How Does NZ Fit In?
This month we’re taking our esports section international, discussing how gamers can make it globally through international pathways provided by local tournament organisers such as our friends at LetsPlay.Live.
You might have heard of large, multi-million dollar esports tournaments such as Dota 2’s The International (with a whopping $30 million USD prize pool) or the Fortnite World Cup (in which 2019’s 16-year-old champion, Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf, won $3 million USD). But how does one make it to these massive international tournaments?
Whilst qualifying for the big leagues might seem far-fetched, dozens of Kiwi and Australian gamers are doing just that from the comfort of their own homes.
Take Auckland University’s Esports VALORANT team Mama’s Boys who recently flew to Madrid, Spain to represent New Zealand in the Red Bull Campus Clutch tournament, or Australian-based CS:GO team Renegades who are competing against highly-skilled international teams in Cologne, Germany. New Zealand Football found their top 4 FIFA gamers in April who competed through LetsPlay.Live’s NZF eTrophy tournament and will now represent the nation internationally on PlayStation and Xbox.
Not only do these gamers get to represent the Oceanic region and get flown overseas to play their favourite video-games, they also take home some healthy prize money too. Qualifying alone can secure gamers big money – two Kiwis each took home $50,000 USD for simply qualifying for the Duos section of the Fortnite World Cup. They placed 50th out of 50 duos, but were flown to the United States to compete on top of their incredible prize money.
Currently LetsPlay.Live are offering 3 international pathways in 2021, excluding the recent NZF eTrophy Finals with New Zealand Football. The Oceanic Challenger League invites the best Rainbow Six Siege teams to compete throughout the year for a shot at a share of $30,000 AUD and the chance to qualify for the Oceanic National League in 2022, which leads to representing the entire region at worlds.
VALORANT Oceania League is due to head into its Regional Finals and OCE Championships, sending two teams to the Last Chance Qualifiers for the international VALORANT championship and also supported by a prize pool of $30,000 AUD.
Rounding up the global pathways is LPL Pro PUBG Season 2 2021. The league is now supported by game publisher KRAFTON with over $5000 AUD prize money on offer. LPL are giving the top 4 teams at the end of the season direct invites to the PCS5 OCE Open Qualifier later in the year- the official pathway for the PUBG Continental Series.
So how does one get involved? Keep your eyes peeled to LetsPlay.Live’s website and social media pages @letsplaylivehq for all the latest tournament updates, and you might just find yourself on the way to making this country proud through video games!
