Welcome back to the Weekend Warmup.

I took a couple of weeks to let the Teamfight Civil War play out (not sure why we’re not calling it the Teamfight Teamfight but whatever), but there has been so much happening in the world of 2XKO, I needed to collect it together and put it in a neat pile like a gold-hoarding dragon. For those of you who disconnected and need a catch-up, here’s everything you need to get back into the discourse.

We’re Nerfing Teamfight Next Patch

Look, we love Teamfight, but there are definitely some rough edges and unexpected interactions we wanna fix. Enjoy the madness while you can before the next patch; we’re tuning down some of Teamfight’s overwhelming power, but keeping the chaotic duo magic intact. Let us know what you think when the changes release in patch 1.2.3.

COMBO BREAKER Starts TOMORROW

2XKO’s next Challenger event, COMBO BREAKER, is finally here. As ever, TheHadou and the gang will bring the vibes (and the plaid) to the heart of the midwest. Across three days, players globally will come together to settle the score on coastless neutral ground. Whether you're turning up in person or watching pools from the comfort of your couch, this will be one of the most explosive and stacked tournaments to date, so don’t miss it!

COMBO BREAKER is live from tomorrow at 10am CT on twitch.tv/tenomedia. Top 8 is Sunday at 10am CT over on twitch.tv/TeamSp00ky. 

AT&T Annihilator Cup is TODAY

If you can’t wait for CB, AT&T’s Annihilator Cup 2XKO tournament is today, Thursday May 21. Led by team captains Ludwig, TheBurntPeanut, Adapt and Tyler1, some of gaming’s biggest creators are competing across several other titles, including League of Legends, the MOBA based on 2XKO. I’ll see if that one sneaks through the blog post review.

Catch all the action at twitch.tv/att. 

We’re Paying Out Top 24 at Evo

Evo 2026 signups close very soon, so to sweeten (and extend) the pot, we’re paying out prizing for the top 24 placing teams. Evo’s standard Top 8 prizing will be layered on top. We’ve also got Pool Party skins for progress through pools.

Sign up for Evo 2026 now at evo.gg/register. 

Hikari and bleed Teamfought on TNS

Did y’all catch last week’s TNS? Hikari and bleed teamed up to take on the weekly bracket, and there was no denying the combined power of two Major champions. A great showing from Puerto Rico’s Mrchupy01 running Akali/Caitlyn nearly got the upset, but was routed in Grand Finals by the duo. A really entertaining bracket watch!

Watch the VOD on TNS’s YouTube channel.

The 2WINz Took the Red Bull Knockout

Congratulations to the 2WINz for an absolutely dominant run at last weekend’s Red Bull Knockout event in France. To summarise the whole tournament in a few sentences would be a disservice, but the twists and turns (particularly the developing competition between Haru/Toshi and SonicFox/INZEM) came to a dramatic conclusion.

Check out the VOD on Red Bull Gaming’s YouTube channel.

XBOX is All Caps Now

You heard me. This has nothing to do with 2XKO, but four-character all caps names are trending. 

Sidenote: you can play 2XKO right now on XBOX Series X and S.

Local Spotlight

RunTheMonthly (Roseville, MN)

From the organisers: “RunTheMix founded the RTM Gaming Lounge to give the MNFGC a place to gather. Our mission is to get people offline and hanging out in a room together for competition and grinding with a side of fellowship in an era where gaming is mostly online. We host competitive scenes for a wide variety of games at our monthlies and weeklies. Thanks to how strong our 2XKO scene started off with the hype for Midwest Mixfest's duos-only bracket, we still regularly see 2 duos in grand finals in our brackets. We run 2XKO every Wednesday and at every Monthly event.”

Sign up for RunTheMonthly 18 here.

Reminder: Top-placing 2XKO players will also take home Chipotle Free Entrée cards!

Upcoming Dates

• May 21: AT&T Annihilator Cup
• May 22-24: COMBO BREAKER (2XKO Challenger event)
• (approx) June 9: Patch 1.2.3 live

Closing Thoughts

I am a big Teamfight liker. The frantic energy of getting in there with another player has been a lot of fun, and the inevitability of being opened up by a coordinated duo makes me blame myself less. I get the nerfs, though. Goes to show that the old game developer adage of “we get more testing in the first hour of something being live than in the entire development process” still rings true.

Also, wow, we’ve got a packed few weeks coming. This weekend is CB. Evo is a month away. Lots more to share on patch 1.2.3 too. Can’t wait!

—@draggles