Hot Takes

In this emergency episode of Hot Takes — the first of its kind — Lee, Davide, and Luca discuss the stunning 3-1 by G2 Esports to eliminate world champions T1 from the Mid-Season Invitational. The trio dive into the series, including BrokenBlade's best-ever performance, and a pentakill from Peyz in the series' final match. They also look to the remainder of the tournament, including G2&ap...

In the latest episode of Hot Takes, Lee, Davide, and Luca recap the Mid-Season Invitational Play-Ins stage, with a focus on Karmine Corp's disastrous elimination to Team Liquid. They also discuss TL's admirable run, which ended at the hands of T1 - the clear strongest team in this phase. The trio also look ahead to the bracket, including Bilibili Gaming versus T1, G2 Esports' hopes...

For more Hot Tier 1 esports news, as soon as it spawns, check out https://hotspawn.com for the latest in CS2, Dota 2, VALORANT, League of Legends, Fortnite and more.

Dan and Sophie are back from Cologne to discuss all things playoffs weekend!

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee, Davide, and special guest Armand Luque preview the upcoming Mid-Season Invitational in Daejeon, South Korea. The trio discuss their team rankings, including whether Bilibili Gaming, Hanwha Life Esports, or T1 are favourites, and black sheep Top Esports' chances at avoiding their international curse. The trio also talk through the chances of western repres...

Dan and Sophie are in the same room for once! Here at the IEM Cologne Major playoffs, they get into media day, brackets, predictions, roster changes and more. 

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee, Zahk, and guest Zhobiii preview the VALORANT Masters London finals weekend, including the upper bracket clash between heavyweights EDward Gaming and Paper Rex. The trio also talked through the lower bracket game between Leviatan and Team Vitality, as well as the runs of other teams like G2, Team Heretics, Xi Lai Gaming, FUT Esports, and more. 00:00:00 - Intro...

In the latest episode of Hot Takes, Lee, Davide, Luca, and Ilyas discuss the final weekends of the LCK and LPL splits. They cover Gen. G's failure to qualify for the Mid-Season Invitational, losing the final place to Faker's T1, while Hanwha Life Esports qualifed as first seed. In the LPL, Bilibili Gaming beat Top Esports 3-0 in the grand final to gain first seed, while Team WE's fa...

On this week's episode of Hot Takes: Counter Strike Edition, Dan has hayfever and Sophie has been cheating on CS. Here's their breakdown of the IEM Cologne Major stage 2 games so far! 

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee, Davide, and Luca break down the final weekend of the LEC Spring split, including Movistar KOI crumbling against Karmine Corp and what changes might come for summer, as well as G2 Esports' triumph in the final in which SkewMond shone on Nasus. The trio also discussed the latest updates in the LPL Spring playoffs, LCK Road to MSI, and LCS Spring playoffs ah...

It's IEM Cologne Major time! Dan and Sophie talk through the first day of matches and how Dan's pick'ems are holding up as well as the TPWC EU Series 1.

In the latest VCT Hot Takes episode, Lee and Zahk preview VALORANT Masters London, giving their thoughts on the favourites (Paper Rex or G2 Esports), players to watch, expected overachievers and underachievers, and which region is likely to perform best at the event. The duo also gave their thoughts on the tournament's official anthem, Fnatic's absence and subsequent coaching change, as...

In this Hot Takes episode, Lee, Davide, and Ethan discuss the latest LEC playoffs results, including Team Vitality's back-to-back losses to Karmine Corp and GIANTX which saw them crash out despite topping the regular season. The trio also talk through GX and NAVI's campaigns, as well as preview the Movistar KOI vs KC match that will decide the LEC's final MSI qualifier alongside G2...

Dan and Sophie are back...again! This week is all about why Falcons can't win a final, IEM Cologne Major pick'ems and the CS Asia Championships.

In the latest episode of Hot Takes, Lee, Davide, and Ethan review the first week of LEC Spring playoffs, including Team Vitality's rough start, and G2 beating both Movistar KOI and Karmine Corp. The trio also discuss the international chances of G2, MKOI, and KC. Additionally, the three of them also dove into the LPL playoffs, already starting with huge upsets in qualification matches ahead o...

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee, Davide, and Ethan discuss the latest LEC news, including Caliste re-signing with Karmine Corp for two more years and what impact it'll have on the off seasons of G2, Hans Sama, and Upset, as well as Nukeduck rejoining Mithy as coach for Team Heretics ahead of the Summer split. The trio also talk through the rumours of the Esports World Cup moving to Paris...

You thought we were going to miss a week, didn't you? But no! We're back for the 3rd episode in a row. There are 2 CS tournaments going on at the same time so Sophie and Dan have to talk about them both

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee, Davide, and Ethan review the Movistar KOI Madrid LEC Roadtrip, including the cancelled Ibai vs Kameto showmatch and the epic MKOI vs KC clash. The trio discuss the sides of the rivalry, as well as the weekend's results - including the infamous lack of Chronobreak after an Ornn bug for BrokenBlade. Finally, they look into the behind-the-scenes clip of Dplu...

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee, Davide, and newcomer Luca discuss the latest LEC action before the final week heads to Madrid for the Movistar KOI roadtrip. The trio discuss the lack of stakes after playoffs teams already locked, confirming Fnatic's first playoffs miss in years. They also gave their thoughts on Shifters after signing Sheo, and guessed which teams will be the two to reac...

Dan and Sophie spend some time congratulating themselves on posting 2 weeks in a row, discussing yet more Vitality wins and the Thunderpick World Championship NA Qualifiers.

In the latest episode of Hot Takes, Lee and Zahk check in on each VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) region ahead of Stage 1 playoffs. In Americas, they discuss the emergence of KRÜ and MIBR, as well as the struggles of teams like G2, NRG, and Sentinels. In EMEA, they discuss Fnatic's dominance despite being forced into a substitution, Vitality's lucky playoffs qualification, and BBL and Gent...

In a valiant attempt to maintain a regular schedule, Sophie and Dan are back again this week to talk all things BLAST Rivals, Senzu joining BC.game and Cache joining the map pool in CS2. Dan also discovers the truth about Sophie's crosshairs and wonders why he has ever worked with her

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee and Ethan review the LEC Roadtrip in Les Arènes, Paris, hosted by Karmine Corp. The duo discuss the KC Blue Wall atmosphere and the nonstop chanting across the weekend. On the action itself, they go through the tense series between KCorp and Fnatic, as well as discuss the latest with Shifters after rumours of a return for Sheo this week. Then, Lee and Ethan loo...

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Davide and Lee are joined by Vivan, an LCP expert and Worlds 2025 translator. The trio discussed the LCP, including how it's viewed by the West, country differences within the region, and the sentiment around the league as a whole.  Also discussed in this episode was the infamous FlyQuest co-streaming video, in which the finger was pointed at Caedrel and other...

Sophie and Dan are back from the dead with another episode of Hot Takes: Counter-Strike edition! This week, Dan reminds Sophie that CS exists and brings her up to speed on the year so far.