As the war between Russia and Ukraine rages on, the VALORANT Champions Tour, or VCT, has Russian players facing restrictions from competing. This affects Fnatic and FunPlus Phoenix who reportedly were scrambling to find replacements for their Russian players. Because FPX was not able to find enough replacements, its roster will not be traveling to Reykjavik in Iceland, and will instead be replaced by Team Liquid. Because VCT Masters is an international event, Russian players cannot travel internationally due to ongoing sanctions. This week, Imad is joined by Dot Esports investigative reporter George Geddes to talk about the impact of the current situation on the competition and its teams.

G2 Esports has filed a lawsuit against blockchain company Bondly, which was set to develop the sale of NFTs for the brand. G2 claims that Bondly misled leadership and is seeking $5.2 million dollars in damages. This week, Imad is joined by Mikhail Klimentov, who reported the story for the Washington Post, to discuss the lawsuit and esports' relationship with NFTs.

With COVID now trending downward, the fighting games scene is slowly starting to open up in-person events. Evolution (EVO) will return to Las Vegas this year and the Smash World Tour will finally come together. On this week's episode, Imad is joined by Dot Esports FGC reporter Cale Michael to talk about the FGC.

Due to the ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia, much of the esports industry, along with most nations, have showed support for Ukraine, including sending donations to humanitarian efforts and condemnations of Russia's actions. Tournament organizers have also banned some Russian teams from competing in events. Events that were to take place in the CIS region, which includes Russia, have been cancelled. This week, Imad is rejoined by Dot Esports reporter Mateusz Miter to discuss the latest developments in Eastern European esports as a result of the war.

Russia has declared war on Ukraine. The esports scene in Europe is tied greatly to Russia and its neighboring countries. Alraedy, orgs such as G2 Esports, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Astralis, and others have made statements condemning Russia's actions. Ukranian CS:GO pro Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev expressed his frustrations on Twitter saying his city, Kiev, is being shelled. Kostyliev was just in Poland for IEM Katowice 2022. This week, Imad is joined by Dot Esports reporter Mateusz Miter to break down how the industry is responding to the conflict.

Last month, a 14-year-old boy in Lahore, Pakistan, shot his family dead. Police claim that he was "under the influence" of PUBG Mobile. In a statement, police said, "The PUBG addict boy confessed to have killed her mother and siblings under the influence of the game. He has developed some psychological issues because of spending long hours of the day playing the online game." Police say he was quick to get agitated and that his mother scolded him earlier for playing the game too much instead of doing schoolwork. Police are now recommending that authorities that agencies ban the game, calling it too dangerous. This week, Imad is joined by Aasil Ahmed, a tech reporter for ProPakistani.pk.

Motif Esports, a U.K. based esports organization has completely disbanded, deleting its website and Twitter profiles in the process. Two members of its all-female VALORANT team alleged to have experienced both racism and sexual harassment when competing in VCT Game Changers. The team's former captain, Joanne Rae, shared a Twitlonger detailing a toxic work environment and alleged that founder Jack "Jaws" Willis sexually harassed her. Her teammate, Barbora "Rebecca" Řezáčová. claimed there was "a lot of racism towards non-UK players," including towards Czech and Turkish players. Mercy, a Turkish player, had to deal with targeted racism. This week, Imad is joined by freelancer Cecilia Ciocchetti, who reported the story for Dot Esports, as well as former Motif players Joanne and Rebecca.

Last month, Savvy Gaming Group purchased both ESL and FACEIT Group in a massive $1.5 billion dollar deal. Savvy is fully backed by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund and is essentially the esports and gaming arm of its larger sports acquisition and marketing efforts. The Saudi Arabian government has a poor human rights record, including a number of vast restrictions to women, and anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Over the past years, the country has been trying to change its public image around the world by sponsoring, via the PIF, sports events such as Formula One and buying soccer clubs, a strategy that has been branded sportswashing. ESL Gaming, which also comprises Dreamhack, reportedly made up to $1 billion of the deal. This week, Henrique (filling in for Imad) is joined by Leonardo Biazzi, a longtime CS:GO reporter and staff writer at Dot Esports who has been following Saudi Arabia's "sportswashing" initiatives closely.

On back-to-back episodes of FTW, we're talking shooters. This week, it's the Call of Duty League's turn in the spotlight. It, as well as its sister league in the Overwatch League, will be feeling the ramifications of Microsoft agreeing to buy their parent company Activision Blizzard for a record-breaking $68.7 billion dollars. On this week's episode, Imad is joined by freelance Call of Duty League reporter Tanner Wooten to talk about what Microsoft's acquisition could mean for the future of a sputtering Call of Duty League, and in some cases by extension, the Overwatch League.

Halo esports is back, and with the launch of the newest title in the series, Halo Infinite, the scene is off to a great start. After a couple of Majors and some Pro Series tournaments, Cloud9 stand atop the scene. But what's next for the esport in a franchise that has been around for as long as Halo has? Is the scene just surviving on nostalgia, or is it sustainable? To answer these questions and get some insight into the state of the esport as it stands, we're joined by Dot Esports FPS staff writer Scott Robertson, and fill-in host Henrique DaMour to kick off 2022.