The ESI Digital Summit (#ESIDIGITAL) is just a day away, providing insights into the esports industry for attendees in the comfort of their own homes. As well as hosting panels on emerging trends, pressing topics, and debate subjects, the event gives a platform to companies whove chosen to activate within esports.

As part of whats become tradition for Esports Insiders business conferences, such as ESI London and ESI New York, the ESI Digital Summit will follow suit and host multiple brand showcases. Rights-holders and select commercial partners will grace the stage well, the screen in this case to shed light into how the partnerships came to be, successful activations theyve executed in esports, and how these experiences compare to other markets.

Just last month, North American organisation Rogue entered a deal with Kia Motors specifically for its European League of Legends team. Interestingly, Kia Motors was an existing sponsor of Riot Games LEC the very league that Rogue is a long-term partner of.

While the one-year partnership has only just taken to the road, its still a significant partnership between an esports organisation and a major player in the global automotive market. Rogues players will utilise Kia Motors vehicles while travelling, but there are plenty of topics to discuss when looking at a brand deal of this nature.

With that in mind, Anna Baumann, Managing Director of Rogue Sports Europe, andSaeGyul Yoon of Kia, will speak at the ESI Digital Summit to look under the hood of this exciting collaboration.

London-based organisation Fnatic and smartphone manufacturer OnePlus realised a global partnership in January 2019 after first collaborating at Paris Games Week in 2017. What has followed is regarded by many as one of the deepest brand integrations in esports to date.

Not only does OnePlus activate through a standard jersey sponsorship, the smartphone giant introduced the One Plus FNATIC Mode in its OnePlus 7 Series. This setting is the models enhanced performance mode specifically devised for gaming, and bringing Fnatic into the fold so heavily was an integration nobody could have predicted years prior.

Fnatics Partnerships Manager, Edward Gregory, and OnePlus Director of Global Brand Partnerships, Eric Gass, will delve into the partnership on day one of ESI Digital Summit.

Nestl managed to turn whats effectively a negative aspect of a broadcast into a great marketing opportunity with its KitKat brand. Sponsoring the pauses in LECs broadcast which typically take place due to unforeseen technical difficulties and are only amplified by online play and making a play on KitKats well-known Have a break, have a KitKat slogan.

KitKat sponsored the pauses to make those minutes of downtime fly by with a rather organic and logical activation, opting out of just slapping its logo on the leagues social media channels and leaving it there.

Alban Dechelotte, Head of Partnerships & Business for Riot Games EMEA, Georg Fischer, Marketing Manager for KitKat in Europe, Middle East, North Africa forNestl, and Nazar Syrotiuk, Emerging Tech Manager, Innovation & Service Models atNestl will break down the partnership at ESI Digital Summit.

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Kia, KitKat, and OnePlus to shed light on esports partnerships at ESI Digital Summit - Esports Insider

A young Scot who tipped the scales at the start of the year at 21 stone has shed three stone during lockdown.

Andrew Barnsleys weight ballooned as he struggled to cope following the sudden death of his mum.

The 21-year-old said he hit rock bottom when mum Linda Barnsley died age of heart failure two years ago at aged just 43.

The former call centre worker said he struggled with his mental wellbeing and would comfort eat to make himself feel better.

He told The Record: The trauma of losing my mum had a huge effect on my mental health.

"I'd comfort eat and the weight piled on, making me feel even worse.

"I had to leave my job and by January this year I felt at my worse.

"I'd written suicide notes and had it all planned out because I just didn't know how to go on."

But after Scotland was plunged into lockdown he decided to get his life back on track.

Andrew from Paisley, Renfrewshire, with the love and support of his family and girlfriend, Jenna Russell, 18, is now setting about making 2020 his year.

His progress has gone viral, after he showed off his weight loss and encouraged other young Scots to join him on taking back control of their own lives.

He says he feels physically and mentally and is now an ambassador for Scottish mental health charity, back onside.

He added: "My diet now compared to before is like night and day.

"I used to comfort eat and choose a lot of junk food.

"These days I eat healthy meals and low calorie snacks, and I drink three litres of water a day.

"Before lockdown I was going to the gym a lot, but now I go out running and do some weights at home.

"I have never felt happier."

His Instagram account, Behind The Smile, candidly discusses his mental health journey and the page has amassed over 5,500 followers.

With no plans to go back to his former size, Andrew hopes sharing his story will help others facing similar battles.

"I'm lost for words at how much better I feel in such a short space of time," he said.

"Everybody's weight and fitness struggles are different.

"We should use lockdown as a way to better ourselves. "

Andrew added: "My motto now is to always try to be better than yesterday.

"Take one day at a time and don't look back.

"Just look at where you want to be with your health and you'll get there."

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You can contact the Samaritans 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling 116 123 or by visiting their website.

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Young Scot sheds three stone in lockdown transformation after struggling with mental health - Daily Record

This is an artistic life reconstruction of Nannopterygius. Credit: Andrey-Atuchin

The skeleton of an extinct fish lizard locked in a glass case over 16ft from the ground for the last 100 years has finally been studied, thanks to a selfie stick on a fishing rod.

The 145 million-year-old Nannopterygius is a species of ichthyosaur, which swam the seas of our planet for about 76 million years. It is on display in the Natural History Museum, London, but its glass cabinet is hung too high for easy examination.

Russian paleontologist Nikolay Zverkov was desperate to see the London specimen as he thought some of the Russian ichthyosaurs might be similar.

It turns out he was right and that this particular species of swimming prehistoric reptile was common in its day, the Jurassic period.

To photograph and assess the skeleton, Nikolay attached a digital camera on a selfie stick to a fishing rod and connected it to a PC via a very long USB cable. He passed the photos on to University of Portsmouth paleontologist Megan Jacobs who was working on Ichthyosaurs for her Masters Degree.

Nikolay Zverkov capturing the ichthyosaur in the Marine Reptile Gallery of the Natural History Museum, London UK. Credit: Nikolay Zverkov

Megan and Nikolay have now published a paper on the findings in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

Megan said: Nicolay obtained excellent detailed photographs which significantly expand our knowledge of Nannoptergyius enthekiodon.

I realized that fossil expert Dr. Steve Etches had also discovered examples of Nannoptergyius near to where the original specimen was found and hed also discovered other examples across the UK.

Finally being able to study this enigmatic animal has shown that it was actually very common and widespread in the Late Jurassic occurring not only in England, but also in European Russia and in the Arctic.

Thanks to this new study, several more specimens of Nannopterygius have been found in museum collections across the UK in Oxford, Cambridge and in the Etches Collection in Kimmeridge, Dorset, as well as in Russia and Norway, showing this animal to be much more common than previously thought, and making it one of the most widespread of any similar swimming reptile.

University of Portsmouth Professor of Palaeobiology, Dave Martill, a world leading expert who supervised Megans research, said: We previously only had detailed knowledge of a type of ichthyosaur called Ophthalmosaurus, which was known from hundreds of specimens, including well-preserved skeletons from the Middle Jurassic Oxford Clay Formation of England.

The excellent data available for Ophthalmosaurus contrasted with the impoverished record of other Middle and Late Jurassic ichthyosaurs, so being able to access the Nannopterygius a formerly inaccessible specimen has given us fascinating new insight into a particular species of ichthyosaur we knew very little about.

Nikolay added: For decades the scientific community thought that Nannopterygius was the rarest and most poorly known ichthyosaur of England. Finally we can say that we know nearly every skeletal detail of these small ichthyosaurs, and that these animals were widespread. The answer was very close we just needed a fishing rod.

Reference: Revision of Nannopterygius (Ichthyosauria: Ophthalmosauridae): reappraisal of the inaccessible holotype resolves a taxonomic tangle and reveals an obscure ophthalmosaurid lineage with a wide distribution by Nikolay G Zverkov and Megan L Jacobs, 15 May 2020, ,Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa028

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How a Selfie Stick and Fishing Rod Accessed an Ancient Skeleton to Shed First Light on 145 Million-Year-Old Reptile - SciTechDaily

Doing laundry is a relatively boring task. But it doesnt have to be done in a drab, boring room.

With a few strategic changes, even a small laundry room can become a space thats appealing to be in and can double as a room for other activities too.

Laundry rooms dont need to be a space that we apologize for anymore, says New York-based interior designer Deborah Martin.

Here, Martin and two other designers HGTVs Brian Patrick Flynn and Miami-based Raquel Mothe, of Mothe Design offer advice on turning a basic laundry room into a space you love.

Especially in older homes, one of the least convenient things about the laundry room is where it is often far from where laundry gets generated.

If youre remodeling, Flynn says, consider relocating your laundry room as close to the master bedroom as possible. In fact, make it part of your master bedroom closet, if theres enough space.

This makes it way easier for homeowners to tackle their laundry without having to bring it back and forth across the house, he says.

And though its a splurge, its worth considering having more than one space where laundry gets done.

When working on new luxury home projects, Mothe says, she often includes one laundry room on the houses main level for cleaning things like small rugs, pet toys, pool towels and other household items. She puts another laundry space with similar design and the same machines on the second floor near the bedrooms.

Have fun with color and pattern, the designers say.

Mothe rarely uses white for a laundry room, aiming for a cozier vibe.

If there are colors you love but think are too bright for other rooms, Flynn suggests using them in your laundry room. Its also a great place for patterns that seem too much for a living room or bedroom. Wallpapers a good way to do that.

Nine times out of 10, Flynn says, I find that simply adding wallpaper to a laundry room or laundry closet instantly makes it feel more inviting.

If youre updating the floor, Martin suggests creating a cheerful space with an interesting tile design.

Martin and Mothe both advise including a really large sink in a laundry room. And Martin suggests adding a drain in the floor.

We never plan for accidents, but accidents happen, she says.

Martin also recommends built-in bins or baskets for separating clothes.

And make sure you have plenty of space for drying items that you wont be putting in the dryer. Lets say you are washing a silk blouse that you are not sending to the dry cleaners, Mothe says. Install a bar with hangers or a retractable hanging rack.

Mothe also adds drying racks for clients who will be washing things like sneakers and other shoes.

Laundry rooms need plenty of light, and that can include what designers call statement lighting something gorgeous that brightens the room and adds a dose of style.

Flynn suggests adding a pendant light or even some kind of chandelier, if space allows.

Recessed ceiling lighting is also helpful, Martin says, especially over areas where youll be trying to get out a stain or sorting clothes.

And if youre doing new construction or remodeling, Martin says, give your laundry room plenty of windows. Even if were just doing laundry, she says, We can enjoy a little light. We can enjoy a view.

Dont forget to add a few tall cabinets for things like brooms or ironing boards, Mothe says. And she thinks its worth investing in high-quality countertops.

A detail like that, she says, can make a difference between a regular laundry room and a luxury one.

If your laundry room also includes open shelving, Martin suggests storing items in apothecary jars or large Mason jars. Theyre a nice option to store stray things like collar stays, misplaced buttons or even detergent pods, she says. Theres no reason we cant put our detergent in something pretty.

But do add plenty of closed storage, since much of what you may be storing probably isnt especially attractive, Flynn says.

Concealed storage is super important, especially counter-to-ceiling when possible. There are so many essential supplies involved with laundry and not many are aesthetically pleasing, Flynn says. Keeping everything behind cabinet doors is key.

Martin has one client who uses her laundry room to cut and arrange fresh flowers. So the room was designed with extra storage space related to that hobby.

If youre building or remodeling, consider expanding your laundry areas size and purpose, perhaps combining your mudroom and laundry room.

This is especially good for active families with kids and pets, Flynn says.

Ive found that the more space allotted to a laundry room, he says, the less of a task space it becomes and the more of a social space it begins to feel like.

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Take your laundry room to the next level - Minneapolis Sun Times

Prepare for a germ reckoning at the gym.

As the coronavirus lockdown restrictions begin to ease, gyms and fitness studios have started to roll out reopening plans.

But health experts warn that your regular sweat seshes are about to look very different. Some worry about a repeat of what happened in South Korea, where more than 100 coronavirus cases were linked to a group of dance instructors.

The gym is a perfect storm for transmitting respiratory disease, says Dr. Purvi Parikh, a member of Physicians for Patient Protection and an immunologist at NYU Langone who points to crowds, heavy breathing and touching, as possible COVID-spreading culprits.

She warns that not all workouts are equally contagious, but says all gyms will have to take drastic measures to comply with the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions guidelines for social distancing.

Gym owners such as Kelvin Gary, who runs Body Space Fitness in Union Square, have already begun to make serious changes. Gary has sunk about $12,000 into remodeling efforts to make his space more sanitary.

Were setting it where essentially each client has their own mini gym, Gary tells The Post.

At Equinox, expect shorter hours, temperature checks and prescheduled workout slots. The luxe chain announced these among other changes earlier this month, while its sister brand, SoulCycle, says theyll require gloves for staff, close their showers and cap the number of available bikes per class to ensure a socially distant sweat.

Big box gyms such as Retro Fitness have pledged to scrub down [using] hospital grade cleaner to clean the entire gym, according to a press release. Plus, they promise to enact touch-free check-ins and preorders for smoothies to limit hand-to-hand contact.

But will it be enough?

Here, the experts share what the gym of the future might look like.

Expect machines to be more spread out at your local gym. The way you see airlines blocking seats, we might see that, where gyms are blocking treadmills or bikes, says Parikh. In Hong Kong, some gyms have installed Plexiglass barriers to keep exercisers sweat and germs from mingling. But Parikh is skeptical this will make a real difference.

Plexiglass is great, but only if its being cleaned after each use or else the germs stay enclosed, she says.

You might be asked to wear a mask, or be required to, depending on where your gym is located. This can make working out tougher, or downright dangerous a man in Wuhan, China recently passed out while running with a mask.In two other incidents involving physical activity, two Chinese boys dropped dead within a week of one another recently while wearing masks during gym class.

Your best bet is to wear a mask when you can, but when it comes to workouts that require a lot of oxygen, such as running or heavy weightlifting, you might be forgiven for removing your mask, Parikh says.

Realistically I dont think many people will be able to work out [that heavily] with a mask, Parikh says.

Depending on the material of the dumbbells at your gym, these might be your best bet.

The virus tends to last the longest on plastic, says Parikh. Steel and aluminum surfaces are after that.

And, maybe skip using an exercise bench: If you press one button on a treadmill, thats less to worry about than an entire bench, where more onus is on the gymgoer to clean the entire thing, says Parikh.

Russian twists, planks and yoga moves that take place on communal mats will require the most prep.

Your whole body is being exposed at this point, rather than one area [using a weight, or machine], says Parikh, who points out that gym cleaning policies will matter most in these high-traffic areas.

Expect more disinfecting products in this area of the gym. Gary, the Union Square gym owner, plans on providing liquid sanitizer that can be used on both hands and equipment, and virus-killing UV light wands for each training station, too.

Classes may be the last thing to return at your local fitness center.

Classes used to be a lot of people in one room breathing heavily with their heart rate up, says Parikh. If everybody is dancing and gasping, youre probably not 6 feet apart, and you may be touching your face because youre sweating. Youre basically doing all the things weve been telling people not to do since January.

New-age classes will likely mean less people, and markers on the ground for everyone to keep a safe space from each other. Gary says looking forward, he plans on keeping his gyms group classes online, but venturing out to meet his clients. Were looking at potentially doing some group classes outside, he says.

Be careful not to get too comfortable in the locker room. Towels everywhere, close quarters and high turnover all concern me in terms of cleanliness, says Parikh, who adds that saunas and steam rooms are a no-go. Sweaty, enclosed rooms are where the virus thrives, and social distancing becomes a problem immediately, she says, adding that it might be a better idea to hit the showers at home.

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Here's what will gyms look like after the coronavirus - New York Post

Residents of Pierce County's smaller communities have slowly emerged from their isolation since Gov. Doug Burgum lifted restrictions on bars, restaurants and other businesses deemed "non-essential."

The Pierce County towns of Wolford and Balta have a combined population of fewer than 100 residents. A third town, Selz, near the Wells County line, has 46 residents, according to 2010 federal census data.

Bars serve as hubs for business and social life in these communities, and the March order closing them for all but takeout purposes stopped opportunities for gathering cold.

Sue Sitter/PCT Stephanie Halvorson stands near her menu board at the Balta Bar.

"It was a boring six weeks," said Tim Danielson, who tends bar at the Corrigidor in Wolford.

"It was very depressing," customer Heather Stutrud agreed. "I got more depressed."

"I really enjoy this place," Stutrud said of the Corrigidor. "I have family (in Wolford), too. The COVID brought damage to all of us."

Danielson said he was unemployed during the shutdown. "I had six weeks of doing nothing," he said. "I'm happy to be back doing something."

Danielson said customers were happy to come back, too.

"Customers are glad they can get out and about again. They can be with people," Danielson noted.

Danielson said the Corrigidor complies with phase one of the North Dakota Smart Restart program that calls for dining rooms and bars to limit seating capacity and not allow customers to stand at counters.

The Corrigidor serves steaks and other specialties on weekends like it did before the closure, but customers now wait in their vehicles if the dining room has too many people or tables aren't ready for seating, Danielson explained.

"It's been busy," he said. "We do 80 to 90 meals on Friday and Saturday. We watch it pretty close as far as how many people are at a table. You can have 10 at a table, but you can't stand at the bar. We also don't let them put tables together like they used to."

"We sanitize everything as soon as somebody leaves," Danielson added. "We sanitize tables and chairs and surfaces. Customers don't complain about it, because they know what's happening."

As he served a beer to another customer, Danielson said, "This is going to last for a while. It's not over yet."

South of Rugby in Balta, Stephanie Halvorson, owner of the Balta Bar, said she used the mandated closure period as an opportunity to do some remodeling.

"We took out the carpet," Halvorson noted. "We've got all wood floors now," she added, pointing to the bar's original wood floor, restored to a shiny finish. "We've got some reclaimed barn wood that we put up," she added.

"There was a lot of polyurethane that we put on," Halvorson said with a laugh. "Holy Hannah! It turned out really well, though."

Halvorson said she has seen the Balta crowd slowly trickle back into her establishment. "It's starting to pick up a little bit on weekends," she said, "But with only half capacity, you don't get the crowd you normally get. We're making do with what we have, I guess."

Halvorson said she makes sure to sanitize all surfaces and asks that people maintain social distancing. She has a hand sanitizing station near the bar's door.

The bar now hosts bingo games on Sundays, sponsored by the Rugby Amateur Hockey Association. Halvorson offers a menu of sandwiches, sides and dinner items. During the bar's closure, she offered cook-at-home meals and food items for locals to pick up.

"I would say there are fewer people coming in now," Halvorson said, noting state health restrictions may not be to blame.

"It's hard to say if it's different because of that, because of the planting and seeding going on," she said. "People are just busy right now because this is an agricultural community."

"I think there might be (some hesitance to come back due to the pandemic), but I don't think that's the main reason," Halvorson said.

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County's small communities return to life - ThePierceCountyTribune.com | Rugby, Pierce County and North Dakota news, sports and information - Pierce...

There's nothing like relaxing by your very own swimming pool on a hot summer's day. But to really enjoy the experience, you'll need the right setup, and that could mean installing a deck around your pool. That deck could run the entire length of your pool or just run adjacent to part of it, and there are different pool decking materials you can work with. Here are some options to consider.

The cost of a pool deck will depend on its size and the materials involved, but as a general rule, concrete is probably the most affordable option to use for a pool deck. You may assume that concrete can't look attractive, but that isn't the case. In the context of pool decking, it comes in a number of finishes, including stamped concrete, which can mimic the look of stone or tile. That said, concrete isn't the best choice for parts of the country that see extreme winters, as too much freezing could cause the concrete to crack.

Wood is another common choice when it comes to pool decking due to its affordability and classic look. But regular wood requires its share of maintenance, especially since it will be exposed to a fair amount of water sloshing out of the pool. You'll need to be prepared to stain and seal it regularly -- usually at least once a year.

Composite decking is designed to mimic the look of wood without all of the maintenance involved. The upside of composite is that it won't warp, splinter, or fade like natural wood will over time, and the upkeep involved is minimal. The downside is that composite costs a lot more than regular wood up front.

Nothing screams elegance like a pool deck made out of stone, and it's a material that's suitable for all types of climates. The benefit of stone, aesthetics aside, is that it's durable and requires little maintenance over time. The downside is that it can be expensive. If you're going to opt for stone decking, consider going with travertine, which is naturally slip-resistant and therefore appropriate for an area that's apt to see lots of wet feet.

Though more commonly found inside homes -- namely, in kitchens and bathrooms -- tile is another material to consider for a pool deck. The upside is that it's easy to install and doesn't require a lot of maintenance. It's also fairly affordable; generally, you'll spend less on tile than you will on stone. With tile, you can also choose from a number of design options, though keep in mind that you'll need to stick to unglazed tiles; the glazed type you'd typically find indoors is too slippery to be suitable for a pool deck.

If you're looking at having a pool deck constructed, you have plenty of options to choose from. To narrow things down, first ask yourself:

No matter what type of pool deck you land on, be sure to get quotes from different contractors before moving forward with one. The more research you do ahead of time, the more likely you are to pull off that project at a price point you're comfortable with.

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Everything You Need to Know About Pool Decks - Motley Fool

Star Trek: Lower Decks explores two fronts the franchise is seldom known for comedy and animation. Series creator Mike McMahan, whose credits include Adult Swim's Rick & Morty and co-creator of Solar Opposites, spoke to Collider about the balance between looking at Star Trek in a new light while also paying respect to the franchise. The series focuses the members of the lower decks of a starship crew instead of the senior officers and remaining bridge crew. "I'm a huge fan," McMahan said. "Nobody needs a Star Trek comedy that makes fun of [the franchise] or punches down, nor was I interested in doing that. I was interested in writing a Star Trek that could be canon. That follows the rules of other [previous] shows that I loved, and has everything that you love about [the franchise], including the way you tell stories. But I'm a comedy writer."

Despite the different formats, he didn't want to deviate from what already worked for the franchise as a template. "I'm never gonna write a serious Star Trek, so the way that we handled it's not on a capital ship. It's not about the bridge crew. It's about the lowest officers on that ship. But when we're breaking stories for the lower decks, every episode also has a proper Star Trek episode that's happening to the bridge crew, and our lower deckers aren't involved in it." McMahan explained the viewer will get the same elements they're used to but through a different perspective. "However, you can't have a big sci-fi thing happening on a starship and not have it affect them because that's their whole world," he said. "So if you're watching Lower Decks, you're getting a full Star Trek episode from the perspective of people who are having their own social and emotional stories and their own sci-fi stories, but they just aren't on the bridge. They don't have the information the bridge is getting, and they don't have the responsibility."

McMahon explained the importance of having characters that make sense within the realm of the franchise. "A big thing that was important to me was figuring out how do we comedically access these characters," he said. "How can these characters be funny and not break Star Trek? You can't have a Morty [from Rick and Morty] in Star Trek. You can't just have a stupid person in Starfleet, otherwise, it breaks the aspirational paradigm of what humanity is like in Starfleet. So our leads are foils for each other, but they're very much ingrained in Star Trek." The characters McMahan created drew inspiration from the existing canon.

"You have Ensign Beckett Mariner, who is sort of like our Tom Cruise/Maverick," he said. "Where she's amazing at Starfleet stuff, and she's incredibly knowledgeable, but she just hates following the rules and she bristles at the military structure. She wants to do whatever she wants. She's kind of like Captain Kirk if Kirk wasn't a captain and didn't have the power. Kirk would follow his gut, and she followers her gut. Then, Ensign Brad Boimler also knows everything about sci-fi stuff and is also an amazing Starfleet crew member, but he's so by-the-book and so burdened by following the rules that he can't follow his gut. So the comedic friction there is that they both want the same thing, they're both good at this stuff, but emotionally and from a human level, they're completely different about how they do it."

With the exception of an episode of Futurama and the short-lived Star Trek: The Animated Series, Gene Roddenberry's vision of the utopian future on the screen was a predominantly a live-action affair. Currently the franchise is seeing a renaissance not seen before since Roddenberry introduced The Next Generation in 1987. With TNG and The Original Series' films' success came TV spinoffs in Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise. Following the cancellation of Enterprise in 2005, Star Trek's future became uncertain.

Despite J.J. Abrams' Kelvin Universe reboot in 2009, it wouldn't be until 2017 when the next series Discovery premiered not on The CW or in syndication, but on the streaming CBS All Access. As the flagship for the ViacomCBS SVOD service, the series generated renewed interest in the franchise unlike any before from audiences to the network itself. The success of Discovery led to expanded projects for executive producer Alex Kurtzman. Among them included the immensely popular Picard, Lower Decks, and now, Strange Worlds as the first direct spinoff of Discovery. Star Trek: Lower Decks premieres on CBS All Access in 2020.

I'm a follower of pop culture from gaming, comics, sci-fi, fantasy, film, and TV for over 30 years. I grew up reading magazines like Starlog, Mad, and Fangora. As a professional writer for over 10 years, Star Wars was the first sci-fi franchise I fell in love with. I'm a nerd-of-all-trades.

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Lower Decks: Mike McMahan On Why You Can't Have Morty in Star Trek - Bleeding Cool News

In just a few days (May 30, to be precise), The Arena Open tournament will be live on MTG Arena, promising cash prizes of up to $2000 USD to the top players. The first day of the tournament will be best-of-one (BO1) Standard, with players who manage to achieve 7 wins before 3 losses will advance to the second day. This is a rare case where a high stakes event is making use of the game mode, as most Magic: The Gathering tournaments are best-of-three. The first Mythic Invitational last year (won by Andrea Mengucci) experimented with this, but has not been repeated since.

Ever since the announcement was made, competitive players who have been playing primarily BO3 matches have been testing the waters in the BO1 metagame. As many might know already, BO1 is by far the most played game mode in MTG Arena as it allows for quicker games. This will be a great opportunity to see some of the great minds of the game create some fine tuned decks for BO1, as until now they have been far and few between!

Below you will find a growing list of BO1 Standard decks from pros, streamers and Mythic players. This page will be updated until the tournament starts on May 30, which then after we will publish all the known successful decklists from day 1 in a separate article. We also collected some BO1 resources for you below, as the format is quite different to BO3 in many ways. We also have an overview article for it that coming soon.

Be sure to check out our new Metagame page for the latest tier list on all the top decks in Standard at the moment! You can also toggle between BO1 and BO3 decks while browsing our deck sections under Mode.

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Best-of-One (BO1) Standard Decks for The Arena Open from Pros, Streamers and Mythic Players MTG Arena Zone - MTG Arena Zone

Installing a deck in your backyard is a great way to add value to your home while also making it easier to enjoy outdoor meals and gatherings with family, friends, and neighbors. But not all decks are close to the ground. Depending on the setup of your home, you may find that it makes sense to build a deck well off the ground, in which case you'll be left with some space underneath it.

The question is: What should you do with that space? Here are some options to consider:

You may be inclined to write off the space under a raised deck as unusable, but actually, there's no need to do so. While grass underneath a deck may not thrive due to limited sun exposure, you can install a patio under your deck and use it for additional seating space. That patio can be made of simple concrete, or you can choose a higher-end material for it, like stone, that goes well with your deck from an aesthetic standpoint.

Sheds are a smart idea for many homeowners. If you have a lot of tools, adding a shed gives you lots of storage space, thereby eliminating clutter from your basement or garage. But if there's one drawback to sheds, it's that they can sometimes be an eyesore. The solution? Stick one underneath your deck, where it will be out of the way and less noticeable.

On a warm summer's day, there's certainly something to be said for escaping the heat. The beauty of having an above-ground deck is that the space underneath it is shaded. As such, you don't necessarily have to do anything specific with that space. Rather, you can use it as a play area if you have children so that they're guarded from the sun and heat. Move some toys under the deck, or invest in a small sandbox they can play in if you don't mind the potential ensuing mess (think sand being dragged into your home). There are plenty of options to explore without spending much, or any, money.

Of course, if you're really looking to hide the space under your deck, you could always try closing it off with a trellis or screen. Doing so could actually add a nice aesthetic element to your outdoor setup. But why give up that space when there are plenty of things you can actually do with it? Whether you choose to put in a patio, house a shed there, or take advantage of a shaded play area, be sure to explore your options before writing off the idea of putting the space beneath your deck to good use.

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Have a Raised Deck? How to Maximize the Space Below It - Motley Fool