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theScore esports Daily is a once-a-day briefing covering the top news stories from around the world of esports.
Virtus.pro victorious at the Kuala Lumpur Major
On Sunday, Virtus.pro defeated Team Secret 3-2 in the Kuala Lumpur Major Grand Finals.
New trophy for Bears! #GOGOVP pic.twitter.com/6yza1T6DlO
— Virtus.pro (@virtuspro) November 18, 2018
In spite of their lackluster performance at The International 2018, the CIS powerhouse wasted no time in once again returning to the top of the Dota Pro Circuit.
After finishing the 2017-18 season with a whopping 12,372 points, Virtus.pro went on to fall short of victory with a 5th-6th finish at TI 8. The roster silenced doubters this past weekend though, earning a chart-topping 4,950 points.
SKT release seven players as the team looks to rebuild
SK Telecom T1 have released seven of their players, the South Korean organization announced on Monday.
안녕하세요. SKT T1입니다.
— SK telecom T1 (@sktelecom_t1) November 19, 2018
오늘 팬 여러분들에게 안타까운 소식을 전하게 되었습니다. pic.twitter.com/eqtrLJrZo5
Bae "Bang" Jun-sik, Lee "Wolf" Jae-wan, Kang "Blank" Sun-gu, Park "Untara" Ui-jin, Park "Thal" Kwon-hyuk, Park "Blossom" Beom-chan and Choi "Pirean" Jun-sik all left the organization, setting up a large-scale roster rebuild in the offseason.
SKT only has three players still contracted to the organization. legendary mid laner Lee "Faker" Sang-hyeok and rookies Han "Leo" Gyeo-re and Lee "Effort" Sang-ho. Officially, Faker and Leo's contracts expire at the end of the day, Nov. 19.
Report: Nike signs multi-million dollar deal with LPL
Nike has reportedly signed a multi-million deal with China's League of Legends Pro League to become the provider of clothing, accessories and shoes for all LPL teams and representatives, according to Lanxiongsports.
Lanxiongsports:Nike signed a 1 billion rmb (144 millions usd) 5 years deal with LPL.https://t.co/jZJEuUzIiC pic.twitter.com/4ffzi6Wban
— Shengyi (@Marco_YS35) November 19, 2018
Some details of the deal remain unconfirmed, but it is reported to be a five-year partnership and worth upwards of $144 million USD.
ana to take an extended break
OG's prodigious carry player, Anathan "ana" Pham, will be taking an extended break from competitive Dota 2, the organization announced on Monday.
Our Australian prodigy, without whom nothing would have been possible, Anathan “ana” Pham, will be taking a longer break away from the game. He'll remain a sub for OG.
— OG (@OGesports) November 19, 2018
→ https://t.co/GERSDKmsAL #DreamOG pic.twitter.com/xAoiLetFsm
This news comes in the wake of OG's decision not to play last weekend's Kuala Lumpur Major following their surprising and unprecedented victory at The International 2018.
The organization announced that ana will remain their official substitute for the upcoming season, and that they will be announcing their stand-in for the Chongqing Major Qualifiers closer to the beginning of the event.
Dimitri Pascaluta is a content creator for theScore esports. You can follow him on Twitter.
