Advertisement

Weekly esports guide (7 - 14 June): WePlay AniMajor Playoffs commence

If you have an esports event or listing for Southeast Asia you’d like to have considered for this weekly update, please email yahootvsg@verizonmedia.com. For other esports news updates, visit Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia and check out Yahoo Esports Southeast Asia’s Facebook page.

The WePlay AniMajor, the second and final Major event of the 2021 Dota Pro Circuit, will be holding its Playoff Stage from 9 to 13 June. The 12 remaining teams in the tournament will be fighting for a cut of the US$500,000 prize pool and 2,700 DPC point pool, the latter of which will help them qualify for The International 10 (TI10).

Do note that the status of some events may have changed after publishing because of the coronavirus.

WePlay AniMajor

(Photo: WePlay Esports)

Date: 2 - 13 June

Venue: Kyiv, Ukraine

Watch: https://www.twitch.tv/weplaydota

The WePlay AniMajor, the second and final Major event of the 2021 DPC, will be held in Kyiv, Ukraine from 2 to 13 June. The tournament will feature the 18 best teams from the circuit's six regional leagues competing for their share of the US$500,000 prize pool and 2,700 DPC point pool, which will go towards securing a direct invite to The International 10 (TI10).

The WePlay AniMajor will be split into three stages — namely, the Wildcard Stage, the Group Stage, and the Playoffs — with six teams starting the tournament in each stage. The two teams with the best record in the Wildcard Stage will advance to the Group Stage, from which six teams will advance to the Playoffs to compete for the championship while two others will be eliminated.

Only the Top 8 teams in the WePlay AniMajor will be able to receive a cut of the prize and DPC point pool, with the champions taking home the grand prize of US$200,000 and 500 DPC points.

In addition, the Major will unfortunately not have a live audience due to "the epidemiological situation" in Kyiv, WePlay said in a post on the Dota 2 subreddit.

For a preview of the WePlay AniMajor Playoffs, check here.

The International 10

(Photo: Valve)
(Photo: Valve)

Date: 5 - 15 August

Venue: Stockholm, Sweden

The International 10 (TI10) finally makes its return this year after it was canceled last year by the coronavirus pandemic. The latest iteration of Dota 2's annual marquee tournament features the best teams from the DPC competing for the lion's share of a US$40 million prize pool, the largest in the history of esports.

The tournament will start with a Group Stage from 5 to 8 August followed by a two-day break before the Main Event kicks off from 10 to 15 August.

After the conclusion of the second Major of the 2021 DPC, the teams who have garnered the most amount of DPC points will receive direct invites to TI10. The rest of the field will then be determined through a series of qualifiers for each of the circuit's six regional leagues from 23 June to 10 July.

The TI10 regional qualifiers will begin with the CIS and South America from 23 to 26 June, followed by North America and Southeast Asia from 30 June to 3 July, and finally Europe and China from 7 to 10 July.

2021 League of Legends World Championship

(Photo: Riot Games)
(Photo: Riot Games)

Date: November

Venue: Shenzhen, China

The 2021 League of Legends World Championship, more commonly referred to as Worlds, will be hosted in Shenzen, China from 6 November. Worlds 2021 will be held in Shenzen's Universiade Sports Centre, a state-of-the-art arena with a seating capacity of over 60,000 that is also the home of the Chinese Super League football club Shenzen F.C.

More information about the tournament is set to be released soon.

VCT Masters Berlin

(Photo: Riot Games)
(Photo: Riot Games)

Date: 9 - 19 September

Venue: Berlin, Germany

The Stage 3 Masters tournament of the VCT will be held in Berlin, Germany from 9 to 19 September. While Masters Reykjavík featured just 10 participating teams, the field for Masters Berlin will be expanded to include 16 squads.

The winning team of Masters Berlin will notably be receiving a direct seed to the VALORANT Champions tournament in December, where VALORANT's first-ever world champions will be crowned.

VALORANT one-year anniversary celebration

(Photo: Riot Games)
(Photo: Riot Games)

Date: 2 June

Venue: Online

Riot Games will be hosting a number of online activities in celebration of the one-year anniversary of VALORANT's release date on 2 June last year. For Southeast Asia, VALORANT's one-year anniversary celebration will include a SEA Birthday Rush Livestream, a Community Showcase, features on Local Creators’ Favourite Agents, as well as a Twitch Rivals Community Tournament.

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Southeast Asia Cup

(Photo: Moonton)
(Photo: Moonton)

Date: 7 - 13 June

Venue: Online

The Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) Southeast Asia Cup (MSC) is making a huge comeback in 2021, as this year's event will feature high-level competition as well as in-game activities and mini-events. The main event of the MSC will see 12 teams from the region competing for a cut of the US$150,000 prize pool.

Old or retired MLBB players will notably be making their comebacks in the MSC as special guests. Time-limited skins will also be available to fans through MSC in-game activities and the “Double Event” from 29 May to 13 June. Unlike previous iterations of the MSC, this year's event will be held online due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

2021 ONE Esports MPL Invitational

ONE Esports Mobile Legends Pro League Invitational (Photo: oneesports.gg)
ONE Esports Mobile Legends Pro League Invitational (Photo: oneesports.gg)

Date: TBD

Venue: TBD

Mobile Legends: Bang Bang (MLBB) developer Moonton has once again partnered with ONE Esports, the Singapore-based esports venture of sports media company ONE Championship, to host this year's MLBB Professional League Invitational (MPLI) in the "final quarter of 2021".

The 2021 ONE Esports MPLI will feature the best teams from the regional MLBB Professional Leagues (MPL) across Southeast Asia in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Myanmar competing for their share of the US$100,000 prize pool. More details about the 2021 MPLI including whether the event will be hosted live or online, as it was last year, have yet to be revealed.

FSL VALORANT Circuit

(Photo: FSL FPS Facebook)
(Photo: FSL FPS Facebook)

Date: March - October

Venue: Online

Watch live: https://yhoo.it/FSLxYahoo

FSL, the premier female competitive gaming circuit in Asia, will be hosting the 2021 FSL VALORANT Circuit with approval from Riot Games and support from Intel. The circuit will run for eight months from March to October and feature a total prize pool of SGD$12,000. The FSL VALORANT Circuit will be split into four stages: FSL Open, FSL Open Overtime, FSL Wildcard, and FSL Elite.

The first stage of the circuit, the FSL Open, will be held monthly from March to August, with each iteration featuring a maximum of 40 teams competing for a cut of the SG$1,000 prize pool. Teams will earn points by participating in each FSL Open and will be placed on the FSL Open Leaderboard, with the two top-ranked teams qualifying for FSL Elite.

The third to 19th-placed teams on the leaderboard will then play in the circuit's second stage, FSL Open: Overtime, in September. The winning team will take the third spot in FSL Elite.

FSL Wildcard will follow in early October, where teams that are either new to the circuit or have not yet qualified for FSL Elite will get one last shot at advancing into the final stage. FSL Wildcard will feature a SG$1,000 prize pool and a maximum of 40 participating teams, with the winners claiming the fourth and final spot in FSL Elite.

FSL Elite will be the final stage of the 2021 FSL VALORANT Circuit. The four qualified teams from the previous stages will compete in an offline tournament in Singapore from 23-24 October, with US$5,000 in prize money up for grabs.

League of Legends: Wild Rift 2021 SEA Icon Series: Summer Season

(Photo: Riot Games)
(Photo: Riot Games)

Date: 3 April - 13 June

Venue: Online

League of Legends: Wild Rift esports will officially kick off with the 2021 SEA Icon Series: Summer Season, which starts on 3 April following the conclusion of the five weekend-long preseason event.

The Wild Rift SEA Icon Series will be the first tournament produced by Riot Games Southeast Asia in partnership with regional partners, and the publisher says it "will be an important foundational step" to strengthening the legacy of Southeast Asian players and teams in the mobile esports scene.

The Summer Season features eight week-long tournaments in the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, with competition culminating at the Summer Super Cup where the champions for each country will be crowned. Registration for the qualifiers for each country will open this month, with the qualifiers themselves set to begin next month.

Arena of Valor World Cup 2021

(Photo: Garena)
(Photo: Garena)

Date: 18 June - 19 July

Venue: Online

The Arena of Valor World Cup (AWC) returns online this year, featuring 16 of the best Arena of Valor teams from 9 regions, namely Brazil, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Mainland China, SMP (Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines), Thailand, and Vietnam, competing for their share of a US$500,000 prize pool.

The 2021 AWC will start with its group stage from 19 to 27 June, with the playoffs beginning with the quarterfinals from 30 June to 4 July. The tournament will then take a short break before resuming with the semifinals from 10 to 11 July. The grand finals of the 2021 AWC will then take place on 18 July, with the champions taking home the grand prize of US$200,000.

FIFAe World Cup 2021

(Photo: fifa.com/Getty Images)
(Photo: fifa.com/Getty Images)

Date: 6 - 8 August

Venue: London, United Kingdom

The FIFAe World Cup returns after last year’s hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. From 6 to 8 August, London will host the climax of the EA SPORTS FIFA 21 Global Series as 32 of the world's best individual FIFA 21 players compete for the chance to claim the coveted FIFAe World Cup 2021 trophy and the grand prize of US$250,000 out of the event's US$500,00 prize pool.

Campus Legends Season 3

(Photo: SCOGA)
(Photo: SCOGA)

Date: 12 June - 8 August

Venue: Online

Singapore’s Cybersports & Online Gaming Association (SCOGA) has announced that its Campus Legends student esports development platform is returning for a third season, featuring competitions for League of Legends Mobile Legends: Bang Bang.

The group stages and playoffs for Campus Legends Season 3 will be taking place over nine weekends, commencing 12 June and culminating in the Grand Finals on 7-8 August. Aside from giving Singaporean students the chance to showcase their skills in two popular esports titles, Campus Legends will also provide them with career exposure opportunities should they choose to enter the esports industry once they have finished their studies.

University e-League Malaysia

(Photo: Esports Business Network/Prime Sports International)
(Photo: Esports Business Network/Prime Sports International)

Date: 4 July - 12 September

Venue: Online

Esports Business Network and Prime Sports International have partnered to launch the inaugural University e-League (UEL) for Malaysia. The UEL will be a nationwide collegiate esports league to be held from 4 July to 12 September, featuring over 300 university esports teams competing across four game titles for a combined prize pool of RM20,000 (or over US$4,800).

The UEL will be broadcasted online and will include competitions for Mobile Legends: Bang Bang, League of Legends, League of Legends: Wild Rift, and VALORANT. Students from both private and public universities across Malaysia who are interested in participating can register starting 14 June.

ESL Mobile 2021

(Photo: ESL)
(Photo: ESL)

Date: 12 April - 23 July

Venue: Online

ESL has expanded its mobile esports ecosystem this year to include the Asia-Pacific region alongside North America as well as Europe and the Middle-East and North Africa. ESL will host two full seasons of action in 2021 with the ESL Mobile Spring 2021 season kicking off in April. Each season will consist of two competitive tiers, ESL Mobile Open and the all-new ESL Mobile Challenge.

ESL Mobile will feature competitions in Asphalt 9: Legends, Brawl Stars, Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, PUBG Mobile and League of Legends: Wild Rift, and Legends of Runeterra as well as a total prize pool of US$650,000.

Check out esports videos from Yahoo TV: