Guild Wars 2 Tournament Goes Global at Gamescom

[keithlewis]

Guild Wars 2 Tournament Goes Global at Gamescom


ArenaNet, developer of the acclaimed Guild Wars franchise, has announced that gamescom 2014 will be the site of the first Guild Wars 2 International All-Stars Tournament pitting players versus players from North America, Europe and China. The PvP tournament marks the game’s first truly global competition by inviting players from China, where ArenaNet and Chinese game publisher KongZhong launched the game this past May.

ArenaNet is partnering with Twitch, the world’s leading video platform and community for gamers, to put on this year’s International All-Stars Tournament at gamescom, taking place August 14-17 at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany. There will be daily matches featured on the show floor at the Twitch booth and live streamed through both the Twitch main channel at twitch.tv and the Guild Wars 2 Twitch channel at twitch.tv/guildwars2.

“When it comes to competitive gaming, Twitch has established itself as the premiere destination for the industry’s most premium content,” said Jason Fletcher, Events BD Manager, EMEA, Twitch. “With ArenaNet using our platform and gamescom booth to broadcast their Guild Wars 2 event, it’s another example of how strong the esports content and community is on Twitch.”

As another first, ArenaNet is inviting fans from North America and Europe to vote on which players they want to see compete as All-Stars. Fans can choose from two pools of 16 qualified competitors from each region, with voting taking place at the tournament site starting today through July 17. For China, competitors are being chosen from KongZhong’s weekly tournament series. All Guild Wars 2 All-Stars will receive paid travel and accommodations to come compete at the tournament in Germany.

ArenaNet published a blog post today detailing competitor selection and the fan voting process:

· Your Vote Decides the Guild Wars 2 International All-Star Teams!

We’ve rounded up 32 of the top All-Star candidates from North America and Europe – and it’s your duty to decide who will represent each region at the event!

Our North American and European candidates have secured their spots on the ballot by competing in ArenaNet-sponsored events such as the Tournament of Legends, the ArenaNet PAX Prime Invitational Tournament, or other community-run events such as the Mistpedia and ESL Weekly Cups. Because the competitive scene in China is relatively new, our Chinese All-Star team has been selected by our partner, KongZhong, from their weekly tournament series.

· All-Star Voting

Starting today, you can cast up to five votes per region to help determine which candidates will attend the event. Choose wisely – your region’s chances at winning the title are on the line!

Not that familiar with the competitive PvP scene? You can always discuss the candidates on the Guild Wars 2 forums (INSERT: Link to GW2 PvP forums) or with any of your PvP-oriented friends! We’ll also be discussing the All-Star Vote during a special edition of our bi-weekly competitive Livestream, Ready Up, on Friday, July 11, at 12:00 p.m. PDT at twitch.tv/guildwars2!

You can find more information on the candidates, including player biographies, on the All-Star Voting Ballot. All-Star candidate voting will remain open for one week, ending July 17.


· Voting Terms

Voting ends 11:59 p.m. PT 7/17/14. Must be at least 13 to vote. Limit one (1) vote per person/account. See Voting Terms which govern, for complete details.

ArenaNet will reveal the final list of competitors after fan voting closes and results have been tallied. For updates on the 2014 Guild Wars 2 International All-Stars Tournament, please visit www.guildwars2.com.