The Starting Five is eSports by INQUIRER.net’s short weekender round-up. Miss any stories from last weekend? This is the place for you. 

Scripted? Scripted!?

Regardless where you stand on the issue, the finals are sealed in blood. Team SoloMid will face Counterlogic Gaming for the second split in a row at the finals of the North American LCS!

TSM bested the dominating Immortals who cruised through all of the split with a record of 17-1. It came as a shock then to most fans when TSM dispatched IMT in a 3-0 series. A combination of patch changes, low meta champion picks for top lane and jungle and overall tilt led to the Immortals falling to TSM.

On Twitter, fans and analysts alike set fire to the conversation.

Here was my prediction for the IMT/TSM series with @Thooorin https://t.co/8fCPEtZonC

— MonteCristo (@MonteCristo) April 11, 2016

TSM were basically playing with the biggest ace up their sleeves, since if they ever got it together they had the most talent.

— Thorin (@Thooorin) April 11, 2016

https://twitter.com/FionnOnFire/status/719326769191342080

So, if Doublelift left CLG after winning the split last year…does that mean he’ll leave TSM if they win against CLG this time around? Questions. We have them.

Fnatic Dota are streaking again. Send help.

Remember Fnatic Dota’s 23-win streak right after Shanghai Majors? We do. We made an entire article on it. Well, it will please you guys to know that Fnatic are once again in a 10-win streak, with 3 of those wins coming from 2-0 matches all in one day.

Another 2-0 in our last game of the day against Taring ! good end to the day with no losses 😀

— Adam Shah (@_adamdota) April 10, 2016

On Sunday, Fnatic went up against TNC, Execration and Orange.Taring. Not only did they post performances that trounced their foes, but the team managed to win every single match with a 2-0.

Today, Fnatic are in a double-header in two separate qualifiers against TNC: ESL One Frankfurt 2016 – SEA Qualifier and the BTS SEA finals.

They’re playing beautiful Dota 2, is what we’re saying. You don’t get to 45-4 wins since Shanghai by playing bad Dota 2.

Unsurprisingly, eSports content is the pillar of Twitch

About 21% of all Twitch content is centered on eSports, according to a new market study by Newzoo. According to the market research firm, MOBAs and Shooters combined for 85% of the total eSports content consumed by viewers worldwide.

With the statistics provided by Twitch, we can now make safe assumptions into the Big 5 of eSports: By the numbers, League of Legends, Dota 2, CSGO, Hearthstone and StarCraft 2 dominate eSports content on Twitch.

Interestingly, CSGO is the fastest rising eSport, having approached Dota 2’s numbers despite not having an event of the same scope as The International.

I guess you can say he was…”Resurrected.” *Guitar noises, sunglasses glaring*

Former CSGO professional player Kevin “AZK” Lariviere found a second chance in eSports after joining Team Liquid’s brand-spanking new Overwatch team.

AZK was part of the ill-fated iBUYPOWER CSGO team who were embroiled in a match-fixing scandal in early 2015. The team was given life-time bans from ever participating in a Valve-sanctioned event.

With Overwatch’s release looming over the horizon and various communities holding tournaments however, organizations are looking to fill their rosters with some great shooter talent. AZK happened to be available.

Team Liquid’s first outing at the ONOG Invitational didn’t go so well however, but it looks like AZK and the rest of Liquid are staying for a while longer.

Hearthstone Singapore Majors Crowns a New Champ

Sianhalf has been crowned the winner of the first ever SEA Major for Hearthstone!

After a blistering finals set with near identical line-ups from his final opponent, Shinypants, sianhalf prevailed and was rewarded a bucket of chicken for his trouble.

The final set of the day came down to both players eliminating the rest of the control decks from the tournament, including banning each other’s Control Warrior, leaving the final stage into a confrontation between Secret Paladins, Combo Druids and Zoolocks. Sianhalf took early leads, winning 2 games straight in 10 minute rounds before dropping games to Shinypants.

In the end, the game was decided in a Druid mirror that feature a missed lethal from sianhalf, but one that went unpunished. With the victory, sianhalf will take $2,500 and 15 HTC points.

Banner photo by Hearthstone

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