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Now that the clay adventure is wrapped up with a bang for Carlos Alcaraz, his focus now shifts to the grass courts, the ever-challenging atmosphere of Wimbledon in his sights now more than ever. At the age of 21, the Spaniard notes that his success will come handy as he seeks to deliver a promising win in the next major.

Alcaraz has walked off the Roland Garros with a promising title win, and it cannot be denied that the Spanish star is making the most of his chances considering how well he played on the clay. But with the proper rest that he has enjoyed now, it does seem that he can come off with the best promising performance come the big tournament.

In case you missed it, Alcaraz has won the French Open final against Alexander Zverev to secure his spot in the ATP Rankings at world no. 2 (Novak Djokovic fell off at third while Jannik Sinner sits at the top). It is also worth noting that he has notched the massive feat of being the youngest player to ever win on all three surfaces – winning in the US Open (2022), Wimbledon (2023), and Roland Garros (2024).

Going “All-In” in Wimbledon

Alcaraz recently arrived in London with the hopes of playing in the Queen’s Club Championship, where he hopes to break some sweat and earn a chance to win big on grass. Still, we all know that the big focus for Alcaraz is to come up with a win in Wimbledon, where a victory in the final will see him return to the top of the ATP Rankings and edge Jannik Sinner at the top spot.

“I have more matches in my bank on grass and now with the great run I had last year at Queen’s and Wimbledon, I know a little bit on how to play and understand the game a little bit on grass,” Alcaraz said in his pre-tournament press conference on Sunday. “I am more mature playing on this surface. The first practice I have done here, my movement wasn’t as good as last year but it is a slow process, so I have to be really focused in every practice and every match.”

For the season, Alcaraz stands at 26-4, with titles being won in Roland Garros and the Indian Wells. Still, the Spanish star is taking it one game and one tournament at a time, considering that he is slated to take on Wimbledon at the end of June after the Queen’s Club Championships and will begin his July run with the Olympics.

The Chase Continues for Alcaraz

The season has been somewhat stagnant for Alcaraz to begin with. He had to play three tournaments before winning his first in the 2024 Tour in the Indian Wells. He would go on to lose in the next three before finally winning in the French Open. This just goes to show that Alcaraz is still actively chasing points in his game this season with the hopes of finally finishing the campaign as the world no. 1.

So far, Alcaraz sits at 8,580 points in the world no. 2 spot. Last year’s rival Novak Djokovic is not that far behind with 8,360 points, meaning that a win or two for Djokovic in any massive tournaments can lift him over Alcaraz. The Spaniard is still a tournament win behind Sinner, who sits well at the top with 9,480 points as of the time of writing.

Luka Doncic and the Dallas Mavericks were hammered in Game 5 of the NBA Finals, never leading for the whole game right from the opening tip. It was a staggering loss for Dallas fans, who never saw a lead as the Mavs hopelessly tried to stay in the game and even giving up a lot of runs that led to the 18-point loss and the end of their promising season.

In a postgame interview, a reporter asked Doncic how much he was hurting for the whole series, given the fact that he has suffered multiple injuries in their series against Oklahoma City, where Doncic underperformed in most of their games. The Slovenian star was quick to answer with a brutally honest take about his performance in the series.

"It doesn't matter if I was hurt, how much was I hurt. I was out there. Tried to play. I didn't do enough,” said Doncic, who is now 0-1 in the NBA Finals, and fans are

A Struggle to the Finish

Luka Doncic averaged 29.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 5.6 assists in his NBA Finals debut. However, it is worth noting that despite that high scoring surge and all-around performance from the star guard, there has been a lot of talk as to how his game proved to be fatal for the Mavs as well.

For starters, Doncic has been long criticized throughout the NBA Playoffs for his lack of defense. Sure, he can come up with timely steals and blocks, but we have watched the Boston Celtics blow by him with different players time after time in the Finals, which says a lot about his lack of defensive prowess in the game.

Despite leading the Mavericks in all of the stat lines, Doncic has had a tough run in the game. A lethal three-point sniper like him should not have shot 11/45 from deep, and his total 23 turnovers lead Dallas, including 7 in the tough Game 5 loss. Doncic has struggled to play at the top of his game for the whole series, which has led to the defeat at the hands of the Celtics.

What’s Next for Luka Doncic?

Well, Luka still has three years left in his contract with the Dallas Mavericks, which makes it certain that he is slated to stay with the team for at least three more big runs. Doncic stated in his postgame interview that his priority for this summer is to get healthy, earn a chance to come up with big games for Slovenia in the Olympics, and get back to top shape when the season begins.

The Dallas Mavericks won’t have to worry about Doncic leaving, at least for now. But the team has to make sure that they make the right adjustments that will give him the best chance of winning if they want him to stay beyond his current contract.

For now, Doncic has had a taste of the big stage. It is a promising feat for a star at the age of 25, who also happens to be an MVP candidate and an All-Star who recently won the scoring title, and we can expect him to do bigger things in the years to come if he is going to come up with a massive win soon.

June 20, 2024 – At the 2024 World Series of Poker (WSOP), Daniel Negreanu is not having a good tournament run. On Tuesday, in Event #47: $100,000 High Roller No-Limit Hold'em, things took a turn for the worse for the poker legend.

On Day 1, 95 players registered for the six-figure buy-in tournament; registration is still available for Wednesday's Day 2 session. Henrik Hecklen had the biggest stack at the end of the play, and among the 44 players who finished the session with chips were Nick Petrangelo, Jared Bleznick, and Jeremy Ausmus.

In the $100k High Roller at the WSOP, Daniel Negreanu was unlucky enough to bust twice when confronted with pocket aces. He was sent to the rebuy line when, early on Day 1, his K♣J♦ ran against A♠A♣ held by John Kincaid. Later, Negreanu used his second bullet to secure his tournament exit after Sergio Aido's A♦A♥ forced him to give up despite a solid A♠9♠ on a favorable board.

Daniel Negreanu's WSOP summer hasn't gone as planned, as reflected in his vlogs. Despite five cashes, including one online, none have been substantial, and he's yet to reach a final table. With losses nearing $1.9 million over consecutive WSOPs, 2024 hasn't been favorable, down over $380,000 so far.

Negreanu, initially strong this year with high-roller wins and top finishes, aims to reverse his fortunes. In the WSOP $25k Fantasy Draft, he fetched $132 for Team DPMC but has contributed just 52 points, ranking 49th in the league standings.

June 19, 2024 – With the 2024 World Series of Poker closing, returning poker champion James Obst has managed to claim his second WSOP bracelet. In the $10,000 seven-card stud tournament, he defeated 107 competitors to take home the trophy and the top prize of $260,658. His total documented tournament earnings to date exceed $3.5 million.

With just a Stud Hi-Lo bracelet needed to capture the Stud triple crown, Obst is one leg away from taking home his first WSOP bracelet from the $10,000 Razz Championship in 2017. After surpassing Mel Judah, Martin Kozlov, and David Steicke, Obst now has over $3.9 million in live lifetime tournament earnings, according to The Hendon Mob. This puts Obst in 10th place on the Australia All-Time Money List.

Obst, who had been leading Volpe by a slim margin, surged ahead to take a two-to-one lead and then a three-to-one lead. Volpe made a comeback, but Obst rivered a full house while Volpe was forced to give way by a massive pot. On the eighth, three wagers came in, and Obst was back in the lead. When Volpe rivered a straight against Obst's trips and flush draw, he won a sizable pot of his own. However, Obst's rush put Volpe back down five to one.

James Obst won his second cash of the year and now sits in 66th position on the PGT standings with 282 PGT points. With 173 PGT points, Paul Volpe joins the Top 100, while Jason Daly, who finished in third place, is 134th on the PGT leaderboard with 119 PGT points.

June 20, 2024 – SweepX is a social sweepstakes casino platform solution that Gaming Innovation Group (GiG) has introduced for the US market.

The US land-based sweepstakes operator Primero will be powered by the Malta-based gaming solutions business for its maiden foray into the online social sweepstakes casino sector.

According to the Chief Business Officer at GiG Platform & Sportsbook, Andrew Cochrane highlighted GiG's commitment to innovation with SweepX, its latest offering in the online sweepstakes market. The platform integrates dual-wallet store management for redemptions and prize rewards, supported by GiG’s AI-driven content management technology.

“As an extremely experienced turnkey solutions provider, the strength inherent in our technology and services has allowed us to develop what we consider to be the leading platform, data and AI driven solutions available within social gaming, and will help power the growth of the market across the US within the next few years,” Cochrane emphasized.

About Primero Games

Primero Games was established in 2009 and creates gaming equipment and software for casinos. In the US, the company operates more than 50,000 sweepstakes machines. Storm Games, a content producer, and a UK retail operator are also owned by it.

A new binding head of terms for a strategic relationship with Primero Games is being released together with the launch. GiG will support the operator's entry into the online social sweepstakes casino sector as part of the agreement.

Nearing the Split

The announcement is made as GiG gets closer to finishing its intended company split. GiG chairman Petter Nylander stated he hoped to finish the split by Q3 in remarks made following the company's release of its Q1 results this month.

GiG declared last year that it will divide its two companies, GiG Media and Platform and Sportsbook. GiG spent most of last year getting ready for the relocation, even if this hasn't happened yet. GiG has chosen to publish Q1 with the entire business in order to facilitate year-over-year comparisons.

At the age of 38, Sergio Ramos should already be considering retirement rather than mulling options to play for another team. With his contract slated to expire by June 30th, it seems that the star is slated to move on from the European leagues and is now even in consideration to be offered by different clubs from the Major League Soccer.

While Ramos already said that he has not decided his future yet nor has made agreements with any other club, the former Real Madrid star is rumored to be considering various offers from teams in the MLS. It is already not a new trend for European stars to make their move to join the MLS, where there are more games to play and a lot of different teams to play against.

Ramos wraps up his season with Sevilla after playing a total of 37 games in all competitions last season, scoring seven goals as the team finished 14th overall in the league table. While he stated that money was never an issue with the team, the poor sporting and institutional is said to be some of the reasons why he wants to move on from the team.

A Historic Player on the Move

Ramos began his career with Sevilla in February 2004, joining the ranks of the first-team before finally moving to Real Madrid just a year later, signing a $28.9 million deal with the team that would see him win five La Liga titles and four Champions League trophies. He would go on to move out of La Liga and join Paris Saint-Germain in the Ligue 1, where he went on to win two league titles.

Aside from his domestic club feats, Ramos has been a legendary icon in Spain, helping them win the 2010 World Cup, Euro 2008 and Euro 2012. However, this is not the first time that a player who has enjoyed success in both La Liga and Ligue 1 is rumored to move to the MLS. It can be remembered that Lionel Messi, arguably the best football player on the planet, has won titles in La Liga, Ligue 1, and the FIFA World Cup before moving on to join Miami FC.

A Future with the MLS

According to sources, Sergio Ramos has already been engaged in talks with MLS club San Diego FC with the hopes of joining the club this summer before their debut campaign in 2025. San Diego is an expansion team for the MLS and will be joining the mix of teams in the league as soon as the 2024 season wraps up.

The MLS presents various opportunities for Ramos, such as setting records for being a veteran player in the mix. It is also rumored that Ramos has been a target of clubs residing in the Saudi Pro League, but no clubs have been reported to have been interested in making an offer for Ramos’ services.

A future link-up with Ramos for San Diego also adds him to the long list of Spanish players. As of the time of writing, there have been a total of 41 players from Spain who have managed to play in the MLS. Names such as Oriol Rosell, Victor Rodriguez, Victor Vasquez, Ilie Sanchez, and David Villa are some of the players from Spain who have managed to win a league title over the years. Who knows, maybe Ramos can add himself to that list?