The Virtual Athletics League and I-Illusions just announced that the esports league will be holding a global Space Pirate Trainer tournament from September 27 to the 30th. Competition is open to participating local VR arcades, with anyone, no matter the skill level, being qualified to sign up, compete for a top score, and a chance to win some epic prizes.
Is VAL Esports for Me?
The Virtual Athletics League (VAL) holds tournaments pretty frequently and isn’t seasonal like VR League (VRL), respectively. But, VAL has recently hosted worldwide tournaments for VR hobbyists and fitness buffs to participate in competitive rounds of Beat Saber, Sprint Vector, Blasters of the Universe, and Space Pirate Trainer at over a hundred arcade locations all over the world.
VAL is clearly a different league than VRL, with VR League’s focus being on team-based first-person shooter games like Onward and Echo Arena, with a switch up in the recent addition of Sprint Vector’s smooth locomotion racing and a wizard worthy duel in The Unspoken.
Call for VR Athletes! Space Pirate Trainer Global Tournament is being held at VR Arcades around the world September 27-30 👾 Compete for prizes & glory! 🥇 Sign up using this form and we’ll help connect you with a nearby arcade. #VR #esports https://t.co/FpH0KkyslX @i_illusions pic.twitter.com/UB9QOBuxub
— valvr_esports (@valvr_esports) September 13, 2018
While Virtual Athletics League seems to be driven by predominantly single player platform games like Beat Saber, it also has had past tourneys with single player FPS with games like Space Pirate Trainer and Blasters of the Universe and has even hosted a multiplayer racing with Sprint Vector.
There are similarities and differences between the two groundbreaking leagues, but two things are for certain: People who flex and go beast mode in FPS platformers or get fired up in solo competition will want to blast flying droids and mega droids with laser pistols and block laser beams to the top of the Space Pirate Trainer global leaderboard at their neighborhood VR arcade with VAL.
Sign Up to Push Yourself
Signing up for your first VR esports tournament or your hundredth is a great way to stay motivated to exercise and stay in competition worthy shape. Remember the saying, if you don’t use it you’ll lose it? That same concept from studying a new language or concept is true for muscle memory and coordination.
Playing a platform shooter like Space Pirate Trainer can help you get in and stay in shape, become more accurate at tracking and hitting moving targets, and can even buff confidence after playing it for a while. As if getting in shape with video games wasn’t enticing enough, winning prizes like cash, a trophy, or VR goodies might spark a fire under you to compete.
Benefits of Competition
We don’t know which Space Pirate Trainer game modes VAL will be using for their tournament, but we do know that playing in Arcade mode would probably be best for new and advanced players. Playing in Explorer or Hardcore wouldn’t show off what advanced players could pull off when bound by bullet time, 3 lives, and without health regeneration, but playing in Arcade would.
Players that have experience playing ping pong, tennis, blocking in martial arts or boxing, FPS platformers, or even rhythm games like Beat Saber will get a workout and coordination training as they practice leading up to game day. It also doesn’t hurt that daily gameplay and then competing in Space Pirate Trainer helps players get faster and better at other games and activities outside of VR too.
Watch the Space Pirate Trainer trailer to see what shooting flying droids can do for fitness and competition…
Where to Sign Up and Follow Virtual Athletics League
Interested competitors can play Space Pirate Trainer at VAL sponsored global tournaments when they sign up as a VR athlete on their site with this form. Sign up with the digital form to get connected to a local arcade and register for the tournament. Then, all you have to do is show up!
You can find Virtual Athletics League information on their website and follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.