Hello Friends!
Welcome to the latest Geeky Brummie Esports Roundup! This week Wolves FC break new ground in Chinese esports, an exciting tournament from Women in Games and UK Pro Dota might have a future yet! If you have some esports news to share then fire me an email over at mat@geekybrummie.com.
Tundra Esports Wins ESL One
Their recent successes could mean good news for UK Dota talent.
London-based Tundra Esports are smashing the Dota Pro Circuit at the moment. They claimed the championship and $175,000 top prize of the ESL One Fall 2021 tournament after a hard-fought five-game series against PSG.LGD. Now they set their sights on the 275,000 OGA Pit Dota 2 tournament. While the roster has no UK players, and indeed Tanner is the only UK pro player to break through to a major tournament, Tundra’s success does have me hopeful.
ESL One Fall 2021 Victory
Tundra gave a fierce performance at ESL One Fall 2021. This was one of the final major events hosted prior to the much anticipated (and delayed) The International 10. The European squad was the only team from the region to make it into the upper bracket of the playoffs. They did so with better records than previous TI world champions Alliance and Team Liquid. What’s more, they didn’t drop a single game in the main event with a flawless run.
The grand final against PSG.LGD was some of the most exciting Dota this year. Both teams brought their A-game with real back and forth play making it a nail-biting spectacle for fans and casters alike. Ultimately, however, Tundra snatched the crown in a final showdown which mopped up four of LGDs five heroes, leading to them to call a “GG”.
How is this a positive for UK esports?
Despite losing out to OG in the European Qualifier for The International 10, Tundra is still in a really good position at the moment. While there are no UK players in their lineup, the London-based organisation is putting us on the map. Combined with the success of ESL One Birmingham still being the biggest ESL One tournament to date, it’s demonstrating on a global stage the potential which lies in the UK.
UK Dota 2 talent is severely lacking, but having organisations like Tundra on home soil gives homegrown talent aspirations and moves us one step closer to finally having more of a presence in the Dota Pro Circuit. I look forward to seeing how they fare in the OGA Pit Dota 2 tournament. You can find out more information about the tournament here.
Wolves First Football Club in King Pro League Chinese Tournament
The Wolfpack continues to break new ground in esports.
Wolverhampton Wolves have announced that they will be entering China’s King Pro League (KPL) esports tournament. . This makes the premier league club the first traditional football club to compete in a tournament like this.
This tournament is for the Honor of Kings, a 5v5 mobile MOBA similar to League of Legends: Wild Rift and Arena of Valor. The game is exclusive to the Chinese market and published by Tencent games – who also own the other two IPs mentioned above as well as a raft of other mobile esports titles.
The announcement accompanies the acquisition of Honor of Kings team QGhappy by Wolves parent organisation Fosun Sports. QGhappy will now enter the KPL esports tournament under the Wolves brand as part of the club’s ongoing goal of dominating the mobile esports scene.
Who are QGhappy?
QGhappy was founded in 2017, and won three KPL tournaments; Spring, Autumn, and Champions Cup, in the same year, before winning the Champions Cup in 2018 and 2019 successively.
The team was also the first team to win all four Honor of Kings World Champions Cups in 2021, beating Foshan GK to win the team’s sixth title. Team member Captain Fly also won his third FMVP skin and won his third KPL Finals MVP, making Fly the most FMVPs in the history of the KPL league.
The acquisition is part of Fosun Sports’ global esports layout, with Wolves being one of the earliest esports clubs in the Premier League.
The Wolfpack’s journey in Esports
Wolves officially entered the esports industry in 2018, with FIFA Football, Rocket League, and Racing teams in the UK. They also have in-depth cooperation with Fortnite and other popular esports projects.
Since 2019, Fosun Sports began to expand its esports market in China, with Wolves Esports (China) consisting of teams in FIFA Online 4, Call of Duty, and Identity V. They’ve since achieved good results in international and domestic competitions, with Wolves Esports’ Identity V team winning the Champion of Summer League final in August 2021.
I also reported last month on their partnership with Fnatic to strengthen their brand in the North American market. Overall, this is more exciting news for the Wolfpack and esports in the West Midlands. Wolves are continuing to make a big splash domestically and abroad – setting a great example for other traditional sports clubs to follow suit.
You can follow all of the latest news from Wolves on their website here.
Women in Games Announce Valorant Esports Tournament
The Valorant Community Cup is first of it’s kind.
Women in Games has released details of its upcoming eSports Tournament, with the VALORANT Community Cup taking place on 11th & 12th September.
The ‘not for profit’ organisation will be showcasing eight of the leading European esports women teams in an invitational event, designed to build and strengthen the community of female competitive gamers.
Teams invited to participate include Chat Banned, fReya, Lux Nova, Project X, Rix.GG Lightning, Tenstar Nova and The Goose House Lunar. The tournament will be administered and broadcast by Tournament Organiser, Monkey Bubble, a new Women in Games Corporate Ambassador.
About The Community Cup
The broadcast will take place on Sunday 12th September from 12pm BST on YouTube, featuring international casting talent. After the event, Canadian CSGO coach and former player Steph ‘missharvey’ Harvey will also be interviewing some of the players from the Valorant Community Cup at the Women in Games Conference on 15th September.
The Esports Tournament takes place within the Women in Games Festival which takes place from today, September 6th-18th and also takes in a Games Jam, the Women in Games Conference, the Women in Games Awards and a host of Satellite Events hosted by community and associated organisations.
The Community Cup is supported by Google, sponsors of the esports track at the Women in Games Conference. Additional prizes are being made available by Overclockers UK/ noblechairs which also recently joined Women in Games as a Corporate Ambassador.
To find out more visit https://www.womeningamesfestival.org
About Women in Games
Women in Games is a UK-based not-for-profit organisation founded in 2009. The organisation has established a community of support and encouragement for women and girls in gaming. Their mission is to enable a gaming industry, culture and community free from discrimination. They seek to empower all girls and women, from all ethnicities and orientations, to achieve their full potential in the games and esports industries. I’ve wrote about WIG previously here.
They believe it’s vital to support the development of additional women’s competitions to help players to gain new skills and experience, and as a stepping stone to competing in open events, and that events like this play an important role in inspiring new players to join the esports community.
That’s it for this week friends! Have a fantastic week and don’t forget to follow our social media channels for more fantastic geeky content. Adios!
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