Ten of the top Smite teams from around the world have converged on Atlanta to see which one plays the deity-based MOBA well enough to earn $US500,000 doing so. Here’s what to expect.
First off, we’ll get a killer new cinematic trailer that prominently features Bellona, my favourite new champion introduced over the past year and a regular pick in the competitive scene. Other gods are in there as well, but Bellona.
We’ll also likely be getting some news about the upcoming Japanese pantheon characters we’ll see joining the Greek, Chinese, Hindu, Norse, Mayan and Roman gods on the battlefield this year.
As far as the competition goes, this year we’ll be seeing two very different styles of play in action.
On one hand we’ve got the main event — ten teams playing the PC version of the game as the initial lineup of gods intended. Here’s how the initial brackets look.
I’d say I am rooting for Enemy (who are facing Australian team Avant Garde) to take this year’s crown come Sunday’s Grand Finals, but that would jinx them, and Jinx is not a Smite character.
More interesting (for me at least) this year will be the Xbox One invitational. At last year’s Smite World Championship Hi-Rez Studios had only just introduced the Xbox One version of the game in its early form.
Now we’ve got four teams competing for $US150,000 over the controller-based version of the game. It should be a very different competition than the PC version, as different gods have risen to prominence in the console version due to the modified control scheme.
You’ll be able to follow all of the action via Smite’s Twitch channel starting tomorrow at 3am AEDT (11am EST) . Check out the official event site for more details and background on the competitors.
And stay tuned to Kotaku for more news out of the event, as I’ll be there Thursday through Sunday, and not just because its being held 16km from my house.
Comments
5 responses to “The 2016 Smite World Championship Starts Tomorrow, Here’s What To Expect”
That video clip has some obnoxious music… as some one that doesn’t play Smite; I find the visuals nice… but the audio is disgusting.
some people on reddit and youtube agree with you (as do i) and have changed the music in the video
It is something that League has always done really well, even when using different music genres they make the right choices for their trailers. That being said, Smites visual side of the trailer is striking and is definitely good at keeping your interest.
Yeah, found it pretty grating to listen to. Not a fan of that genre music.
hmmm… Maxine Caulfied is that you?