*By Zane Bhansali*
Epic Games' release of the Boombox item the day of the 100,000 tournament WSOE 3 fits into a well-established pattern. For pro players like Ghost Gaming's Justin "Kayuun" Ha, that pattern is highly concerning.
"I just don't think Epic is serious about creating a competitive environment for their tournaments," says Kayuun. In his opinion, the chaos that Epic's item releases create is carefully planned to advertise the newest changes to their game to their casual player base.
"As a competitive player, it's very, very frustrating," says Kayuun. "Every tournament it feels like they're trying to take control away from their players to perform the best they can."
Despite his struggles with Epic's patching strategy, Kayuun maintains that he enjoys playing the game. Epic's woes come matched against incredible highs ー the gaming giant recently reported a $3 billion profit in 2018.
Gotham Chopra and his Religion of Sports media company may have just entered the filmmaking scene a few months ago, but it has already snapped up an Emmy nomination, which Chopra says feels like "an affirmation."
SeatGeek co-founder Russ D'Souza says that, despite lower ratings and bad PR, NFL ticket prices remain the highest of all pro sports, and he doesn't see that changing anytime soon.
The professional equestrian and daughter of former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says bringing the Riders Masters Cup to the city was "a dream come true."
The world's top equestrians gathered in New York City for the inaugural Longine Masters event. Professional Equestrian Georgina Bloomberg explains how this event brings the competition to the masses, through its Rider Masters Cup.
Professional dancer Sharna Burgess paired up with Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Norman for the new "Dancing With the Stars: Athletes." Having sports stars in the mix increases the competition level because they're "used to winning at what they do," says Burgess. The new season premieres Monday on ABC.
The former Major League Baseball MVP tells Cheddar that these days there are many players who can hit as well as he did, so he's happy to watch from the sidelines.
A lot of times athletes need financial education before they are able to turn their paychecks into long-term investments, says Frank Zacca, managing director of Octagon, a wealth management firm that works with elite sports stars.
A total of 72,000 gamers qualified for the 17-week long video game competition, and only 102 -- "the elite of the elite" -- made the final cut, says Brendan Donohue, managing director of the League.
The obstacle race organizer had to be tough enough to convince the rapper to skip his own workout routine, said Rich Abend, VP of Global Partnerships. "[Flo Rida] happens to be an incredibly fit person," he said.
Matt Barnes, who won the NBA Championship with the Golden State Warriors last year, says professional athletes shouldn't be punished for using marijuana and that he actually played his best when high.
