Hackers hit PUBG’s esports chances PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has hit an impressive 30m sales, but alongside this is a second, less impressive statistic: in January alone, 1m PUBG accounts were banned from the game for using cheat programs, 99 per cent of these from China, where the game is most popular. PUBG Corp has made several attempts to curb the rampant cheating problem, but it seems no matter how many cheaters are banned, several more will pop up to take their place. This is encouraging normal players, who just want to earn a legitimate dinner, to move away from the game, which is seeing a steady decline in player numbers since January. As the community moves away from the game, the hunger for PUBG esports seems to be lessening, too.
the big events The Bucharest Major March 4th-11th Bucharest, Romania
This Dota major will see 16 teams clash at the Polyvalent Hall in Bucharest for a chunk of the $1m prize pool, and their fair share of 1,500 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) points. It’s early in the season for the newly formed DPC, and the action here should be fierce.
King of the North March 17th-18th Manchester, UK The University of Manchester’s Esports Society has teamed up with the University of Salford to put together a UK student esports tournament at UoS’ MediaCity UK building. It’s open to all UK university students and will see play across League of Legends, Overwatch and CS:GO.
Insomnia62 March 30th - April 2nd Birmingham, UK
Esports answer to ‘NOW that’s what I call music’ returns for the 62nd time, filling Birmingham’s NEC Arena with YouTubers and games. In addition, there’s a sizeable section of the weekend devoted to esports competition, with several grassroots tournaments throughout the weekend.
ESI Super Forum March 22nd London, UK
Run by trade website Esports Insider, the ESI Super Forum runs alongside the Betting on Football Conference at Stamford Bridge. Ruud Gullit is a keynote speaker, alongside top bods from Riot, ESL and others.
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