The best Clash Royale players in the world will soon fight it out for a hefty top prize.
Supercell's popular mobile game is venturing into pro esports with its new Clash Royale League, and it comes with a $1 million dollar prize pool that will be paid out at its World Finals event taking place in winter.
With esports tournaments expected to drive revenues of up to $1.5 billion by 2020, more companies are diving into the action. Valve's Dota 2 leads the pack with over $20 million prize pools in its main The International event. But Supercell's million dollar prize isn't too shabby either, especially for a mobile game. In contrast, Vainglory, a mobile esports game, offered a mere $140,000 pool at its 2017 world championships.
What sets the Clash Royale League from other esports leagues is that pro teams will be signing up normal players who make it through the Clash Royale League Challenge. 25 million players signed up for the event, with 7,000 making it to the second round so far.
"The level of enthusiasm we've seen from the most respected esports teams in the world is as humbling as it is exciting, and we're looking forward to supporting them in order to grow the Clash Royale esports ecosystem for our players," said Supercell's Tim Ebner.
Over the next few months, the 36 pro teams who have signed up to join the league will be creating their rosters, and may be picking up players who make it through the challenge. These consist of big names such as Cloud9, Team SoloMid, Immortals and Logic Gaming from North America, while Chinese and European organizations have also signed up.
The league will feature two seasons, a Spring and Fall season, with Asia and China playing it out in Spring, before the rest of the regions fight it out in Fall. There will also be a new tournament format, though not much details were revealed yet, but there will be a focus on team play. Each region will have four to 12 teams, each with four to six players.
It remains to be seen if Supercell's esports venture will pay off, but given the huge interest from esports organizations, Clash Royale looks set to shake things up for mobile esports.
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