It’s an absolutely stacked weekend in the world of digital athletics, with top billing going to the climax of the League of Legends World Championship. Meanwhile as BlizzCon looms on the horizon like a particularly colourful cloud, Blizzard’s competitive games are also gearing up for their finals with qualifying events. So in short: lock the door, strap in, and prepare your memes.
League of Legends: World Championship Final
This is it: trash talking underdogs Samsung Galaxy take on favorites SKT for the championship in a five game series on Saturday. Our matchup preview has the details on how these two teams made it this far, and what to expect when they face off. Does Samsung have any tricks up its sleeves, or will SKT’s dominance continue unmatched? Watch it live on Twitch or YouTube Saturday starting at 4:30 pm PDT / 01:00 CEST, or through Riot’s alternative streams.
Overwatch: World Cup 2016
The first ever Overwatch World Cup starts this weekend, and will conclude at Blizzcon next Saturday. 16 countries will battle it out with teams selected by popular vote. It’s tough to say who has the edge, but right now it’s looking like Sweden, Finland, and South Korea are the top teams to watch. The stream starts at 12 pm PDT / 21:00 CEST on Saturday, and you can find the link here to watch when it’s live.
Hearthstone: World Championship group stage
The finals of the Hearthstone World Championship take place at BlizzCon next weekend with $250,000 on the line for the winner, but right now we’re in the grips of the group stages. Running from 9 am PDT / 18:00 CEST every day until October 30th, 16 players will be whittled down over a series of best-of-seven matches, with the top two from each group emerging to compete at the main event. Don’t forget you can win packs by picking your champion here. The first selection window is closed, but once the groups are done you’ll have eight shaman-fanciers to select from. PC Gamer is, of course, backing the young savage Amnesiac. All the action can be viewed on the PlayHearthstone Twitch channel. Non-English streams are also available if you scout around, with commentary from local pros and experts.
World of Warcraft: Arena World Championship group stage
The Grand Finals are happening next week at BlizzCon 2016, but group stages are happening today. Right now, even, ending at 2:15 pm Pacific. Watch Blizzard’s esports streams here.
Heroes of the Storm: Fall Championship group stage
Four teams will make it to the HoTS Fall Championship final next Friday—with a $1,000,000 prize pool—but in the meantime, you can watch the Phase 2 Group Play today. With such a large prize pool, every series a team wins earns them at least another $25,000, setting the stakes high even this early in the finals. Astral Authority, Please Buff Arthas, Team Dignitas, and MVP Black are currently vying for spots in next week’s finals.
StarCraft II: WCS Global Finals group stages
The WCS group stages are going on all weekend—starting today—culminating like the others with the finals during Blizzcon next week. See the full schedule and find the livestreams here.
Capcom Pro Tour: Latin America Regional Finals
The Capcom Pro Tour regional finals continue in Sao Palo on Saturday with the Last Chance Qualifier at 5:30 am PDT / 14:00 CEST. If you live on the west coast and that’s a bit early, the finals will be played on November 2nd at a more palatable 3 pm PDT / Midnight CEST. You can watch it all happen on Twitch.
Also this weekend: The Canada Cup. Find schedule and streaming details on the official site.
Smite: SPL Fall Split group D
Currently live on Twitch, Group D is playing all weekend: Denial eSports, SoaR Gaming, Enemy, and Team EnVyUs. Get the full schedule from Hi-Rez.
