In this week’s In Case You Missed It:

  • Wardell carries TSM to the T1 Valorant Showdown title
  • SKZ wins the CPT SEA Online Qualifier
  • Victory Five continue to surprise in the LPL
  • And NBA 2K21 honors Kobe Bryant with Mamba Forever Edition

Wardell carries TSM to the T1 Valorant Showdown title

The grand final of the T1 x Nerd Street Gamers Valorant Showdown saw the two best teams in North America face off as Team SoloMid took on hosts T1.

However, while many expected a close final, Team SoloMid dominated the series thanks in large part due to the heroics of Matthew “Wardell” Yu, who simply could not miss as he clutched multiple rounds with the Operator sniper rifle.

TSM won the final 13-4, 13-9, with Wardell finishing the series with a combined 48/15/10 KDA.


SKZ wins the CPT SEA Online Qualifier

Singaporean amateur, Neil “SKZ” Chong, has won the Capcom Pro Tour Southeast Asia Online Qualifier, and has now secured his place at the year-ending Capcom Cup.

SKZ defeated Malaysian pro player, Quan Ban “IamChuan” Chuan, 3-0 in the grand final without dropping a single round.

SKZ put on a masterclass with Seth, making great use of Seth’s optimal corner carry combo to relentlessly pressure IamChuan’s Guile.

SKZ finished the final round by effortlessly blocking a desperation EX-Flash Kick from IamChuan, and punishing it with a stylish Critical Art to end the tournament.


Victory Five continue to surprise in the LPL

Screenshot by Amanda Tan/ONE Esports

Victory Five has been the surprise of the LPL 2020 Summer Split and after four weeks of action now sit in second place with a 5-1 record.

Last season the team finished dead last with an embarrassing 0-16 record and only one game won and 32 losses.

In the offseason, Victory Five overhauled their entire roster, picking up former FunPlus Phoenix academy support Guo “ppgod” Peng, promoting Zhang “ZYF” Yi-Fan from their own academy team, and adding newcomers Wei “WeiWei” Bo-Han, Lee “SamD” Jae-hoon, and Yu “Biubiu” Lei-Xin.

The new roster has been remarkable, starting the season with a 2-0 win over Dominus Esports, and then picking up convincing wins over OMG and Bilibili Gaming in Weeks 2 and 3 respectively.

In Week 4, the team proved their newfound success has not been a fluke, with 2-0 victories over both Vici Gaming and Royal Never Give Up.

How far can Victory Five go?


Credit: NBA 2K

NBA 2K21 honors Kobe Bryant with Mamba Forever Edition

2K will celebrate the life and legacy of the late Kobe Bryant with a special edition of NBA 2K21, dubbed the Mamba Forever Edition.

The Los Angeles Lakers legend is the third and final cover athlete announced for the game, following Portland Trailblazers guard Damian Lillard and New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson as the game’s Current Gen and Next Gen cover stars respectively.

Additionally, there will be two different covers for the Mamba Forever Edition — one each for the current and next gen versions of the game.

For the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC versions, Bryant is shown in the #8 jersey that he wore early in his career. For the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X versions, the five-time NBA champion is shown wearing his #24 jersey.