Several virtual reality games completed qualifier tournaments and winners will now advance to the World Finals at Oculus Connect 5 on September 26-27. Finalists have been decided for Sprint Vector, The Unspoken, and Echo Arena. The Onward Summer Championship will continue as teams battle for the last spots on stage.
Players and teams have worked hard all season in hopes of going to finals. This not only includes practicing individually, but most of the top ranked players also practice together. This allows them to prepare complex strategies and and keep a competitive mindset. Most players also have some sort of warm up routine so they won’t be injured during the games’ highest levels of play that can last for several hours.
Find out which players and teams qualified for finals, watch replays of some epic moments and click on the links to read some tips that will help you play VR games like a pro.
Sprint Vector
The path to OC5 for Survios’ Sprint Vector consisted of three qualifier tournaments held on August 17. Eight racers would win spots on the stage at finals to compete for their portion of the $11,750 prize pool.
There were 8 races and points were given for each race. Players with the most points won and the number of players that qualified for advancement to worlds varied depending on which qualifier they participated in.
World Finals Qualifier tournaments included the Europe (Oculus Home), North America (Oculus Home) and North America (Steam).
Europe (Oculus Home) – top 3 players: Stoaty, Flushgogo and Dirvel
North America (Oculus Home) – top 4 players: Kazznaz, Codsworthless, Pr3Ci510n, and Katiedead
North America (Steam) – top player: Bartuby_Jones
Check out this article to read tips about elevating your own gameplay, fitness and competition with Sprint Vector.
The Unspoken
Four of the world’s top VR wizards qualified for spots to compete in Insomniac Games’ The Unspoken at the finals in San Jose. Those who use their dueling abilities to cast spells the most skillfully will win the biggest chunk of the $11,250 prize pool.
Qualification was similar to the Sprint Vector World Finals Qualifier except that players had to earn spots to compete in The Unspoken’s August 18 World Qualifier.
Four players from each region had guaranteed spots at the qualifiers because they had earned the most points throughout the season’s weekly tournaments. Four additional players per region joined them after the Last Chance Qualifier that had been held on August 14.
There were two World Qualifier tournaments – one in Europe and one in North America. Two players from each region advanced to the World Finals that will be held at Oculus Connect 5.
Europe: Flushgogo and Yawning Soldier
North America: Charizard and Reukifellth
Echo Arena
Nearly 70 teams competed in VR League Echo Arena season 2. Some of the players switched teams throughout the season, but considering the fact that the rules were changed this year to allow more than 3 players on a team, that’s still an impressive number! (Three players actually play on a team but this year the game allows for extra teammates to be included on the roster as substitutes.)
Echo Arena, from Ready at Dawn, requires some of the most fit, athletic players in the VR League. The game requires competitors to jump, duck, dodge, swing their arms, turn quickly and make repetitive movements of shoulders, arms, and wrists. These guys are creating an image of healthier gamers.
Throughout the season, most teams played for a few hours in weekly tournaments held each Sunday. The path to world finals involved points from those weekly tournaments that led to stage finals. Stage final winners then qualified for the World Finals Qualifier. Four more teams (2 from each region) were also added to that roster after the Last Chance Qualifier.
The August 19 World Finals Qualifier consisted of the sixteen top teams (8 from each region). Those teams competed for the four spots (2 from each region) available at world finals.
European league: BLAST! and Team Gravity
North American league: Eclipse and MetaMercs
Check out this article if you’re interested in joining a team and playing Echo Arena in the VR League. ESL and Oculus haven’t announced season 3 games yet, but hopefully it will be included so you can start preparing now.
Onward
Onward, a popular tactical mil-sim game created by Dante Buckley, is part of the VR Master League, which has been collaborating with the VR League this season. Although this is only the VR League’s second season, it’s the fifth season for Onward so the game already had a well-established player and fan base.
Onward teams have had to work hard to earn a spot on stage at Oculus Connect 5. A series of tournament events throughout the Summer Championship ensures that the best teams to earn the free trip to San Jose.
Following the round-robin group stage that was held August 18 (group A) and August 19 (group B), the top two winners from each group will advance to two semifinals events. The winner from each event (Semis A and Semis B) will advance to world finals at OC5, where they’ll compete for $60,000 worth of prize money!
Below are the winners from the round-robin who will advance to the semifinals.
Round-robin group A: Animal House and Legionnaires
Round-robin group B: Blaze and Silent Purge
The semifinals will be held on August 24 (Semi A) and August 26 (Semi B). After the semifinals, there is one last opportunity for teams to earn a spot at world finals as teams ranked 4th to 7th will compete in Leicester, UK for a LAN competition where the winner will then earn a spot on stage for world finals.
The VR League finals is sponsored by ESL, Oculus and Intel. Events will be live streamed on Sept. 26 and 27 on the VR League’s social media channels: Facebook, Twitch and YouTube.
