FTW with Imad Khan: An Esports and Competitive Gaming Podcast: Recent Episodes
Dot Esports
Join journalist Imad Khan on an in-depth discussion of the week in esports and competitive video gaming. The show brings years of insight from the inside of the esports industry, with exclusive interviews and special guests. New episodes every Monday.
FTW with Imad Khan is coming to an end. It's been a great run. For the final episode, Dot Esports' Cale Michael jumps on the show to discuss what fighting games fans can expect for the rest of 2023.
Read 'Tekken 8 hands-on: A console-first approach levels up an arcade classic'
You can find Cale at @XJustified.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. Thank you to Annie Pei, Henrique DaMour, Jacob Wolf, Thomas Tischio, Kevin Morris, Rachel Samples, Justin Binkowski and all the great journalists who have contributed to this show, including Alex Lee, Mateusz Miter, Michael Kelly, Scott Robertson, Preston Byers, Adam Fitch, Tyler Esguerra, Jess Scharnagle, George Geddes, Hunter Cooke, Steven Asarch, Shannon Liao and Mikhail Klimentov. And of course, thank you to Dot Esports
LCS viewership saw a steady decline in viewership throughout the Spring Split. Average viewership was at 109,000 or 14.8 million hours watched. That's down 22% from the summer of 2022. Jordan Fragen of GamesBeat joins the podcast to discuss.
Read 'LCS viewership tumbles for sixth consecutive split'
You can find Jordan at @JFragen_.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network
Esports organization CLG is no more. After more than a decade in esports, the organization has been acquired by NRG. NRG is only keeping CLG's League infrastructure afloat. And rumors also began to emerge late last month that TSM would be selling its coveted LCS spot as well due to financial struggles. To discuss this latest upheaval is Digiday's Alex Lee.
Read 'NRG officially acquires CLG, rejoins the LCS'
You can find Alex at @alexleewastaken.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network
Valve announced Counter-Strike 2, a free follow-up to the incredibly popular Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, or CS:GO. Along with graphical overhauls, Valve is making some technical changes in CS2. To discuss the major changes coming to Counter-Strike, as well as how the esports community has been reacting, is Dot Esports reporter Mateusz Miter.
Read 'Counter-Strike 2: All leaks, and details on CS 2'
You can find Mateusz at @MiterMateusz.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network
Beyond the Summit, an esports event organizer, laid off its entire staff. The company is known for putting on intimate invite-only tournaments in Super Smash Bros., DotA and other games. The format allowed for a looser atmosphere where pro players could entertain audiences in other ways. This comes as other esports teams and companies have began dropping players or selling their positions in leagues. To discuss is Dot Esports reporter Cale Michael.
Read 'Beyond the Summit lets go of all full-time staff in emotional goodbye'
You can find Cale at @XJustified.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network
Jacob Wolf reported earlier this month that Overwatch League teams have come together to collectively bargain with publisher Activision Blizzard. Teams are looking for economic relief after high costs and low payments from the league. To discuss is gaming and esports attorney Justin Jacobson.
Read 'Overwatch League teams are reportedly seeking collective legal action against Activision Blizzard for losses'
You can find Justin at @justinjESQ.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network
Last week, Jiseok Lee of South Korea won the Pokémon VGC San Diego Regional, netting himself $3,000 in prize money. He used an unorthodox tactic to defeat his opponent 8-2. To explain the competitive Pokémon video game is freelance reporter Yash Nair.
Read 'Pokémon pro snags a ‘salty’ victory with underrated pick to take home regional Scarlet and Violet championship'
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network
Last month, cryptocurrency exchange FTX went bust. Owner Sam-Bankman Fried, and his friends, misused customer money in risky investments. The crash of FTX sent the crypto market spiraling downward. FTX was also a major sponsor in traditional sports and esports, like when it signed a naming rights deal with TSM and changed the name to TSM FTX in a $210 million deal. To talk about the impact of FTX's collapse is Jason Chung, director and esports business professor at NYU's Tisch Institute for Global Sport.
Read 'The fall of a crypto empire: FTX bankruptcy timeline and latest updates'
You can find Jason at @ChungSports.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network
Nintendo abruptly shut down the Smash World Tour weeks before the finals were to take place. In a long statement, VGBC, the company behind the tour, said Nintendo refused to approve broadcast licensing for the tournament and accused esports organization Panda Global of conspiring against the Smash World Tour behind the scenes. Connor Richards of Odin Law and Media brings his legal perspective.
Read 'Nintendo claims it did not shut down Smash World Tour, but the community isn’t buying it'
You can find Connor at @XzibitAtLaw.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network
League of Legends free agency is happening right now and reports are surfacing of Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok fielding offers from North American teams. Also, it seems that Doublelift and Bjergsen are reuniting at 100 Thieves. To discuss is Dot Esports League of Legends reporter Michael Kelly.
Read '‘Faker is reportedly considering options from multiple LCS teams'
You can find Michael at @Michael_Kelly17.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network
League of Legends World Championship 2022 concluded this past weekend, bringing one of most memorable storylines in League history. It was a South Korean grand finals with DRX and T1, helmed by Deft and Faker respectively. DRX ultimately came out victorious, giving a historic win to Deft, who has been playing in the shadow of Faker for years. To discuss is freelance reporter Mateusz Miter.
Read '‘I was told I won’t win’: Deft recollects his hardships after winning Worlds 2022'
You can find Mateusz at @MiterMateusz.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network New episodes release every week.
DigiDay published an article earlier this month about the low freelancer rates found in esports journalism. It focused on Gamurs Group, the same company that owns Dot Esports. Rates can be as low as $15 for a 300-word news article. The author of the article, Alex Lee, joins the show to discuss.
Read 'How GAMURS shows the esports journalism industry’s struggle to overcome low freelance rates'
You can find Alex at @alexleewastaken.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network New episodes release every week.
G2 Esports has been aflush in controversy. Founder Carlos "ocelote" Santiago was forced to step down as CEO position after he posted a video of him partying with Andrew Tate, a right-wing provocateurs who often espouses misogynistic viewpoints. It seemingly prompted Riot Games to rescind G2's offer of being a part of its Valorant franchise league. Dot Esports' Scott Robertson discusses
Read 'G2 parts ways with entire VALORANT division following partnership snub'
You can find Scott at @counterscottGO.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network New episodes release every week.
ESL Pro League Season 16 concluded over the weekend. The Finals were between Team Vitality and Team Liquid. Freelance reporter Mateusz Miter returns to FTW to discuss.
Read 'ESL Pro League Season 16 Grand Finals Recap'
You can find Mateusz at @MiterMateusz.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network New episodes release every week.
Twitch has banned gambling after much outcry from the platform's top creators. But gambling streams have been a part of Twitch for decades, with many calling afoul of Twitch's latest move. Oscar Gonzalez of CNET joins the show to discuss.
Read 'A different kind of gaming: Full breakdown of the Twitch gambling drama and why it was banned'
You can find Jacob at @OGreporter.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network New episodes release every week.
Former Super Smash Bros. Pro Gonzalo "ZeRo" Barrios was accused of sexual misconduct in 2020 and in 2021 sued his accuser, Jacqueline ‘Jisu’ Choe. The lawsuit was settled earlier this month. Jacob Wolf of Overcome discusses the latest developments and ZeRo's attempts at returning to the scene.
Read 'Former Smash pro ZeRo resolves defamation lawsuit with ex-roommate, will return to content creation.'
You can find Jacob at @JacobWolf.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network The show recieved production help from Preston Byers. New episodes release every week.
Cloud9 beat 100 Thieves over the weekend in a 3-0 sweep to win the 2022 LCS championship. Ethan Garcia joins the show to give his analysis of the LCS Championships and what North American fans have to look forward to at Worlds.
Read 'Cloud9 crowned LCS champions after defeating 100 Thieves in only 3-0 sweep of 2022 LCS Championship.'
You can find Ethan at @ethangarcia___.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every week.
Valorant Champions is set to kick off this Wednesday in Istanbul, Turkey, serving as a conclusion to this year's VCT. This will be the first championship to take place in front of a live crowd. Dot Esports' Scott Robertson jumps on to give his analysis.
Read 'VALORANT Champions 2022: Group predictions and teams to watch.
You can find Scott at @coutnerscottGO.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every week.
Evolution, the world's most prestigious fighting games tournament, returned to Las Vegas this year after staying online due to the pandemic. Street Fighter, Guilty Gear and other top fighting games were at the event. Super Smash Bros. was notably absent. To talk about Evo 2022 is Dot Esports' Cale Michael.
Read 'All top 8 results from Evo 2022 on Dot Esports.
You can find Cale at @XJustified.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every week.
A California judge has approved a $100 million settlement between Riot Games, the makers of League of Legends, and women who sued the company in 2018 over gender discrimination. The settlement involves more than 2,000 full-time and contract employees. To talk about the lawsuit is Dot Esports associate editor and co-host of the EgoChall Podcast Preston Byers.
Read 'Judge reportedly approves $100 million settlement for Riot Games’ gender discrimination lawsuit' on Dot Esports.
You can find Preston at @PresByers.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every week.
FaZe Clan, the popular esports team in multiple games, is set to become a publicly traded company worth $987 million. This comes as other major esports teams are experiencing layoffs. TSM FTX and 100 Thieves reportedly laid off 20 and 23 people respectively. Dot Esports' Preston Byers returns to discuss.
Read 'FaZe Clan going public in deal reportedly worth nearly $1 billion' on Dot Esports.
You can find Preston at @PresByers.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every week.
Inven Global, the esports news and media publication, has laid off its editorial staff. Inven's editorial shuttering does not bode well for esports journalism. Earlier this year, Upcomer laid off half of its editorial staff and ESPN Esports shut down at the end of 2020. To break down the state of esports journalism is Adam Fitch, head of content at Hitmarker Jobs
You can find Adam at @byAdamFitch.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every week.
Over in India, the PUBG Mobile scene is seeing some controversy. TSM accused team Godlike of poaching Arjun "SHADOW" Mandhalkar. Shadow says TSM had a toxic work environment. TSM denies the accusation. Godlike, on the other hand, has a history of poaching players. Analyst Rishi Alwani returns to discuss.
You can find Rishi at @RishiAlwani.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every week.
At Sony's State of Play earlier this month, the company gave fans a first glimpse of Street Fighter 6. Since then, new information has continued to trickle out regarding its roster, fighting mechanics and greater esports features and integrations. To discuss what we know so far about Street Fighter 6 is Dot Esports' Cale Michael.
Read 'Street Fighter 6 to take casual and competitive players alike to ‘new places’, starting with World Tour' on Dot Esports.
You can find Cale at @XJustified.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every week.
The Call of Duty League is back to in-person events. This past weekend saw the Seattle Surge take the Major III in Toronto from the former Cold War champs Atlanta FaZe in a 5-3 set. Dot Esports' Associate Editor Preston Byers joins to the podcast to discuss.
Read 'Kings of the North: Seattle Surge bring home first Call of Duty Major trophy' on Dot Esports.
You can find Preston at @PresByers.
You can find Imad at @Imad.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every week.
Dota 2's Stockholm major title went to Red Bull OG last weekend, making it the fifth major title for the organization. Stockholm also saw some controversy with Michael 'ninjaboogie' Ross being dropped just before the death of his mother by Team SMG. To break it all down is Dot Esports' Cale Michael.
Read 'OG win fifth Dota 2 Major, beat TSM in Stockholm grand finals' on Dot Esports.
You can find Cale at @XJustified.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every week.
MSI 2022 is taking place in South Korea. Chinese team RNG are having to play from China due to Covid restrictions. To accommodate competition, Riot has implemented a special network latency tool to keep competition fair. Ping was meant to be set at or near 35 milliseconds. But in-tournament, ping issues have cropped up. Dot Esports Tyler Esguerra returns to the show to give us the details
Read 'Danny talks about EG’s tough start at MSI 2022 and the 35 ping debacle' on Dot Esports.
You can find Tyler at @Tyler_is_Online.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every week.
The open beta for Overwatch 2 launched late last month with a huge flurry of interest. The game immediately broke viewership records on Twitch, with 460 thousand viewers in less than two hours and a high of 1.5 million. But the game quickly plunged, losing 99% of its audience in a week. Jessica Scharnagle returns to the show to break it all down.
Read 'Overwatch 2 viewership plummets 99 percent after breaking viewership records for franchise in opening week' on Dot Esports.
You can find Jess at @JessScharnagle.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every week.
The LCS Spring Finals took place in Houston last weekend. Evil Geniuses beat both Team Liquid and 100 Thieves in a 3-0 shutout. It was also the first in-person major League event since the start of the pandemic. Joining Imad this week is Evil Geniuses' General Manager Andy Barton and Riot's Head of Esports for North America and Oceania Chris Greeley.
Last week, China's League of Legends Pro League, or LPL, banned LGD's Chen "Jay" Bo for life for match-fixing, per a statement made on social media platform Weibo. Jay will also be forbidden from streaming League of Legends content on his personal stream. An investigation found text messages in which Jay allegedly communicated with an outside organization to intentionally lose matches during the 2022 LPL Spring Split. This week, Imad is joined by Dot Esports contributor Mateusz Miter to break down the situation, its previous precedents, as well as implications for the player, team, and league.
As the war between Russia and Ukraine rages on, the VALORANT Champions Tour, or VCT, has Russian players facing restrictions from competing. This affects Fnatic and FunPlus Phoenix who reportedly were scrambling to find replacements for their Russian players. Because FPX was not able to find enough replacements, its roster will not be traveling to Reykjavik in Iceland, and will instead be replaced by Team Liquid. Because VCT Masters is an international event, Russian players cannot travel internationally due to ongoing sanctions. This week, Imad is joined by Dot Esports investigative reporter George Geddes to talk about the impact of the current situation on the competition and its teams.
G2 Esports has filed a lawsuit against blockchain company Bondly, which was set to develop the sale of NFTs for the brand. G2 claims that Bondly misled leadership and is seeking $5.2 million dollars in damages. This week, Imad is joined by Mikhail Klimentov, who reported the story for the Washington Post, to discuss the lawsuit and esports' relationship with NFTs.
With COVID now trending downward, the fighting games scene is slowly starting to open up in-person events. Evolution (EVO) will return to Las Vegas this year and the Smash World Tour will finally come together. On this week's episode, Imad is joined by Dot Esports FGC reporter Cale Michael to talk about the FGC.
Due to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, much of the esports industry, along with most nations, have showed support for Ukraine, including sending donations to humanitarian efforts and condemnations of Russia's actions. Tournament organizers have also banned some Russian teams from competing in events. Events that were to take place in the CIS region, which includes Russia, have been cancelled. This week, Imad is rejoined by Dot Esports reporter Mateusz Miter to discuss the latest developments in Eastern European esports as a result of the war.
Russia has declared war on Ukraine. The esports scene in Europe is tied greatly to Russia and its neighboring countries. Alraedy, orgs such as G2 Esports, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Astralis, and others have made statements condemning Russia's actions. Ukranian CS:GO pro Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev expressed his frustrations on Twitter saying his city, Kiev, is being shelled. Kostyliev was just in Poland for IEM Katowice 2022. This week, Imad is joined by Dot Esports reporter Mateusz Miter to break down how the industry is responding to the conflict.
Last month, a 14-year-old boy in Lahore, Pakistan, shot his family dead. Police claim that he was "under the influence" of PUBG Mobile. In a statement, police said, "The PUBG addict boy confessed to have killed her mother and siblings under the influence of the game. He has developed some psychological issues because of spending long hours of the day playing the online game." Police say he was quick to get agitated and that his mother scolded him earlier for playing the game too much instead of doing schoolwork. Police are now recommending that authorities that agencies ban the game, calling it too dangerous. This week, Imad is joined by Aasil Ahmed, a tech reporter for ProPakistani.pk.
Motif Esports, a U.K. based esports organization has completely disbanded, deleting its website and Twitter profiles in the process. Two members of its all-female VALORANT team alleged to have experienced both racism and sexual harassment when competing in VCT Game Changers. The team's former captain, Joanne Rae, shared a Twitlonger detailing a toxic work environment and alleged that founder Jack "Jaws" Willis sexually harassed her. Her teammate, Barbora "Rebecca" Řezáčová. claimed there was "a lot of racism towards non-UK players," including towards Czech and Turkish players. Mercy, a Turkish player, had to deal with targeted racism. This week, Imad is joined by freelancer Cecilia Ciocchetti, who reported the story for Dot Esports, as well as former Motif players Joanne and Rebecca.
Last month, Savvy Gaming Group purchased both ESL and FACEIT Group in a massive $1.5 billion dollar deal. Savvy is fully backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and is essentially the esports and gaming arm of its larger sports acquisition and marketing efforts. The Saudi Arabian government has a poor human rights record, including a number of vast restrictions to women, and anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Over the past years, the country has been trying to change its public image around the world by sponsoring, via the PIF, sports events such as Formula One and buying soccer clubs, a strategy that has been branded sportswashing. ESL Gaming, which also comprises Dreamhack, reportedly made up to $1 billion of the deal. This week, Henrique (filling in for Imad) is joined by Leonardo Biazzi, a longtime CS:GO reporter and staff writer at Dot Esports who has been following Saudi Arabia's "sportswashing" initiatives closely.
On back-to-back episodes of FTW, we're talking shooters. This week, it's the Call of Duty League's turn in the spotlight. It, as well as its sister league in the Overwatch League, will be feeling the ramifications of Microsoft agreeing to buy their parent company Activision Blizzard for a record-breaking $68.7 billion dollars. On this week's episode, Imad is joined by freelance Call of Duty League reporter Tanner Wooten to talk about what Microsoft's acquisition could mean for the future of a sputtering Call of Duty League, and in some cases by extension, the Overwatch League.
Halo esports is back, and with the launch of the newest title in the series, Halo Infinite, the scene is off to a great start. After a couple of Majors and some Pro Series tournaments, Cloud9 stand atop the scene. But what's next for the esport in a franchise that has been around for as long as Halo has? Is the scene just surviving on nostalgia, or is it sustainable? To answer these questions and get some insight into the state of the esport as it stands, we're joined by Dot Esports FPS staff writer Scott Robertson, and fill-in host Henrique DaMour to kick off 2022.
2021 was an interesting year for esports. The first part of the year was quiet, with COVID still raging and vaccination programs getting off the ground. But as the year progressed, some players were banned, others were unbanned, and an entire company was at the forefront of an industry-wide reckoning. To break down the year in esports for 2021, Dot Esports' Investigative Lead, Jacob Wolf, joins this week's episode.
p>Last week saw the conclusion of the first ever Valorant Champions Tour. European team Acend took home the gold and a hefty $350,000 as well. They beat Gambit Esports 3-2. Teams were also paid 50% of net proceed from skin sales, with total sales coming out to $7.5 million. It marks a fantastic year for VALORANT, an esport that came into prominence during the pandemic. Viewership during VCT saw a peak of 811,000, an exponential rise from events that had taken place earlier in the year. This weeek, Imad is joined by Dot Esports' Jalen Lopez to talk about VCT, as well as VALORANT's first year as an esport.
Read 'Acend win VCT Champions after five-map grand finals thriller against Gambit' on Dot Esports.
You can find Jalen at @Jalen_Lopez_.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every Monday.
Last week, esports team Panda Global launched a Kickstarter for a new pro-level GameCube controller. This controller was made to address the inconsistencies that Smash players face when hunting down a weapon of choice. As of publishing, the Kickstarter has surpassed 1.2 million dollars. On this week's episode, Imad is joined by Dr. Alan Bunnay, CEO of Panda Global, and Matt Samperi, president of Panda Hardware, to talk about what they hope to change about a decades-old controller while preserving its viability and customization for decades to come.
On Nov. 16, Kirsten Grind, Ben Fritz and Sarah Needleman of The Wall Street Journal put out a bombshell report regarding Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard. Earlier this year, California's Department of Fair Housing and Employment sued Activision Blizzard over multiple allegations of employee harassment and abuse. The company has been since been combative, fighting back at the allegations and appealing to the public that it is a safe place to work that's inclusive of all types of people. Kotick himself made a similar statement, and reportedly downplayed the severity of the multiple situations to the board of directors, and wasn't aware of others. The report said that Kotick was aware of a rape that occurred between a female employee and her male supervisor in 2016 and 2017 at Sledgehammer Games. Kotick reportedly did not inform the board regarding the assault. This week, Imad is joined by Shannon Liao of The Washington Post for more insight into the latest chapter in an already exhausting saga.
Free Agency is upon us for League of Legends where teams are expected to make major bids for top players with expiring contracts. Underscoring the hundreds of thousands in salaries that are likely going to be used as bartering chips is a change in talent management. As the esports industry as grown, so has the influx of established talent agencies willing to represent esports athletes. This week, Hawken Miller, who wrote a story for Dot Esports about the changing agency landscape within esports, joins Imad to talk about the evolving presence of agents in esports.
Read 'How esports agents help protect players and legitimize the industry' on Dot Esports.
You can find Hawken at @HawkenMiller.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every Monday.
The Activision Blizzard saga rumbles on, with the ramifications of the DFEH lawsuit of earlier this year and the other controversies surrounding the company in 2021 finally affecting the company's games themselves. Activision Blizzard announced last week that Overwatch 2 and Diablo 4 were delayed even further back than before. This week, The Washington Post's Shannon Liao, who has done extensive reporting on the entirety of the ActiBlizz going-on over the last few months, joins Imad on the show to catch us up on the latest developments in the odyssey, as well as the impacts on the company's IP's.
The Counter-Strike: Global Offensive PGL Major 2021 in Stockholm, Sweden is underway. It's the first CS:GO Major since StarLadder Major in Berlin in 2019, meaning that PGL's highest-ever prize pool is at a whopping $2 million. In the world of VALORANT esports, the Last Chance Qualifiers are underway. As the name suggests, it's the last chance for teams to fight their way up to the Champions event. While the event started on Oct. 12, false-positive COVID tests pushed the event to Oct. 27. On this week's FPS-heavy episode, Imad is joined by Scott Robertson and Jess Scharnagle of Dot Esports to recap, preview and discuss the heating up of the international seasons in CS:GO and VALORANT, respectively, as well as the evolutions of the two esports in the last 18 months.
Read 'NA VCT Last Chance Qualifier matches postponed again' on Dot Esports.
You can find Scott at @counterscottGO. You can find Jess at @JessScharnagle.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every Monday.
Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is the new hotness in the Smash scene. No, really. The game's technical intricacies and fast pace have impressed veterans of the scene such as Adam "Armada" Lindgren, one of the greatest Melee players of all time. He joined the show this week to chat with Imad about just what makes NASB so special from a gameplay perspective, what the game's developers have goten right, and whether it has the legs as a competitive game to stick around in a saturated platform fighter genre.
Russia's Team Spirit shocked the world of DotA 2 when it took home The International 10 and its hefty $18.2 million prize. The win was so big that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin put out a statement congratulating the team. This week, Cale Michael of Dot Esports joineed the show to talk about the champions' unlikely win at TI10, what went wrong and right for North American teams like Quincy Crew and Evil Geniuses, and the implications of Team Spirit's win on the future of the esport as a whole.
Read 'Team Spirit shock the world, beat PSG.LGD to win The International 10' on Dot Esports.
You can find Cale at @XJustified.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every Monday.
The 2021 League of Legends World Championship is taking place in Reykjavík, Iceland. The competition features T1, MAD Lions, FunPlus Phoenix, Cloud9 and other top teams. The event was originally designated to take place in China, but was moved to Iceland in late August due to the Delta Variant of the COVID-19 coronavirus taking hold in the country. Between Faker's return, Japan's DetonatioN FocusMe making a historic run, Western teams with the potential to upset the esport's balance, and more, there are storylines aplenty in the biggest competition in the world's biggest esport.
It's been a tough 18 months for the Super Smash Bros. community. With bad online multiplayer for Ultimate and only unofficial options for Melee, it's arguable that no one esport scene's had a more difficult time during the coronavirus pandemic. Following up from our previous episode where Imad spoke with Riptide's Josh 'Jaaahsh' Marcotte, Imad visited Low Tide City in Round Rock, Texas, to see how the event managed coronavirus protocols and spoke with tournament organizer Rob 'Oracle' Dickerson.
The Overwatch League Grand finals took place this past weekend in Honolulu, Hawaii. There was some handwringing and consternation regarding keeping the event in Hawaii considering reports from the New York Times that the state was facing oxygen and ICU bed shortages. Either way, the Overwatch League moved forward with its Grand Finals plans, pitting Shanghai Dragons and Atlanta Reign against one another. This week, Imad is joined by Teddy Amenabar of The Washington Post to talk about the OWL Grand Finals' significance for the esport's competitive landscape, COVID-era esports as a whole, and Overwatch itself with Overwatch 2 looming on the horizon.
Riptide marked the Smash community's return to in-person tournaments, the lifeblood of the FGC and its adjacent games moreso than any other esport, since February of 2020. The event had relatively strict COVID measures in place for the in-person event: every attendee needed to show proof of at least one dose of the COVID vaccine or a negative test. This week, Imad is joined by "Jaaahsh" Marcotte, the tournament organizer for Riptide and the director of logistics at Panda Global, to talk about everything from fake COVID vaccine cards, legal parameters, community trust, and other lessons learned from organizing the first big in-person Smash event in 18 months.
In a conclusion to the Apple v. Epic Games lawsuit initially filed over a year ago, a California court ruled that Apple must permanently allow developers to include third-party in-app purchase methods, such as links to their own websites, on iOS apps. While the court didn't rule that Apple broke federal monopoly or antitrust law, it did rule that it practiced "anti-competitive behavior" under California law. Epic Games has also since filed an appeal to a higher court, meaning that this legal battle might not be over just yet. This week, Imad is joined by Adi Robertson, senior reporter at The Verge, to break down what exactly the ruling does and doesn't mean for both parties, and who (if anyone) "won" in what they initially set out to do.
As part of a "national rejuvination," China's government passed laws that limit children under 18 to just one hour of gaming per day on weekends and holidays. This week, Imad is joined by Dr. Hugh Davies, a post-doctoral fellow at RMIT Universiry in Melbourne, Australia and expert on video games in the Asia Pacific region, to break down the legislation's origins, implementation, and possible loopholes for a country whose esports industry has made it into one of its most formidable powers.
Last Monday, the Esports Integrity Commission recently put out an update on Counter-Strike's matchfixing. While criticism has been lobbed at the ESIC for taking too long to conduct investigations, the problems facing the commission aren't as simple as they seem. Mikhail Klimentov, editor for the Washington Post's gaming and esports vertical, Launcher, joined the podcast to break down what exactly the limitations that the ESIC has to operate under are. Additionally, due to fallout from the California DFEH's lawsuit against Activision Blizzard, the company has decided to rename one of Overwatch's most iconic characters, McCree, given that his namesake, former developer Jesse McCree, was ousted from the company after his involvement in the "Cosby Suite" was unearthed. Freelance reporter Joseph "Volamel" Franco joined the show to talk about the community's reaction to the announcement, as well as what it could mean for ActiBlizz going forward.
On Aug. 19, subscription service OnlyFans said it would ban sexually explicit content, which made the site famous, from its website starting in October due to backlash from credit card companies and bankers. Some of the site's most subscribed creators are also famous streamers on Twitch, another site that's struggled with defining 'sexually' explicit. Tia Mann, who goes by 'Roleplayers' on Twitch and 'TheSpiderQueen' on OnlyFans, joined the pod to discuss what the move means for these Twitch streamers and their revenues.
The Overwatch League is currently discussing delaying its upcoming season into late 2022 or early 2023. This comes after an Overwatch leaker Metro suggested that the game's sequel might be pushed into 2023. Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, certain revenue streams have been cut off for teams. Activision Blizzard has already allowed teams to defer annual franchise payments, according to a September report in the Washington Post. Underpinning all of this is the lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which has accused the company of rampant sexual abuse and unequal pay for female employees. Already, brands like T-Mobile and Kellogg have pulled out of the Overwatch League. State Farm is reassessing its partnership, according to the Post. This week, Imad is joined by Dot Esports investigative lead Jacob Wolf, who broke the story for Dot along with Liz Richardson.
Popular Twitch streamer Félix “xQc” Lengyel was met with a week suspension from Twitch following his broadcast of the Olympic events. He was hit by a DMCA notice by the International Olympic Committe, which forced the week-long suspension. Lengyel filed a counter-claim, which, for all intents and purposes, threw the ball back at the IOC's court. If the IOC wants to move forward, it could file a lawsuit against Lengyel. This has sparked a conversation around the limits of fair use. In Lengyel's case, he was watching a badminton event, to which he was adding his own expressive reactions and commentary on top. This week, Imad is joined by Brandon J. Huffman, a digital media lawyer at Odin Law and Media, to discuss the case, potential previous precedents, as well as where this case could go.
To say that a new, disturbing layer of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing's lawsuit against Activision Blizzard seemed to come to light every day since the suit's initial filing last week would not be that big of an understatement. These included, but were not limited to, further allegations of harassment and pay disparity towards female employees, crude remarks at the Blizzard booth during the Black Hat Cybersecurity Conference, men walking into breastfeeding rooms, and a bombshell report detailing goings-on at the so-called Cosby Suite at BlizzCon 2013. As the web of allegations grows, so do the legal complexities of the case. This week, Imad is joined by Irene Scholl-Tatevosyan, a labor and employment attorney and senior associate at Nixon Peabody LLP, and Vice President of the Esports Bar Association, to sift through the allegations, old and new, through a legal lens.
The California Department of Fair Employment and Housing filed suit against Activision Blizzard, alleging that the company fosters a "frat boy" workplace where female employees are mistreated. And that's just the legalese -- the allegations require a much stronger stomach to read. The suit was filed last Wednesday, July 21, after a two-year investigaiton into a company culture that allegedly allowed binge drinking, discrimination against and harassment of female employees, and a bevy of ignored HR complaints about events disturbing in quantity and content. Hunter Cooke, who helped break the story for Dot Esports, joins Imad for this episode to help break down the parameters of the suit and to recount what the backlash has been internally and externally.
Evo is back! Sony's aquisition of the world's most famour fighting game tournament has been well-received by the fighting game community, and the benefits of the increased investment and resources from Sony have expanded to include the ability to not only put on a year-end, in-person event in Las Vegas as is tradition, but to also give a portion of the spotlight to smaller games and studios. Also, Slap City developers Ludosity have taken a page out of the Super Smash Bros. handbook to launch Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl -- a multi-IP platform fighter that will include a roster ranging from Spongebob to the Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles to Powdered Toast Man. To talk about both of these topics, usual producer and temporary Imad fill-in Henrique DaMour is joined by Dot Esports FGC writer Cale Michael to talk about Sony's present and future relationship with the most grassroots esports scene's biggest tournament and Ludosity's newest title.
From the jump, the Overwatch League was supposed to bridge the gap between esports and traditional sports, from its regionalized model to the organizations and people that bought into the league before its inaugural season in 2018. To maintain competitive integrity, a soft salary cap exists in the OWL, but a players' union does not. The U.S. Department of Justice recnetly launched an investigation into the OWL's practices around this issue and the legality of it from an antitrust perspective. Imad is joined by Dot Esports lead investigative reporter Jacob Wolf to break down why the existence of a salary cap in the U.S. will raise red flags without the presence of a players' union, where America's jurisdiction ends given the international representation in the League, and more.
Traditional sports franchises buying esports teams or creating their own is nothing new in the modern esports world. But the very new COVID-19 pandemic and the financial trouble it plunged a lot of sports teams into has very real trickle-down consequences for those teams' esports ventures. One of the oldest soccer clubs in Germany, FC Schalke 04, suffered a historic relegation into the 2. Bundesliga in 2020. Combined with the pandemic's effect on its finances, the club felt it had no choice but to sell its League of Legends team's slot in the LEC to Swiss buyers Team BDS. This week, Imad is joined by Dot Esports investigative reporter Pablo "Bloop" Suárez to break down the massive sale.
The games hosted on Twitch often have constantly-shifting metas, but in recent months, the platform itself has gone through a few similar phases. The "hot tub meta," the "ASMR meta," and the streamers and creators that fuel them, have generated their fair share of controversy, for many reasons. To discuss as many of those reasons as possible, Imad is joined by former head of PR for Twitch and current head of PR and social media at StreamElements, to try and unravel how we got here, and what the future might hold for Twitch and other similar streaming services.
Read 'Twitch creates new streaming category in response to hot tub meta' on Dot Esports.
You can find Chase at @ChasejustChase.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every Monday.
The mobile gaming esports market is exploding -- probably at a higher rate than you think. In overseas markets, the genre dominates the playerbase and ecosystem to a far larger degree, and in India specifically, Garena Free Fire is king. Imad is joined by Rishi Alwani of IGN India to discuss just what makes Free Fire so popular in India, and what the takeaways are for Western esports fans from its meteoric rise.
Twitch and esports have fully embraced co-streaming, and by doing so, have jumped on the wave of personality-driven content by giving popular personalities the rights to their broadcasts in order to have their product reach as many people as possible. Consumers of the content find themselves interacting with the personalities associated with it, and fans of the co-streamers themselves are introduced to the product being streamed. It's not as simple a win-win on the surface, however. Imad is joined by Venn's dGon to talk about the newest emerging content delivery system in esports.
Another year, another online convention. E3 2021 will be online this year, which, while an upgrade from 2020, still leaves developers and journalists alike with unique challenges to adapt to at one of the world's biggest trade shows. Imad is joined by CNN Underscored's Mike Andronico to talk about the differences between this year's con and last year's, as well as what to expect from Sony and Nintendo, both of which will try to overcome self-imposed adversities as E3 nears.
One of the biggest esports in the world, League of Legends, has undergone fundamental changes to its player base and owners in the last few years. Last week, the oft-maligned LCS Players Association underwent restructuring in order to empower players and educate them on their rights as the scene continues its rapid expansion. Imad sat down with Dot Esports' Jacob Wolf to discuss the intentions behind the changes as well as why such an organization should matter in esports specifically.
Jay "Sinatraa" Won, a player for the VALORANT team Sentinels, was suspended by Riot Games for six months amidst an ongoing investigaions into sexual assault allegations made against him by his then-girlfriend. Imad is joined by Hunter Cooke of the Dot Esports investigative unit to discuss what exactly the suspension means for Sinatraa as a pro and as a person, as well as what the processes look like for both the internal Riot investigation as well as the police report filed by his then-girlfriend.
Super Smash Bros. pro Anees Assaf joins Imad as he explains why he changed his tag to 'Free Palestine'. The two discuss the ground swell of support he's received from the Melee community as he raises awareness around the tensions between Israel and the Palestinians in East Jerusalem and bombings in Gaza.
Park "Saebyeolbe" Jong-Ryeol, a player for the Overwatch League's Seoul Dynasty, caused a stir of international proportions when he made controversial comments about freedom of speech in China and objected to the “One China” policy on a stream in early April. All four Chinese OWL teams threatened a boycott of Saebyeolbe and the Dynasty, but relented soon after. This week, Imad is joined by Troy Stangarone, senior fellow at the Korea Economic Institute of America, to put the incident and its near-ramifications into their proper economic, historical, and political contexts.
Read 'Chinese Overwatch League teams come to an agreement, will no longer boycott Seoul Dynasty' on Dot Esports.
You can find the Korea Economic Institute of America on Twitter at @KoreaEconInst.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every Monday.
On Monday, Epic Games and Apple will present their opening arguments in what is set to be one of the biggest tech antitrust lawsuits of the past decade. To break down the players, the stakes, and the possible outcomes, Imad welcomes on Dot Esports chief reporter and investigative lead Jacob Wolf and Washington Post video game reporter Shannon Liao.
Following the fallout around the Esports Certification Institute announcement on Tuesday, company co-founder Sebastian Park joined Imad to answer the critics and explain the formation of the idea. Park is a former executive of the Houston Rockets and a founder of its former esports team Clutch Gaming.
Nicolai "dev1ce" Reedtz made CS:GO history with his transfer from Astralis to Ninjas in Pyjamas this week after winning four majors with his former org. FPS reporter Scott Robertson of Dot Esports and Hotspawn joins the show to break down the deal from all angles. Plus, Imad and Scott discuss the changes around VAC bans and what they mean for competitors at the highest level of the esport.
After showing several high profile community members an undisclosed document he claims proves his innocence, Super Smash Bros. pro Nairoby 'Nairo' Quezada's been unbanned by several tournament organizers. Those companies first banned Nairo following allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a fellow pro, who was a minor at the time. While Nairo still remains banned from streaming on Twitch, esports consultant Cyrus 'Cagt' Gharakhanian joined the show to discuss Nairo's potential return to tournaments. Plus, physical therapist Dr. Dave Amirrezvani discusses the retirement of Dallas Fuel player Ki-hyo "Xzi" Jung amid several esports stars stepping away due to profession-related injury.
Joshua Mullins was a teenager that nearly swindled his way into the LCS. In an elaborate report, both Jacob Wolf of Dot Esports and Kevin Hitt of the The Esports Observer detail how he, along with fake checks and a bizarre kidnapping scheme, tried to fake his way into team ownership.
Head of Digital Business & Esports at F1 Dr. Julian Tan joins the show to talk George Russel's win at Virtual GP and how esports fits into the larger F1 strategy.
Daigo Umehara won an exhibition match during the Capcom Pro Tour finals with a broken finger. Plus, Smash World Tour is back, and will take on a hybrid format because of the pandemic. Cale Michael of Dot Esports joins the show to break down the state of Street Fighter V and Super Smash Bros.
With Overwatch 2 pushed out of 2021, it's put the state of the Overwatch League in a precarious position. Reporter Joseph "Volamel" Franco returns to the show to give us his thoughts on what we might expect in Overwatch esports this year.
Evil Geniuses announced its new Valorant roster. It's being headed by CS:GO pro Christine "potter" Chi, and is the first coed roster in Valorant at this level. Dexerto's Andy Williams returns to the show to discuss its impact.
Adam Fitch of Dexerto returns to the show to discuss his piece on chess as the new hot esport and what it means for the industry moving forward.
Ryan 'gootecks' Gutierrez, the face of the Pogchamp emote, was removed from Twitch following a controversial comment in support of the riot at the US Capitol. Internet culture reporter Steven Asarch of Insider returns to the show to break down his fall into conspiratoria.
Imad sits down for a conversation with reporter Jacob Wolf about his departure from ESPN and his return home to Dot Esports, the publication that initially hired him at 18.
Aditya Singh Rawat of AFK Gaming joins the show to discuss the biggest controversies in CS:GO for 2020. From MIBR accusing Chaos EC of cheating to 37 coaches being banned from the game, there was plenty of mishaps to make it a difficult year for the scene.
Reporter Alexander Lee jumps on the show to talk the Ludwig Ahgren Championship Series 3 and how it was able to get around a Nintendo Cease and Desist. Plus, attorney Noah Downs of Morrison Rothman joins the show to talk Senator Thom Tillis' new streaming bill and what it means for Twitch.
It was a slow week in esports, so host Imad Khan goes solo to give a quick update. Imad talks controversy following the premiere of the new Smash Bros. documentary, 'Metagame,' as well as a worrying new bill in the Senate and changes to the LCS. Expect a full episode next week.
Dexerto's Andy Williams joins the show to talk Valorant First Strike and 100 Thieves' win over TSM. Plus, Call of Duty League's Matthew 'MattDotZeb' Zaborowski jumps on to talk Microsoft's acquisition of Smash.gg and the Ludwig Ahgren Championship Series 3 tournament.
After an anonymous Twitter account posted a series of allegations against Nintendo and how it has blocked the competitive Smash community, attorney Connor Richards returns to the show to discuss other legal and legislative options. And Doubelift announced his retirement from League of Legends. Reporter Meg Kay jump on to break down his legacy.
Following a cease and desist letter sent by Nintendo, The Big House Online was forced to cancel both its Melee and Ultimate tournaments. Nintendo alleges illegal copies and custom code were being used to play Melee, violating its intellectual property. Attorney and Esports Bar Association member Connor Richards joins the show to break it all down from a legal perspective.
With Chicago Huntsman rebranding to OpTic Chicago, Dexerto's Adam Fitch joins the show to discuss how past branding is critical to Call of Duty League's future. And Rishi Alwani of The Mako Reactor jumps on to talk PUBG Mobile's massive $100 million investment in India following the game's ban earlier this year.
With announcements of layoffs across ESPN, its esports vertical will effectively close. Both reporter Aron Garst and Imad have written for ESPN Esports and break down what the loss of ESPN Esports has on the esports media ecosystem.
Inven Global published a fictional interview with League of Legends and K/DA star Seraphine, in what reporter Steven Asarch felt was a bizarre way to use the platform of a journalistic publication. Plus, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate player Nairoby "Nairo" Quezada published a statement countering molestation allegations made by Zack 'CaptainZack' Lauth.
Regular contributor to The Washington Post, Noah Smith, and VoteMAP's Joe Deshotel join the show to talk representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez' and Ilhan Omar's record breaking Twitch stream. It was a get out the vote effort that broke viewership records, and one that could make Twitch an important political tool moving forward.
With 100 Thieves unceremoniously exiting CSGO, it puts into question the survivability of the scene in North America. HLTV's Milan 'Striker' Švejda joins the show to give his thoughts. And Worlds is underway in Shanghai. Reporter Meg Kay jumps on to give her thoughts on why North America failed so miserably and her predictions going into semifinals.
With Riot Games putting an end to the Oceanic Pro League, Max Laughton of Fox Sports Australia jumps on the show to break down the state of esports in the region following the announcement. Plus, with the San Francisco Shock taking its second consecutive title in the Overwatch League, reporter Joseph 'Volamel' Franco returns to explain why the Shock remain dominant and if the team will be dethroned in 2021.
With Call of Duty League commissioner Johanna Faries taking over Overwatch League as well, journalist Joseph 'Volamel' Franco jumps on to give his analysis. Plus, Wim Stocks, CEO of Collegiate StarLeague, explains how HBCUs are now entering esports.
ProReborn returns to the show to talk Call of Duty League team Toronto Ultra withholding salaries during the pandemic.
There wasn't much news last week, so Imad goes solo to give a quick briefing on three stories. The US Treasury Committee on Foreign Investment is asking both Riot and Epic to provide information on how its keeping American data safe while being owned by Tencent. It looks like there will be a limited audience at Worlds given China's low rate of transmission. And PUBG Mobile in India might have found a lifeline.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every Monday.
Imad published an article in Dot Esports last week which asked why there's little outcry over China's human rights violations, but plenty towards Saudi Arabia. Will Partin, researcher for the University of North Carolina Center for Information Technology and Public Life, returns to the show to discuss this complex topic. And David Beckham has a new esports team with an IPO valuation of $65 million. How is that possible? Tobias Seck of The Esports Observer breaks it down.
With PUBG Mobile banned in India following increased tensions with China, Rishi Alwani of The Mako Reactor breaks down the geopolitics and what this means for teams moving forward.
Tyler Esguerra of Dot Esports breaks down Cloud9, FlyQuest, TSM, and G2 leading into Worlds and Panda Global's Josh 'Jaaahsh' Marcotte talks the competitive Fall Guys scene.
After 19 teams were banned from the PUBG Mobile Open Cup Split in South Asia for cheating, Rishi Alwani of The Mako Reactor jumps on the show to break down the situation. And freelance journalist Hawken Miller gives his thoughts on Luminosity signing quadriplegic streamer Rocky Stoutenburgh.
As Epic Games and Apple throw down, Michael Arin, editor in chief of the Esports Bar Association Journal, jumps on to talk Fortnite being de-listed from the App Store and what a breakdown in Apple's control could mean for esports. And freelance journalist Billy Studholme talks his latest column on Dot Esports in which he calls into question the success of the Call of Duty League leading up to its inaugural playoffs.
Will Hershey of Roundhill Investments talks the recent executive orders going after China's Tencent and TikTok and how it will affect Riot Games' League of Legends and later reporter Joseph 'Volamel' Franco discusses the mass exodus of Overwatch League stars to Valorant and how it could force a change in design with Overwatch 2. Our Fan of the Week asks Dr. Disrespect's return to streaming on YouTube.
LEC reporter Tom Matthiesen talks uproar over the League of Legends and Neom deal and potential hypocrisies of casters and players being critical of Saudi Arabia but not China and Michael Arin, Editor in Chief of Esports Bar Association Journal, jumps on to discuss the congressional antitrust hearings between Facebook, Google, Apple, and Amazon and what effects it might have on esports.
Reporter Steven Asarch discusses the disastrous interview with League of Legends streamer Robert "'Hashinshin" Brotz and why it had to be taken down plus John Danek from The Hard Drive Magazine, a satirical news outlet, talks the symbiotic relationship between comedy and journalism.
You can find Steven on Twitter at @IAmAsarch and John at @jjdanek.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every Monday.
Imad does a solo segment where he breaks down the situation involving the US Army and it banning dissenters on its Twitch channel and Dot Esports' Tyler Esguerra discusses Greyson "Goldenglue" Gilmer's one week contract with Evil Geniuses and the state of US League of Legends talent development.
You can find Tyler on Twitter at @tyler_is_online.
FTW with Imad Khan is a part of the Dot Esports Podcast Network. New episodes release every Monday.
Barry Lee, Director of Esports at Evolved Talent, talks new reports suggesting Valorant player salaries and Jason Lake, Founder and CEO or Complexity Gaming, jumps on to explain what running a major esports team has been like during 2020, talking coronavirus, Black Lives Matter, sexual harassment allegations against key esports figures, and PPP loans.
Reporter Steven Asarch comes on to discuss the sexual misconduct allegations made against prominent members of the Super Smash Bros. community involving minors. And Gene Park of the Washington Post discusses Trump's Twitch ban and the US Army's attempts to recruit gamers.
Reporter Steven Asarch joins the show to discuss how to process the flurry of disturbing sexual harassment and assault allegations that have come to light this past week and Will Hershey of Roundhill Investments breaks down the fall of Mixer.
Nils Naujoks of Red Bull Racing Esports and G2 Sim Racing jumps on to talk about the 24 Hours of Le Mans Virtual and Nick D’Orazio of InvenGlobal talks Ryan "Fchamp" Ramirez's insensitive tweet and Valorant's plummeting viewership.
CNET's Oscar Gonzalez jumps on to talk PlayStation 5 reveal and Will Partin of Data and Society discusses a Facebook post by Riot Games executive Ron Johnson justifying the murder of George Floyd. Johnson resigned shortly after the recording of this episode.
Latoya Peterson, former deputy editor at The Undefeated and current Glow Up Games CXO, talks the esports world's reaction to George Floyd's murder, the lack of representation in games media and what esports needs to do to be more inclusive.
Esports Insider's Adam Fitch jumps on to talk about ESI Digital Summit. We discuss expanding Middle East and South American presence, mobile esports, and in-game advertising.
George Geddes of Dot Esports jumps on to talk FaZe and NRG wanting to jump into the LCK, Brandon Huffman of Odin Law and Media discusses Ubisoft suing Google and Apple over Rainbow Six clones in the app stores, and Mikhail Klimentov of The Washington Post dives into his report about esports companies taking federal emergency PPP loans.
Colin McNeil of theScore Esports talks TSM President Leena Xu accidentally leaking internal trade discussions regarding Joshua 'Dardoch' Hartnett in the background of Yiliang 'Doublelift' Peng's stream. Plus the UK's first professional gamer, Sujoy Roy of esports betting platform Midnite, explains the implications of FaZe Clan's Richard 'FaZe Banks' Bengston casually telling the world that his team ran a CS:GO betting platform to fund a CS:GO roster.
Esports Heaven's Joseph "Volamel" Franco talks about disaster in Vancouver following the Titans' release of its entire roster and Zorine "Harli" Te jumps on to discuss the future of the FGC after Evo's decision to move online.
Nick "ProReborn" of ProjectValorant talks Sinatraa leaving Overwatch League for Sentinel's new Valorant team, Team Liquid's Kashan "Chillindude" Khan jumps on to discuss Pound Online and the future of Smash during coronavirus, and ESPN's Arda Ocal gives his thoughts on Travis Scott's epic Fortnite concert.
Inven Global's Parkes Ousley jumps on the show to talk about Cloud9's dominant LCS win, ESPN's Valorant Invitational, and Counter-Strike recent surge in popularity.
Senior Editor for I Play CoD and Project Valorant Nick "ProReborn" joins the show to discuss the continuing domination of Valorant on Twitch, anger over the current state of Fortnite, and the fallout after NASCAR driving Kyle Larson threw out a racial expletive on stream.
On this bonus podcast, producer Annie Pei interviews Imad about his recent article in The New York Times about Animal Crossing. The two discuss the reprieve Animal Crossing offers during the Covid-19 pandemic and how it challenges notions of American mythology.
No. 1 esports consultant and sometimes journalist and provocateur Rod "Slasher" Breslau jumps on the show to talk everything Valorant as well as ESPN's lackluster NBA 2K Players Tournament and Rocket League player bans.
Emily Rand from ESPN jumps on the show to talk NA LCS playoffs with Golden Guardians qualifying, the state of the Overwatch League amidst layoffs and sexual misconduct allegations, and NBA throwing a 2K tournament without the 2K League.
Imad and Jacob Wolf of ESPN discuss League of Legends competitions moving online, F1 and NASCAR embracing sim-racing, and GameStop's attempt to brand itself as an essential service.
Imad and Steven Asarch of Insider have quarantined themselves and are at a loss of what to do. At least Heartstone is still getting updates. Evil Geniuses picked up Sonic Fox, so that's nice. Granted, it might not be the best time to go to fighting games tournaments.
This week Imad Khan and Steven Asarch of Insider discuss the ongoing effects of the coronavirus pandemic on gaming and esports. It quickly turns into a therapy session. Stay safe and wash your hands.
On this Joycon Boyz edition of the podcast, Imad and Steven Asarch discuss the ongoing coronavirus threat and how it's affecting esports, the anniversary of Etika's passing, Smash World Tour, and Riot's new shooter Valorant.
In this week's show, host Imad Khan talks about the ongoing Coronavirus, the NBA 2K League Draft, FIFA 20 woes, and seven-year-old Pokemon champ Simone Lim.
For this week's show, Imad and Steven Asarch discuss the Rainbow Six Invitational, the new Counter-Strike league, appeals to Nintendo to support the Smash scene, and the presidential debate.
Imad and Steven Asarch discuss the start of the Overwatch League season and the NYXL homestand as well as the state of the LCS.
For this week, Imad discusses Evo 2020 games, the second week of the LCS, new Overwatch League changes, and the anger from the Super Smash Bros. Melee community.
Join journalist Imad Khan on an in-depth discussion of the week in esports and competitive video gaming. The show brings years of insight from the inside of the esports industry, with exclusive interviews and special guests. New episodes every Monday.