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G2 Esports and Team Falcons won their respective semifinal matches Saturday at the $625,000 PGL Bucharest 2025 event in Romania, setting up Sunday's grand final.
G2 swept Complexity 2-0 with a 13-8 win on Anubis and a 13-9 victory on Dust II.
Falcons took down FaZe Clan 2-1, sandwiching a 13-4 win on Nuke and a 13-10 victory on Mirage around a 16-14 overtime loss on Ancient.
All Counter-Strike 2 matches were best-of-three until Sunday's best-of-five grand final, with the winner taking home $200,000.
Sunday's matches:
--G2 Esports vs. Team Falcons (grand final)
--Complexity vs. FaZe Clan (third-place match)
PGL Bucharest 2025 prize pool:
1. $200,000
2. $93,750
3. $75,000
4. $43,750
5-8. $31,250 -- Aurora Gaming, GamerLegion, 3DMAX, Virtus.pro
9-11. $15,625 -- Astralis, Apogee Esports, The MongolZ
12-14. $9,375 -- Rare Atom, FURIA, Legacy
15-16. $6,250 -- Team Liquid, paiN Gaming
More must-reads:
- Top Heisman candidates per Power Four conference
- Pirates' top pitching prospect to make long-awaited MLB debut
- The '2024 NFL rushing TD leaders' quiz
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HOKA's New Shoe Combines Luxurious Style and Extreme Technology
Global running shoe powerhouse HOKA remains one of the most popular running shoe companies among athletes. Building on their impressive catalog, HOKA continues to toe the line between performance and lifestyle now with an eye-popping reinterpretation of their popular speed training shoe, the Mach X 2. The newly released HOKA Mach X Caged features a superfoam underfoot, transparent mesh underlays, and futuristic flow molding on the upper. The silhouette is designed for the growing connection between running and fashion, blending luxurious style and extreme performance technology. The Mach X Caged is available now for $200 in adult sizes on HOKA.com, HOKA retail locations and select retail partners. Currently, online shoppers can choose from two colorways: "Pea Green/HOKA Citrus" and "Black/Midnight Blue." However, sizes in select styles are selling out fast online. The performance running shoe's unique visual is highlighted by a three-layer upper that includes a hero flow-molded TPU exterior cage, an internal microfiber cage, and mono mesh base material. HOKA is focused on bringing the "extreme" to runners and sneakerheads alike, as everything about this new iteration looks and feels different, fully leaning into the future while still offering everything a runner needs while working out. Outside of the new model's unique look, construction, and launch colorways, the Mach X Caged is still a runner that can go the distance. That includes the ultra-modern tooling of the Mach X 2 and elite technology for serious runners. It has been a busy Summer for HOKA with the Mach X Caged launch following up the brand's recent drop of the Mafate 5 trail running shoe, as well as the Rocket X 3 race day shoe. Plus, highly sought-after footwear collaborations with 'Supervsn Studios' and 'MAAP,' among other projects. Few brands are as trusted as HOKA when it comes to reliably putting out performance footwear and taking risks with its style. The HOKA Mach X Caged is more proof that the brand knows what they are doing in both departments.
Shaquille O'Neal makes peace with longtime enemy — mostly
Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard patched things up Sunday after years of feuding. But even while describing their rapprochement, O'Neal couldn't keep from teasing his longtime nemesis. The "Big Aristotle" was at the BIG3 playoffs Sunday to watch Howard's L.A. Riot play the Chicago Triplets. In the middle of describing to Rachel Nichols how he and Howard had made peace, O'Neal broke off his explanation to make fun of Howard for missing a dunk. The two Hall of Fame centers had sparred for years, despite their common ground as former members of the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers. Some of the tension seemed to be due to Howard adopting O'Neal's "Superman" nickname, though O'Neal claimed to Nichols that he was simply being tough on Howard to motivate him. That explanation doesn't account for the time O'Neal mocked Howard for playing basketball in the Taiwanese league or the decade-plus he's spent roasting Howard on his podcast, in public appearances and on "Inside the NBA." Still, it appears that the two have made peace. Despite O'Neal being left off the original list of presenters, he insisted that he'll be among a group of Hall of Famers inducting Howard Sept. 6, including Dominique Wilkins, Robert Parish, Dennis Rodman and Patrick Ewing. It means that two of the most dominant big men of their eras have finally buried the hatchet. It's added a new level of interest to the Hall of Fame ceremonies, and it should be a sweet moment between O'Neal and Howard. As long as Howard doesn't mention Superman.
Aaron Judge seemed annoyed with Aaron Boone over troubling health update
New York Yankees manager Aaron Boone offered a concerning update on Tuesday about Aaron Judge's recovery from an elbow injury, and the slugger did not seem thrilled about that. Judge returned to the Yankees' lineup on Aug. 5 following a 10-day stint on the injured list. The two-time American League MVP had a flexor strain in his throwing elbow, and he has been slotted in as New York's designated hitter since he returned. In an interview with WFAN on Tuesday morning, Boone said he does not believe that Judge will get back to "throwing like he normally does" at any point for the remainder of the season. Judge was caught off guard by his manager's remarks. Before Tuesday night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Judge told reporters that he is unsure of why Boone provided the pessimistic update. "I don’t know why he said that. He hasn’t seen me throw the past two weeks," Judge said. "I’m pretty confident I’ll get back to that.” Boone later admitted that he may have misspoken during the WFAN interview. Many were surprised by the apparent disconnect between Judge and Boone. It is possible that what Boone said in the initial interview was accurate, and Judge did not want that information to be made public. The alternative is that Boone is not completely up to speed on his best player's recovery from an injury, which would be a bad look for the manager. Judge is batting .333 with 39 home runs and 91 RBI this season. His bat is far more important to the Yankees than his glove, but he has struggled at the plate a bit since returning. Judge is batting just .229 with a .429 slugging percentage in 11 games since he came off the injured list.
MLB sends message by suspending Victor Robles for bat-throwing incident
Major League Baseball announced that Mariners outfielder Víctor Robles has received a 10-game suspension and an undisclosed fine from the league. The suspension will begin as soon as Robles is reinstated from the injured list, though Robles has filed an appeal and the suspension is being held in abeyance until the appeals process is complete. Ryan Divish of The Seattle Times reported these details prior to the official announcement. Divish notes that the M’s would have to play a man short during the suspension. Robles has been on the injured list for most of the year. Back in early April, he made a sensational catch in San Francisco but crashed into the sideline netting and dislocated his left shoulder, causing a small fracture in the humeral head of said shoulder. A week ago, he was finally able to begin a rehab assignment with Triple-A Tacoma. During that week, he was hit by pitches multiple times, as shown in this video breakdown from Jomboy Media. Although he was hit five times, only three of them were technically counted as hit-by-pitches, with the other two counting as swings. Regardless, the final incident saw Robles hit by Joey Estes of the Las Vegas Aviators. Of the five times Robles was hit, three of them were out of the hand of Estes, though the final two were counted as swinging strikes. Regardless of how it was scored, Robles was clearly upset and threw his bat toward the pitcher’s mound. It doesn’t appear as though it hit Estes or anyone else, but MLB is understandably taking a firm stance against a player using his bat in this dangerous manner and sending Robles a message. President of baseball operations Jerry Dipoto spoke to members of the media, including Adam Jude of the Seattle Times, noting that the club tentatively planned to reinstate Robles from the IL next week but those plans may change with the suspension. Divish suggests that perhaps the best plan is to reinstate Robles on Sept. 1, so that the M’s can at least play with a 27-man roster, though that would push his reinstatement into the middle of September. Reinstating him earlier would mean playing with a 25-man roster for a while, though that would also mean Robles would be able to be reinstated for more games. It’s also unclear how long the appeals process will take. Sometimes, players appealing a suspension will hang in limbo until their team goes to New York, where the MLB head offices are located. The M’s don’t play in New York again this year, so it’s not clear when the appeal would be scheduled for. Robles being in the minors could also complicate factors. The M’s would surely love for the appeal to drag out into the winter and for Robles to serve his suspension next year, since they are currently in a playoff race, though MLB presumably wouldn’t let it play out like that.
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