Vainglory feels like a polished and enjoyable game and players knew that it would only be a matter of time until a competitive scene would emerge. ESL saw that same potential and the Vainglory Cup Series was born. ESL didn’t come unprepared, and in the Cup Series’ debut ESL showed that they were perfecting mobile competition.

With the introduction of spectator mode the foundation was laid for the highest level of play to be viewed, analyzed, and improved upon. ESL capitalized on this improvement by forming the ESL Vainglory Cup Series where any number of teams were able to register and compete for a collective prize pool of over 2000 euros.

The tournament structure featured six rounds of best-of-one match-ups that showcased some of the best mobile MOBA talent on the planet. Teams from multiple regions came to participate in the hopes of claiming their share of the winnings. Some of the countries represented were Germany, France, Spain, Greece, USA, Italy, Russia, Singapore, Israel, Switzerland, India, and more.

Hosting the event was the very lovely Tomek “bluberryz” Borowka and the awesome Jason “Jason Kaplan” Kaplan, former caster of the EU LCS. They offered their insight into each round of this event as teams battled to stay alive.

Quarterfinal Bracket

In the semi-finals, Team Unknown was matched up against R3D Team I. The lane carry of Team Unknown, REDemption, helped to found Team R3D, but left on good terms with well-wishes.

REDemption was now tasked with leading Team Unknown against the now opposing R3D Team I. Considered to be highly favored as potential champions, R3D Team I was a strong threat in the semi-finals. Team Unknown mounted a comeback with a split-decision Kraken steal at the perfect moment to slingshot themselves into the finals.

The finals experienced a technical difficulty due to a power loss on the spectating device. An iPad charger outputs at 2.1 amps, or 2100 milliamps, while a computer’s USB port is normally rated at 500 milliamps for USB 1.1 and 2.0 and 900 milliamps for USB 3.0. While the tablet used for spectating was plugged in, it was not receiving sufficient power to sustain the video output while also running a complex game like Vainglory. With a score of 1 – 3 in favor of R3D Team II, the tablet shut down.

PlayoffBeard and Zekent were quick to step up and cast the finals of the ESL Vainglory Cup from the Super Evil Lair. When the stream resumed the score was 3 – 12 in favor of R3D Team II. The only team to recover from a deficit that severe so far in the Cup was Team Unknown in the semi-finals. Again, the task was placed in REDemption’s hands, and again he was able to carry his team past his former associates.

Through coordination and teamwork Team Unknown was able to leverage the team-fighting strength of Vox to claim victory in the finals. Congratulations to Team Unknown for winning the first ESL Vainglory Cup!

This tournament circuit showed more promise and professionalism than previously displayed in the Vainglory realm, and was a perfect example of the potential of competition on the mobile platform. Be sure to tune in on Sunday, May 17th as the second ESL Vainglory Cup kicks off at 10 AM PDT on official Vainglory stream.

For anyone who missed it you can watch the fantastic conclusion to the finals! Part II video below: