The world’s top Onward teams will soon be fighting for domination in the Onward VR Master League Season 9 Championship series set to begin with a Challenger Cup on May 2 and 3. Registration for the championship is open today and will extend through May 1. The world’s top team in one of the most popular VR first-person shooters on the market will claim bragging rights as well as some sweet prizes.

The VR Master League is a community-driven platform that was established by DaKinMan in early 2017. Onward was the first game to be featured in the league, which serves as a hub where players can be involved in organization and decisions surrounding the game’s competitive scene.

Over the past three years, Downpour Interactive’s Onward has continued to gain players and become a popular VR esport. During the first season of VR Master League, the first-person shooter had 24 players registered; there are 398 players registered for season 9.

It will be interesting to see which team claims top honors for season 9 as the top-ranked teams once again include names we’ve become accustomed to seeing over the past three years. Viewers definitely will want to keep an eye on familiar teams like multi-season VRML championship winner Globochem, while newcomers such as Fireteam Alpha have risen in the ranks this season and are sure to challenge put up a good fight.

Schedule

Challenger Cup Registrations: April 21 to May 1

Challenger Cup: May 2 & 3

Challenger Cup Final: May 3 to 9

Round-Robin: May 9 & 10

Semifinals and Finals: May 16 & 17

Format

Onward VR Master League Season 9 Championship include a Challenger Cup, which is designed as an opportunity for lower ranked teams to qualify for advancement to semi-finals. Any team ranked 7 or below can register for the Challenger Cup. Teams are still competing in regular season matches through April 26 and you can keep an eye on current ranks via the website.

For the Challenger Cup, teams will be divided into two groups, then they’ll advance to a Challenger Cup Final to determine a winner that will advance to the round-robin phase of the tournament.

Competition will continue with Round-Robin A on May 9 and Round-Robin B on May 10. The top two teams from each group will advance to the semifinals on May 16. Two teams will then battle for the grand championship title on Sunday, May 17.

Prizes

There are some great prizes again this season. ProTube, which has been a tremendous supporter of the VR Master League, is once again offering merchandise for the grand champions. Onward VRML also has a new sponsor this year with Rebuff Reality, a new company that will launch its Kickstarter campaign soon to support the development of VR products such as their VR ears.

ProTube merchandise/coupons (value of 800€)

Rebuff Reality (value of $200 USD gift-card + $200 USD in cash)

VRML player-personalized jerseys (value of $50 USD / each.)

How to Register

You can register here to participate in the Onward VRML Season 9 Championship.

Where to Watch

Games featured in the VR Master League have supportive communities and developers. There are also professional grade casters who are intimately familiar with the format, strategy, and teams of each game.

You can watch the final matches of Onward VRML regular season through April 26 and then tune in for the Season 9 Championship games in May via the Onward VR Master League Twitch channels.

Onward

If you’d like to become involved with Downpour Interactive’s Onward community, we’d recommend that you join their Discord. You can also learn more about the game through their social media.

VR Master League

You can follow the VR Master League through their social media.