The viewership figures for the Overwatch League Grand Final have been revealed, and Activision Blizzard will be pleased to learn that more people watched San Francisco Shock sweep the Vancouver Titans than Season One's finale. With ESL One New York taking place at the same time, there was strong competition for viewers on Twitch, but fans could also watch the OWL Grand Final on many other digital platforms – including Zhanqi, CC, Huya, and Bilibili – plus ABC on television. The Overwatch Leagu

Unikrn had the chance to chat with Upper Deck's Director of Game Development Bubby Johanson about creating the initial set of 125 Overwatch League trading cards and what we can expect from the cards in future seasons.

Activision Blizzard is reporting impressive numbers for its Overwatch League Stage One playoffs, which saw distribution on Twitch, ABC and the WatchESPN app. The Vancouver Titans went on to win the Stage One crown in front of an average of 607,000 viewers worldwide.

The Overwatch League completed esports' first full match broadcast on national TV in the United States on ABC as the Vancouver Titans took home the Stage One crown. The ratings are in, and they were higher compared to most of the past esports outings on television.

Overwatch League's Vancouver Titans have completed the vaunted Royal Road, finishing out the stage completely undefeated to emerge the Stage One Champions. They were led by MVP DPS Seominsoo, who played the match with a broken thumb.

The Houston Outlaws’ star DPS, JAKE, has struggled to maintain form and composure in OWL’s second season as a GOATS meta undermined his impact (and his calm). But his time on the bench has trained him in other ways, making him one of Overwatch’s scariest contenders now that GOATS is dying.

After Boston Uprising player Fusions was deemed ineligible to play it their match against the Shanghai Dragons, many have questioned the Overwatch League's stance on Two-Way players and how they will be allowed to play.

The Shanghai Dragons are still looking for their franchise first win, but they aren't thinking too hard about the past. The sky is the limit for this team once they are able to grab that first W, but pressure from fans haunted by the past is beginning to mount. Can the Dragons silence the demons of the past to fight for a brighter tomorrow?

After defeating the defending champions London Spitfire 3-1, Paris Eternal's Kruise had some choice words for the rest of the Overwatch League about why they can't succeed running the eponymous GOATS composition that has become commonplace.

NCAA president Mark Emmert briefly commented on esports during his 25 minute State of the NCAA address this afternoon, noting that the NCAA would not change its values to fit violent video games like Counter-Strike, Overwatch, League of Legends and more.

The Overwatch community was taken for a ride over the last three weeks, as a male Overwatch player posed as a female breakout star signed to an Overwatch Contenders roster. This hoax from a ranked player called Punisher who called it a 'social experiment.' Blizzard has commented about their role in the matter.

Blizzard has slammed the banhammer down on over 18,000 players in South Korea for toxic behavior. This continues a long trend of Blizzard cracking down on its playerbase for behavior it deems unacceptable behavior.

There hasn’t been a year that’s gone by in esports without some kind of major controversy or drama going on, and 2018 was by no means an exception to that rule. Here are the four most important controversies that happened as Unikrn looks back at professional competitive gaming in 2018.

The schedule is set and the rosters are more or less locked and loaded for Blizzard’s Overwatch League season two. With just two months from the beginning of the season, the Twitter beef is already starting between teams. Here are some of the biggest rivalries to watch this upcoming season. Choose your side carefully.

In the wake of the landmark Fanatics and Overwatch League deal, Unikrn had the chance to speak with Daniel Siegel, Blizzard Entertainment's Head of Esports Licensing, for his thoughts on how the deal will help fans and teams alike connect on a deeper level.

Boosting in games like Overwatch or League of Legends could get a lot more perilous in South Korea as the country looks to pass legislation to punish the controversial practice. Overwatch, League of Legends, and other games have had a checkered past with account boosting.

The Dallas Fuel had a rocky first season marred by constant roster issues and a poor record, but it wasn't without its bright spots towards the end of the year. When the newly minted Head Coach Aero entered the Fuel dugout, it was a new era for the team; one that paid off in the Stage 4 playoffs. Unikrn spoke to Aero about his plans to supercharge the Fuel engine for Overwatch League Season Two.

Legendary retired NBA pro basketball player Chris Bosh joined up with Gen. G and Seoul Dynasty in an advisory and mentor role to its esports players, hoping to play the role of older brother and mentor to a batch of young professionals coming into their own in the LCK League of Legends scene and Blizzard's Overwatch League.

Ashe and B.O.B, Overwatch’s 29th hero, have just hit the Overwatch's live servers. At Blizzcon, we had the chance to chat with Blizzard's Overwatch Story lead, Michael Chu, and character artist, Renaud Galand, about Ashe's development and whether she will be a must-pick character in the coming metagame.

As South Korea claimed their third gold medal in a row at the Overwatch World Cup this Blizzcon, many pro players in the event contrasted the experience to playing in their home leagues . And despite Contenders players having the chance to play on a large stage, the question remained how valuable the OWWC was for their careers longterm.

NRG Esports Co-CEO Andy Miller shocked the esports community with the decision to sell his CS:GO team to Evil Geniuses earlier this week. He explained the shock move to Dexerto in an interview at the Overwatch League Grand Finals media day. The team’s move shocked many because after so long, the CS:GO squad led by Peter "stanislaw" Jarguz advanced to rank top five on HLTV's CSGO World Rankings. When asked about the decision on September 27, Miller replied that it mostly had to do with the inst

BLAST Pro Series LA was set to bring CSGO to the Galen Center for the first time before the event changed gears shortly before it was set to kick off, prompting a full refund for fans. RFRSH sat down with Unikrn to explain this decision.

The Esports Integrity Coalition has announced a Match-Fixing Summit, at which various esports stakeholders will gather to discuss the current rise in suspicious betting alerts that the ESIC has received in the past year, which marks an 89.7% increase from the same period in 2017.

Brazilian Senator Eduardo Girão wants to undo the listing of violent esports titles like CSGO and Rainbow Six Siege as sports within the country. This could have devastating effects on visa programs for esports athletes in those games.

CS:GO pros are unhappy with Vertigo, the newest map added to the Active Duty map pool. They have criticized the map as 'ugly' and, more importantly, 'not competitive'.

Danish Prime Minister Lars Loekke cites Astralis as one of the biggest role models in Denmark as the country prepares to create regulations that will further encourage esports development in the country.

Puerto Rico Jesus Manuel Ortiz has tweeted his support for esports to come to Puerto Rico, along with looking into initiatives to open the island territory to the 'economic and development impact' that it represents. It could help the island territory continue to recover from Hurricane Maria, the impact of which is still being felt.

Games that feature blood or corpses, titles based on China's imperial past, Poker and Mahjong titles are banned under China's new gaming rules.

National federations from 12 member countries in Europe have agreed to start an independent esports federation on the European level later this year. Game developers and tournament organizers could participate as non-voting observers.

Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege could be the next game in esports to draw large investment for franchised slots for its professional play. The game has been on a steady rise in viewership over the past few years on Twitch, quietly creeping up the rankings behind CS:GO, Overwatch and League of Legends.

The Evolution Championship Series has announced a new initiative to help players acquire travel visas to travel to Las Vegas to compete in titles like Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Street Fighter V and more.

NCAA president Mark Emmert briefly commented on esports during his 25 minute State of the NCAA address this afternoon, noting that the NCAA would not change its values to fit violent video games like Counter-Strike, Overwatch, League of Legends and more.

Valve issued over 500,000 infractions on the Valve Anti-Cheat system the same month that Counter-Strike: Global Offensive went Free to Play. This echoes concerns that the community had when CS:GO ditched its paywall.

One of the biggest dichotomies in the competitive CS:GO esports scene specifically has been the debate surrounding online versus LAN events. Online events keep a steady drumbeat of matches throughout the scene, punctuated nearly every other weekend by a LAN event. Unikrn asked several pros to define the biggest differences between the events and the effects they have on the scene.

CS:GO’s teams are encouraged and practically mandated to attend as many events as possible to climb HLTV’s ranking system, the ladder by which teams are measured in the game. Between the online leagues, offline LANs, invitationals, and open events that teams have to choose from, how much can players handle before they break down? And how can change come to what’s become an esports institution?

With the United Masters League heating up, Unikrn caught up with Zescht, one of the voices behind every broadcast of the UML to talk about what makes the league so unique, the importance of the league to the tier 2 scene, and how he got involved in casting.

Cloud9 is a team that’s seen its shares of highs and lows in 2018. From their miracle underdog win at the ELEAGUE Boston Major to having one of the most unstable rosters in professional Counter-Strike esports, Cloud9 is looking toward 2019 with a new and solid roster in Kioshima, Flusha, and Golden, converting to a EU-majority team.

Boosting in games like Overwatch or League of Legends could get a lot more perilous in South Korea as the country looks to pass legislation to punish the controversial practice. Overwatch, League of Legends, and other games have had a checkered past with account boosting.

Currently among the pack leaders in the United Masters League, Sprout is looking to prove themselves among rising CS:GO teams. Unikrn caught up with former Mousesports player Denis for his thoughts on Sprout’s progress since he’s joined the team and their plan to bring home the first UML crown.

The Evolution Championship Series has announced a new initiative to help players acquire travel visas to travel to Las Vegas to compete in titles like Super Smash Bros Ultimate, Street Fighter V and more.

Panda Global and Street Fighter V player Infiltration have parted ways following an investigation into an incident of domestic abuse in 2017. Capcom has followed suit and suspended Infiltration (at the player's own volunteering) from all Capcom Pro Tour events for the rest of 2018 and 2019 as a 'first-time offense'.

PR Balrog was once ubituqous in top 8 finishes for the famed fighting game franchise Street Fighter, but his glory days have dimmed in recent years. That hasn't stopped the 'Raging Buffalo' from chasing the gold, however, despite his feelings about Street Fighter V.

Unikrn Senior Writer Dustin Steiner recently had the chance to speak with Cygames Beast's Gamerbee to talk about how he's been managing since his return from working at Twitch to the Street Fighter V esports scene, fighting game payouts, and the support of his wife in his pro playing career

Perhaps one of the biggest success stories of the Capcom Pro Tour, Chris Tatarian has always been on the grind to make a name for himself and prove he's worth his weight in gold. Now with the support of Cygames Beast, he's looking to take his game to the next level, and live up to the storied gods and Evo champions he now calls teammates.

Legendary Street Fighter pro Daigo Umehara may have missed out on top 8 at Evo 2018, but the support of his team and the momentum he’s built throughout the year are looking to carry him through to Capcom Cup success this December. The game may have changed, but his commitment to victory remains the same.

It’s a new day for Super Smash Bros Melee. For the first time, Team SoloMid’s Leffen won Evo, leading the path for new and rising talent in the game. Unikrn had the opportunity to talk to one such talent, Panda Global’s Zain, the young Marth main who placed ninth at this year’s Evo, about his success.

For Super Smash Bros Melee players, pride is about all that's on the line for Evo champions. The cash structure for the game and limited prizing support from Nintendo means that no one except the game's champion walks away with any substantial amount of money, and even then — it's not much. But for Leffen, that's not satisfactory. He'll be helping in his own way.

In the wake of one of the first major upsets of Evo 2018, Las Vegas local Steven 'Pro7otype' Linakis sat down with Unikrn to talk about defeating Punk, one of the perennial favorites to take this year's Evo in Street Fighter V with a character no one but him expected to do well: Alex.