Let’s keep this one quick. As Christmas approaches, our pro gaming options get thinner. Even so, there are two major LANs this weekend: World Cyber Arena 2015 in China and StarCraft II’s HomeStory Cup XII in Germany. WCA has been running behind schedule rather a lot, and English-language streams can be a bit thin on the ground, but switch on at the right time and you will find games to watch. Or paused Dota 2 matches. One or the other. The production struggles have been real with this one, but the games have been fun when they’ve happened.
Dota 2: World Cyber Arena 2015
If you travelled to China for the event itself, you're out of luck: Dota 2 isn't showing on the main stage at this year's WCA. The tournament is being broadcast online, however, with a healthy prize pool of $650,000 set to be split between a cross-section of international Dota 2. This is a good chance to watch professional players experiment in the new 6.86 update, which has thrown the metagame into serious disarray. The schedule has been uneven all day today, so I don't feel particularly confident telling you when matches are going to start: best check GosuGamers for that. You can watch English-language streams from both JoinDota and BeyondTheSummit.
Hearthstone: World Cyber Arena 2015
There's a massive $110,000 waiting for the first place winner of the WCA 2015 Hearthstone tournament. There are a lot of Chinese players in contention, as you might expect, but also a fair few players from elsewhere: including 2015 World Champion Ostkaka. The games are being streamed on TempoStorm’s Eloise’s Twitch channel. The schedule isn’t listed, but expect games in the morning in Europe and very late in the evening in the US.
StarCraft II: HomeStory Cup XII
The legendary low-fi StarCraft II tournament returns for the first time in the era of Legacy of the Void. An international cadre of players compete in a relaxed atmosphere over four days with $25,000 on the line. It's been ongoing for a couple of days already, and ends on Sunday. Find the livestream here.
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