Welcome esport fans, to another monthly recap of what’s been happening in the wide world of esports! In this September newsletter, I’ll be taking you through this month’s “need-to-know” events and happenings in the esports world.

First of all, it has been a big month for League of Legends, Overwatch, Fortnite, and CS:GO. There’s a lot to cover, so let’s start the journey!

The End of an Era? SKT and TSM Fail to Qualify for Worlds

That’s right. It is the end of an era, as the legendary and powerhouse teams of SKT (Korea) and TSM (North America) both failed to qualify for Worlds this year. If you’re wondering why the World Championships are so important, let me say that The League of Legends World Championships (or Worlds) is like the Super Bowl, but with even more viewers. At Worlds, both SKT and TSM have been staples in their respective regions with players like Faker (SKT) and Bjergsen (TSM) becoming titans and mainstays of this competition.

 The winds of change are upon us, though, as we get closer to the big event starting on November 3rd at the Incheon Munhak Stadium in South Korea. We have a lot to look forward to as we watch the heavily favored RNG make its run against powerhouses like Gen.G to see if they can not only take both domestic splits and the Mid-Season Invitational, but also the title of champions at Worlds. Maybe we will see the NALCS top seed, Team Liquid, make it past the group stage? One can hope, right? Truth is, it’s all new now, and with the changing of the guard, it should be a lot of fun to watch.

Speaking of watching, the fine players of TSM and SKT will also be enjoying the show from the comfort of their couches (or quality gaming chairs) along with the rest of us, because (as we pointed out earlier) this year they aren’t there either.

Overwatch Gets Bigger!

The inaugural season of Overwatch kicked off with 12 teams at a rumored cost of 20 million dollars per franchise. Now, with the season wrapping up and the Overwatch League finals in New York over, it has been rumored that we would see some new teams joining the roster for Season 2. Rumors were swirling regarding teams in Australia or Germany, but until recently we didn’t have any official confirmation of where or even how many. Blizzard has now officially confirmed that eight new teams will be joining the original 12, bringing the total to 20 teams. Vancouver, Paris, Washington DC, Atlanta, Toronto, Hangzhou, Chengdu, and Guangzhou are the new cities where in 2020 these new teams will be based. If you thought 20 million was steep, it is rumored that these new franchises cost in the 35 million to 60-million-dollar range. Though the names of the teams aren’t yet announced, we do expect to hear that news at Blizzard’s official con Blizzcon in November. We at Continuant Esports can’t wait to see what these teams do when Season 2 kicks off early in 2019.

Fortnite Skirmishes Are Back

Autumn Joy is what the Epic Games website says as they have recently announced the Fortnite Fall Skirmish series kicking off its first week at the end of this month. Hot off the success of the Summer Skirmish series that wrapped up at PAX here in Seattle, the Fall Skirmish is upping the ante in every way. Ten million dollars in prize money will be given away over six weeks, with the competition changing from week to week to keep things feeling different from the Summer Skirmish. The culmination of the series will be wrapping up at TwitchCon, and if the Summer Skirmish is any indication, every week will be a lot of fun to watch.

Astralis Wins the CS:GO FACEIT Major

The best and the brightest CS:GO teams from all over the world descended on London for the FACEIT Major this month. Like the International for DOTA 2 or Worlds for League of Legends, the Majors in CS:GO are the biggest events and bring the stiffest competition. Given the unique nature of the Closed Qualifiers, it’s always interesting to see who comes out in the Bracket Stage of the tournament given the unpredictable nature of the Swiss format.

By the time we got to the Legends stage (top 16 teams) of the tournament, though, there was someone for everyone to cheer for, and it wasn’t easy to really predict who was going to come out on top. Heck, we even had a strong North American Team at this Major, Team Liquid, whose play had been amazing all the way up until the Champions phase of the tournament. Alas, it was the tried and true teams of CS:GO who would make it to the finals. Enter Astralis, a powerhouse in the CS:GO world. Their play at this Major was predictably as magical as it always is. Losing only one map the entire major across all phases of the event, Astralis easily took NAVI in the finals to call themselves champions in London. Congratulations to Astralis on their FACEIT Major win!

Well, that wraps it up for this month. Don’t worry, though! There is so much more esports to look forward to. Stay tuned right here for your monthly updates on “what’s what” in esports so we can keep you informed on the ins and outs of the esports world as well as give you the inside scoop on what’s been happening each month!

For now, get out there, tune into your favorite streaming platform, and watch you some quality esports. Because, you know, we will be there, doing the same thing!