Honor of Kings signs three-year partnership with Esports World Cup, reveals new grassroots Open Series ahead of Honor of Kings global launch later this year.
After a stellar showing throughout the first Honor of Kings Invitational Season One tournament, Vivo Keyd Stars has been crowned champions after avenging their only loss earlier in the tournament against Alpha 7 Esports. The win means that Vivo Keyd Stars takes home the largest share of the $300,000 USD prize pool and earns a guaranteed place in the Honor of Kings Invitational Season Two this spring. The Honor of Kings Invitational Season One Finals comes on the heels of Level Infinite announcing earlier this week a new, major partnership with the Esports World Cup, which will see the popular mobile title become a staple of the event for the next three years. Honor of Kings also reveals the launch of a new competitive layer to this year’s Honor of Kings Global Invitational Series, the Honor of Kings Open Series.
The Grand Finals matchup continued the trend of sweeps with Vivo Keyd Stars proving that they’re the best team in the world following a convincing display of skill and teamwork against Group B winner Alpha 7 Esports. Earlier in the tournament, the two Brazilian teams clashed in the group stages with Alpha 7 winning the series 2-1. But Vivo Keyd Stars ensured that history would not repeat itself by shocking those in attendance and watching around the world with a 3-0 win. Game one of the series was the closest with the two teams trading blows throughout but it was Vivo Keyd Stars that would come out on top with VKS.Dani making a huge play to steal the Tyrant, giving the squad the power boost they needed to end the game. Game two and three followed similar storylines with Vivo Keyd Stars dominating the two games with stellar play that Alpha 7 Esports couldn’t contend with. The big win means that Vivo Keyd Stars follows up their 2023 championship with another trophy and now a guaranteed place in the Honor of Kings Invitational Season Two event this Spring.
“Congratulations to Vivo Keyd Stars on being crowned the first ever Honor of Kings champion as part of our new Honor of Kings Global Invitational Series,” said James Yang, Senior Director of Level Infinite Global Esports, Tencent Games. “This event in Istanbul was the perfect start to an incredible series of events we have planned for Honor of Kings and our fans this year. We can’t wait to bring more exciting matches, incredible plays and big moments to our fans as we march towards the Honor of Kings Invitational Championship this winter.”
Level Infinite has provided a number of major updates for Honor of Kings esports to start 2024, including the company’s $15M investment into growing its esports ecosystem and the new Honor of Kings Global Invitational Series. Level Infinite also revealed the upcoming launch of the new Honor of Kings Open Series. The new series will feature a true path-to-pro for amateur and semi-pro teams, creating a talent pipeline that will allow players to rise through the ranks. In-game registration begins on April 15th where the open qualification will allow top performing teams to earn spots in the Honor of Kings Invitational Season 2 event, the next scheduled event as part of the Global Invitational Series. The top teams from Season 2 will then advance to play in the Honor of Kings Invitational Midseason | Esports World Cup.
The inaugural Esports World Cup will take place this summer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The three-year partnership will seamlessly integrate the newly established Honor of Kings esports ecosystem. The Honor of Kings Invitational Midseason | Esports World Cup will see the top 12 Honor of Kings teams from around the world compete for the $3M prizepool and a guaranteed place in the Honor of Kings Invitational Championship later this year. Ten global teams will participate through qualifiers and two direct invites including China’s KPL Dream Team, and as the Esports World Cup Host Country, a KSA team will also receive a direct invite.
“Honor of Kings is the most played mobile MOBA title in the world and with our global launch later this year, its popularity is set to soar beyond anything we’ve ever seen,” said James. “That gives us a special opportunity to catapult Honor of Kings into the most popular mobile esports title. We’ve already taken the first steps, including the launch of the Global Invitational Series and our new three-year partnership with the Esports World Cup Foundation. We’re confident that with our determined approach that fans from around the world will quickly recognize Honor of Kings as a powerhouse on the international esports scene.”
The next event in the Honor of Kings Global Invitational Series is the Honor of Kings Invitational Season Two, which will see Vivo Keyd Stars joined by other teams from around the world to compete for a guaranteed place at the Honor of Kings Invitational Midseason.
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