World’s first VR MOBA tournament is aiming high

It’s no secret that, in general, MOBA games make up some of the top esports in the world. Well, specifically League of Legends and Dota 2, anyway. Now another game aims to join their ranks, but with a twist.

Cradle of Sins isn’t just ‘any’ Multiplayer Online Battle Arena – it’s a VR one! The Estonian creators U24 Solutions have just launched their first tournament as well – the Cradle of Sins Alpha Cup.

Cradle of Sins: The Game

After two years of development, the game has a fairly small active community of about a thousand players. By working with this community, they have created a solid experience – even though the game itself is still in alpha.

Arnet Mahmastol, the CEO of U24 said: “Despite the game being in alpha, it’s pretty much in playable condition with no huge game-breaking bugs, and the dev team is working hard night and day to deliver their vision of the completed game. We are very delighted with the results and positive feedback of the community. We are looking forward to becoming the first successful esports game in VR.”

The game uses a low-poly, slightly cartoonish art style that charms players with bright colours and clean environments, as well as, of course, an immersive VR experience. With a strong strategy focus, the game relies on different characters and their abilities to hack, slash and spell their way to victory.

The final release of the game is scheduled for later this year – Q3, to be precise. Naturally, the developers are going to keep working on their game… and on future tournaments, eventually.

The Tournament

While tournaments for unfinished games are rare, U24 didn’t want to wait with their first competition – and they gave quite the prize pool for what it was. While in no way comparable to the millions of dollars at stake in Dota 2 competitions for example, the $10.000 that players could win were nothing to scoff at either.

The qualifiers for the tournament took place between December 19th and January 18th, before the top 6 players (selected by how many wins they accrued) were invited to the grand finale on February 16th, 2020.

The players were split into two teams of 3 players each randomly. This was a different concept from the usual team-based competitions – but given the small format and early stage in development, the creators pretty much had to pick an unusual format.

The Players

The top 6 were from North America, Scotland, the Czech Republic and Russia, and competed from their homes, while the event itself was broadcast from a studio in Estonia – complete with pro casters with a MOBA background.

4 games were played before the EU team managed to secure the win. Player RexarCZ was named MVP – for great gameplay and for helping coordinate his team as well. The top 40 players in the qualifiers each received a small cash prize, while the top two teams received $3.500 and $1.500 each.

Photo Credits: Cradle of Sins