, the move really broke the map and some even said it was close to pixel walking which was illegal. (my inner gamer girl though was really thrilled at the Godlike maneuver. Lols)

Another thing was that LDLC also used an illegal boost on the kioshima from the CT spawn so the fair decision from Dreamhack officials was a replay of the last map. However at this time Fnatic decided to forfeit the match instead of re-contesting it.

Anyways, it's all to much stress as i hope esports can really recover from this. From '322' in Dota2 to this happening in CS:GO.. Whhhhyyy!!!??

Meow.

Watch these Top 5 Plays from Dreamhack instead.

CS:GO's Top Five Aces from DreamHack Winter 2014

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

"Kevin Spacey is my new McDreamy"

(First Reveal Trailer back in May 2014)

I just love his acting and was quite surprised when i first saw the trailer. Just the right amount of vitriol mixed in with charm. (think that's my new relationship kryptonite)

Update: They've just released a new trailer for their zombie gameplay with John Malkovich in it. Wow.

Anyways, i've just got my hands on the game and been playing for the past week. And i must say it's awesome. I was first introduced to the COD franchise when my college mates invited me to play Zombie Mode on COD: World at War. I really like the pace of the game and started playing other COD titles like Black Ops when it came out.

Now with Advanced Warfare i'm really liking the new gameplay and kinda comparable to Titanfall as well. (hey i love mechs and just so happen i got it as a b'day pressie)

(I watched this trailer and boy was i pumped! Goliaths in the video! Are you kidding me?!)

Gameplay was very familiar after playing Titanfall as the Exo-Suit movements is pretty similar to the Wall Running/Parkour skill in that game.

The single player mission follows you as Jack Mitchell who Mr. Iron (Kevin Spacey) takes under his wing and enlist at Atlas Corporation to train as a new Exo soldier.

(First sequence when you start playing)

There are a total of 15 missions and takes place at locations all over the world.

I won't review the missions as the storyline is very good and everyone should experience it themselves. But some of the 'levolution' (sorry BF4) that happens is pretty awesome and quite cinematic.

Multiplayer is definitely more fun as they combine alot of ideas from Titanfall and Battlefield. Now you can customize your character from boots to gloves to helmets. Loadout for games are pretty similar to previous COD games with a finite number of points available which to equip your character with.

Additional equipment like attachments, skins and other cosmetic items are earn through supply drops during multiplayer. This lets you customize everything to suit your gameplay. IGN has this very useful guide that covers everything.

I've only just completed the single player mission and now trying my hand at multiplayer so i'll post up more reviews of the gameplay and maybe share some of my favorite loadouts.

Remember Kids, Power Changes Everything.  Meow!

Malaysian E-sports goes back to the stone age.

"I Cants Takes It Any Mores!!"

It's been a heartbreaking 2 weeks full of drama and a roller coaster ride.
Previously i was very sad to read that Team DK would be disbanding after Ti4.
Then happy that Mushi was back in Malaysia and reforming with his old Orange teammates.
Then drama because of the 'PH 322' scandal that happened at the StarLadder Season 10 Dota2 tournament.  http://bit.ly/1saxJB8
Then MORE drama as Arrow Gaming team was implicated in their own match fixing scandal.

I first found out about this on Gosugamers when they report  on the 'PH 322' scandal and there was info stating another team was involved as well.
http://www.gosugamers.net/dota2/news/28842-arrow-implicated-in-matchfixing-scandal

I was waiting for more updates and news when the organizers and sponsors decided to remove Arrow Gaming from the competition and lifetime ban ddz and Lance from Synergy League. Pain! So cruel! And at that time i was thinking how can so harsh?
https://twitter.com/BTSGoDz/status/523479393939636224
https://twitter.com/dreamknoxville/status/523493672902725633

As i was searching for more updates and new gossip about the scandal, my friend post on FB about an announcement by ddz that it was all a mistake and they did nothing wrong.
http://www.reddit.com/r/DotA2/comments/2jppl4/i_am_ddz_i_am_not_322/

They explained their situation and even show screenshots of convo to proof that nothing was illegal. The main thing they explain was the lost because of bag lagging at the cc and made bad picks. As for their gf's betting, they have no control over that and they were not involved.

I was breathing a sigh of relief at this but really thought the screenshots look too fishy. Even the commentors from the reddit post didn't belief and some show proof of how it can be faked.

But then their manager Jaren Gan (https://www.facebook.com/gjaren post on the wall that the posting on reddit wasn't officially from them.
http://bit.ly/1nxIsKx

Arrow Gaming at this point issues a proper official statement that they aware and investigating the scandal
Statement - http://on.fb.me/1CYFIrb

Next thing you know! Arrow Gaming fires ddz and Lance and issues a statement from their manager Jaren Gan
Statement - http://on.fb.me/1xbfCiN

Drama! So Saddd!!

At this point there were more things happening behind the scenes as suddenly the organizers issued an official statement lifetime banning THE WHOLE ARROW GAMING TEAM from competing in their competition.
Statement - http://bit.ly/12fzf00

The fallout from this continues as now Arrow Gaming has fired the entire team and also their manager as well.
Statement - http://on.fb.me/1DCziQX

And while all this was happening, it really over shadowed the triumph of Mushi's Team Malaysia when they got their first title by winning the Thailand DotA2 Championship. That should have been the main story focus since it's Mushi combining with his old team mates and planning their road back to glory for Malaysia. But now everyone is just talking about our own 'MY 322'.  /facepalm

Mushi's team manager actually posted a long summary of the scandal with more screenshots of what happened behind the scenes and exposed a few things about Arrow Gamings ex-manager. If you're looking for more juicy gossip then head over to this reddit thread here http://bit.ly/1zliI9r

Me? I'm going to lie down and console myself with a macha-shake and a nap afterwards. Meow!

Popular amongst gamer friends, with a free gift too!

A good friend of mine just got this new rig after his old one died. Looks great right? Asked him why he chose this over the other recommendations from his friends, he said this GE60 Apache Pro 2PE from MSI had the best specs for his budget. I think the MSi Kinzu Series mouse that came with the laptop is even cuter! Friend thinks so too, and mentioned it was even too cute to be used. Haha.

OMG! LoL Competition on National TV?

Was in Korea for holidays and guess what? They actually show e-games on national TV! Managed to catch the League of Legends Regional Finals on TV, and I was so engrossed my parents had to almost drag me out of the hotel to go sightseeing. Haha. I think it is great that e-sports is so well accepted in Korea. How I wish it was the same here!

Halloween 2014 - Cosplay or Costume?

Yippee! Halloween is just around the corner and I'm almost done with my costume. But before i do my big reveal, i just have to share the biggest girl crushes i have on these fabulous [and sexy!] female halloween costumes.

All of them cosplayed or 'costumed' as a character that i wanted to cosplay as well. Anyways, i think they did a much better job lohh.

Jean from Shingeki no Kyojin - by Mangoe

Full Album here

Female Titan from Shingeki no Kyojin - by Alias
http://bit.ly/ZPxYLF
http://bit.ly/12nkKXX
Full Album here

Hunter from Destiny - by Karin Olava

The look of the female cosplayers here really appeals to me as a girl but its going to be a loooonnggg time before my craft skills can match these people. Meow!

Anyways, another idea that people like to do is character mash-ups. This lets people get really creative and mix n match details from a few of their fav characters. Some of the cutest (and weirdest ones) i found are like the Snow White Princess in Battle Armor

https://www.flickr.com/photos/howiemuzika/14827908677/in/set-72157646376649740/

And this Harley Quinn Slave Leia mashup. Sexy and Cute!

Oh well, its back to finishing up my own costume for halloween this year. Gotta wait for the big reveal soon as i finish up all the accessories. Plaster and cardboard is such a paininthea

Guess what?

Guess what? New game I’ve started on, and the character designs are so cute! I’m still creating my character, so will post later on which I have decided on. :)

WCS StarCraft 2 - Oh the feels in this article!!

Article Link

Excellent article by the guys at Team Liquid. Brings back so many memories. (Agh! The feels! So much feels) didn't really know the NA league had so much drama though. And now I know to watch out for Chinese and Taiwanese players. Hilarious!!

IMHO, it's nicer to watch Korean vs Foreigner matches. Otherwise... Boooorrriiinnggg. I heart on my EU players though. Love their interviews sometimes. Met a few at IEM and are cute!! (Will post pics later).

The most exciting Esports event in this year!

The most exciting Esports event in this year - Dota 2 TI4!

NewBee are the TI4 Champions!