When League of Legends first came out, champions tromped happily over the bright green fields with pizza feet and enormous, clunky hair. As the years have gone by, Riot Games have been slowly returning to old champions to get them up to par. Sometimes, these changes are nice and small. When Twitch had his time under the Visual and Gameplay Update sun, he emerged... well, pretty much the same, just better. Meanwhile, Trundle’s visual update changed everything about his champion except for the ‘troll’ bit, giving him a whole new look, story, and motivation. In the July 2017 Champion Roadmap, we found out the next champion to get a VGU: Swain, the Master Tactician.

Release and reception 

I remember following Swain’s development avidly when he was first teased. I had just first started playing regularly after Xin Zhao’s release; Swain was the first champion I was cognizant of. At the time, Swain seemed a step up from the other champion designs being released. He entered the Rift in 2010, coming out amidst a sea of pretty ladies (sure, one of them was a snake, but she fits the bill), classic fantasy archetypes like Galio and Trundle, and various monsters.

Swain was a character with, well, a lot of character. The way he interacted with his raven, Beatrice, as he stood still. Whereas other champions strode confidently or sprinted, Swain limps along with his cane. He was a neat character. When he came out, Noxians were nearly universally depicted as raiding parties, showing up in other champions’ stories to wreck houses and kill families. 

Swain was a weird Noxian. He wasn’t strong; he was visibly disabled. He was climbing the ranks, but found himself caught in politics and bureaucracy. Oh, and he could turn into a giant bird and eat people. LeBlanc, the matron of the Black Rose, was released towards the end of 2010. The Black Rose expanded on the politics of Noxus, and added an underbelly of mystics and intellectuals to the underbelly of the city-state. Noxus became about more than showing up as a bad guy in someone else’s story; it started to strike out and forge its own destiny with its own champions who had actual motives and beliefs.

Caught between creativity 

These were the pre-retcon days, a more innocent time. The League of Legends was a global government, similar to the United Nations, who prevented outright war by putting on 5v5 show matches between champions. We got our lore through the Journal of Justice, an in-universe newspaper. Swain’s story played out in the pages of the Journal of Justice. He allied with LeBlanc, stole Jarvan IV’s blood, and framed Demacia in a bloody conflict over contested lands. The Demacians were shamed, and Swain walked, er, limped away covered with glory.

The previous dude in charge, General Du Couteau (Katarina and Cassiopeia’s dad, and Talon’s mentor), was mysteriously missing. Swain played the game so well, and anyone who could have opposed him was removed. He stepped up as Grand General, LeBlanc whispering over his shoulder as his greatest advisor.

The pieces were set for a civil war within Noxus. Swain picked up Darius as his bodyguard, Cassiopeia picked up a wee curse from Shurima, and then... the story fell to the wayside. Three years ago, the lore was retconned to remove the Journal of Justice, the League of Legends, and the conflict that had swept Swain to power. Valoran was starting from scratch.

For a while, we didn’t hear anything on Swain... until Sion’s REBORN teaser, which reintroduced us to the Noxian political landscape. We met Grand General Darkwill, a man who was backed by Sion as his Hand of Noxus. Sion, one of Noxus’s greatest heroes, was murdered by Jarvan IV after mowing through an entire Demacian battalion. Darkwill, terrified by the imminent gank he was clearly about to receive, called in the Black Rose, who resurrected Sion. 

Sion came back... wrong. He killed Demacians, sure, but he also killed a whole lot of Noxians. Furthermore, everyone was horrified to see a former war hero used as a mindless weapon of war. Darkwill sealed Sion into his hero’s monument, and there he waited... until Swain took over as Grand General. (It’s implied that LeBlanc still posed at Jarvan IV at one point to help Swain get into power as a war hero; he asks her if she has any of the Demacian’s prince blood. She replies “After that charade?” before affirming.)

Using the blood of Sion’s killer, Swain calls in Vlad, and the entire gang teams up to perform a blood ritual that will bring Sion back with some degree of lucidity and intelligence. Swain is now sitting in Noxus’s throne with Darius, the Black Rose, and Sion all hanging out by his side. He’s also on friendly enough terms with Vladimir to give him a little ring a ding if he needs a blood sacrifice made. That’s a pretty strong team to go up against!

Despite this amazing set up for a story, Riot never really managed to follow through in any meaningful way. Part of this is that Swain is all over the place. He wears green and yellow robes, he has a blue mohawk, and nothing about him really says ‘Noxus’. He has a Grand General skin to celebrate his ascent, but it doesn’t matter how fancy his robes are if no one knows what he is supposed to do.

Right now, Swain’s a weird tank drain mage who survives by wading into the thick of battle and just... sitting there. He doesn’t come across as a Master Tactician, a conniving mind, or a brilliant strategist. Everything about his gameplay is centered around being a fat, healing bird. He even acknowledges this in his in-game joke!

It’s always felt like Riot was a little embarrassed to really roll out the Noxian High Command lore while Swain was in this state. Now that he has an update on the table, we may finally get the next stage of the Noxus story that started out so strong.

The Dota 2 International continues to make headlines and its prize pool has now topped $20.7 million, breaking last year’s record. The tournament is just around the corner, but there’s still plenty of digital events for you to feast your eyes on. Fans of CS:GO can enjoy the intense firefights of the PGL Major Krakow 2017, while DreamHack Atlanta kicks off with a whole host of events to be enjoyed. We even have the Overwatch World Cup: Sydney Qualifier to look forward to. All the details on this weekend’s events can be found below.

League of Legends: LCS

After six weeks of play North America’s standings have never looked this close as Counter Logic Gaming, Immortals and Team SoloMid are currently first place. These teams are the best in the league at the moment and their mechanical mastery and understanding of the meta has allowed them to obliterate any competition. If these three teams can maintain this performance, their semi-final match up should be a treat for all of League fans. Meanwhile, in Europe Fnatic continues to dominate the Group A standings with seven wins and only one loss, but Unicorns of Love and H2K are close behind them in Group B. We shall have to see whether UoL have what it takes to land a critical blow to Fnatic this Saturday. Both schedules and streams for the EU and NA LCS can be found by heading over to lolesports.com.

Dota 2: DreamLeague Season 7

As the esports world continues to eagerly wait for The International 2017, we have some weekend Dota 2 action to tide us over with the DreamLeague Season 7 playoffs. Four teams from across North America and Europe will head to Atlanta where they will battle it out for their chance to win the title and the $175,000 prize pool. Team Secret is kicking things off today at 08:00 PDT / 17:00 CEST when they take on Planet Odd, while Team Liquid face Vega Squadron at 11:00 PDT / 20:00. The full schedule and stream can be found here.

CS:GO: DreamHack Atlanta

The DreamHack Open returns to the United States where eight teams will clash for a $100,000 cash prize, as well as the Champions' trophy. Teams will play best-of-one, double-elimination matches and the two top teams from each group will secure a placement in the semi-finals. However, those who fail to qualify will face off in single-elimination, best-of-three match-up in a bid to land the final two spots available. Familiar teams like Renegades, GODSENT and Team EnVyUs will be present at the tournament, so expect plenty of tense firefights. HellRaisers are kicking off the event and will take on Binary Dragons today at 10:00 PDT / 19:00 CEST, while Team EnVyUs will tackle NRG at 11:30 PDT / 20:30 CEST. Make sure to head over to DreamHack’s official site to find the full stream and schedule.

CS:GO: PGL Major Krakow 2017

The group stage of the major tournament saw teams from around the world battle it for the chance to make it to this Friday’s quarterfinals. Gambit Esports and BIG came out on top during the group stage and Gambit will be aiming to maintain their performance today at 04:00 PDT / 13:00 CEST when they take on Fnatic. Meanwhile, SK Gaming and Astralis will duke it out at 07:30 PDT / 16:30 CEST to see who has what it takes to make it the semifinals. The full schedule and stream can be found over on major.pglesports.com.

StarCraft II: Global StarCraft League Season 3

The Global StarCraft League continues to heat up as Korea’s finest battle it out for their chance to win the $152,100 prize pool and a guaranteed spot for the champion in the WCS Global Finals. These matches are extremely important to both veteran and rookie players looking to kickstart and maintain their StarCraft II careers, so expect plenty of drama this weekend. Group H’s matches begin today at 21:00 PDT / 06:00 CEST and will continue throughout the day. The full weekend’s schedule and stream can be found by heading over to wcs.starcraft2.com.

Overwatch World Cup: Sydney Qualifier

The Overwatch World Cup Shanghai Qualifier took place last weekend and France qualified after dropping only two out of twelve matches. Meanwhile, China qualified for advancement, going undefeated against Norway, Hong Kong and Romania. This weekend we’re heading to the Star Event Centre in Sydney to see which country will advance to the playoffs. The full schedule can be found by heading over to Blizzard’s official site, while the stream can be viewed over on Twitch.

Hearthstone: Global Games

The Hearthstone Global Games tournament enters week 15 of play today and every team has been fighting hard to claim the top spot in phase two. The Group of 16 matches concluded yesterday for US viewers, but those of you in Europe can catch all the action today at 06:00 CEST. It’s a long road ahead for the pros and every team will be fighting hard to secure the $300,000 prize pool in phase two of the tournament. The full schedule and stream for week four can be found here.

Hearthstone: Grand Prix 2017

The Hearthstone action doesn’t stop there as we head to Atlanta for the DreamHack Grand Prix where players will test their mettle to see who is top dog. The turnout in 2016 was the largest amount of players the Grand Prix has ever seen and DreamHack aims to top this with their latest tournament. However, only the best Hearthstone player will take the title and the £25,000 prize pool. Make sure you head over to DreamHack’s official site to see the full tournament breakdown, schedule and stream.  

Heroes of the Storm: Global Championships Phase 2

Phase two of the HGC is well underway and teams from around the world will continue to battle it out for the $425,000 prize pool. Team Freedom still remains in the lead in North America after they beat Roll20 esports last weekend. However, Tempo Storm will be aiming to stop Team Freedom’s dominant run this Saturday. Meanwhile, Fnatic continues to lead the European bracket and Team expert will be hoping to take down Team Liquid to close the gap. Each team has their eyes firmly set on the next Western Clash in August, so every victory will help increase the chance of taking the title. Make sure you head over to heroesofthestorm.com to find the schedule and stream for all the matches being played this weekend.

Photo via Evo.

Now that Rift Rivals is over, Dota 2 is once again dominating the headlines as The International continues to ramp up its prize pool. The tournament won’t start till August, but there’s still plenty of esports action to be had from the CS:GO: PGL Major Krakow to the Street Fighter V: Evolution Championship Series. We even have the SMITE: Pro League Summer Finals to look forward to. All the details on this weekend’s events can be found below.

League of Legends: LCS

North America’s Team SoloMid won the first ever NA/EU Rift Rivals tournament securing victory in the Finals against Europe’s Unicorns of Love in a clean 3-0 sweep. This sweep completes a near perfect tournament from TSM who only lost one game in the competition. TSM enters the second half of the summer split with a new-found confidence, which could give them the power they need to take the top spot away from Counter Logic Gaming. Meanwhile, Unicorns of Love will be aiming to put their disappointing finals performance behind them and use their international experience to crush Misfits in today’s match. Both schedules and streams for the EU and NA LCS can be found by heading over to lolesports.com.

CS:GO: PGL Major Krakow 2017

SK Gaming swept Cloud9 3-0 to claim the ESL One title last weekend, but the CS:GO action doesn’t stop there as we head to Poland for the Krakow Major this Sunday. The group stage of the major tournament will see teams from around the world battle it out in a best-of-one Swiss format. A total of five rounds will determine the eight teams who will make it to the quarterfinals. Once the group stage concludes, the teams will face off in a single-elimination, best-of-three playoffs bracket, so expect plenty of drama and frantic firefights. Gambit will be kicking of Sunday’s matches when they take on mouz at 02:00 PDT / 11:00 CEST, while Fnatic tackle F3 at 03:30 / 12:30 CEST. The full schedule and stream can be found over on major.pglesports.com.

CS:GO: DreamHack Valencia

Back in June we saw the conclusion of the European and North American closed qualifiers for DreamHack Valencia 2017. NRG Esports and Red Reserve took first place and consequently secured LAN finals placements. These two teams will now battle it out amongst the six prior confirmed teams in Valencia, Spain this weekend to determine who will secure the lion’s share of the $100,000prize pool. The group stage is kicking off today at 02:00 PDT / 11:00 CEST, while the semifinals kick off Saturday at 03:00 PDT / 12:00 CEST.  Be sure to check out the full stream over on Twitch.

StarCraft 2: 2017 WCS Valencia

The World Championship Series continues in Valencia where 80 StarCraft players will compete for the $100,000 prize pool. Neeb has won the last two events back-to-back, so he’s currently the favourite to win. The playoffs begin today at 03:15 PDT / 12:15 CEST and will pit the remaining 16 players against one another before moving onto the quarterfinals. The full weekend’s schedule can be found by heading over to DreamHack’s official site, while the tournament can be streamed over on Twitch.

StarCraft II: Global StarCraft League Season 3

The Global StarCraft League continues to heat up as Korea’s finest battle it out for their chance to win the $152,100 prize pool and a guaranteed spot for the champion in the WCS Global Finals. These matches will be the defining journeys in many StarCraft II pro players’ careers, so expect plenty of drama this weekend. Group D’s matches begin today at 21:00 PDT / 06:00 CEST and will continue throughout the day. The full weekend’s schedule and stream can be found by heading over to wcs.starcraft2.com.

Overwatch: Apex Season 3

Overwatch APEX Season 3 wraps up this weekend, with the conclusion of the monthly series and a $177,000 prize pool being awarded to the victor. The finals are taking place this Saturday and many fans will be eager to see whether KongDoo Panthera has what it takes to beat Lunatic-Hai. Last weekend, AF.Blue managed to obliterate Team EnVyUs in one-side affair that saw the team taking third place. The action will kick off at 03:00 PDT / 12:00 CEST, so be sure to check out the full stream over on Twitch.

Hearthstone: Global Games

The Hearthstone Global Games tournament enters week 14 of play today and every team has been fighting hard to claim the top spot in phase two. The Group of 16 matches concluded yesterday for US viewers, but those of you in Europe can catch all the action today at 03:00 CEST. It’s a long road ahead for the pros and every team will be fighting hard to secure the $300,000 prize pool in phase two of the tournament. The full schedule and stream for week four can be found here.

Hearthstone: Grand Prix 2017

The Hearthstone action doesn’t stop there as we head to Valencia for the DreamHack Grand Prix where players will test their mettle to see who is top dog. Notable participants include Cydonia, Fluffy, Maverick and Odemian. The turnout in 2016 was the largest amount of players the Grand Prix has ever seen and DreamHack aims to top this with their latest tournament. However, only the most crafty card connoisseur will take the title and the £25,000 prize pool. Make sure you head over to DreamHack’s official site to see the full tournament breakdown, schedule and stream.  

SMITE: Pro League Summer Finals

SMITE Pro League’s online phase wrapped up this past weekend and teams are now preparing for the the summer split: Dreamhack Valencia. The top four teams from the European SPL, the top three teams from the North American SPL and the top South American teams will be present at the tournament. The semifinals start today at 04:15 PDT / 13:15 CEST and only the best teams will advance to Saturday’s live finals. Along with the conclusion of the Summer Split, Hi-Rez will also announce the remaining events in Season 4, so make sure to tune into the action over on Twitch.

Heroes of the Storm: Global Championships Phase 2

Phase two of the HGC is well underway and teams from around the world will continue to battle it out for the $425,000 prize pool. Team Freedom has taken the lead in North America after they beat Superstars and Gale Force eSports last weekend. However, Roll20 will be aiming to stop Team Freedom’s dominant run this Saturday. Meanwhile, Fnatic continues to lead the European bracket and Team Liquid will be hoping to take down Zealots to close the gap. Each team has their eyes firmly set on the next Western Clash in August, so every victory will help increase the chance of taking the title. Make sure you head over to heroesofthestorm.com to find the schedule and stream for all the matches being played this weekend.

Street Fighter V: Evolution Championship Series 2017

The Evolution Championship series returns this weekend where more than two thousand players from all over the world will come together to beat the virtual snot out of one another. Evo is notorious for bringing in new talent, as last year Japan's YOUDEAL|Yukadon, surprised almost everyone when he managed to take third place. The road to victory certainly won’t be easy, but Evo will give ultimate fighting glory to whoever rises to the challenge. The full schedule and stream can be found by heading over to evo.shoryuken.com.

Urgot has always been one of the odd champions out in League of Legends. While some champions are bold and others are beautiful, Urgot is... well, he’s a stitched together carcass marching around on spider legs. As the years have marched by, Urgot’s four spider legs have been struggling to keep up. Despite some occasional play in the mid lane by pros as a niche counter, he hasn’t really had sustained success. Is he a marksman? A bruiser? A mid laner? The average player couldn’t make Urgot work, and his design hadn’t aged well. Even other recently reworked champions received in-game voice lines razzing him for being out of date, which has to be a kick to the ol’ confidence. Luckily, he’s returning to League of Legends with a gameplay and visual update that make him a little more forgiving in the 2017 version of League of Legends. 

Upgrades, not unknowns 

The Urgot rework is surprising—not because it wasn’t badly needed, but because it’s less of a visual reimagining and more of a polishing of the same core concept. When Karma went under the rework knife, she emerged as a nearly completely different character, keeping only a couple of visual elements from her previous design. Urgot seemed ripe for such an overhaul, especially because he’s never been the most popular character, but Riot chose to double down instead. Urgot fans are likely going to be extremely pleased that their metal monstrosity is largely intact. Not only does he still have spider legs, but he has twice as many, and now they have shotguns in the knees. Instead of a stitched together belly, he has a torso that opens up and grinds enemies to death. 

Riot has continually struggled with bringing a new take to a character while not alienating fans of the original iteration. Karma was a controversial change, because her old fitted dress and fans were replaced with flowing cloths and glowing, spiritual light. Fiora’s new splash art depicted her as arrogant, sharply featured, and a departure from the rest of the female cast, but fans cried out and her new look was significantly toned down. Urgot could have been a chance for them to depart from his old identity, but instead all of the main elements are still there. He even retains his dual Noxus/Zaun identity, although this time he’s going for Grand General Swain and not Jarvan IV.

Shotgun knees and executions 

His kit is substantially different, and here’s where it gets interesting. Urgot is a ranged take on the Juggernaut class, which is defined as a slow moving, hard hitting group of champions. Up until now, Juggernauts have been melee. Urgot’s ranged, but he’s not exactly a marksman. 

His passive is Echoing Flames. When you attack in the direction of his knees, the knee opens up and sprays out flame, dealing AOE damage. The leg then goes on cooldown. If you continue to proc Echoing Flames on the same target in a short window of time, the damage of each proc is lowered.

Corrosive Charge is Urgot’s Q, and this is pretty much the same as his old kit. You throw out a little AOE charge that does damage and locks onto the target. 

Instead of throwing out a constant stream of blades at that locked on target, Urgot wants to rely on his W, Purge. Urgot shields himself and engages a target with a quick succession of shots, prioritizing locked on targets and procing Echoing Flames (assuming that leg is off cooldown). 

His E, Disdain, is another simple ability like his Q, but it has synergy with the rest of his kit. Disdain allows Urgot to charge forward. It’s a short distance, and it’s easily telegraphed, but it does give him some much needed mobility. If he collides with an enemy champion, he throws them over his other side and locks onto them.

This kit is pretty straightforward, but Urgot’s ultimate, Fear Beyond Death, is jam packed with utility, damage, and straight-up horror. Urgot throws out a massive drill, and if it collides with a target, it does physical damage, locks onto them, and slows them. If the drill is still in the target and they fall beyond 30% health, Urgot can cast his ult again.

This time, it locks him and the enemy champion into a special state. On the second cast of Fear Beyond Death, the enemy becomes untargetable. Urgot begins to reel them in, and the only way to stop that is to kill him. If Urgot brings the enemy champion in, he opens his guts, pulls out two sawblades, and executes them.

If Urgot successfully grinds an enemy champion to dust, all enemies around him are terrified and flee the scene.

Fighting back 

If you go toe to toe against Urgot, you’re probably going to die. His kit is designed to dish out damage against melee champions and chase them down when they disengage. That being said, he’s not unbeatable, and in fact there are some very obvious strategies that should allow players to get around him.

First, he has no built in sustain. If you’re playing, say, a Renekton or a Fiora, you just need to successfully avoid his E, walk away from an engagement, and heal up. By the time you duel again, you’ll be much healthier, and Urgot will still be feeling the effects of his last dance.

There’s also another option: range. A character like Quinn or Jayce can leisurely avoid the fire from Echoing Flames, dodge the Corrosive Charge and plink away at Urgot. Add in the fact that he has long cooldowns in lane, and it’s going to be very easy to bully him. 

It’ll be interesting to see if Urgot manages to shine in pro play once he hits live, but this rework seems successful at reimagining the champion in a way that allows new players to pick him up. The fact that Riot has pleased the old Urgot mains as well seems to be a solid bonus. No longer will Urgot exists outside the current class system, not quite a bruiser and not quite a marksman. Hopefully, his strong new identity (and horrifyingly strong ultimate) allow him to finally shed his reputation as a bit of a joke.

Mordekaiser, the Iron Revenant, has been a part of League of Legends almost from the beginning: The League of Legends Wiki says he was introduced to the action in February 2010. That's more than seven years of live gameplay, which you would think would be enough time to iron out his kinks. But based on this amazing, agonizingly exhaustive (and overall quite polite) list of "All 180+ Mordekaiser bugs ranked by importance and sorted into 17 categories," that's not necessarily the case. 

The author, known as NightWind42 on the LoL forums and Naerlyn on Reddit, said that cataloging Mordekaiser bugs is a "hobby," and it's obviously a pastime to which they're very dedicated. Each entry in the list is assigned a "tier" and includes a detailed description of the bug, a breakdown of its consequences, and information on how to reproduce it. Tier 1 bugs "will happen in every single game and will make you lose at best 5 minions, at worst a few kills," for instance, while Tier 11 bugs "don't affect the gameplay anymore, they are just clarity issues." 

That may not adequately convey just how deep this thing goes, so as an example here's the second bug listed at Tier 3, which "are very impactful, but happen rarely. Some others are not as bad but happen often, if not always, and some others are what prevent items to be viable or good on Mordekaiser." 

"The drake can be replaced by a normal ghost, the same way a normal ghost can be replaced by the ghost of a drake.   

Consequences: If you kill the dragon while having a champion ghost, the champion ghost will be replaced by the dragon's. This is normal, and fine. But that happens both ways around. If you ult an enemy, then kill the drake, and then have the enemy die by the remaining part of your ult, you lose the dragon ghost for something that will be a downgrade in the nigh entirety of the cases. And that's not something you can play around. Because if a fight breaks out at drake, then you have to either save your ult and hope that you can win the fight without using it, or use it and hope that the ulted target will die before your taking of the drake (or not die at all). Do you avoid ulting someone while fighting over the drake lest he die during the DoT of the ultimate and after the dragon's death? Do you delay the taking of the drake to have that champion die before? Do you avoid attacking the enemy you've ulted so that he doesn't die after the drake dies? In my opinion, having to choose between these options is not really healthy, at all.

TLDR: Will either randomly make you lose dragon ghosts, or will force you to play very weirdly around your ultimate during dragon fights.

Reproduction information: Go around the dragon. If you're testing the bug alone, lower the dragon's health. Go find an enemy (have him around or just teleport to him), reduce his health and ult him, teleport back to the dragon (in case you haven't figured, I'm not talking about the summoner spell teleport), kill the dragon before the champion dies, and then as the champion dies, you'll lose the ghost of the drake to get the champion's instead. This has a 100% reproduction rate. Its impact is huge, but such a situation doesn't happen often."

There's also a link to a video.  

The depth and thoroughness of the report is remarkable by any measure, and for a non-LoL-er like me it probably outshines the fact that Mordekaiser still has so many jagged edges. Unfortunately, the latter point seems to be—understandably—a source of frustration. "The amount of hours I've spent doing this from the very beginning to now isn't to be counted in dozens anymore, and I'll be honest, I'll be kinda bummed out if all of this goes to waste. So unless some fixes start going through, I don't think I will ever do any work on Mordekaiser bugs again," NightWind42 wrote.

"I would also like to remind [readers of] two Riot statements, lest they be forgotten: 15 months ago, as the drake got removed for Elemental drakes, Meddler said that they'd consider giving Mordekaiser the ghosts of the infernal drakes. No news of it since then. And more importantly: 'We have some time set aside to get these two clusters resolved, but that got pushed back a wee bit due to end of year Assassins follow up :(.' We are now six and a half months after this comment, and probably five months after the final aftermaths of the preseason update. I've seen one bug be fixed."

I've reached out to Riot for comment, and hopefully some information about if and when the Great Big List of Mordekaiser Bugs (Ranked and Sorted!), and will update if I receive a reply.  

It’s been an action-packed summer so far and it’s that time of year where the eyes of the esports world turn to the Dota 2 International, which begins in August. However, there’s still plenty of action to be had from the League of Legends: Rift Rivals to the Hearthstone: Spring Championship. We even have the StarCraft II: Global League Season 3 to look forward to. All the details on this weekend’s events can be found below.

League of Legends: Rift Rivals

The LCS is taking a break this week as Rift Rivals continues to pit teams from all 13 regions against their closest rivals and re-open old wounds. Each tournament will vary in the number of invited teams, venues, and format—but every event will pair one region against each other. Back in 2013 Riot held its first ever Europe vs North America League of Legends competition, called Battle of the Atlantic. North America ended up winning this tournament, despite Europe coming out with a better record. Of the ten teams that competed at that tournament, only Fnatic, Cloud9 and Team SoloMid, will make their return to once again battle it out to secure regional glory and bragging rights. The full schedule and stream can be found by heading over to lolesports.com.

Dota 2: The Final Match

Dota 2’s Final Match 2017 is kicking off tomorrow in Lima Peru where the eight invited and qualified teams will be competing for a slice of the $50,000 prize pool. The tournament will feature Alliance, Team Spirit and MVP.Hot6ix as the overseas guests. Teams will be separated into two groups of four for the group stage and will compete in a one game series round robin format. The first and second place of each group will be seeded into the upper brackets of the main event, while the third and fourth place teams will go to the lower brackets. Meanwhile, the main event will take place July 8-9th, and will feature a double elimination round. Today’s group matches will see MVP.Hot6ix face SG e-sports at 09:00 PDT / 18:00 CEST, while Alliance will duke it out against Midas at 14:00 PDT / 23:00 CEST. Make sure to check out the full stream over on Twitch.

Dota 2: Mars Dota 2 League 2017

The Mars Dota 2 League is well underway and as of writing OG has topped the group with a 5-2 record, while Clutch Gamers fell to the bottom of the standings after only picking up one game. Rounding out one of the last LAN events before TI7, the eight teams will be fighting hard to show off their strengths and claim the lion’s share of the $250,000 prize pool. The winner’s final begins Saturday at 02:00 PDT / 11:00 CEST, while the grand finals start the same time tomorrow. Make sure to head BeyondTheSummit’s Twitch channel to catch all the latest action.

CS:GO: ESL One

This year's ESL One tournament will see 16 participants duke it out for $250,000 at the Laxness Arena in Cologne, Germany. Twelve of the participants received direct invites, while the remaining four teams were admitted via regional qualifiers. Team Liquid are currently at the top of the leaderboard and their dominance has landed them a place at the quarterfinals. Meanwhile, Ninjas in pyjamas will be kicking today’s matches off at 01:00 PDT / 10:00 CEST, while the semifinals and finals start July 8-9. The full schedule and stream can be found by heading over to ESL’s official site.

StarCraft II: Global StarCraft League Season 3

The Global StarCraft League is the bedrock of competitive StarCraft II play in Korea, so expect plenty of drama this weekend. Season three of the GSL boasts a $152,100 prize pool and a guaranteed spot for the champion in the WCS Global Finals. These matches will be the defining journeys in many StarCraft II pro players’ careers and there’s certainly a lot on the line. Group B’s matches begin today at 21:00 PDT / 06:00 CEST and will continue throughout the day. The full weekend’s schedule and stream can be found by heading over to wcs.starcraft2.com.

Overwatch: Apex Season 3

Overwatch Apex Season three continues to heat up as we enter the final stages of the tournament. The finals are fast approaching and many fans will be eager to see whether KongDoo Panthera can take down Lunatic-Hai on July 29. Meanwhile, AF.Blue and Team EnVyUs will battle it out to see who will take third place in today’s match. The action will kick off at 03:00 PDT / 12:00 CEST, so be sure to check out the full stream over on Twitch.

Hearthstone: 2017 Hearthstone Spring Championship

The top 16 players from each region's spring playoffs will battle it out at the Silver Hall Expo Center in Shanghai, China. Players will battle in a dual tournament group stage, and the top two from each group will advance to the single-elimination playoff bracket. Only the best players will advance to the finals where they will have a chance to grab the $250,000 prize pool, so expect plenty of tense matches. The group matches concluded yesterday for US viewers, but those of you in Europe can catch all the action today at 04:30 CEST. The full schedule and stream can be found here.

Heroes of the Storm: Global Championships Phase 2

Phase two of the HGC is well underway and teams from around the world will continue to battle it out for the $425,000 prize pool. Gale Force eSports still remain on top and they will be aiming to take down No Tomorrow in today’s match. However, No Tomorrow are on the rise as they have currently gone undefeated in in Phase 2. Meanwhile, Fnatic continues to lead the European bracket and Team Liquid will be hoping to take down Tricked esport to close the gap. Each team has their eyes firmly set on the next Western Clash in August, so every victory will help increase the chance of taking the title. Make sure you head over to heroesofthestorm.com to find the schedule and stream for all the matches being played this weekend.

Rocket League: 7-Eleven Summer Series

The 7-Eleven Summer Series took place last Monday, and offered a unique glance at what we may have in store for RLCS Season 4. Eight teams were invited to compete in a single elimination tournament, but G2’s dominance saw them take the trophy. However, the action doesn’t stop there as the Rocket League Summer Series hops over the ocean to Europe, where Europe’s finest will compete for their chance to compete for a $6000 prize pool. You can catch the action on Sunday at 09:00 PDT / 18:00 CEST by heading over to Twitch.

Riot has announced that League of Legends players residing in the UK will face a 20 percent price rise on RP (Riot Points) following the country's decision to part ways the EU. 

As of 11.59pm BST on July 25, the new prices will come into play—changes which Riot says are a direct result of a weakened pound (GBP) following last year's Brexit vote. 

Taking to its official blog, Riot issued a statement: 

"Last June, the UK voted to leave the European Union, triggering a drop in the value of the pound relative to other global currencies, particularly the US dollar. This change meant that while UK players were spending the same number of pounds on RP as before, players elsewhere in the world were paying a lot more in comparison.

"Like a lot of companies who sell digital content, we monitored the situation closely over several months to see whether the pound would recover, but it's been over a year now and we feel we've reached the point where a price change is necessary to restore parity.

"In order to do that, we will be raising the price of RP by 20% on 25th July 2017 at 23:59 BST. This is a one-time change to restore balance in RP pricing around the world. None of your existing purchases will be affected.

"We'll be keeping the old RP prices in store until July 25th, and any RP purchased now will be unaffected by the price change. The cost of champions, skins and other items will not change after the RP price adjustment, so any RP you buy now at the lower price will still unlock the same amount of content next month as it does today."

Riot also posted this summary of old versus new prices: 

A short Q&A can also be found via the aforementioned blog post. For more LoL, check out why Cassandra Marshall thinks Riot's MOBA is still figuring out player welfare.

In traditional sports, player welfare is a serious issue. A football player who breaks an ankle or gets a concussion could end their career, or even put their life at risk. The physical aspect of traditional sports is an obvious reason as to why player welfare has to come first, but esports is quickly finding itself contending with similar issues. League of Legends, as one of the largest esports, is finding itself on the frontier of this battle with the NA LCS Players’ Association, a Riot funded initiative to give players a voice and protection in their career. Are initiatives like this enough, especially considering the unique nature of the field? It’s too early to tell at the moment, but we’re already seeing some cracks in the plan... and reasons why League of Legends players desperately need this protection.

Associations and infrastructure 

A Players’ Association is a standard in major American sports leagues, but the NA LCS Association will be the first equivalent in League of Legends. This may be a response to the #LCSForever controversy last year, where team owners and Riot clashed over relegations, monetization, and arbitration. The Players’ Association will be funded by Riot, but the idea is to give players a voice before any big changes to the league come through. In addition, there will be independent arbiters on hand, including agents, lawyers, or financial advisers. Right now, these services are often provided by the orgs themselves.

Of course, there’s the question of how fair a Players’ Association is that’s funded and run by Riot, but the goal is to move towards self-funding by the players and making the association an independent union. The players have voted in former NBPA counsel Hal Biagas as the head of their association, and there’ll be further meetings and negotiations in July, August, and September.

Why is this even necessary? 

When you think of League of Legends players, you probably think of kids playing games in an air conditioned house, or the relative luxury of the LCS stage. If you asked the players for Tainted Minds, they’d paint an entirely different story. The Australian org came under heavy fire in February after the org’s players and coach walked out, claiming that the environment was unsuitable and unsafe.

The team moved into the house, and immediately found issues with what they had compared to what was promised in their contracts. The equipment wasn’t up to par, the chairs were simple office chairs, and there was no air conditioning or laundry. In the Australian heat, it was a situation that could turn dangerous.

There wasn’t a satisfactory resolution to the Tainted Minds scandal for most players; the org was hit with a relatively small fine for not meeting contractual obligations, and the roster was released. If they had a Players’ Association, it could have been a different story. North America, as one of the most visible regions, seems a good place to start.

There doesn’t need to be something as dramatic as players asking management for food and having their shoes melt for a player to be put at risk. Putting lots of people, many of them young, in one environment is already risky enough. Adding money and a taste of fame increases the chance that something can go wrong for a player. There are many of the same risk elements as, say, a child star faces growing up.

It sounds dramatic, but this is an age where mental health conditions can emerge in a wildly stressful environment, and players are finding themselves in the mix for longer than ever. We’ve moved past the days of very short careers and then a tactical retirement; players can be part of the game for years, and it’s important to make sure they have a future by the time they leave the LCS.

Giving them resources helps keep everything on the rails, and prevent players from making poor life decisions. In addition, if they can influence the development of the league, they feel like they have some measure of control over their profession. It’s a win/win, right?

Leading a horse

There’s one problem with the equation, and its that players don’t seem interested or invested in a players’ association. Blitz Esports posted an article where they spoke with five LCS pros, and not fresh faced rookies. The prevailing theme of the piece seemed to be low level confusion and apathy. Why did people vote for Biagas? He seemed smart, and had relevant experience. What exactly would he do? They weren’t sure. Would the NBA experience transfer over to League? Maybe. 

As Xpecial noted, “I personally was unsure. He seemed like a guy that is kind of no bullshit, and we as players are full of bullshit. So it makes it, maybe like, I don’t know if he would have the patience for it.” LemonNation suggested that a good half of players contacted might not have even voted on their representative. Cloud9’s Smoothie clearly shares his priorities: “But personally, I don’t really care too much. I want to win, honestly. I haven’t really won anything yet, so that’s what I’m really focusing on right now.”

The main issue that the players’ association will face—and that organizations are already dealing with—is that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Many organizations already offer access to lawyers, financial advice, and ways to build life skills... but if a player doesn’t take advantage of that, you can’t force them into it.

Preventing disaster 

As the players’ association advances in the coming days, they’re going to be combating that apathy. On the other hand, it’s hard to blame players for not being up on these things. There’s a very real possibility that we’ve just been tremendously lucky so far, and that the North American LCS hasn’t had any player welfare crises or spectacular burnouts... yet. The Tainted Minds situation, after all, happened in OCE, a far less developed region. It can be easy to see how North American players look at their relatively secure and safe region and don’t feel any sense of danger or urgency.

This sense of safety is certainly admirable, but there are a lot of risk factors in the North American LCS that could cause something to go terribly wrong. Put players in a house, at a vulnerable age where mental health and financial issues are incredibly common, and give them money and fame, and it seems inevitable that something will happen eventually. Riot’s efforts to franchise and build a players’ union may be about more than just building up the LCS: it may be a way to head off a player welfare disaster before it has the chance to occur.