W3E, the Web3 esports organizer that hosted the world’s first live Web3 esports tournament at Istanbul Blockchain Week 2022, recently announced a series of three tournaments, W3E Creator Championships, W3E Company Clash and W3E Premier League, to keep up the excitement around Web3 esports. The three tournaments will take place in the futuristic arena of EV.IO, a first-person shooter on Solana.
On Feb. 23, 2023, the W3E Creator Championships will gather some of the most well-known content creators and Web3 personalities, such as BoredElon, CryptoStache, and Cagyjan. One day later, eight Web3 companies, including as Ultra, Arcade and XBorg teams, will fight in the W3E Company Clash.
Starting on March 9, 16 esports teams will battle in the W3E Premier League, a 15-week tournament to rank in a point-based tournament system.
After the rise and fall of play-to-earn games, many Web3 studios focused on developing competitive games, aiming to bring more hardcore gamers to Web3. EV.IO has become a flagship title in esports Web3 gaming, developing an ever-growing audience with its intense and exciting battles.
Damian Bartlett, team leads at W3E said:
“Esports has always been about pushing the boundaries and rewarding the best gamers. Web3 is the natural progression for competitive gaming and as more titles are released, we will see a larger audience experiencing these games. The technology will allow the audience to be closer to their favourite players than ever before.”
Competitive Web2 games, such as League of Legends and PUBG, gather millions of fans worldwide, offering massive prize pools to attract the best gamers and developing a whole new business model around games. Meanwhile, Web3-based games such as Axie Infinity brought forth a new era of gaming.
Over $4 billion dollars were invested into Web3 gaming in 2022, according to Metaverse Post’s report. With an audience of 530 million and impressive sponsorships from Coca-Cola and Red Bull to Audi and T-Mobile, esports might become the way to onboard new users into Web3.
While the Web3 esports scene is still young, the passion around it is undeniable. Kyle Laffey, head of partnerships of Theta Labs, commented:
“We are very excited to host the W3E tournament streams on our network. The enthusiasm and engagement for the W3E Championships event during Istanbul Blockchain Week was unprecedented and we are excited to join in and shape the future of Web3 esports,”
With Web3 games still looking to find a large audience and market fit, competitive games and esports might be the right industry to onboard gamers to Web3. Esports can be a perfect way to draw new players into this rapidly growing ecosystem by offering familiar fast-paced gameplay, intense competition and unique monetization models.
