It's a relatively quiet week as regards the variety of eSports on hand, but it certainly doesn't lack for quality. Some of the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players are winning fortunes in Germany as we speak, while pro players from other games are earning their spots for championship matches scheduled for later this month and Beyond the Summit is testing the waters with their first Overwatch cup.
ESL One Cologne 2016
The ESL One Cologne event for Counter-Strike Global Offensive is currently in full swing in Germany, where almost 20,000 fans have packed into the Lanxness Arena. The event's been going on since Tuesday, but on Saturday and Sunday, the final two teams standing will face off beginning at 08:00 CEST/15:20 PDT. There's a whopping $1 million prize at stake, so be sure to watch the action on either the ESL's Twitch page for GS:GO or the mirror on the ESL's main site, which complements the footage with useful stats.
Hearthstone Starladder Season 2 LAN Finals
Yesterday marked the beginning of StarLadder's Season 2 LAN finals for Hearthstone in Shanghai, China, and the impressive lineup of eight players will compete through Sunday. The actual playoffs will begin tomorrow at 04:00 CEST/18:00 PST and run throughout the day on StarLadder's Twitch channel. The last match of the finals will take place at 11:30 CEST/04:30 PDT. As of the time of writing, the final contestants haven't been decided.
Rocket League Championship Series Online Finals
After several weeks of qualifying rounds, the brackets for the Rocket League Championship Series Online Finals have at last been decided. The North American matches will take place on Saturday beginning at 21:00 CEST/ 12:00 PDT and the European matches will take place on Sunday starting at 18:00 CEST/9:00 PDT. There's a $5,000 prize pool at stake and the winners will go on to the live finals in Los Angeles on August 6-7. Be sure to turn into the Rocket League Twitch channel for coverage and check out the official Rocket League eSports page for more information.
Beyond The Summit Overwatch Cup
Beyond the Summit is typically known for its work with Dota 2, but this weekend will see their first foray into Overwatch competitions with the first BTS Overwatch Cup with a prize pool of $10,000. The matches on Saturday and Sunday and a followup up on July 23 and 24 will feature a double elimination bracket that decide who moves on to the final championship on August 6-7. The first match kicks off tomorrow with EnvyUs battling 1Shot on July 9 at 20:00 CEST/11:00 PDT, and you can watch it on Twitch. You can find the full schedule at BTS's website here.
League of Legends: NA Championship Series
The NCA LCS has been going on for a few weeks now, but the excitement's only getting more intense for North American players as the series continues. There are two matches going on today, but the real action will happen on the weekend when eight teams clash on both Saturday and Sunday. As always, you can get more information about the matches and their contestants at lolesports.com.
Speedruns: Games Done Quick
Last week we told you about how Games Done Quick was hosting a speedrun marathon benefiting Médecins Sans Frontières (even though it's not exactly eSports), and it's still going on if you missed it over the first few days. Saturday is the only full day left on the schedule, but that should be enough if you're excited about watching really fast playthroughs of games like Pikmin, Super Metroid, and Final Fantasy VI for charity. Be sure to check out the livestream here.
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