Nintendo And ESL Are Bringing Online Tournaments To Splatoon Fans

Splatoon fans across Europe will soon have a new reason to prep their paint rollers and bring out their blasters, with today’s announcement of 6 months of online tournaments for Nintendo’s family-friendly Wii U shooter, starting in early September and hosted by ESL, the world’s largest esports company. At gamescom in Cologne, the top four ranked teams from ESL Play’s early Splatoon qualifiers were getting ready for their final battle, as they were greeted on stage by Nintendo of Europe president Satoru Shibata and Splatoon producer Hisashi Nogami. 

Wii U owners who have yet to take Splatoon for a spin will also be pleased to know that from 18th August until 1st September, they can take part in the Splatoon Summer Testfire 2016 – Free Online Demo Event that was announced just yesterday, and is just a free download away for any Wii U owner. To help new players make a splash in their first Turf War matches, Nintendo has released a series of Splatoon – Top Tips! videos covering the basic skills players need to master, straight from the game’s co-director, Tsubasa Sakaguchi.

More details on the ESL online Splatoon tournaments are set to be revealed in the coming weeks, so stay tuned to the official Splatoon Facebook or Nintendo of Europe’s Twitter for the latest news.

Electronic Sports League Bans Substances During Competitions

The Electronic Sports League announced on Reddit that it is adopting the World Anti-Doping Agency's list of banned substances for its players. The league had announced the banning of performance enhancing drugs from competition after a team revealed that its members had consumed Adderall prior to a match in March to enhance their ability to focus. "Our main goal is and always will be to maintain the fair play spirit and the integrity of our competitions," an ESL rep wrote in a Reddit post, "and we're confident that the anti-doping policy is an important improvement that will help us advance as a sport." The banned list includes everything from anabolic steroids and HGH to cocaine and cannabis. Exceptions will be made if competitors have a valid prescription for whatever they're taking. The league will randomly test competitors and the penalties rage from fines to a maximum 2 year ban from the league. What do you think of the ESL’s decision ? What it the right one ? As long as everything stays fair, I think It was the right one.