One such update is the use of the yet-to-be-released ‘Patch 3.2: Time & Tide’ for the tournament. Wild Rift confirmed via Twitter that the patch will arrive on May 12.
“Welcome to Patch 3.2: Time & Tide, arriving on May 12th UTC! Set sail with @maddizzlee from the Wild Rift team and take a peek into the future for our upcoming gameplay updates, champions, and events.”
Welcome to Patch 3.2: Time & Tide, arriving on May 12th UTC! Set sail with @maddizzlee from the Wild Rift team and take a peek into the future for our upcoming gameplay updates, champions, and events.
PREMIERING NOW:
— League of Legends: Wild Rift (@wildrift) May 5, 2022
Perhaps the biggest update is the new venue that Riot Games have announced. The competition has now been moved to Singapore due to visa issues that could be encountered if the venue remains in Europe.
However, the new venue is one that Wild Rift fans are somewhat familiar with. In 2021, it was home to the Wild Rift Horizon Cup, where 10 teams came together to compete for the US$500,000 prize pool.
Chinese esports organization Da Kun Gaming won the event after defeating their Chinese counterparts ThunderTalk Gaming 4-2 in the finals. They walked away with $100,000 for their efforts.
Wild Rift Global Championship icons will commence on June 14 with the play-in stage. Of the 16 teams in the play-in group, only the top eight teams will advance to the group stage.
Meanwhile, all but four slots are yet to be filled. Upon the completion of the Wild Rift League, the Chinese teams representing the region will be known.
In the group stage, which will commence on June 21, the champions of each region will be shared evenly into four groups of four, each completed by the play-in teams. From then, the top teams will proceed to the knockout stage
Eight different regions are duly represented in the tournament. Below is a list of the teams who will be participating and their regions.
Group stage teams
- Team Flash (South-East Asia)
- KT Rolster (Korea)
- Sengoku Gaming (Japan)
- Omegha E-sports (Brazil)
- Leviatan (Latin America)
- Immortals (North America)
- Team Queso (Europe, Middle East, and Africa)
- JDG/FPX (China)*
The China final is yet to be played, but whoever wins the Wild Rift League Season 1 between JDG and FPX will get a direct seed to the group stage of the Icon Global Championship, while the losing team will join the play-in stage.
There are still some undecided matchups in the Chinese league to ascertain what teams will be in the play-in. However, other regions have already produced their finalists.
- Flash Wolves (South-East Asia)
- Rex Regum Qeon (South-East Asia)
- Buriram United Esports (South-East Asia)
- Sentinels (North America)
- Rix.GG (Europe, Middle East, and Africa)
- Game-Lord (Europe, Middle East, and Africa)
- Freecs (Korea)
- T1 (Korea)
- Donuts USG (Japan)
- Furious Gaming (Latin America)
- STMN Esports (Latin America)
- Liberty (Brazil)
- Keyd Stars (Brazil)
- JDG/FPX (China)*
- NOVA/J Team (China)*
- Weibo/OMG/NOVA/J Team (China)*
NOVA and J Team will play a best-of-seven match in the Icons Last Chance Qualifier upper bracket final. Whoever wins that tie will qualify for the Global Championship, while the losing team will be relegated to the lower bracket final.
Team Weibo and Oh My God are currently in the lower bracket semifinals, and by May 14, we will know who won the best-of-five game. Whoever wins that matchup will advance to the lower bracket finals and compete for a shot at Icons qualification.
A total of $2 million will be shared among the 24 teams competing in the tournament. However, at the time of publication, how the prize pool will be divided among teams has not been revealed.
The showdown will be on July 9. Although no word on what the grand prize will be, it will undoubtedly be a sizable amount considering the prize pool, and the winners will have bragging rights as world champions.
]]>Icons was intended to take place in Madrid, Spain; however, Riot Games decided to relocate the tournament to Singapore due to lingering complications as a result of the COVID pandemic, including visa application delays and re-entry restrictions for several regional teams. Riot say the switch will guarantee that teams not only have the opportunity of attending the tournament, but also have a phenomenal first Icons experience.??
In a press release, Riot Games said: ?��Due to the global pandemic complicating visa application timelines and re-entry dates for many regional teams, Riot Games made the decision to move the competition to Singapore.��??
Riot’s Global Head of Esports, Leo Faria, spoke about the first Wild Rift Icons Global Championship moving to Singapore and what it promises to be to the esports community.
��We are incredibly excited to announce that our very first Wild Rift Icons Global Championship will be coming to Singapore this summer,�� Faria stated.
��Icons will be the climax of our Wild Rift esports season, showcasing the best in mobile esports from around the world!�� ??
This year’s competition will feature 24 teams, with eight from the regional championships and 16 from the play-in round. All of which will be vying for the championship title and the grand prize of $2 million.
??As stated earlier the Wild Rift Championship is scheduled for June 14 to July 9, 2022. The schedule is as follows:
- Play-ins: June 14-18?
- Groups: June 21-25?
- Quarterfinals: July 1-2
- Semifinals: July 5-6?
- Finals: July 9??
More details on the tournament��s format will be revealed in the coming weeks.??
About League of Legends: Wild Rift
?League of Legends: Wild Rift is a game developed by Riot Games. It is a multiplayer online battle mobile game for both iOS and Android. The free-to-play game is a refined version of League of Legends for the PC.??
Tencent, a company that also publishes video games, asked Riot Games to develop League of Legends into a mobile game after officially acquiring them in 2015. Riot, on the other hand, declined, claiming that the game could never be recreated on a smartphone.
Tencent then developed a mobile MOBA, Honor of Kings – international adaptation known as Arena of Valor. Tencent’s partnership with Riot Games was reportedly affected by the aforesaid games, and the two companies’ relationship was further affected when Tencent utilized prominent League of Legends players to endorse Arena of Valor as well as its esports leagues.??
After a complaint was issued by Riot Games, a restriction for marketing Arena of Valor for two months was published. Also, an appeal was made for a review of all marketing strategies by Riot Games, and a prohibition of the use of select celebrity gamers. ??Having gone through this hurdle, Riot Games saw the possibility of transforming games to mobile. Hence, they created a mobile title – League of Legends: Wild Rift.
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