Hot Takes

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Davide and Lee preview the upcoming World Championship 2026 final between Bilibili Gaming and Gen. G, including their playstyle difference, strengths and weaknesses, and the crowning of a new mid lane Worlds winner between Knight and Chovy. The duo also discuss other teams' runs in the tournament, including whether T1 had a free semis run, IG overperforming, D...

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee, Zahk, and Luca discuss KRÜ Blaze historic win at the Game Changers Championship 2026, as well as the rollback of the controversial VCT EMEA open qualifier format. Then, the group tackles the ongoing rostermania, covering rumours transfers in VCT Americas, VCT EMEA, and VCT Pacific. Those rumours include G2 signing Hyunmin, Team Vitality signing jawgemo, Fnatic...

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee and Davide are joined by  @cloudsidky to discuss the latest from Worlds 2026. The trio go through the final Swiss results, including LYON Gaming's tight win over LOS and the fallout after Inspired and Saint flipped each other off after the game, as well as Karmine Corp's win over rivals Movistar KOI and Ibai's choice comments before the match. Th...

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee, Davide and guest Ethan discuss the latest from the Worlds 2026 group stage, including the struggles of LEC sides G2 Esports, and Karmine Corp, contrasted with Movistar KOI's impressive start. The trio also discuss the dominance of LCK teams Gen. G, Dplus KIA, T1, and Hanwha Life Esports, as well as the quick exit of Anyone's Legend and the chances of...

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee, Zahk, and Luca bring to a close their VALORANT Champions Shanghai coverage after LOUD became the first two-time Champs winners with their finals victory over Team Vitality. The trio discusses the final, which saw the inspirational erde crowned MVP, and what the loss means for Vitality's superteam moving forward. Finally, the group talks through the VCT 20...

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee, Davide, and Luca discuss Karmine Corp's successful play-ins run at the 2026 World Championship that saw them beat Cloud9 and MVK Esports to reach the main event. The trio also discuss the Swiss stage draw, which has controversially seen G2, KCorp, and MKOI drawn against Dplus KIA, Anyone's Legend, and Bilibili Gaming respectively. Meanwhile, NA have...

In the latest episode of Hot Takes, Lee, Zahk, and Luca preview the finals weekend of VALORANT Champions Shanghai, including who they think will win the tournament between G2 Esports, LOUD, 100 Thieves, and Team Vitality. The trio also look at the eliminations of Paper Rex, T1, Nongshim RedForce, and NRG, and guess as to what changes could come for those four. 00:00:00 - What's wrong with PRX...

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee and Davide are joined by guests Ethan Cohen and Paul Arrive to figure out their World Championship 2026 power rankings. The group talks through the title chances of Gen. G, Bilibili Gaming, Hanwha Life Esports, and T1, as well as discussing why a top four finish is required for G2 Esports. They also discuss the likelihood of deep runs from teams like Anyone&apo...

In the latest episode of Hot Takes, Lee, Davide, and Luca discuss the latest LoLEsports news, including the visa issues facing some Worlds 2026 representatives, which have seen Top Esports draft in 369 to replace Zuian. The trio also discuss the latest updates in the Demacia Cup, which has seen Team Vitality reach the knockout stage, as well as the LCS finals in which Team Liquid were crowned cham...

Dan and Sophie are back with another episode of Hot Takes all about ESL Pro League and building the hype for Thunderpick World Championship! 0:00- Intro 2:32 - Astralis Wins Stake Ranked 10:16 - Navi, G2, FaZe ESL 13:25 - Spirit, PARIVISION, MOUZ ESL 16:31 - Vitality, Falcons ESL 24:28 - Donk glazing interlude 27:02 - Thunderpick World Championship Hype 30:45 - FURIA or Falcons? 36:14 - Legacy + a...

In this Hot Takes episode, Lee, Zahk, and Luca catch up on the latest action at VALORANT Champions 2026. The trio discuss the abysmal runs of VCT China teams, with each finishing at the bottom of their respective groups, and give their thoughts on potential seeding changes as a result of the region's performance. The group also looks at those that made it and judge their playoffs chances, det...

In this episode of Hot Takes, Lee, Davide, and Luca discuss the latest LoLEsports news, including the impressive results (so far) of the ERL teams competing at the World Star Challengers Invitational (WSCI). This leads to a longer talk about the current state of Europe's Regional Leagues and their current decline. Additionally, the trio preview the upcoming Demacia Cup, including the chances...

In this episode of Hot Takes, Lee, Zahk, and Luca preview the upcoming VALORANT Champions Shanghai. The trio run through Hotspawn's power rankings for the event, including who among 100 Thieves, Paper Rex, Karmine Corp, and Nongshim RedForce are tournament favourites. The trio also discussed the chances of G2 Esports after rumoured roster changes that will see k1ngg and Sato join from Leviata...

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee, Davide, and Luca discuss the LEC Summer Finals weekend, which saw Movistar KOI eliminate NAVI to gain the final Worlds slot, before going on to smash Karmine Corp in a huge upset. Then, G2 bested MKOI in a grand final which cemented them, once again, as kings of EU. Elsewhere, the trio discuss the confirmation that LEC Versus will not return next year and the...

Dan and Sophie are back again with more Counter-Strike news! This week, the Thunderpick World Championship teams were announced, Legacy continued their run of wins in China and the StarLadder StarSeries is due to begin!

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee, Davide, and Luca discuss the latest LoLEsports news, including the rumoured backroom turmoil at T1 as SK Telecom and Comcast fight for power over the org. They also talk through T1's third-place LCK finish, and Hanwha Life Esports ending runners-up after being beaten in the grand finals by Gen. G as the latter found form at the perfect time this season. I...

In the latest episode of Hot Takes, Lee, Zahk, and Luca break down the finales of Stage 2 competitions. That included the amazing win from 100 Thieves in São Paulo against home favourites LOUD, Global Esports upsetting Nongshim RedForce in Busan, Karmine Corp completing their incredible turnaround against Team Liquid in Barcelona, and TYLOO seeing their fortunes change following the arrival of Siu...

In the latest Hot Takes episode, Lee, Davide, and Luca discuss the LEC Madrid roadshow, including G2 Esports winning against Karmine Corp to reach the Summer final, while KC secured a place at the 2026 World Championship. The trio also talked through the playoffs chances of Movistar KOI, GIANTX, NAVI, and Team Vitality. In Korea, they look into the ongoing LCK playoffs, where one of the remaining...

Team Spirit proved themselves against MOUZ in the BLAST Open Porto grand finals and FISSURE Playground #3 gets started. Time stamps: 00:00 - Intro 02:14 - MOUZ v Vitality 05:58 - Post-final goofiness 09:46 - Grand final analysis 21:18 - Current state of the scene 22:21 - State of Vitality 26:49 - Small LANs + lineup changes 35:13 - FISSURE prize money issues 

It's almost time for the BLAST Open Porto playoffs! This week, Dan and Sophie Time stamps: 0:00 - Intro 01:09 - Blast Porto Chat 03:06 - NaVi 10:01 - G2 + Aurora 13:56 - Spirit + Furia 20:47 - Spirit Interview Experience 26:43 - Vitality featuring jL 33:32 NatTea being some of the best esports talent 37:22 Who plays against MOUZ?

In this episode of Hot Takes, Lee and Davide are rejoined by Ethan for an LEC playoffs preview. The trio discuss the Worlds hopes of Karmine Corp and G2 Esports, as well as the chances of GIANTX, NAVI, Team Vitalit, and Movistar KOI of securing a seed at the 2026 World Championship. They also look into Fnatic's failure to qualify for Worlds for the first time in eight years, and discuss which...

This week, Dan catches Sophie up on everything Esports World Cup and Team Spirit's win before BLAST Open Porto begins

In this episode of Hot Takes, Lee, Davide, and Luca dive into the latest LEC action, including which of Fnatic, NAVI, Movistar KOI, and SK Gaming will secure the final playoffs spots. The trio also look into the upswing in form for GIANTX, the necessary rebuild for Shifters after comments from Striker and nuc, and what could be going wrong with MKOI. Finally, the group also discuss the now-confirm...

In this episode of Hot Takes, Lee, Davide, and Luca discuss the sudden announcement of the postponement of the Esports World Cup; no longer taking place this November in Riyadh. The trio also catch up on the LEC, including Fnatic's win against G2 Esports and the turnaround in form for mid laner Vladi, as well as KC's potential perfect split, and the fight for playoff places. Then, the gr...

Dan and Sophie are back with another episode! This time, Dan catches Sophie up on all the goings on at the Esports World Cup Counter-Strike group stage.