Tournament organiser ESL has announced the debut of the ESL MSP Championship for MOBA title Arena of Valor.
Sponsored by automotive company Mercedes-Benz and Malaysian mobile service Yoodo, with support from digital entertainment platform Garena, the inaugural tournament will take place across August and September.
The tournament will feature eight teamsfrom Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines – two of which will be invited, with the remaining six having to earn their spots through open qualifiers. The two invited teams are the finalists of last season’s Valor Cup – M8HEXA from Malaysia and Liyab Esports from the Philippines.
Nick Vanzetti, Senior Vice President of ESL Asia-Pacific Japan commented in a release: “We have brought our National Championship product into Southeast Asia last year and we are excited to expand the program into more esports titles and countries. We are pleased to be working with Garena on the opportunity to host the ESL MSP Championship as part of their ecosystem and we will continue to align our goals in shaping a sustainable ecosystem for Arena of Valor in the MSP region.”
The teams will be competing for a total prize pool of $10,000 (£8,200) and the chance of being the MSP representative at Arena of Valor International Championship (AIC) 2019.
Marshal Bagus Nugroho, Producer for Indonesia at Garena discussed sponsoring the event: “Garena AOV is proud to be working again with ESL on developing esports scene in Southeast Asia. Hopefully, from the ESL MSP Championship, we’ll see the birth of talented players who will win on the international stage.”
The event will start with an online group stage, with the top two teams from each group advancng to the playoffs. The playoffs will then be played over two days with a best-of-five double-elimination format and a best-of-seven grand final.
Esports Insider says: ESL is obviously a big name in esports so it’s a compliment for Arena of Valor that it’s putting effort in to support the title. The Southeast Asian esports community is typically supportive but considering this event isn’t the most wide-scale, we’re unsure of the reception it’ll receive.