Gaming
esports
The Daily Drop: Nien Exits Pro League of Legends
CLG loses their top laner, MLG builds eSports arena in China and another sign that people love Dota.
Zach "Nien" Malhas
© Riot Games
1. Nien leaves pro League of Legends team CLG
CLG's top lane player, Zach "Nien" Malhas, announced that he was stepping down from his position with Counter Logic Gaming and temporarily leaving professional League of Legends.
In a post on the CLG website, the team explained that Nien felt his performance was holding the team back from better results and no longer deserves his position as a starter. However, the team also added that community criticism directed at Nien also played a role, writing that "the community’s intense criticism of his play and general attacks towards him had become increasingly taxing mentally, and damaging to his confidence as a player over time."
2. MLG announces gaming arena construction in China
If you build it, they will come. And possibly watch it on a stream.
Major League Gaming announced plans to build the first-ever MLG Gaming Arena in the “V-Zone,” a video game destination as part of a development called Hengqin Creative Culture City on Hengqin Island off the coast of China.
The Hengqin Creative Culture City will be the first development in China and in the world to house a permanent visitor attraction dedicated to video game and eSports activity. According a press release from MLG, the so-called V-Zone is slated to include an expo area for game developers to feature new and upcoming games, creative workspaces, gaming-themed restaurants, retail shops and more.
“MLG has been at the forefront of the global eSports phenomenon for over a decade and we’re taking our leadership position to new heights with this expansion into the world’s fastest growing eSports market – China,” said Mike Sepso, President and co-founder.
The plan is to open the V-Zone and MLG Arena sometime in 2017.
3. Another sign that Dota 2 is dominating Steam
Hours played on Steam
© via Ars Technica
Here's a visual aid proving how much Steam users are playing Dota 2.
Last week,tech site Ars Technica put together a handy study of sales and play data and found that Steam players spent a combined 3 billion hours playing Valve's popular MOBA, Dota 2. At a distant second place, with nearly 1.5 billion hours is Valve’s cartoony shooter Team Fortress 2.
To see how that stacks up, look at the graph above. It's striking the percentage of hours devoted to Dota 2.
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