Vainglory Worlds Recap
Comments from winning teams on competitive mobile gaming + streaming
Earlier this month, 12 of the world’s best gathered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood to compete in the Vainglory World Championship for the first time ever.
The three day event was Vaingloriously thrilling — each day packed with close games and screaming fans. Exciting as it was for those of us watching, for the teams who devoted 8–12 hours a day for years, it was beyond nerve-racking. This moment was their one and only chance to be the very first and best VG Champion. Given the stakes, it’s easy to see why winning was extremely rewarding for Team Phoenix.
Of course, winning may not be everything, but it can be more rewarding than the reward itself. For Phoenix Team Manager David Lee, it was a win for both the players and the organization:
We’ve poured more resources into building infrastructure, paying players and growing as a mobile-first gaming organization, so claiming the championship provided validation and assurances that we were moving in the right direction as a company.
It was a big win for everyone — industry and community, as a whole. Yes, some may have felt the win a bit more than others, but that’s the name of the game. Competition is good. Crucial, even, in so far as inspiring players to play and continue to play for the fun of it. Another first-ever VG Worlds winner GankStars, taking 3rd place at the event, has a similar perspective on competitive play:
We love a good match. When you lose a close basketball game to friends, you don’t throw punches; you say “damn, that was good,” shake hands, laugh, and head for a drink together. This is how we approach Vainglory — intense in a match to make it a game worth watching, yet friends otherwise.
Speaking of GG.
Something we’re particularly invested in doing here at Mobcrush is elevating the mobile gameplay experience through streaming. So, when we asked how that might apply to the world of eSports and competitive play, Phoenix’s David Lee had this to say:
Whether an individual player stream or a broadcasted tournament, teams can now watch any player live and learn from that player. Mobcrush’s broadcasts such as NA’s VIS League or SEA’s Tesseract League allows teams to study an entire region’s meta and play style, and adds an additional layer and complexity into the strategy behind the game.
Let’s hear it for the Champs! Congratulations to Teams Phoenix and GankStars on the HUGE win. We look forward to next year’s event.
Always be crushin’.
— Team Mobcrush
