Super Evil Megacorp today welcomed five of the world’s largest esports organizations — Echo Fox, Fnatic, Immortals, NRG and Rogue — to its competitive ranks. Each team will compete in Vainglory’s Spring season, which kicks off in March, marking the start of Vainglory’s second full seasonal esports year. These teams join the likes of TSM, Cloud9, G2 Esports, SK Gaming, Team Secret, mousesports and DetonatioN Gaming in competition that will culminate in December at the second annual Vainglory World Championship Event. To celebrate the arrival of these new professional organizations, Super Evil will be hosting all five teams at the company’s “Super Evil Lair” in San Mateo for a “Run the Gauntlet” Preseason Invitational.

“These are some of the most diverse and high-profile teams in all of esports,” said Kristian Segerstrale, CEO of Super Evil Megacorp. “To have them not only recognize Vainglory’s growth over the past year, but also create their first-ever teams dedicated to a mobile game, means the competition in the 2017 season is going to be more fierce than ever before. These teams are owned and operated by some of the most respected names in sports and entertainment, and there’s tremendous opportunity for everyone involved to usher in the next defining moments of esports.”

Among some of the high-profile names across sports and entertainment behind these teams are former NBA champion and Echo Fox owner Rick Fox, NBA Hall of Famer and co-owner of NRG Shaquille O’Neal, MLB World Series champions and NRG co-owners Alex Rodriguez and Jimmy Rollins, Sacramento Kings co-owners Andy Miller and Mark Mastrov, who also co-own NRG, famed music producer, DJ and owner of Rogue, Steve Aoki, and Lionsgate’s President of Interactive Ventures and Games, Peter Levin, who heads a team of Immortals investors that includes Memphis Grizzlies co-owner Steve Kaplan.

ECHO FOX

One of the fastest-growing esports franchises, Echo Fox is already having a promising 2017, having just acquired seven new fighting game players, now boasting the largest fighting game community roster in the world. The team, which is also currently leading in the North American League of Legends Champion Series Spring Split, is making its foray into mobile esports with its Vainglory team.

FNATIC

Headquartered in London, Fnatic is known for its professional teams in League of Legends, Dota 2, Battlefield 4 and more, and has a global footprint competing in upwards of 75 international events every year.

The first to become a part of Vainglory’s recently announced Home City Program, Fnatic will be claiming London as its home. There, the team will help build the Vainglory community by arranging local tournaments, meetups and more. The Home City Program enables teams to connect with the local fan community and players through events and local pride, including hosting LAN parties and attending viewing events.

IMMORTALS

Immortals enters Vainglory esports with the signing of all three players formerly of Hammers Velocity, North America’s Spring Champions and Worlds semifinalists.

In addition to Vainglory, Immortals fields top-flight rosters in CS:GO, League of Legends, Overwatch and Smash.

NRG

Los Angeles-based NRG, which currently ranks first in North America in Rocket League and is the reigning World Champions in Smite, debuts a Vainglory team with a great deal of live championship experience.

NRG now fields rosters across seven games. In addition to Vainglory, NRG competes in Overwatch, CS:GO, Rocket League, Smash, Hearthstone and Smite.

ROGUE

The relatively new Rogue, best known for playing Overwatch, Counter-strike: Global Offensive and Call of Duty, and recently, H1Z1, took home the largest prize pool tournament ever for Overwatch in the APAC Premier in China, and welcomes its Vainglory roster as its fifth team in the franchise.

TEAM ROSTERS & SPRING SEASON SCHEDULE

Vainglory’s full 2017 esports calendar has also been revealed today. Spring Season will kick off in March, Summer season in June and Autumn season in September, culminating with a World Championship in December, followed by the winter offseason.

VAINGLORY PRESEASON INVITATIONAL – ‘RUN THE GAUNTLET’

Vainglory’s five newest multi-esport pro organizations will battle on Feb. 26 in a war of attrition, where the last team standing is the victor. To win the tournament, a team will need to overcome all the other pro newcomers. Then, one “final boss” will remain: a Super Evil trio featuring former VIPL Champion and legendary super-sub ShinKaigan. Join us on Sunday, Feb. 26 at 11AM PST, as we welcome Vainglory’s newest teams and for a first look at the unreleased Update 2.2, including a new map skin and new hero.

UPDATE 2.2 DEBUT

This Invitational will debut Update 2.2 before its official release to the public, and Vainglory’s next hero, Grumpjaw, will also be unlocked. This will also be a first-look at a brand-new map skin designed to increase readability and create a better play experience.

FORMAT & SEQUENCE

The Vainglory Preseason Invitational will be played in a “Run the Gauntlet” format.

Before the tournament begins, teams will be drawn randomly and assigned a number between 1-5.

Teams 1 & 2 will play each other. The winner will play the next team in sequence.

The final (sixth) team is guaranteed to be Team Super Evil (ShinKaigan, Nivmett and Gary). This is the “final boss.”

The winner of each match will continue to play subsequent opponents until defeated, or until there are no more opponents.

The undefeated team remaining at the end is the winner of the “Run the Gauntlet” Invitational.

Each team will play until it loses. An example scenario is below (6 teams):

Team 1 plays Team 2, and wins.

Team 1 plays Team 3 and loses.

Team 3 plays Team 4 and wins.

Team 3 plays Team 5 and wins.

Team 3 plays Team 6 (Super Evil) and wins.

Team 3 is the Gauntlet winner.

RULES

The draft will feature a new double-ban format debuting in Spring season.

Matchups consist of a single match. The victor moves on.

Maximum player roster of 5; must be on-site at the Lair.

Participants

Echo Fox

Fnatic

Immortals

NRG

Rogue

Super Evil Megacorp (ShinKaigan, Nivmett & Gary) — Automatically the 6th team

WHERE TO WATCH

See who successfully runs the Gauntlet on Sunday, Feb. 26, at 11AM PST.

VAINGLORY ESPORTS GROWTH

Vainglory generated incredible growth in 2016 in terms of active players, esports views and overall community engagement. Vainglory tripled its active player community on Android, generated more than 450 million minutes of competition watched on streaming platforms and celebrated its first-ever World Championship tournament at the legendary TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, which garnered more than 25,000 concurrent viewers from fans watching at home. Vainglory is forging the path for mobile games as they shift from short-session, standalone gaming toward deep, shared experiences.