Today, Intel released the official opening of the brackets in VR Challenger League which is the first competitive VR esports gaming series. This newly formed league is presented by Intel, Oculus, and ESL which was announced during E3 this year. VR Challenger League will be taking place online and at key events with players from all around the world. Intel will be hosting the finals culminating at the 2018 Intel Extreme Masters, which is currently the longest-running global pro gaming circuit.
The esports competition will feature VR titles that will push champions to the physical and technical cutting edge featuring “The Unspoken” from Insomniac Games and “Echo Arena” from Ready at Dawn Studios. We’ve recently stated that Echo Arena is currently one of the best VR games we’ve ever tested. The game will be released on Oculus Rift alongside Lone Echo on July 20th.
Intel, Oculus, and ESL will be offering more than $200,000 in cash and prizes during the length of VR Challenger League. The brackets will lead from a series of online qualifers that feed into regional finals at:
- Oculus Connect, Oct. 11 – 12
- ESL One Hamburg, Oct. 28 – 29
- IEM Oakland, Nov. 18 – 19
- DreamHack Winter, Nov. 30 – Dec. 3
The winners from these Regionals will head on over to Katowice, Poland on the main stage at 2018 Intel Extreme Masters. ESL will be starting the VR CL Unspoken North America Week #1 Cup #1 today at 7PM PST. In-order to register and compete, you must be living in Canada or the U.S. You must also be at least the age of 13.
Get ready folks, as this is the official start to VR entering the wild-world of esports.