This weekend, the final battles of the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship get underway at BlizzCon Opening Week. We've gathered eight of the best teams from around the world who will fight for their share of a $250,000 prize pool and the title of BlizzCon 2015 Arena champions.
The Opening Week action begins at 1:30 p.m. PDT on Friday, October 30, and continues at that same time on Saturday, October 31. Be sure to tune in to our free live stream on the official BlizzCon website.
Of the eight teams competing at Opening Week, only six will advance to play at BlizzCon 2015 the following week. Let's take a closer look at each of our competitors:
SK Gaming – Europe
From left to right: Fabss, Boetar, Swapxy, and Joefernandes
SK Gaming (formerly known as Solari Gaming Blue) took first place at the European Road to BlizzCon event in an epic 5-game series against Skill Capped EU. Their presence at BlizzCon 2015 should come as no surprise, as all of these players have repeatedly proven themselves to be among the best of the best in the World of Warcraft Arena.
Skill Capped EU – Europe
From left to right: Healingstat, Raiku, Vilaye, and Praii
Although they were defeated by SK Gaming in the Grand Finals at the European Road to BlizzCon, Skill Capped EU (formerly known as Solari Gaming Red) had a tremendous run throughout the tournament. Now, with Opening Week on the horizon, this team is looking to come back swinging and take the championship title at BlizzCon 2015.
Solari Gaming – Europe
From left to right: Fewen, Wafflz, Pyrocta, and Souken
Solari Gaming is quite possibly the team with the most to prove in this year's WoW Arena World Championship. At the European Road to BlizzCon (under the name Solari Gaming Yellow) they faced off against Three Languages One Team for the third and final spot at BlizzCon . . . and lost. However, they caught a lucky break after Three Languages One Team was unable to travel to BlizzCon. How will Solari Gaming Yellow make use of their second chance at glory?
Cloud9 – North America
From left to right: Wealthyman, Roastyz, and Kubzy
This team qualified for BlizzCon 2015 under the name Juveniles—and with less major tournament experience than several of the other teams, and only three members on their roster, many considered them to be the underdogs. However, after taking first place at the Americas Regionals, that all changed, as Cloud9 proved themselves as one of the strongest RMDs (Rogue/Mage/Druid combo) in the world.
Tempo Storm – North America
From left to right: Elite, Pikaboo, Starship, and Jahmilli
It should be no surprise to see these guys at BlizzCon. Elite, Pikaboo, and Jahmilli have repeatedly shown to be one of the strongest teams in online tournaments over the past couple of years, and with Starship filling out their roster, they were nearly unstoppable at the Americas Regionals. Now Tempo Storm is out to prove that they have what it takes to be the BlizzCon 2015 champions.
FollowEsports.com – North America
From left to right: Absterge, Walterbare, Vosil, and Jellybeans
FollowEsports.com's path to BlizzCon 2015 was rocky at best. They were the last of the six North American teams to qualify for the Americas Regionals, where they came in third place, narrowly beating out Luminosity. However, they've proven time and again that they can’t be kept down. Will this be their time to shine?
Do It For Fun – Korea
From left to right: Jyottu, Yeonyeon, Coding, and Mudyane
Yeonyeon and Coding competed as members of team Push Push at BlizzCon 2014 and fought their way past some incredibly strong competitors to advance to the semifinals. Now, with Jyottu and Mudyane joining them, Do It For Fun is here for another shot at that first place prize and the title of BlizzCon champions.
Original Gangstarr – China
From left to right: XaioJie, Han BaiChuan, Darkarchonyo, and YiYang
Original Gangstarr is composed of an all-star lineup from China. XaioJie, Han BaiChuan, and Darkarchonyo have all qualified for BlizzCon before, and YiYang won the Chinese championship in 2014. Although they may not be as well-known as some of the other teams, these players should absolutely not be underestimated.
Prize Pool
This year's Arena World Championship features an epic $250,000 prize pool, which will distributed to each team based on their standings as follows:
- 1st place team: $120,000
- 2nd place team: $50,000
- 3rd–4th: $20,000
- 5th–6th: $12,000
- 7th–8th: $8,000
Commentators & Analysts
We'll be joined once again by our seasoned lineup of shoutcasters and analysts:
- Sid 'Supatease' Compston
- Elliott 'Venruki' Venczel
- Jared 'vhell' Coulston
- Josh 'Lore' Allen
- Jackson 'Bajheera' Bliton
Additional Information
Remember, the battle begins at 1:30 p.m. PDT on Friday, October 30, and you can tune in live at BlizzCon.com. For more information, check out the links below:
- Live Stream: http://blizz.ly/WoWstreams
- Schedule: http://blizz.ly/WoWschedule
- Brackets: http://blizz.ly/WoWbrackets
- Tournament Info: http://blizz.ly/WoWinformation
We'll see you there!