Esports newcomer '100 Thieves' is making a good first impression

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By Rich Edmonds
published

Rounding up all news relating to eSports.

We've seen quite the upset in the North American LCS with newcomer 100 Thieves besting Cloud9, TSM, and CLG to taking the number one spot in the season.

League of Thieves

Matthew "Nadeshot" Haag is an ex-professional gamer who rose to fame as part of the Optic Gaming organization. After leaving the scene and enjoying a successful streaming career, Haag decided to purchase a spot in the new League of Legends NA LCS with the new franchising system, he entered into the management side of things and launched the 100 Thieves team, with the popular MOBA as the first supported game.

What makes this noteworthy is how the team managed to take first place in the league, securing a place in the playoffs semi-finals. Haag's team in its first year in the LCS managed to best Cloud9, TSM, CLG and other big names. It's a similar story to Origen in the EU LCS a few years back but 100 Thieves is managed with the players in mind, much like Immortals, which remains to be sorely missed in the LCS after not securing a spot in the franchised league.

We're going to be watching the progress of 100 Thieves closely as they move closer to heading to the Worlds stage. In the NAS LCS, Echo Fox came in second with TSM in third and Team Liquid fourth. I'm excited to see how far 100 Thieves can go, sporting talent like Zaqueri "Aphromoo" Black.

More angles for the viewer

The current running PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds PGL Spring Invitational is a unique experience for viewers as the organizers have made it so all participating teams have their own stream. Not only does it allow the audience to tune into the mainstream and enjoy commentary by casters but also offers dedicated angles from the POV of their chosen team. This makes it feel more like a personalized stream by following squad players directly.

One of the issues we've had with PUBG in the past is that it's not really esport viewer-friendly. The action happened all over the place and the camera crew found it difficult to keep track of what's going on, leaving casters in the dark a little. Things have progressed since and this latest addition to the spectator toolset further improves the experience.

Upcoming live events

  • PUBG PGL - March 22 - 25, watch on Twitch
  • League of Legends LCS - March 23 (EU), March 24 (EU and NA), March 25 (NA), watch on Twitch
Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds
Senior Editor, PC Build

Rich Edmonds was formerly a Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.