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$200,000 prize pool for SEA Championships shows Riot’s efforts to enhance Wild Rift esports

By Rishov "Vergil" Mukherjee
Modified Aug 19, 2021 05:10 GMT
The $200,000 prize pool for Wild Rift SEA Championships showcase Riot's efforts to improve the scene (Image via Wild Rift)
The $200,000 prize pool for Wild Rift SEA Championships showcase Riot's efforts to improve the scene (Image via Wild Rift)

Riot Games has recently announced that the total prize of the Wild Rift SEA Championships is going to be $200,000. The tournament was announced a while back and 21 teams will compete for the title of the best Wild Rift team. The selection will be made from the ESL Wild Rift Icon series and includes teams from South-East Asia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Taiwan and Hong Kong. Apart from that, Oceanic teams from Australia and New Zealand will also be allowed to take part in this tournament.

This is clearly a vivid representation of Riot’s efforts to enhance the Wild Rift esports scene.

The SEA Wild Rift Championships might prove to be a cornerstone for the esports scene of this game

Riot announced around a month earlier that they wanted to develop the Wild Rift esports scene as an independent title. They are ready to commit on a full-time basis on account of the massive dedication of the fans. However, the fact that they have never taken mobile gaming seriously would mean that developing the scene would take time. However, this tournament shows that Riot is not going to wait any longer and start taking action.

This $200,000 tournament will be played in three stages that include a Play In stage, Group stages and finally a Main Event. This is very similar to the way in which League of Legends World Championships are conducted. The winner of each region in the Icon series will get direct qualification. Apart from that, these regions will also have the option to avail a play-in slot to get a chance to participate in the main event. However, Oceanic teams will not be getting any play-in slots.

The scale and size of the tournament is massive in comparison to other major mobile game titles. The only other mobile game title that has engulfed the world is PUBG. It seems Riot has plans to take Wild Rift to a similar level, if not higher. This tournament should excite fans and organizations alike in order to invest more time to enhance skills and gather top tier players.

This prize pool is only going to increase and eventually, Wild Rift will develop a separate identity for itself. Mobile gaming has been growing every year, and a major company like Riot increasing efforts to improve it will only lead to good days for the platform.