*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.
The five-time gold medal-winning swimmer is already preparing for the next Summer Games. She trains for up to four hours in the pool every day and has to watch everything she eats, she told Cheddar Thursday.
The one-time Olympic gold medalist, who made history taking home a medal at this year's Games, told Cheddar that there's probably no way her body can "withstand another four years."
When former ESPN President John Skipper resigned in December, shockwaves rippled throughout the sports network. The Hollywood Reporter's James Andrew Miller broke details of the alleged cocaine extortion plot behind the scenes and joined Cheddar to discuss the channel's uncertain future.
One of Nike's top executives is stepping down over misconduct allegations. Airbnb is making it easier for people with disabilities to find rentals on its platform. We dive into the Theranos fraud scandal with the Wall Street Journal reporter who initially reported that something was off with the start-up blood testing company. And Tim Stenovec chats with Neil Patrick Harris about season two of his Netflix show "A Series of Unfortunate Events."
The Olympic gold medallist told Cheddar that, despite reports that the Winter Games had record low ratings, NBC was happy with the results. He said viewers have just changed how they access sports.
The fantasy sports platform is already building out a product that would allow sports betting, pending a decision from the Supreme Court, says DraftKings CEO Jason Robins.
Rex Tillerson is out as Secretary of State and CIA director Mike Pompeo is in. President Trump issued an executive order blocking Broadcom's hostile takeover bid for rival chipmaker Qualcomm. Olympic gold medalist and author Scott Hamilton joins us to talk about his figure skating career and his new book. Plus, Kristen Scholer sits down with Brooklyn Decker and Whitney Casey at SXSW to talk about their start-up Finery.
There is big money in college hoops. Jordan Schultz, Sports Analyst at Yahoo Sports, was with us to discuss the business of the NCAA.
Handstand is a fitness app that is making it easier than ever to work out with a personal trainer. And the female-founded app is also trying to change the way women and men view fitness.
Vanity Fair's Hive + Between Bells. We’re joined by the crew at Vanity Fair's Hive to discuss Kushner, Cook, and Cohn. Between Bells celebrates International Women's Day with Cosmopolitan. Madame Noire, and more.
