STACK #150 Apr 2017

GAMES FEATURE

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Each month, STACK takes a brief look at what’s happening in esports, both locally and overseas. esports Round-Up Junglist with

O ne of the esports Aussies do best in overseas is Call of Duty, placing as high as fourth in the world championships. That’s mostly thanks to team Mindfreak, which almost didn’t win the local competition this year. Tensions were high at the Sydney qualifier, as former Mindfreak member Denz was headhunted by rival team Tainted Minds. If that wasn’t enough drama for your llama, Tainted Minds injected 50 CCs of dramamine by refusing to shake Mindfreak’s hand before the match. Mindfreak lost to TM early, before battling through the lower bracket to beat its nemesis in a nail-biting Battle of the Minds grand final, 3-2. It hasn’t been a great month for Tainted Minds. Its former League

of Legends squad has taken legal action against the organisation over unsafe, dilapidated housing conditions. Owner John McRae

also oversees the new LoL High School League in New Zealand, and after Riot’s mediation efforts with players were delayed several times, the spotlight is on the conflict of interest

Call of Duty

signs from Aussie team Nomia in the Heroes of the Storm HGC Western Clash in Poland. Showing absolutely no respect, Nomia stunned the German favourites Misfits by taking – and winning – teamfights everyone expected them to lose. It was a poor decision to dive onto the enemy core too early that cost the glory, but a hyper-aggressive performance against the #1 pick made the world take notice.

of a business partner owning a team in the flagship competition.

While McRae may have bitten off more than he can chew, rival org Avant Garde is the one with a new Maxibon sponsorship,

League of Legends

Intel and Immunity’s decade-long relationship may have something to say about that. Elsewhere, there were positive

in what it claims is the "first ANZ organisation to nab a consumer brand as a sponsor." We think

Is the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller worth the upgrade?

L ast month, we finally got our hands on Nintendo’s mysterious NX console – now known as the Switch. It comes bundled with two Wii Remote-like Joy- Cons, and a Joy-Con Grip, which the two controllers fit nicely into if you want a more traditional controller experience. However, if you too have a Switch, and want to take it one step further, you should check out the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. Although it doesn’t come bundled with the console itself, it’s well worth the investment if you’re looking for the comfort offered by classic console controllers. The biggest change

Pro controller allows everything to be more spread out, and is more familiar for those accustomed to conventional controllers. You no longer find yourself passing over other buttons to access the joysticks or ABXY buttons, and the + and – buttons are also noticeably easier to find and press. The distance your fingers have to travel is reduced, with the Switch Pro controller almost matching the design of an Xbox controller. Even the triggers on the top are easier to reach and less fiddly than their Joy-Con counterparts. It is worth keeping in mind that you can’t use a Pro Controller for everything. Games like 1-2-Switch – which use the Joy-Cons as part of the main attraction – won’t support it, but it is overwhelmingly more comfortable to use for long periods of time, especially on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild . The Pro controller also has a longer battery life, a more stable connection than the Joy-Cons, and amiibo compatibility to boot – the odds are stacked in its favour.

Nintendo switch pro controller

the Pro controller makes to your kit is the button layout. While the Joy- Cons possess a more vertical, up-and-down design (especially when they’re in the Grip), the

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APRIL 2017

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