Paladins, the Hi-Rez studio game that can be played across console and PC has announced the launch of a $250,000 (£188,950) Console Series. It comes just months after the announcement of the Paladins Premier League in partnership with WESA. The Paladins Premier League is competed on PC, however.
The Paladins Console Series will be entirely streamed on the Paladins Mixer channel every weekend, with 12 monthly tournaments taking place across both Xbox One and PS4 from October 2017 through to 2018. Each monthly tournament will have three weeks of open bracket play, which reward teams with “Crystals” before the top eight teams in each region qualify, and face off in the monthly finals with cash up for grabs.
Over $19,000 (£14,360) will be given away each month, with the best teams having the chance to earn invites to compete at offline tournaments, including the Paladins Console World Championship at the Hi-Rez Expo, 2018.
The Paladins Console Series will be presented exclusively on the PaladinsGame Mixer channel every weekend, starting Saturday Oct. 21 at 11 a.m. EDT. European PlayStation 4 and Xbox One matches will be broadcast at 11 a.m. EDT every Saturday, while North American matches will air at 11 a.m. EDT on Sundays.
It’s an interesting move from Hi-Rez and Paladins as it’s not often console games get too much love. Obviously there’s the Call of Duty, Halo and sports simulator games but, taking Overwatch as an example, often games tend to have a PC focus. This could be seen as an infinitely wise move by Hi-Rez as they look to capture more of the console market with their dynamic title.
Esports Insider says: Big initiative for Paladins on the console, which is great to see from Hi-Rez. This continues their big esports push of late which comes at a good time. It’ll be another one to keep an eye on over the next twelve months.