This year, ESL One Cologne will not only feature its legendary CS:GO event. Apart from it, Guns of Boom, an up-and-coming mobile esports title, will also have the best teams in the world competing in the German city. The first-person shooter has been gaining popularity in the esports world within the last few months. At this point, Cologne is nothing but another event in competitive Guns of Boom’s calendar.
On June 10, for instance, Impact Gaming raised the Guns of Boom Pro Series trophy in São Paulo, Brazil. Along with it, they took back home $20,000. The total prize pool allocated for the game’s esports scene in 2019 is $500,000. Of those, the event in Cologne will feature $80,000, with a lion’s share of $50,000.
Only four teams will compete at the event, but they will be the best ones in the world. Back to Back, previously Noble Esports, were the winners of the Gods of Boom kick-off tournament. Impact Gaming, for their part, triumphed at both Pro Series events, in Texas and Brazil. In the tournament in Brazil, Lazarus were the runners-up. Last but not least, Knights of Honor JUGG qualified for the tournament via the European qualifiers.
All of them will be vying for the top spot in Cologne, and understandably so. This will be the biggest on-stage event for Guns of Boom until the season two finals come around. That, however, will not happen until later this year. The tournament will play out at 7 a.m. CT on July 6 and will run all the way to July 7, when the finals will take place.
Broadcast talent for the event includes some well-known faces within the mobile esports world. The likes of Matt “MattAndrewsTV” Andrews and Harry “Lethal” Thomas are just some of the names that will be featured at the event in Cologne. Some lucky viewers will also be able to receive coveted in-game items and cosmetics throughout the livestream.
ESL One Cologne hosting a Guns of Boom tournament speaks to the recent rise of mobile esports. Currently, some mobile games such as Clash Royale and Honor of Kings have their own competitive circuits. Although it is seen as a common thing nowadays, this would be rendered unbelievable just a few years ago. Will mobile esports become as relevant as CS:GO and League of Legends in the near future? Only time will answer this question, but the event in Cologne seems like a more-than-solid first step.
