The first American finals in the Dota 2 StarLadder i-League StarSeries will take place this weekend in sunny Los Angeles, California, and will be hosted by Beyond the Summit. With a mere $300,000 prize pool, its a smaller LAN at a time when all eyes are on next months big prize: The International 6, the gleaming diamond in 2016s Dota 2 esports crown.The StarLadder finals, though, might end up being an extremely important tournament for those eyeing the Aegis, TIs highly coveted trophy. Despite a smaller prize pool than TI6 in Seattle, events like StarLadder and last weeks The Summit 5 are seen as a proving ground, and many eyes will be scrutinizing the attending teams to see if they are TI-ready.The favorites among the participants are Evil Geniuses and Team Secret, two lineups that recently underwent major roster swaps and a long gantlet run through the TI Open Qualifiers. While both teams handily cleared the bar to make it to The International, they wont be competing against random teams from the NA and EU servers this weekend; instead, theyll be competing at a higher level against teams that were invited or have already been vetted through a regional qualifier. A StarLadder win would be a major landmark for these teams progress over the last few weeks.There are formidable challengers for the StarLadder title, however: Fnatic, the Southeast Asian champs who had a similar tough run through the Qualifiers, and Natus Vincere, who are fresh off a fourth-place finish at The Summit. The former will be looking to get some more experience against unfamiliar opponents, especially among the lower-tier American squads. NaVi, for its part, could use a shot of confidence after getting snubbed by Team Liquid at The Summit; this is a team that was directly invited to StarLadder and TI6, yet its had trouble asserting itself as a force to be reckoned with.The next two teams came up through the qualifiers for both StarLadder and TI6. Digital Chaos and Complexity will be seeking some redemption against EG, after losing to the reformed-and-renewed boys in blue during the North American Qualifiers. DC certainly has the right players in the right positions, but needs to show some stability and consistency this weekend to keep hopes high for TI6. Complexity has otherwise been in a slump, after a rough finish at the Manila Major, and could use any experience and hands-on learning it can get before facing down its upcoming Wild Card run in Seattle.Finally, theres always room for the unexpected. Any upsets this week will likely come from F.R.I.E.N.D.S., an unfamiliar team name which belies a roster with a couple of familiar players. Ilya ALOHADANCE Korobkin and Andrey ALWAYSWANNAFLY Bondarenko are no strangers to the game of Dota, and could easily catch an unwary team at the right moment to get some quality wins on their belts. CDEC.Youth are also an intimidating opponent; while it wasnt able to qualify for TI6, this team has been able to take matches off the topmost teams in China, and thats intimidating for any team in Los Angeles. Expect CDEC.Youth to be the hammer and anvil for the TI-bound teams, either sharpening and honing their play, or breaking them against the steel. Custom Nike Baltimore Orioles Jerseys . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. 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KENT, Ohio -- Jaylin Walker hit six 3-pointers and finished with 29 points, both career highs, Jimmy Hall had a double-double and Kent State cruised to an 87-71 win over NJIT on Saturday night.Walker made 10 of 16 from the field, while Hall had 26 points on 9-of-14 shooting, 10 rebounds and four assists.Desmond Ridenour hit a 3-pointer to cap a 12-2 run that made it 22-10 and Kent State (7-3) led by double figures the rest of the way.The Golden Flashes committed a season-high 22 turnovers, but shot 50 percent from the ffield, hit 10 3-pointers and made all of the 13 free-throw attempts.ddddddddddddOsa Izevbuwa scored a career-high 21 on 7-of-11 shooting for the Highlanders (5-6). The other NJIT starters combined to shoot 27.5 percent from the field -- including Damon Lynn, who scored 23 but hit just 3 of 15 from behind the arc.Hall moved into 17th on Kent States career scoring list with 1,194 career points. ' ' '