a South American country got voted in over a budding pro gamer with a higher skill ceiling simply because of popularity. Overwatch isnt at the pro recognition stage yet, except in countries such as South Korea and China, where winning leads to popularity.Even so, countries such as Sweden, Finland and

Following the lead of the World Anti-Doping Agency, the NHL has added meldonium to its list of banned substances.Deputy commissioner Bill Daly confirmed the addition in an email to The Associated Press on Wednesday. It was first reported by the Russian news agency Tass.The change goes into effect for the upcoming season. The NHL and NHL Players Association had to agree to add meldonium to its list of prohibited substances, as with any changes to the performance-enhancing drug program.Daly says that decision was made for the same reason WADA banned meldonium on Jan. 1.Tennis star Maria Sharapova and swimmer Yulia Efimova have tested positive in recent months for the endurance-boosting drug. Sharapova is appealing her two-year ban.Russia switched out its roster for the International Ice Hockey Federation Under-18 tournament in the spring over fears that players could test positive for meldonium. Russia used its U17 team in the tournament instead.The IIHF uses WADAs prohibited substance list.The drug, which is typically used for heart conditions, is not approved for use in the United States. It increases blood flow, which improves exercise capacity by carrying more oxygen to the muscles. There is significant debate among doping experts over whether meldonium, also known as mildronate, actually enhances performance. Cheap Nike Air Max 1 Wholesale . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. During last nights game he tweeted: "Hello? Can we get a one-way ticket to (minor-league) Hamilton for David Desharnais please. Wholesale Nike Air Max 1 Cheap . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. http://www.cheapnikeairmax1.com/ . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Cheap Nike Air Max 1 Shoes .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey. Cheap Air Max 1 . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. ANAHEIM, Calif. -- BlizzCon took place at the Anaheim Convention Center in sunny Southern California this past weekend, but inside the venue, you might have mistaken it for Seoul, South Korea. Out of the five esports tournaments at the annual Blizzard Entertainment conference (four of which were world championships), three were won by South Korean players or teams. It could have been four out of five tournaments, but Kim Che0nsu Cheon-su, the countrys top-ranking Hearthstone player, was eliminated in the semifinals of his respective world championship by Virtus.Pros Ukrainian Artem DrHippi Kravets.Still, from a country not even close to a quarter of the United States population, South Korea thrived, while the host country and the North American region as a whole wilted in comparison. While South Korea racked up gold and silver medals on the weekend, the only game in which NA found success was World of Warcraft Arena, the title with the least amount of attention and lowest prize pool of all the world championships taking place at BlizzCon.Other than the early morning glory on the WoW stage, there were little to no high points for the home region throughout the two-day event, with the United States getting crushed by South Korea in the quarterfinals of the Overwatch World Cup and the countrys top StarCraft II player, Alex Neeb Sunderhaft, getting tossed aside by another South Korean talent in Park Dark Ryung-woo.From SK Telecom T1s unrelenting dynasty in League of Legends to Lee Infiltration Seon-woos Download complete of the Street Fighter player base, the revered Mecca of esports known as South Korea has a contentious hand in almost every leading esport of today. Even in Dota 2, a title in which the South Korean server was closed due to lack of interest and player base, there is MVP Phoenix, a ragtag group of Korean players from all walks of life that has continually placed in the top eight of major tournaments and the games world championship.The infrastructure, tireless work ethic and culture of putting the team before self are characteristics of South Korean esports. Weve seen other regions attempt to copy and replicate the South Korean competitive gaming lifestyle that has bred countless golds in a plethora of titles, and yet, here we are.Overwatch, for example, anointed as the next big thing in esports, had its largest audience since the games launch, with a World Cup event pitting the top countries on the globe against each other in an exciting exhibition.South Korea won -- without dropping a map.Overwatch World CupSouth Korean dominance warning: Red/extreme dangerThere are two sides to South Koreas romp of the Overwatch World Cup. First, before we talk about how well the South Koreans played, it has be to be stated that this was an exhibition tournament. Many of the countries decided to send popular streamers or personalities over professional players. With the game still in its fledgling form as a competitive title, a YouTuber from a South American country got voted in over a budding pro gamer with a higher skill ceiling simply because of popularity. Overwatch isnt at the pro recognition stage yet, except in countries such as South Korea and China, where winning leads to popularity.Even so, countries such as Sweden, Finland and the United States brought competent teams with a good core of professional players to combat the likes of South Korea and China. For South Korea, this tournament was a dissection of the field, with their starting six working in perfect harmony to blow past the rest of the competition. The heart of the team was built around South Koreas current top club Lunatic-Hai, with impact players from other formidable teams such as Afreeca Blues offensive star Jeong ArHaN Weon-hyeop and his stellar Genji. To round out the team, team captain and eventual tournament MVP Gong Miro Jin-hyuk brought in AFBs head coach, Kim TaiRong Tae-yeong, a good player in his own right, to play as shot-caller and lead the team.Other teams had the talent of South Korea but nowhere near the chemistry and depth of tactics. Russia and a few other countries rallied behind a single player or brute force strategy with a superstar offensive player, and that was the complete opposite for South Korea. Almost every player had a chance to shine throughout the two-week competition, and the team was never afraid to pull off something eccentricc to try out early in rounds.ddddddddddddWhen offense was the name of the game for a majority of the teams, South Koreas sturdy defense of objective points and showcase of fluid coordination in holding other teams back was what helped them not drop a single map.Once club play resumes, dont expect South Korea to wipe out everyone like at BlizzCon. The South Korean World Cup team was special, and the consolidated European clubs, such as Team Envy, Rogue and Misfits, will be a match or more for the best South Korean teams. A year from now, however, with the announcement of the Overwatch League and the continued growth of the game in South Korea, there is a chance that the competitive scene could look a lot like League of Legends, if not for positive developments in other regions.I wonder when SK Telecom T1 will throw its hat in the Overwatch ring.StarCraft II World ChampionshipSouth Korean dominance warning: Red/extreme dangerNot too much to talk about here. StarCraft II, whether or not its popular in the country, will always be South Koreas game. There was talk about Americas Neeb possibly challenging for the world title following his historic win at the KeSPA Cup, but that narrative was dismissed in the quarterfinals, when Dark sent him flying out of the tournament with little fanfare. After that, it became the South Korean show for the umpteeth year in a row, and the best Korean Terran, Protoss and Zerg in the world made up the final three of the tournament.In the final, Byun Byun Hyun-woo bested Dark in a thrilling, best-of-seven final to become the world champion of SCII. It was a fitting end to the competitive year, with the reigning GSL champion taking home his first world title after being one of the few pros from the beginning of the games history back in 2010 still playing professionally. He leapt out of his booth and onto the stage in celebration following his win, raised the trophy in delight and gave a V signal with his hands to the onlooking, packed crowd that came to watch the finale.Heroes of the Storm World ChampionshipSouth Korean dominance warning: Orange/high dangerYes, a South Korean team, Ballistix, won the Heroes of the Storm World Championship. However, it was expected to be far, far worse for the rest of the world. Coming into the tournament, Heroes of the Storm might have been considered the tournament with the highest chance of an all-South Korean final, and that included SCII. Heroes of the Storm has been controlled by the South Korean region for a while, and the two clubs they sent to BlizzCon, MVP Black and Ballistix, charged through the group stage with little trouble.Europes Fnatic came up as the heroes for the rest of the world in their fight against South Korea, with a massive upset of MVP Black in the semifinals, sending the former best team in the world out before another major final. The crowds excitement picked up to peak levels to cheer for the non-South Korean club in the final against Ballistix, and it turned out to be closer than expected, going four games of the best-of-five. Yet Fnatic wasnt able to take out both South Korean teams, and Ballistix took home the world championship in exciting fashion.Hearthstone World ChampionshipSouth Korean dominance warning: Blue/mild dangerIn a game South Korea wasnt expected to run roughshod over, they almost produced another finalist with Che0nsu. The Hearthstone world can breathe easy, though, as Europe continued their run as the top region in the game. Two Europeans made the final, and the Americans, who were expected to do some damage in the bracket, failed to break into the top four. South Korea has a glowing Hearthstone and tournament scene, so it shouldnt be completely overlooked when it comes to the card game. Comparing it to the other titles South Korea has challengers in, though, Hearthstone is a safe haven.World of WarCraft Arena World ChampionshipSouth Korean dominance warning: Green/sanctuarySouth Korea did have a team go to BlizzCon, with Longzhu Gaming, but the team bombed in the group stage, with six straight losses. The finals were an all-North American affair, and the Chinese and Europeans did better than the South Koreans.Maybe next year BlizzCon should make WoW Arena the headliner with a bigger prize pool. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '