Riot Games has revealed plans to host a global tournament for League of Legends: Wild Rift in late 2021. The mobile title was released with an open beta in March. It features the classic 5v5 action players expect on PC, but comes with a new set of controls and faster pacing.
Global Wild Rift esports tournament
“We really believe that mobile gaming will help transform the future of esports,” John Needham, Global Head of Esports at Riot Games, said. “To top off 2021 for Wild Rift Esports, regional teams will qualify for our first-ever Wild Rift global tournament. While we haven’t nailed down all the specifics, Riot is committed to a global Wild Rift Esports event in the fourth quarter of the year.”
This news follows recent regional competitions like the SEA Icon Series: Preseason in Southeast Asia. This event saw 54 professional teams showcase their talent; from Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines. Riot Games will release more information regarding third-party tournament guidelines in June of 2021. Additionally, the organization will reveal the regional competition schedule in summer, 2021.
Good news for everyone enjoying @wildrift! 👀
Esports tournaments will kick off this summer with regional competition that will qualify teams from around the world into our first-ever international tournament later this year. More info coming soon. pic.twitter.com/A43ryBNS4j
— LoL Esports (@lolesports) May 5, 2021
“We’ve seen a great number of esports organizations around the world announcing their Wild Rift teams,” Leo Faria, Head of Wild Rift Esports, said. “In Southeast Asia, organizations like The Alliance, RRQ and LoL Esports veterans Flash Wolves announced Wild Rift rosters. As we kick things off in the rest of the world, we expect to see some of the biggest names in esports announcing their Wild Rift rosters.”
Mobile gaming is wildly popular in Asia. It’s not uncommon to see tournaments regularly reach hundreds of thousands in peak viewership and boast prize pools comparable to events in the U.S.
Riot Games believes that “mobile gaming will transform the future of esports.” Ultimately, the game developer hopes to leverage its decade of experience in building something worthy of mobile gaming esports.
