Hot Takes

By Hotspawn

Analysis, debate and the occasional howler- Hot Takes is the home of esports conversation.

Join the Hotspawn team as they tackle the biggest stories across CS2, VALORANT, League of Leg

... more

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FAQs about Hot Takes:

How many episodes does Hot Takes have?

The podcast currently has 120 episodes available.

Hot Takes episodes:

February 02, 2026 SIGN DEMON1! / SEN Shambles / BBL to Masters / PRX Panic? / FURIA Is Insane - Hot Takes ep. 60
In this Hot Takes episode, Lee and Zahk discuss the latest VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) results across each VCT Kickoff league.

In VCT Americas, they go through FURIA's remarkable run and discuss their upcoming matchup with MIBR's aspas, as well as the slow start of G2, Sentinels' massive issues, and NRG's decent form.

For VCT EMEA, the duo discuss the unlikely success of both Gentle Mates and BBL, the so-so form of Fnatic, Team Vitality, and the disastrous starts by Team Heretics and Team Liquid.

Over in VCT Pacific, a Paper Rex loss may have signalled some alarm bells, in yet another region with a surprising upper-bracket finalists in the shape of Nongshim RedForce. RRQ also look good, as do T1, while the likes of Gen.G have truggled early.

Articles discussed:
https://www.hotspawn.com/valorant/news/n4rrate-sentinels-content-issues
https://www.hotspawn.com/valorant/news/demon1-joins-cloud9-vct-americas-kickoff
https://www.hotspawn.com/valorant/news/m8-starxo-interview-vct-emea-kickoff
https://www.hotspawn.com/valorant/news/bbl-lovers-rock-vct-emea-kickoff-interview
...more
1h 22min
January 27, 2026 LR CAN WIN! / G2 Shaky? / KC the Best Team / TH Troubles / LCK Cup in Hong Kong! - Hot Takes ep. 59
In the latest episode of Hot Takes, Lee and Davide discuss the latest LEC Versus action, including Karmine Corp going top of the league and Los Ratones finally getting their first wins. They also give their thoughts on G2's struggles, Fnatic's decent form, Team Vitality's fan displeasure, and Movistar KOI and NAVI's current levels.
...more
1h 12min
January 21, 2026 CAN LR WIN? / No Great LEC Teams!? / T1 Won't Make Worlds Top 4 / NS Scout Form - Hot Takes ep. 58
In the latest episode of Hot Takes, Lee and Davide discuss Ethan's abrupt exit from Hotspawn during the LEC Versus Week 1 chat. They go through the opening weekend and give thoughts on each team, including Los Ratones' worrying 0-3 start, G2's struggles, and the raft of 2-1 teams who start well with results despite not showing the most convincing gameplay.

00:00:00 - Ethan left Hotspawn
00:03:00 - LEC Versus week 1
01:09:45 - LCK & LPL chat
...more
1h 28min
January 15, 2026 VCT 2026 PREDICTIONS! / No Global for SEN? / VIT Roster Will Work / KRU to Champs - Hot Takes ep. 57
READ: A power outage abruptly ended the recording of this episode, leading to the sudden end. Our apologies!

In this episode, Lee and Zahk give predictions for the 2026 VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) season. The duo guess each region's Kickoff winners, Masters Santiago representatives, overachievers and underachievers, best signings, players to watch, and which teams will reach VALORANT Champions Shanghai later in the year.

Will Sentinels reach a global event? Will G2 dominate like last year? Will the Team Vitality superteam work out? Will Fnatic drop off without Chronicle? Will Paper Rex make Pacific a one-team region?

00:00:00 - Intro
00:03:41 - Americas predictions
00:26:40 - EMEA predictions
00:43:25 - Pacific predictions
...more
1h 7min
January 12, 2026 LEC POWER RANKINGS! / LR Bottom Two?! / €0 Prize Pool / First Selection - Hot Takes ep. 56
In this episode, Lee, Davide, and Ethan decide their LEC team rankings, from first to twelth, while also ranking every individual role in a Hot Takes first. The trio discuss Los Ratones' chances of competing with tier one sides, as well as why early SK rankings may be underselling their strength.

The trio also discuss the latest ecosystem updates, including the addition of First Selection, and the controversial removal of regional split prize pools.

Stories discussed:
https://www.hotspawn.com/league-of-legends/news/lol-esports-first-selection

00:00:00 - LEC team power rankings
00:52:20 - Mid rankings
01:08:38 - Top lane rankings
01:21:12 - ADC rankings
01:31:45 - Support rankings
01:42:16 - LoLEsports ecosystem updates
...more
1h 60min
January 08, 2026 LCK, LPL & LCS POWER RANKINGS! / $100m Fnatic Sale? / Karsa Retires - Hot Takes ep. 55
In the latest episode of Hot Takes, Lee, Ethan, and Davide figure out their power rankings for all of the top LCK, LPL, and LCS teams.

Storied discussed:
https://www.hotspawn.com/league-of-legends/news/fnatic-to-sell-club-for-100-million
https://www.hotspawn.com/league-of-legends/news/karsa-announces-retirement
...more
2h 8min
December 23, 2025 Hotspawn's Biggest L's & W's in 2025 - Year in Review with Soph, Dan, Lee & Dovi - Hot Takes EP. 54
Hotspawn's "BIG FOUR" sits down to reflect on 2025. We ran a year in review and, go over key moments from past events, and the biggest W's and L's of the year. We sneak in some merch discussions, reminiscing on our big interviews and big events & looking forward to 2026.
...more
57min
December 18, 2025 T1 WINS KESPA CUP! / Shifters Is OK? / Broadcast Deals / CFO Shad0w / LPL Rosters - Hot Takes ep. 53
In this episode, Lee, Davide, and Ethan discuss the latest League of Legends esports news, including T1's KeSPA Cup triumph and difficulties with the Disney+ exclusive broadcasting deal. The trio also discussed the French community's reaction to Bwipo's replacement on French Flair, Shad0w joining CFO, Daeny joining BLG as head coach, and a range of LPL roster updates.

Articles discussed:
https://www.hotspawn.com/league-of-legends/news/team-bds-rebrands-to-shifters
https://www.hotspawn.com/league-of-legends/news/lcp-2026-roster-tracker
https://www.hotspawn.com/league-of-legends/news/daeny-joins-bilibili-gaming-head-coach

00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:02 - Shifters brand revealed
00:08:22 - KeSPA Cup, broadcast rights, and revenue streams
00:30:35 - Bwipo leaves French Flair
00:42:10 - CFO Shad0w & 6-man rosters
01:09:32 - BLG Daeny & LPL
...more
1h 23min
December 17, 2025 $100m VCT REVENUE! / Terrible Awards? / VALORANT EMEA Clash / ZETA mini / VARREL - Hot Takes ep. 52
In this episode, Lee and Zahk discuss the latest VALORANT esports news, including the revelation that teams made more than $100m this year through revenue sharing, and looking at 2026 updates. The pair also give their thoughts on the controversial regional VCT awards, VARREL's surprising takeover of SLT Seongnam's Ascension-winning roster, and the VALORANT EMEA Clash - a new event mixing tier 1 and tier 2 teams.

Stories discussed:
https://www.hotspawn.com/valorant/news/vct-2025-100m-rev-share
https://www.hotspawn.com/valorant/news/slt-seongnam-varrel-vct-pacific/
https://www.hotspawn.com/valorant/news/vct-awards-2025
https://www.hotspawn.com/valorant/news/vct-emea-kickoff-2026-announcement
https://www.hotspawn.com/valorant/news/vct-pacific-2026-details/
https://www.hotspawn.com/valorant/news/mini-joins-zeta-division
https://www.hotspawn.com/valorant/news/full-sense-joins-vct-pacific-2026
https://www.hotspawn.com/valorant/news/g2-gozen-petra-retirement
https://www.hotspawn.com/valorant/news/less-and-saadhak-join-kru-2026
...more
1h 15min
December 09, 2025 LEC ROSTER REVIEWS! / Team Shi*ters Rebrand / Bwipo can't play in LFL / LR Future - Hot Takes ep. 51
In this episode of Hot Takes, Lee and Davide rate each rumoured LEC 2026 roster, looking at the best and worst signings and likely costs of each lineup. The duo also discussed the new Team BDS rebrand, now to be named Shifters, as well as the immediate community reaction.

00:00:00 - BDS to Shifters
00:14:31 - LEC roster reviews
01:18:41 - Los Ratones' future
01:29:00 - Bwipo can't play LFL
01:34:25 - WASD
...more
1h 37min

FAQs about Hot Takes:

How many episodes does Hot Takes have?

The podcast currently has 120 episodes available.