Boomeo

This week's TL;DW looks at the roster changes during the first week of the player's break

Should every gun be competitively viable? The CS:GO pros talk by Boomeo

Valve have made some interesting changes to CS:GO during its lifetime, From the ability to swap out different weapons to, well, the less said about the R8, the better. Most recently, the Negev heavy machine gun underwent an unusual adjustment to behave unlike any other weapons.

*Ask Questions for next week's episode here: https://boo.gg/2vfNdP1* "Ask Thorin" #12: - 3 most competitive eSports (00:21) - Dignitas (06:17) - Godsent (07:56) - "New" NiP (10:12) - Pistol Rounds replaced by $ (13:02) - 76ers as a finalist // Motivation in life (15:49) - Substituting players (20:38) - Lowest point for Swedish CS (22:01) - SK and the level of CS (24:49) - The Swiss System (27:14) - LoL VS CSGO Tournament systems (28:46) - Strength of a team (30:30) - Broken pistols and possible fixes (32:32)

TLDW Podcast #16 - July 25th by Boomeo

TLDW Podcast #15 - July 18th by Boomeo

Pistols have remained a point of contention in CS:GO for some time now, with everyone from players and analysts to even your average Joe on reddit weighing in to impart their views. Many struggle to reconcile the handguns’ cheap costs with their ability to quickly dispatch players holding far more expensive investments. Others despise the seemingly random and spammable nature of the weapons, citing a lack of skill in their use.

If you decided to take part in this Major’s Pick‘Em challenge, I can only feel sorry for you. The PGL Major has proven to be the most unpredictable in CS:GO’s history, with favourites dropping at every stage. With the likes of G2, Cloud9 and NaVi falling in the group stage, the Major looked ripe for an Astralis or SK final, only to find them matched in the quarterfinals. The playoffs continued the trend, with no one predicting a Gambit-Immortals finale. Even then, Immortals looked to subvert expectations, overwhelming Gambit 16-4 on Cobblestone. In the end, Gambit’s strategy won out, finally earning Zeus a long deserved Major title in his third attempt.

Stuck between ESL One Cologne and the PGL Krakow Major, this was never going to make for the most action-packed week of CS. In fact, it’s largely proven an affair of embarrassment, with a number of teams producing some shockingly poor performances at Dreamhack Valencia. Fortunately, all this confusion has given NiP the opportunity to flex their new muscles and take the prize. Second place went to underdogs, Red Reserve, who took part in the most memorable matches of the tournament. Let’s look back at the key moments you might have missed.

TLDW Podcast #14 - July 11th by Boomeo

It was the Major that wasn’t really a Major. ESL One Cologne returned this week and as always it delivered incredible action, but this time only $250,000 was on the line instead of $1m and the title of world champions. Still, even without the Major title, this was one hell of a tournament, and one that showed how much things have changed in the last month. The Astralis era is on the rocks and the Brazilians are back on top. Outside Cologne, teams switched orgs, tournaments announced invites and Valve brought out its biggest banhammer yet.

FalleN is not a fan of the Swiss system Cloud9 put in an absolute shift to make it out of groups This is how much money is lost in dropped nades each round Cologne is the first big event where every NA team made it out of groups Shroud is back making big plays

GROUPS FOR DREAMHACK VALENCIA HAVE BEEN DRAWN NEW WAVE OF VAC BANS ELIMINATES EVEN MORE CHEATERS, INCLUDING CLARA THIS HEARTBREAKING MISPLAY COSTS NORTH A CHANCE AT A COMEBACK PASHA SAYS VIRTUS.PRO MIGHT NOT SURVIVE THE UPCOMING OFF SEASON DREAMHACK INVITES 12 TEAMS TO MALMO

CLOUD9 AND NA’VI JUST PLAYED A 66 ROUND BEST-OF-ONE REZ HAD A PRETTY GOOD START TO HIS NIP CAREER THESE TWO ACES FROM DAY ONE OF ESL ONE COLOGNE ARE VERY DIFFERENT OPTIC’S COLOGNE SUCCESS MAY BE DOWN TO NEW IGL TALENT AND SCHEDULE FOR THE KRAKOW MAJOR ANNOUNCED

*Ask Questions for next week's episode here: https://boo.gg/2sCUlr2* "Ask Thorin" #11: - CS:GO in eSports (00:18) - Best place to find Thorin's work (03:54) - Biggest impact you've had (05:36) - Retired Pro to come back (08:07) - Best early CSGO matches (09:47) - 5 Superstars VS 5 Consistent players (13:48) - Outlaws (16:47) - Competitive map pool (17:33) - Pro players playing unique roles (20:38) - Best way to define best team (25:26) - Making money as tier 2 or lower (27:16) - RWS as a stat (28:34) - Weakest player on Gambit (29:47) - More videos at mental development (31:55)