Marking the first anniversary of the mobile shooter Guns of Boom being released, developer Game Insight has partnered with ESL to launch the inaugural esports season.
The season has a $200,000 (£148,495) prize pool, and will see both North American and European teams initially compete through open cups hosted by ESL.
Players who have reached level 22 in-game are eligible to partcipate in the first round Go4 Open Cups, played in Guns of Boom’s PRO Play mode which was designed with esports teams to create a ‘fair and balanced environment for competitive play.’
Nikita Sherman, Head of Strategy at Game Insight had his say on the game’s leap into esports: “The growth in esports momentum is the most exciting thing to happen to video games in a decade. Even though much of the focus today is on PC and console, mobile esports is set to make a huge impact on the competitive landscape. We’re ecstatic to have found a partner in ESL who is ready to pioneer the early days of mobile esports with us, and that starts this summer with our $200,000 inaugural season for Guns of Boom.”
As well as ESL’s open cups, players will compete in two different continents. There will be a Guns of Boom European Invitational involving four teams in Katowice, Poland on July 29th, which will lead to eight teams facing off in Los Angeles, US to be crowned the Guns of Boom 1st Season Champion.
Anatoly Ropotov, CEO of Game Insight discussed the game’s first esports experience with ESL: “From its very first day, Guns of Boom has been all about one thing: competition. After a year of refining the experience and working with leading members of the esports community, we’re finally ready to kick off our first major eSport season with ESL. Guns of Boom had a tremendous first year, reaching nearly 50 million players. Now let’s see how many of them are ready to go pro!”
Esports Insider says: Mobile esport titles are becoming more and more popular, and we’re happy to see another game enter the fray. Game Insight picked a good partner in ESL, so it has some capable support leading into its first esports experience.