On October 18, game developer Tencent announced the plan for the 2018 International Championship of its popular MOBA game Arena of Valor.
Arena of Valor first came out in 2016, and has since become very popular in Asia, particularly China and other countries in the Southeast part of the region. It follows the traditional MOBA formula. There are 2 teams, and each team consist of maximum 5 players. Each player will choose a hero with unique abilities from the game’s wide collection. They then battle to destroy the base of the enemy team. The game is available on Android, iOS and Nintendo Switch.
After two years, Arena of Valor has generated competitive leagues in several regions, including Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. Now, the eSports aspect of the game is moving to the next stage with the 2018 International Championship. This event is scheduled to start on November 23 and end on December 16.
This championship will be the biggest tournament for Arena of Valor up to date, both in term of number of participating teams and prize pool. It features 16 of the best teams in different regions. The total prize pool is $600,000. This is also the first time India has taken part in an Arena of Valor tournament of this caliber.
Of the 16 competing teams, the top 4 seeds will go straight to the semifinals and finals. These matches will take place in Thailand on December 15th and 16th. Meanwhile, the other 12 teams will have to fight through qualifiers starting from November 23 in Vietnam. As of this moment, there is only one team confirmed to be participating in the Arena of Valor International Championship 2018: Tamago, a team from Singapore, who will represent Southeast Asia. They earned this position after their victory in the Valor Cup, which took place in Manila last September.
Mobile games are now extending to eSports. Their accessibility make them popular even amongst those who are not gamers. This opens many opportunities for publishers. Therefore, more and more are investing resources in these games every day.