Checkpoint Daily Podcast

Norris and Joe are out of the studio this week for the Esports Business Summit, so we’re joined by Chuck Bean of Nerd Radio. We catch up with Chuck about how he’s living the Checkpoint XP Studios and what he’s been doing recently. We also preview several categories of the Tempest Awards, set to take place at the Esports Business Awards. You can catch the Tempest Awards exclusively on the Checkpoint XP Twitch Channel on Tuesday, September 10th at 8:45 pm EST. We also sit down with Paulie Esther, a content creator for Dead by Daylight. We also get a chance to speak with two players from Ghost Gaming about Gears of War 5’s competitive scene.

The Overwatch League is one of the few esports scenes using traditional Nielsen Metrics to track their viewers, something that’s been a book for them when competing for non-endemic sponsorship. We talk about how this has affected their success and what it could mean for the future. Norris also hosts a game of his creation called ‘Who Dat Character?’ Plus, we asked our social media what their favorite video game sequence is.

Nintendo dropped another Direct the other day and it was a big one. Overwatch on the Switch, Smash DLC characters, SNES virtual console and much more! Plus, with the Tokyo Game Show just around the corner, we talk about what we’re likely to see and what we’re most excited about. Joe also has another round of Spot the Fake for us.

Counter-Strike is one of the oldest esports scenes in the industry and has always operated a bit differently from leagues like Overwatch or League of Legend. Dreamhack and the ESL are teaming up to form the CS:GO Open Circuit. We also talk about the launch of World of Warcraft Classic and if the popularity of the launch could actually be evidence of the end for the MMO genre. Plus, the United Kingdom’s Parliament has a twitch channel, you read that right, the House of Lords and the House of Commons is on Twitch.

Joe brings us the latest headlines from the gaming world including; Blizzard developing Overwatch 2, 300k people watching World of Warcraft Classic and many others. We also check in on the biggest headlines from the esports industry such as 100 Thieves passing on the Call of the Duty league, the Overwatch League play-in stage results and ESL and Dreamhack Open Circuit. Plus, what did the crew get up to over the Labor Day weekend? We also asked our social media followers what their favorite line from a video game is.

Last year the studio behind popular games like The Wolf Among Us or The Walking Dead, TellTale Games suddenly went bankrupt leaving fans and employees alike confused, heartbroken and with more questions than answers. Well, now it’s back but under completely new management. We also talk about esports organization 100 Thieves choosing not to enter the Call of Duty League. Plus, a list of the 15 best dogs in gaming. Who is the goodest boys?

Nate brings us a video from Unilad that shows a 15 year old boy being arrested for making threats online, his mother argues they were jokes he heard playing games. We talk about taking responsibility for both our actions and inactions in the gaming space. We also discuss Complexity dropping their entire DOTA2 roster following The International 2019 and why it’s a bad look for esports. Finally, we are joined by popular streamer ONE_shot_GURL to talk about her streaming, history and of course, Fortnite.

This week in the gaming world we talk about headlines such as Sony purchasing Insomniac Games, the Mortal Kombat movie’s casting, Star Citizen and their crazy ship prices and more. On the esports side of things we talk about OG winning their second International in DOTA2, Complexity dropping their entire DOTA2 line-up, the finalized roster for the Team USA Overwatch World Cup and much more. Plus, our social media question this month courtesy of Fred B, what’s the best video game weapon of all time?

Over the weekend Riot Games and League of Legends visited Detroit MI for the LCS Summer Split. The crew talk about their experiences at the event and how it stacks up to other live events. Plus, Rick Fox and League of Legends are taking center stage on HBO’s Ballers, which stars The Rock as a Sports Agents. The crew discuss how esports are portrayed in the program and how it could end up playing out throughout the rest of the season. The Checkpoint Crew also introduces Chadd, one of the newest members of the Checkpoint XP team.

This weekend is playing host to the LCS Summer Split Finals in Detroit, Michigan. We’re joined first by Devin Murphy of the LCS as he talks to about what it takes to put on an event as big as the LCS Summer Split Finals. We also bring in Noah Smith, contributing writer for the Washington Post to talk to him about a recent story of his. He also joins us to talk about the LCS Summer Split Finals and joins Joe and Norris for their preview of the event.