Mentioned in this article Games: Clash Royale, Hearthstone, Vainglory

Motorola Sweden and ESL Nordic announced a collaborative tournament effort called MSPORT NATIONALS. The mobile esports competition includes a $10,000 prize pool, and will culminate in a series of finals at Dreamhack Winter December 3rd.

[perfectpullquote align=”right” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The tournaments will be a platform to show off Motorola’s Moto Gamepad, a device that adds an analog d-pad, joysticks, and face buttons to smartphones for ease of use.[/perfectpullquote]

The MSPORT NATIONALS will have divisions for Hearthstone, Power Rangers: Legacy Wars, and Modern Combat 5. Four qualifiers will be held in November at ESL Play, ESL Nordic’s online gaming platform. The tournaments will also be a platform to show off Motorola’s Moto Gamepad, a device that adds an analog d-pad, joysticks, and face buttons to smartphones for ease of use.

Joakim Liljedahl, Nordic Marketing Manager for Motorola at Lenovo commented on the partnership:

“Smartphones are becoming increasingly powerful, making them eligible even as a gaming platform. I truly believe that Moto Z2 Force, in combination with Moto Gamepad, makes out the best mobile gaming experience in the world.”

The choice of games is a little interesting. Hearthstone has been played on tablets at tournaments in the past, but has largely migrated back to PCs due to ease of use. The other two games, Power Rangers: Legacy Wars and Modern Combat 5, might have respectable player bases, but the tournament still lacks two of the most popular mobile esports: Vainglory and Clash Royale. Even Arena of Valor, as part of ESL’s tournament line, is missing.

While the MSPORT NATIONALS is a minor tournament in comparison to other events, a telecoms company hosting a mobile esports tournament is noteworthy. Obviously, as handheld esports grow in popularity, more powerful, top-end phones will be sought after by consumers, not just for everyday use, but for gaming performance. Razer want to develop a hardcore mobile gaming device following its Hong Kong IPO, and Super Evil Megacorp and Samsung have even created means for gamers to connect Vainglory to a mouse and keyboard.