To say October was an amazing month for esports is an understatement!

This year for League of Legends at Worlds has been one for the record books. Not only are there no Korean teams in the finals—which everyone was expecting—but we also had a North American team in the Semi-Finals! Overwatch has announced some great changes to its upcoming season, along with some of the new names for those upcoming additional franchises.

So, it’s a cliff-hanger right now. We don’t know who the next League of Legends world champion will be, or the other Overwatch team names. The good news is we will know this very soon, with the answers emerging from two of the events I am going to discuss here today. So why don’t we jump in and take a look at what we have happening during the month of November!

Strap in folks, because it’s my job to take you through the “what is happening and where it is happening” so you can catch the “what’s what” in esports for the month ahead. So let’s gather together in this month of Thanksgiving and give thanks for the awesome esports events happening this month.

League of Legends Worlds Wraps Up!

The culmination of the League of Legends seasons happens on Saturday November 3 at 12:30 AM PDT after what has been a roller coaster of a time in the month of October. In the season-ending game, Fnatic takes on Invictus Gaming at the Incheon Munhak Stadium in South Korea, and it’s going to be one heck of a series.

Getting here has been amazing. For the first time since the inaugural season of League of Legends in 2011, there will be a final that doesn’t include Korea (and to be clear, in 2011, China and Korea weren’t included in the championship at the time). If you read my blog about what to watch in October, I joked in that piece that we may see a North American Team make it out of the group stages. To my surprise, and frankly to everyone’s delight, North American team Cloud 9 not only succeeded in making it out of groups, but made a Cinderella run that lasted through to the semi-finals.

It was powerhouse Fnatic, however, that ended the hopes and dreams of Cloud 9 and brought us to where we are today, with an EU (Fnatic) and China (Invictus Gaming) finals. Both Fnatic and Invictus are hungry for this win as they both took down their opponents in the semi-finals with clean 3-0 sweeps.

So be sure to set your alarm and grab a nap (they start at 12:30 AM PDT) as this will be a League of Legends World Championship Finals you will not want to miss. To tune into all the action, head over to Riot's channel on Twitch.

BlizzCon, the Mecca of Blizzard esports and All Things Blizzard in General

The same weekend as the League of Legends finals, a small but albeit feisty—Okay, just kidding! The massive juggernaut of all things Blizzard—descends on the convention center in Anaheim from Friday November 2 through Saturday November 3. Now, you might be asking yourself, “Self, how do I watch this and the League of Legends Worlds at the same time?” Never fear because the times do not cross at all, and most of the action you will want to catch from BlizzCon happens around 4:00 PM PDT on Saturday November 3.

I wasn’t exaggerating when I said BlizzCon is the mecca of all things Blizzard. Not only are the finals for the Overwatch World Cup happening that day, but in addition, the World of Warcraft Arena World Cup, Starcraft World Championship Series, and the Heroes of the Storm Global Championships are all—believe it or not—happening AT EXACTLLY THE SAME TIME! Luckily, if you want to watch the Hearthstone Global Championship Finals, they are at least earlier (1:45 PM) in the day and they don’t step on any of the championships I mentioned earlier.

With so many amazing finals happening at the same time, you really can’t go wrong. It’s just about what kind of games you want to watch. If you are a fan of Overwatch and love the Overwatch League, tune in on Saturday at 3:45 PM for the Overwatch World Cup Finals. If it’s real-time strategy action that tickles your fancy, then the StarCraft 2 WCS Global Finals, that begin at 5:30 PM that day are for you. Finally, if you need a little MOBA warm-up before League of Legends Saturday night, then you can catch the Heroes of the Storm Finals beginning at 4:00 PM. Whatever you choose, you aren’t going to be disappointed. as all of these events will have high action and high production value. So, Blizzard your heart out, as this will be a virtual smorgasbord of esports action! For all the details and schedules, check out the Blizzard Esports page.

Halo Season 2 Wraps Up with the HCS Finals 2018 at Dreamhack Atlanta

A personal favorite esport series of mine is the Halo World Championship series. For someone who is new to esports and is looking for a great introduction, then the HCS Final at Dreamhack Atlanta is the one to watch. Teams from around the world have been fighting all season long from places like New Orleans and London to determine the overall HCS 2018 Champion live in Atlanta.

The action starts on Friday November 16 with open-bracket play for aspiring pro players as well as group stage play for the invited teams like Renegades and Team Reciprocity. The Championship play kicks off on Saturday, November 17 with the top two teams 

battling it out and crowning a 2018 HCS Champion on Sunday. The two teams to watch in this year’s finals are TOX and Splyce, as these two have been trading off wins at the different events throughout the year. Personally, I am always voting for an underdog like the LATAM team Beserker Esports! Because, you know, who doesn’t love a good Cinderella story?!

Whoever you are rooting for, this is a great event to watch, and a great chance to dip your toe in the water of this “little” thing we call esports. If you want to get an in-depth preview of the event (and be thoroughly entertained), you can check out my weekly esports show, “This Week in Esports,” as we are talking with Tashi, Lead Esport Producer, about all things HCS Finals 2018 at Dreamhack. You can catch the episode live or on VOD Thursday November 8 right here. If you just want to check out the event instead (I promise I won’t be offended), you can do so starting on November 16 by tuning in at mixer.com/Halo.

There is so much more to watch than just these three events in the month of November.

In fact, I would say that November is extra “lit” when it comes to esports, considering the number of events happening during its calendar days.However, if you just catch these, you can check esports off your bucket list for sure as these events should satiate even the most hardcore esports appetite. So, tune in and enjoy, and as always be sure to tweet at me @robeyonekenobi to let me know your thoughts and how you enjoyed the shows!