Arena of Valor Cements Its Season 2 Esports Plans in the West

PALO ALTO, CA and LOS ANGELES – AUGUST 16, 2018 – Tencent Games and ESL are announcing a second season of the fast-paced mobile sports competition for Arena of Valor. An exhibition featuring top European talent will kickoff Valor Series season 2 at this year’s Gamescom expo in Cologne, Germany, followed by its official season start on September 8, and eight weeks of gripping mobile esports in three regions, North America, Europe, and Latin America, with 18 total teams.

Fans at Gamescom can witness the high-level mobile gameplay of the world’s most popular 5v5 mobile game, Arena of Valor, in Hall 9 on August 23rd in the ESL Arena at Gamescom 2018. Some of the best teams in Europe will compete against one another as well as some fun showmatches featuring veteran professional MOBA players facing off. The event will be broadcast live on Twitch, Facebook, and YouTube.

“Arena of Valor is a truly competitive gaming experience on mobile and we couldn’t think of a better place to kick off season 2 of Valor Series than Gamescom,” Ramon Hermann, director of esports for Tencent America said. “We look forward to engaging with the passionate Gamescom attendees and offering them an exciting day of Arena of Valor esports. This kickoff event will be the catalyst to ignite our bigger, better and much more ambitious second season of Valor Series.”

Teams across the three regions will compete for $200,000 in prize money, as six teams in each region will battle through 8 weeks of regular season action and the top four will secure a playoff spot to advance to the regional semifinals. Semifinal and final matches are set to take place in front of a live audience in Sao Paulo, Brazil on October 27-28. The winners of Europe, Latin America, and North America advance to compete in the Arena of Valor International Championship later this year. Full details on the International Championship will be announced at a later date.

But before the season starts, teams vying to compete in the Valor Series must first prove themselves in the open online qualifier which begins August 25 on ESL Play. The top 6 teams of each region qualify for the Valor Series.

“We are looking forward to bringing another season of the Valor Series to the passionate mobile esports community after such a highly successful first season,” said Spike Laurie, vice president global publisher and developer relations at ESL. “We are glad to have found such a strong and reliable partner in Tencent Games as we are not only striving to deliver the best esports experiences but also to further foster the growth of mobile esports.”

Tencent Games and ESL launched the first season of Valor Series earlier in 2018. The North American champion, Allegiance, and European champion, For The Dream, secured their titles at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) ESL Arena in June and qualified for the 12-team Arena of Valor World Cup. Korea defeated Thailand to win the first World Cup title for Arena of Valor in Hollywood, California at the world-famous TCL Chinese Theater in July.

Season 2 of the Valor Series will be streamed weekly every Saturday and Sunday starting on September 8. For further information on the Second Season of the Valor Series, please visit the official website or play now on iOS and Google Play. To stay up to date follow ESL Arena of Valor on Twitter or Facebook.

About Arena of Valor

Arena of Valor is the most popular mobile game in the world. Free to download, the game features an excited and extensive champion roster, including beloved DC characters like Batman and Superman, and lets anyone play 10-15 minute rounds of 5v5 action whenever their schedule allows. With its accessible but uncompromising strategic style of gameplay, Arena of Valor features a refined, intuitive user interface for experienced players and newcomers alike, comprehensive tutorials and practice matches so players can experiment with each champion's ability. Arena of Valor is unparalleled action on your mobile phone, anywhere, anytime.

About Tencent Games

Tencent Games is the world's largest gaming company by operating revenue. As the world-class gaming division of Tencent Holdings Limited (SEHK 700), the company develops and publishes AAA products for hundreds of millions of gamers on today's most popular platforms. With stakes in Epic Games, Supercell, and Riot, Tencent publishes popular western titles like League of Legends in the Chinese market. Tencent Games is dedicated to creating interactive entertainment experiences that are high in quality, engaging, and fun for a variety of audiences across a multitude of online game products. The company is based in Shenzhen, China and Palo Alto, California.

About ESL

ESL, a part of the international digital entertainment group MTG, is the world's largest esports company, leading the industry across the most popular video games with numerous online and offline competitions. It operates high profile, branded international and national leagues and tournaments such as the Intel® Extreme Masters, ESL One, ESL National Championships and other top-tier stadium-size events, as well as grassroots amateur cups, leagues, and matchmaking systems. ESL covers a broad field of services in gaming technology, event management, advertising, and television production, fully catering to the needs of the esports ecosystem. With offices in North America, Germany, United Kingdom, Russia, France, Poland, Spain, China, and partners in many other countries, it has a truly global footprint. (www.eslgaming.com)