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Crazy Raccoon took home a promising $400,000 in prize money, along with 1,000 championship points as they defeated the Toronto Ultra in the Grand Final of the Overwatch Esports World Cup, showing no signs of weakness as the team made its way towards a promising finish that has them sitting at the top of the world.

The win also sees Crazy Raccoon make a sudden climb to the no. 5 spot in the Club Championship Standings, tied with Alpha7 Esports, Selangor Red Giants, T1 Esports, and Smart Omega Empress, who all have 1,000 points for winning respective tournaments in the Esports World Cup. Kim "Shu" Jin-seo was also named tournament MVP for the Crazy Raccoon’s campaign.

The Japanese esports team has done a great job of making their presence felt in the game. It has been quite a promising run for the team as they went on to suffer only two game losses, which just says a lot about how prominence does not really play a huge role when you play in a given tournament at a given time, and Crazy Raccoon’s story as a fresh team off the blocks has seen them as a promising team to look out for at this point in time.

Path to the Championship

Crazy Raccoon began its campaign in a battle against ENCE, which was wrapped up in just four games – showing the team’s focus and how locked in they are in terms of coming up with an easy sweep to open up the Quarter Finals. They went on to face Team Falcons – who are the leading team in the Club Championship Standings – and just defeated them in five games, giving up one win before they proceeded to complete the ordeal and deliver a strong finish.

Toronto Ultra, on the other hand, has been one of the best teams to look out for in the game over the years, and they have swept Twisted Minds in the Quarter Finals in a quick run. However, they did battle against ZETA Division, which has been quite a team to look out for, and it ended in a seven-game series. Ultra emerged as the winner in the seventh game as they had to stave off ZETA in the final moments of the semis.

The Final, however, was as predicted by many fans and critics. Crazy Raccoon has regained the composure they had in the early rounds, and they definitely carried the same pace in the Grand Final as they went on to carry out wins in the first three games before Ultra managed to answer back in Runasapi Push. However, Crazy Raccoon wrapped up the day with a win at Eichenwalde Hybrid.

Crazy Raccoon’s Rise to Dominance

While the esports company was established in 2018, Crazy Raccoon’s Overwatch team only entered the scene this April, with the free-agent team of WAC (We Are Crazy Raccoon). This included three former Shock 2023 players such as HeeSang, Junbin, and MAX, alongside recent champion CH0R0NG and longtime OWL players LIP and Shu.

The team made immediate strides in the Overwatch scene, winning in the Overwatch Champions Series 2024 - Asia Stage 1 Main Event last April, and then continuing with the winning pace in the Overwatch Champions Series 2024 Major with a 4-2 win over Team Falcons last June. This recent win in the Esports World Cup has definitely given them more prominence to build on en route to the next set of tournaments they will play.

Marchenko was a restricted free agent for the team this offseason, and with a salary arbitration scheduled to take place this Wednesday, it does seem that he accepted the Blue Jackets’ offer to sign a three-year deal that will see him slated to come up with more minutes in the coming season and a bigger role at the very least.

At the age of 24, it does seem that Marchenko is slated for bigger heights in his career, considering the fact that he has enjoyed a promising set of seasons prior to the 2023-24 season, which says a lot about how he is expected to be a more composed player heading into the next season. So far, the Blue Jackets are aiming to come up with a much bigger run in the next campaign after having a lot of struggles in their games, which definitely says a lot about his value in the squad.

Marchenko has done well to make himself useful in the previous season, breaking his way into Columbus’ top six, which explains why the Blue Jackets were so keen to sign him right away for an extension. But his true value on the rink will be tested when the season begins, and the Blue Jackets seek to make their claim on the big stage.

Marchenko’s Underrated Production

Marchenko has been quite the scorer on his own so far, coming up with back-to-back 20-goal seasons, and that says a lot about how he has taken his game to the next level. In the 2023-24 season alone, the 24-year-old has amassed 23 goals and 42 points with just an average of 16:25 of ice time through 78 games.

This is expected to see more from Marchenko in coming up with a climb in a production bump to play alongside Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau. It cannot be denied that there are a lot of expectations as to how Marchenko could actually expand his horizon in the game and deliver a win for the team at this point.

“Kirill Marchenko has been an important player for the Blue Jackets during his first two NHL seasons and reaching an agreement to keep him in Columbus was important to us.” GM Don Waddell said. “He has size, skill and the ability to score goals and will continue to be a big part of our core group moving forward.”

A Pivotal Franchise Player for the Blue Jackets

Marchenko’s signing gives Columbus the needed flexibility in terms of cap space, and it also allows the forward to earn big money in the coming years should he keep the same pace going in the game. It is easy to say that Marchenko will likely thrive more, especially when he is given a bigger role by new head coach Dean Evason.

In a total of 137 games for Columbus, Marchenko has scored a total of 44 goals and 67 points, even breaking the rookie goal-scoring record and delivering 20 goals in his first two years in the NHL, which says a lot about the expectations set before the forward en route to the campaign.

So far, Marchenko is on a great pace at this point, and it cannot be denied that the Blue Jackets are keeping one of their best rising stars in the game that will eventually help them earn a shot at the Stanley Cup Final.

Spain has definitely fielded some of its best stars in the Olympics as they brought in the new duo of Carlos Alcaraz and Rafael Nadal to take on the campaign in the French clay court. The duo went on to deliver a strong performance in their debut on the Olympic stage as they ousted Argentines Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in a 7-6 (4) and 6-4 affair to punch their ticket to the second round.

As usual, the Spanish players fielded red shirts and white shorts, representing Spain’s colors in the game. The duo went on to come up with a two-back strategy in their game, and it proved to be a magical performance so far as they went on to overcome a late deficit in the second set to pull off the victory and wrap up the showdown.

Both players have also emerged victorious in their respective runs in the Men’s Singles, which proved to be a show of a promising groove for both players as they hope to build on a promising campaign that will see them with a gold medal by the end of the Olympics.

A Mix of Experience and Youth

The team up of Alcaraz and Nadal has been quite a question for many fans, considering the fact that Alcaraz has not played in the Olympics, while Nadal is a shadow of his former glory in the game. Still, that did not stop the pair from forming this astounding partnership that has seen them come up with a strong start to deliver a convincing message in the tennis doubles.

Alcaraz started out with a nervous start, and he even dropped a serve in the opening game. Still, it cannot be denied that he is a favorite to win in both the singles and with Nadal in the doubles considering that he is the current winner of the French Open – the same stage that he played in. So far, Nadal’s impressive game has been fun to watch, and it cannot be denied that his immense experience has definitely been quite on point despite struggling due to his injuries in the past year.

For those who don’t know, Nadal is a two-time gold medallist on the Olympic stage, winning in the 2008 Beijing Singles and 2016 Rio Doubles with Marc Lopez. He also holds the record for most tournament victories in the French Open with 14 titles, which says a lot about the experience that he brings into the table for their chances of winning.

Shaky Dominance in the Clay

Despite being known as the best two players to ever play on clay courts, Nadal and Alcaraz had a shaky start in the game with the first set needing six tie-breaks to finish off the first set to take a 1-0 lead, then later coming back from an 0-3 hole in the second set before wrapping up a 6-4 win to close the game for good.

The pair is expected to take on Wesley Koolhof and Tallon Griekspoor, who represented The Netherlands and defeated the Hungarian duo of Fabian Marozsan and Marton Fucsovics in straight sets without much hassle. This will be a perfect test of their dominance in the game as they seek to build their presence on clay – a surface that is known well to be dominated by both stars at this point.

There was a lot of doubt about Team USA’s campaign for the Olympics, but they silenced all of their critics when they delivered a promising finish to beat Serbia with a whopping 110-84 victory to wrap up their victory in dominant fashion. Team USA is slated to play two more group-stage games in the schedule as they hope to advance into the next round.

It was a show of force for the Americans, who came with the best roster that Team USA has at its disposal. Nikola Jokic, the reigning NBA MVP, managed to come up with 20 points in the game to lead Serbia, but the rest of the team shot poorly with just nine made threes in 37 attempts, which ultimately led to their tough loss.

Serbia was slated to be the toughest test for Team USA in the Group Stage, and the squad handled it perfectly with impressive strides, showing how well they can blend together despite being a team full of stars who need so much of the ball. So far, the expectations are high for Team USA, and it cannot be denied that they are favorites to win.

A Signature Performance From James and Durant

Kevin Durant and LeBron James led the charge for Team USA in their campaign for the gold finish this year. Durant finished with a team-high 23 points, he was even perfect in the first half with 8-for-8 shooting from the field, including five threes that splashed perfectly as if he didn’t have any rust in his game. That was an impressive stride, considering that Durant did not play any games in the exhibitions.

James, on the other hand, came up with an impressive performance of his own as he took over the third quarter with 21 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds – a signature all-around game that showed how he is still able to come up with flashy plays and massive contributions that made him the best player on the court right now.

It does seem that the star duo did not show any signs of aging at all, and it cannot be denied that both James and Durant will have to do some lifting to come up with a promising campaign that will see the United States earn a podium finish.

Team USA Shined Bright on the Big Stage

Age has been quite a promising concern for Team USA considering the fact that they have fielded a lot of veterans in the game. Stephen Curry himself is already ahead of age 30, and yet he still managed to drill three threes and 11 points, while the likes of Devin Booker, Jrue Holiday, and Anthony Davis have been quite promising on both ends of the floor, and it is safe to say that age is not going to be a problem moving forward.

Serbia was a lot closer than it actually looked on paper as they lost by 26 points, but that all happened in a total of 10 minutes that Jokic was off the floor. Team USA shot 18 for 32 from three, which certainly showed how dominant the team was right from the start. Team USA still has to win its next two games to secure a spot in the next round of the Olympics, which will come up against South Sudan and Puerto Rico in the next few days.

The New York Islanders want to believe that they are capable of contending for the top spot in the Eastern Conference, and that seems to be the case as team captain Anders Lee is now excited to see the team come out and emerge as a leading team to look out for en route to the 2024-25 season with a few tweaks in the squad moving forward.

For Lee, there is indeed a shift in the wind for the Islanders as their sails have been redirected towards a much more promising campaign that would see them make more winning strides and make a much deeper run in the playoffs at this point. The captain is certain that there’s a lot to look forward to for the team in almost every regard, which sparks an impressive confidence for them.

The Metropolitan Division is a crowded bunch in the East. The New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes battle for dominance, while the Islanders lurk in the shadows, waiting to strike their chances in the game. It is also worth noting that there are several challengers coming up in that regard, with the New Jersey Devils starting to show hints of higher contention in the coming campaign.

Improvement Under Patrick Roy

The Islanders finished third under Patrick Roy – who was hired in the middle of the season to replace Lane Lambert in January. New York ended up with a 39-27-16 record and lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in just five games in the Eastern Conference First Round. It is worth noting that the Islanders were initially falling out of the playoff race that time, and their shot at the postseason was a result of a late season push.

“When Patty came in, he came in with an intensity and focus and an energy that was just really infectious throughout our group,” Lee said. “I think we took that and ran with it, and now we get to start the season off with him in a fresh start. We get a full offseason for everyone to get settled in and for him to put us through camp and get us ready to go.”

It is easy to say that Anders Lee is definitely seeing the squad click well under Patrick Roy, who has helped the Islanders configure its roster with more focus on the defensive end and creating two-way plays that benefitted them well.

A New Pairing

Aside from the expectations of playing a full season under Roy, Lee is also keen to see how his new pairing with Anthony Duclair would turn out to be coming into the 2024-25 season. The former Tampa Bay Lightning and San Jose Sharks star shined bright last season with 42 points on 24 goals and 18 assists in just 73 games. The 28-year-old is slated to give the Islanders a boost on the top-six spot heading into the season.

“Having Anthony come in, it’s huge for us,” Lee said. “He brings a big element to our team with the speed and playmaking, and he’s been around a long time and has seen a lot of hockey. So, he’s going to be very welcomed in our room.”

At this point, the Islanders pretty much look like the same as they did last season, with just a few changes. This year is something that the team needs to build on if they are going to compete at the highest level once more.

It is never easy to let anyone play in the game when you’re free-falling in the season. But for the San Francisco Giants, now is as good time as any considering that they’ve given Robbie Ray a chance to play big in his first game, leading them to a promising 8-3 victory over one of the juggernauts in the game, the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Ray didn’t actually have the groove, but was nevertheless called up by the team to make his debut – and he did not fail to impress when it mattered most. He anchored the Giants after finding his stride in the game, throwing 86 pitches and wrapping out the night with a 96 mph fastball that struck out Shohei Ohtani – which also ended the fifth inning.

This goes to show that players making waves in the minors are also definitely capable of making a splash in the majors. Ray himself has had a promising night that turned plenty of heads to give the struggling Giants a massive victory that many critics call – surreal at this point. But of course, not everyone can keep up the winning pace, and it is easy to say that Ray has a promising groove to himself at this point.

Overcoming an Early Slump

Ray had a very challenging first inning after he had two walks and two hit batters to go along with two wild pitches. The Dodgers jumped out to take a 1-0 lead in that span without even taking a hit, and while it set the pace for the whole game, Ray would use that rough start to come up with bigger strides later on in the game as he went on a blazing rally to lead the Giants.

His outing in the later innings proved to be a spark for the Giants as the offense suddenly came to life. Matt Chapman nailed a homer to drive in two runs, while Heliot Ramos and Mike Yastrzemski came up with two RBIs each, with Ramos later delivering a two-run single in a six-run eighth inning to ice the game.

Ray’s impressive outing has been quite the spectacle for many fans in the game, and it cannot be denied that the Giants would not have pulled off this wire-to-wire victory without Ray coming up with this explosive performance.

A Late Resurgence for the Giants?

Despite being in free-fall, the Giants are just 4.5 games behind a wild card spot in the Playoffs. With the 2024 campaign halfway through, there is definitely a chance for the team to come up with a promising rush to the top. According to Giants manager Bob Melvin, it is is not impossible for them to come up with a push, but the standings do worry them as of late.

“You can’t help but know where we are in the standings,” manager Bob Melvin said. “There’s some other teams separating a little bit. We’re dropping further back. We’ve talked about the cavalry coming, but we need to do it now.”

So far, the Giants have shown a promising sign of life, and it cannot be denied that the team is clearly ready to take on the challenge of making it back to the top of the playoff stage now more than ever. Who knows, maybe they can beat the odds once more and finally come out on top for at least a wild card spot.

It was in early June that reports of Topic’s injury became quite a concern for many teams who worked out with him as it meant that there is a possibility for him to redshirt the incoming 2024-25 season. Oklahoma City seems to be prepared for this as they brought in Topic and have helped in his recovery after he underwent a successful surgery yesterday.

Surgery on his partially torn ACL was performed in Los Angeles by Dr. Neal ElAttrache. The Thunder already announced that he will be sitting out for the rest of the season. The Serbian point guard is essentially prepared to take on the redshirt role this season with the hopes of recovering well in the whole run.

This marks the second time that OKC will have a player redshirted for a season, with Chet Holmgren, who was drafted in 2022 with the second overall pick. Holmgren went on to average 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per contest while starting all 82 games for the Thunder after his redshirt season.

Another Redshirt Player for OKC

Believe it or not, Oklahoma City is well suited to take on a redshirt player among all the teams in the NBA. The same experience was a huge benefit for Holmgren as the latter finished second in the Rookie of the Year voting with such a promising upside in his game. The same is the expected result for Topic, who unlike Holmgren, would actually have more flexibility as he is not limited to a leg brace in his recovery.

OKC selected Topic with the 12th pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. He was clearly one of the hottest prospects in the draft class and would’ve ended up higher on the list had it not been for his injury. This is why many critics claim that the Thunder came up with a massive steal in the Draft, yet again with the no. 12 pick after they selected Jalen Williams with the same pick.

At the age of 18, Topic has enjoyed plenty of experience in Europe, playing for various teams such as the Crvena Zvezda, Slides, OKK Beograd, and Mega in just three years. He is a two-time ABA League champion, a Serbian League and Serbian Cup champion, as well as the FIBA U18 European Championship MVP in 2023.

Not Shocked with Topic

Topic’s redshirt was already expected as soon as the Thunder drafted him. It was clear that OKC was planning to have him sit out the rest of the season to recover, giving him the same opportunity that Chet Holmgren did in his first year with the Thunder. The difference is that OKC is already a stacked team at this point, and they can even win the championship without Topic playing a single minute.

Topic is a good selection for OKC, who just lost Josh Giddey in a trade for Alex Caruso. Topic brings in the same eye for passing that Giddey had for the Thunder, but what stands out is the fact that he has an impressive shooting percentage from three, something that Giddey did not offer for the Thunder over his first three years with the team.

Still, Topic is slated to earn a $4.9 million salary in the 2024-25 season as he recovers from his ACL surgery, along with $18.1 million for the next three years, with team options on the final two seasons of his contract.