Vainglory World Championship to be held in Singapore

• Sees the game returning to the nation where it held its first beta test in 2013
• Singapore's Team Impunity is one of the top 12 global teams competing for the title

SUPER Evil Megacorp, the creator of mobile e-sport game Vainglory, has selected Singapore as the venue for its second world championship finals. The Vainglory World Championships 2017 will take place at the Kallang Theatre in Singapore from Dec14 to 17 where the top 12 Vainglory teams from the world will converge to fight for the prize pool of US$140,000 (RM590,404).

This is an increase from last year’s prize pool of US$120,000 (RM506,060) prize pool where it was held in Hollywood, California, USA. It also comes at a time when esports is reaching out to mainstream audiences with significant increases in winnings globally and in this region. Fans in Singapore seeking to watch the event live can register for their free tickets from Vaingloryworlds2017.peatix.com.

"The 2017 Vainglory World Championship will not just be the pinnacle of our esports year; it will be arguably the biggest moment in Vainglory history," said Super Evil Megacorp chief executive officer Kristian Segerstrale.

"Live on stage in Singapore, we will globally unveil Vainglory 5v5 in an epic showmatch, coinciding with a major in-game update. This moment will show, once again, that Vainglory is the most uncompromising, unapologetically core MOBA on touchscreens — and a game pushing the very boundaries of the mobile platform.

"When deciding where to crown the World Champion and celebrate the rebirth of our game, we had to return to where it all began: The players in Singapore first in beta, and then widely Southeast Asia, embraced Vainglory before anyone else and paved the way for all the success that has followed.

"And as we embark on a new adventure with 5v5, Southeast Asia will once again be a central strategic and community focus. We intend to prove to MOBA players in SEA that Vainglory is the most-fun, best-performing 5v5 experience out there, and we look forward to working closely with the local communities to make it the best it can be." 

The game has come a long way since it first launched, and is now played in over 250 countries around the world. The mobile MOBA has been featured at the keynote launches of leading smartphones including the iPhone 6 in 2014 and at the more recent Samsung Galaxy Note 8 in New York this month.

Having made its mark around the globe, Vainglory – then known as Kindred – returns to where it first launched as a beta back in December 2013.

“In a way, we are bringing Vainglory back to its first home,” added Heini Vesander, executive producer, esports.

This year’s tournament will see the players compete in front of a live audience at the historic Kallang Theatre as well as being streamed globally through leading streaming platforms such as Twitch, Youtube, and Facebook. Leading shoutcasters in four languages from around the world will also be joining the exhilarating event that will place Singapore on the global map as one of the increasingly popular locations globally for esports.

After a year of competitive challenges among 5,000 teams across six regions in the world – North America, South America, Europe, Southeast Asia, East Asia and China – seven teams have already qualified for a spot in this year’s world championships.

Joining them is Singapore’s very own Team Impunity who qualified for one of the coveted spots by winning the recent regional championships held in Jakarta earlier this month.

Team Impunity will be joined by defending champion Rox Armada from Korea, North America’s Cloud 9, Korea’s ACE Gaming, Indonesia’s Elite8, Japan’s DetonatioN Gaming and China’s Hunters. Remaining teams will continue to compete in their respective regional qualifiers to fight for one of remaining six seats.

Team Impunity fought off fierce competition on their way to qualifying for the World Championships 2017, including a dramatic 3-2 comeback win against regional rivals Infamous at the recent Jakarta Summer Championship earlier this month. Their wins will go some way in boosting their confidence as they look to show off their mettle against the best teams from around the world.

“We are elated at being able to challenge for the world title on our home soil, but will certainly be careful not to get carried away,” said Check Ho, coach of Team Impunity

“We are relishing the challenge of playing some of the best Vainglory teams around and hope that our performances will go some way in helping to show how far Singapore has come in esports.”

Meanwhile, teams in Southeast Asia who have yet to qualify for the World Championship will be eyeing the remaining Wildcard slot as they ready themselves for the Vainglory8 Autumn Season, which starts on September 30. 

To keep up with the action or for fans unable to attend the World Championship in Singapore, Vainglory Worlds will be streamed live on Vainglory’s Twitch.TV and YouTube channels. 

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