Reaction to the news from the community has been far-reaching, most notably from G2 who released a three-and-a-half minute tribute video to YouTube recounting Mouritzen’s career and thanking him for being a part of the team.
FaZe Clan is an American professional esports and entertainment organization. It currently fields teams in Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, PUBG, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, FIFA, and Fortnite. Preview Rainbow Six: Siege - Outbreak 2018-02-18; Esports We now have our grand finalists for the Six Invitational 2018-02-18; Preview Rainbow Six: Siege - Operation Chimera 2018-02-17; Esports Eight teams whittled down to four in Six Invitational day one 2018-02-17; Esports Ubisoft partners with HyperX for esports competitions 2018-02-14.
His retirement means G2 will now have to fill a spot on a team currently consisting of Jake “Virtue” Grannan, Ben “CTZN” McMillan, Juhani “Kantoraketti” Toivonen and Aleksi “UUNO” Työppönen.
Meanwhile, streaming platform Twitch has released its 2020 Transparency Report, a 5,000-word report detailing initiatives taken to keep the streaming community safe. The document includes steps taken in three major categories: moderation, machine learning and community transparency. The company also listed listing specific actions taken throughout the year in each category. A companion blog post summarized the report while highlighting specific efforts, including how the service’s “offensive username detection model blocked 3x the number of offensive usernames” in 2020 or the creation of the “Twitch Safety Advisory Council, an eight member consultative body composed of online safety experts and Twitch creators.”
Elsewhere in the world of competitive gaming:
Call of Duty League Major 1 Bracket Set
The first Major in Call of Duty League history is underway after the first stage of qualifiers was completed during Super Week last week. The Atlanta FaZe earned the top seed in Pool A by going undefeated in the group, while the Dallas Empire won the tie-breaker over the Los Angeles Thieves to earn the top seed in Pool B. The New York Subliners, Los Angeles Guerrillas and OpTic Chicago round out the Winners side of the Major 1 bracket.
The first matches in the Losers Bracket saw the Florida Mutineers defeat the Seattle Surge three maps to one, while the Toronto Ultra dispatched the London Royal Ravens 3-2. Matches continue throughout the weekend, with the Major I Final scheduled for Sunday at 3 p.m. PT.
WePlay Esports Announces Recurring Tournament Series
Ukranian tournament organizer WePlay Esports, in partnership with fighting game hub DashFight, has announced a new tournament series called Ultimate Weekend Brawl, a recurring Mortal Kombat 11 series featuring events structured with marquee matchups in a boxing supercard setting. Each event will feature two best-of-five undercard matches with the winners earning $300 each, while the best-of-seven main event will earn the winner $500. The first Ultimate Weekend Brawl takes place on March 6, though the players involved have yet to be named.
Arc System Works Delays Guilty Gear Strive
Arc System Works has announced the delay of its upcoming fighting game Guilty Gear Strive from April 9 to June 11. The announcement came via the official ASW Twitter, announcing the delay and offering a lengthy explanation. “Since we have received valuable feedback after the recent Open Beta Test,” the statement reads. “We would like to make the most of this opportunity to provide the best game possible.” The delay comes ten days after I-No was revealed to be the final playable character in the game’s launch roster at the 2nd Japan Fighting Game Developers Roundtable on February 20.
2021 Six Invitational Rainbow Six Siege Event
Photo courtesy of Ubisoft