The World Cyber Arena, a China based international organizer of eSports tournaments, announced their entry into the European market aiming to strengthen eSports as a global industry. Aside from the European qualifier, the WCA tournament is also holding qualifiers in the United States and China, with the finals held in the Chinese city of Yinchuan.
Top European teams and pro gamers will compete in Heroes of the Storm, Warcraft III, Hearthstone, Dota 2, and Crossfire to fight for an overall prize money of sixteen million US Dollars. The players will kick-off the tournament on July 21 in the online Pro Qualifiers to land a spot in the next tournament phase at this year’s gamescom in Cologne. At gamescom they will not only fight for the European prize money but also for their invitation to the finals in China.
The European Pro Qualifiers in Dota 2 and Crossfire will be held after gamescom. All matches of the EU qualifier phase will be broadcasted live from the Berlin-based studios of Freaks 4U Gaming. Prominent commentators and analysts for all games, including Thomas “Khaldor” Kilian, Jökull “Kaldi” Jóhannsson, and Jannes “Neo” Tjarks will be part of the production. Gamers and fans can follow the matches on their home screens via Twitch TV or in person at the official gamescom WCA booth in hall 5.2, booth A-019.
Games
EU
Pro Qualifiers
Commentators
Prize Money
(At gamescom)
Heroes of
the Storm
21. + 22. July
From 2:30 pm
Thomas „Khaldor“ Kilian
Chris „Tetcher“ Ivermee
1st 10,000 EUR*
2nd 6,000 EUR
3rd 3,500 EUR
Hearthstone
25. + 26. July
From 4:30 pm
Jökull „Kaldi“ Jóhannsson
Nicholas „Aquablad“ Christensen-Secker
1st 7,000 EUR*
2nd 3,000 EUR*
3rd 1,500 EUR*
Warcraft III
23. + 24. July
From 3:30 pm
Jannes „Neo“ Tjarks
Marc „yAwS” Förster
Remo „remodemo“ Rimmel
1st 4,000 EUR*
2nd 3,000 EUR*
3rd 1,500 EUR*
Dota 2
**
**
1st 40,000 EUR*
2nd 20,000 EUR*
3rd 15,000 EUR
Crossfire
**
**
1st 30,000 EUR*
2nd 10,000 EUR*
3rd 7,000 EUR
•Plus invitation to WCA finals in Yinchuan, China
** To be determined
The European qualifier is divided into open and closed group stages. For the latter, pro gamers and professional teams have been invited to demonstrate their skills at the online WCA Pro Qualifiers. The finalists will face each other on the WCA gamescom stage in front of hundreds of fans to secure their ticket to the WCA Finals in China, not to mention bringing home the huge amounts of prize money. For the up-and-coming European players, WCA invites all gamers to participate in the WCA Open Qualifiers after gamescom.
Aside from hosting major tournaments on three different continents, WCA has become a major driving force in the international eSports industry. A tremendous fund of 805 million US Dollars has been established by the strategic partnership between WCA and the CIC Industry to develop the economic infrastructure of the Yinchuan region. WCA is well on its way to creating the international eSports metropolis of the future.
“Attending gamescom in Cologne is a major milestone for Chinese eSports,” says Yanfei Li, Vice Chairman of WCA Organizing Committee. “Whether it is the scale of the event or the prize pool, WCA has reached the pinnacle of international eSports. We hope to utilize this momentous occasion to present the expansive impact of Chinese eSports, and demonstrate just how global this venture has become.”
Further information about World Cyber Arena and the European live broadcasts of all games can be found here: http://www.wca-europe.com.
