Top 5 eSports Rivalries

When it comes to “Starcraft” tournaments, they can be a little hard to follow. You got cursors flying everywhere, menus popping in and out, it’s a mess… Yet, there’s something incredibly engaging when Lee “Flash” Young Ho and Lee Jae Dong start playing. These guys know exactly how they play, which is sort of scary, but it makes every match unpredictable. Just when you think one of them has the upper hand, the game quickly goes back into a stalemate. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself confused about one of their wild strategies. Trust us, they know what they’re doing...maybe… We aren’t entirely sure ourselves, sometimes.

This is one war that just doesn’t seem to end. These two teams have faced off in a number of “Call of Duty” tournaments, each one being more suspenseful than the last. Both teams know how to use maps to their advantage, and they know how to pull off some impressive shots. It’s no wonder they’ve managed to make it to finals on more than a few occasions. If you’re wanting to see more action outside of “Call of Duty”, OpTic and FaZe have played some strong games in “Counter-Strike” tournaments, as well. Hey, maybe we can pick up a few pointers from watching them play, eh?

It can be hard for some people to sit through “Dota” tournaments. However, when you have two teams like Na’Vi and Alliance facing off, things get nerve-wrecking. Of course, we’re specifically speaking of the 2013 International Three Grand Championship. Throughout the near-45-minute long match, everyone was on edge until Na’Vi managed to take home the gold. This was the match many remember as “El Clasico”, and it’s a match no one will ever forget. While the two organizations have gone through roster changes since then, they still remain the top teams within the “Dota” community.

There are many fantastic fighting game tournaments you could watch, but the competition in the “Street Fighter” community is strong. Of the multiple “Street Fighter” pros out there, the most fierce rivalry has been between Daigo Umehara and Justin Wong. No matter which version they’re playing, fans are guaranteed a good match, as both players know the ins and outs of the characters. The most memorable match took place at EVO ‘04, where Daigo was down to the last few pixels of health and trying to defend himself from Wong. Daigo managed to come out on top after successfully landing a counter-hit and finishing Wong off with a combo. That was a TOTAL upset!

We knew a “Smash Bros” rivalry was going to be somewhere on the list, right? As entertaining as it was seeing ZeRo and Ally go head-to-head, we just can’t ignore the frenetic fights between Joseph “Mango” Marquez and Adam “Armada” Lindgren. The two faced off a couple of times during the 2009 Genesis tournament, which would kick off their intense rivalry for the years to come. Despite Mango being regarded as the world’s best “Melee” player, Armada has a few victories against the “Smash Bros” titan. Regardless of the score, it’s always hard to tell who will come out on top.