This Weekend in Esports: What to Watch from July 13-15

Welcome to This Weekend in Esports, a brief overview of what to watch in the world of competitive gaming for the coming weekend.

For this weekend, the Overwatch League playoffs kick off, the ELEAGUE Street Fighter V Invitational comes to a close, and Microsoft's top franchises hit New Orleans.

Overwatch League Playoffs - Quarterfinals

Game: Overwatch
When: July 13-14
Where to watch: Twitch.tv/OverwatchLeague

The Overwatch League playoffs have begun and that first day was a wild one. The Philadelphia Fusion took an early 1-0 lead on the favored Boston Uprising, while the Los Angeles Gladiators continued their dominance over the London Spitfire. The most impressive part of the latter series is that the Gladiators did so without their top player.

Both series will conclude this weekend, as the New York Excelsior and Los Angeles Valiant wait in the wings. Can London bounce back to finally show some life against the Gladiators? Meanwhile, can Boston become that second-half juggernaut that went unbeaten in Stage 3?

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ELEAGUE Street Fighter V Invitational

Game: Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition
When: July 13
Where to watch: TBS, Twitch.tv/ELEAGUETV

The ELEAGUE Street Fighter V Invitational field is down to the final eight. And the first matchups of the bracket stages look quite intriguing. How about an EVO Grand Finals rematch between Hajime "Tokido" Taniguchi and Victor "Punk" Woodley? Or can I interest you in the tournament dark horse Benjamin "Problem X" Simon versus Daigo Umehara?

There's a $250,000 prize pool on the line, giving these eight players more than enough to play for. On top of that, this is one of the final tournaments before EVO, which goes from August 3-5. These players will be looking to prepare for the big dance in just a few weeks by tuning up against the toughest competition in the world. Be sure to watch Tokido, in particular, as he's coming off a disappointing showing at CEO. The defending champion will be looking to get back into top form, starting with the man he beat to win that championship.

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MLG New Orleans

Game: Halo 5: Guardians, Gears of War 4
When: June 13-15
Where to watch: Twitch.tv/Halo, Twitch.tv/GearsOfWar

Some might call Infinity War the most ambitious crossover ever made. But check out this crossover of the Halo Championship Series and the Gears of War Pro Circuit! Fans in New Orleans will have their attention divided between two of Microsoft's biggest franchises.

For Gears, there's $250,000+ on the line. But this is also standing out as the biggest Gears Pro Circuit event of the summer, with OpTic Gaming and Echo Fox both jockeying for position. But it's Ghost Gaming who rides in with momentum, coming off a big victory at the Gears Pro Circuit Las Vegas Open and will now enter the weekend with a target on their backs.

For Halo, this is the beginning of the 2018 Season, coming off an incredible championship tournament in Seattle. Splyce enter as the defending champions, but the HCS might look a little different. For one thing, Oddball is now legal! With a few new tweaks to the map rotation, as well as a few roster shakeups across the league, the 2018 HCS season could get off to a crazy start in New Orleans.

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So what will you be watching this weekend? Join the conversation and let us know in the comments.

VI: wixxsid

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Trump Apologizes to May and Vows U.K. Trade Deal After Brexit

Theresa May and Donald Trump entered a news conference on Friday holding hands and went out of their way to praise one another's leadership, a day after the U.S. president assailed her Brexit strategy and said one of her political opponents would make a good prime minister.

The two leaders said they'd complete a trade deal between their countries as soon as the U.K. leaves the European Union, after Trump told the Sun newspaper in an interview published Thursday that an accord might not be possible because of her decision to maintain ties with the EU.

The interview, published during a gala dinner May hosted for Trump at Blenheim Palace, appeared to further ratchet up tensions in a relationship that's been fraught since the president assumed office. But Trump tried to make it up to May on Friday, repeating over and over that she was a "tough negotiator," — a high form of praise from the author of "The Art of the Deal."

"I said very good things about her" in the interview, Trump said. "She's a total professional, because when I saw her this morning I said, 'I want to apologize, because I said such good things about you."'

Trump said that the "special relationship" — "the highest level of special" — between the two countries is "a bond that is like no other."

May batted away questions about Boris Johnson, her former foreign minister who resigned last week after she announced her plan for a "soft" Brexit. Trump, whom Johnson has effusively complimented, told the Sun he'd make a good prime minister.

Trump called the Sun story "generally fine" but said that some of his remarks were left out. "We record when we deal with reporters — it's called fake news."

He didn't elaborate. He said that May is "doing a terrific job."

Trade Deal

"We agreed today that as the U.K. leaves the EU we will pursue an ambitious U.S.-U.K. trade deal," May said Friday at a news conference with Trump at Chequers, her country estate.

"The United States looks forward to finalizing a great bilateral trade deal" with the U.K., Trump said. "We want to trade with the U.K. and the U.K. wants to trade with us."

Trump, who had accused May of taking too long to quit the EU in the Sun interview, acknowledged that talks to leave the bloc are "not an easy negotiation to be sure" and said that the deal Britain reached "is OK with me," before adding "just make sure we can trade together."

May hoped to use the talks to explain her plan for Brexit and to outline the complexities involved. Trump's comments suggest she managed to convey to the president a sense of the difficulty of extricating the U.K. from the 27-member trading bloc without a parliamentary majority.

It was clear that the two leaders disagreed on immigration and Iran but stated their own positions without airing their criticisms of the other's position.

Trump said that immigration has been "a very negative thing for Europe" while May responded that "the U.K. has a proud history of welcoming people fleeing persecution" and "immigration has been good for the U.K."

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Kellogg’s Honey Smacks Cereal Linked to 100 Salmonella Infections, CDC Warns

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is warning the public against eating Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal due to an outbreak of salmonella.

“OUTBREAK Update: 100 Salmonella infections in 33 states linked to Kellogg’s Honey Smacks cereal,” the CDC said in a tweet on Thursday. “Do not eat this cereal.”

OUTBREAK Update: 100 Salmonella infections in 33 states linked to Kellogg's Honey Smacks cereal. Do not eat this cereal. https://t.co/G5WyEiWp5A pic.twitter.com/Fa8EF3izUu

— CDC (@CDCgov) July 12, 2018

The first illnesses connected with the outbreak were reported in March, and the cereal was recalled on June 14--at the time 73 people had gotten sick. On Thursday, nearly a month after the recall, the CDC said that 27 more people had gotten ill.

“Illnesses started on dates from March 3, 2018, to July 2, 2018,” according to the CDC. “Ill people range in age from less than one year to 95, with a median age of 57. Of ill people, 68% are female. Out of 77 people with information available, 30 (39%) have been hospitalized. No deaths have been reported.”

Salmonella symptoms--which often appear 12 to 72 hours after exposure--include diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps. The illness can last between four and seven days, and in some cases severe diarrhea may cause hospitalization and in rare cases death, if not treated soon enough.

Overall 30 people have been hospitalized in connection with this outbreak; there have been no reported deaths.

The CDC says that consumers should not eat the cereal, “regardless of package size or best-by date.” The agency is urging consumers to throw the cereal away or return it to the store of purchase--even if they have started eating the cereal. Retailers are also being urged to stop selling Honey Smacks.

The Food and Drug Administration also said on Thursday that it learned that some retailers continued to sell Honey Smacks after the June 14 recall; it is continuing to monitor the situation and work with retailers who are still selling the product.

“Additionally, the public is urged to report any product being offered for sale to the FDA Consumer Complaint Coordinator in their region,” the FDA said on its website. “More information about the recall can be found at FDA.gov.“

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More Than 100 People Ill From Parasite Possibly Linked to McDonald’s Salads

Health officials are investigating the possibility of a parasite in McDonald’s salads causing more than 100 people to fall ill.

The Illinois and Iowa departments of health this week reported that they’re investigating reports of people contracting cyclosporiasis after eating salads at McDonald’s restaurants. Illinois reported 90 cases of the intestinal illness so far and Iowa has discovered 15 cases. Both departments of health report that a portion of the people who suffered from the illness had eaten a salad at a McDonald’s in the days leading to their sickness.

Cyclosporiasis is an intestinal illness caused by the Cyclospora parasite. According to the Iowa Department of Public Health, the parasite is most commonly found in developing countries, but has been increasingly affecting Americans during the summer months. People often contract the illness after eating fresh produce contaminated with the parasite.

However, unlike many other food-borne illnesses, cyclosporiasis can take a week or more before it starts to affect the body. Its symptoms, which include frequent watery diarrhea, weight loss, nausea, and fever, can last from a few days to more than a month if left untreated. Antibiotics designed to address cyclosporiasis can kick it sooner.

The health departments were quick to note in statements this week that they cannot say for sure that McDonald’s salads are to blame for the recent outbreaks. There is, however, a link between the salads at some restaurants in Illinois and Iowa and the illness. They both encouraged people suffering from cyclosporiasis symptoms to contact the health departments to aid them in their investigations.

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