Riot Games’ plans for the Brazilian official Wild Rift circuit were disclosed by the company during an online press conference on Wednesday attended by The Esports Observer. The conference featured Carlos Antunes, Head of Esports at Riot Games Brazil, and Raphael Negrão, Marketing Manager of Nimo TV, a Huya-owned streaming platform that focuses mainly on mobile gaming and is stepping in as a partner.
The Wild Rift Esports circuit will be launched in the country in August through the Wild Tour tournament. The original idea of Wild Tour is to serve as a “warm-up” to the official season to kick-off in 2022, but even though it will qualify for the first global Wild Rift event. The prize pool is set at $250,000 BRL (roughly $50,000 USD). Riot Games’ plans call for an in-person event for the finals in October, assuming COVID-19 control and vaccinations in Brazil advances until then.
Further details regarding Wild Tour will be revealed in special content produced in partnership with Nimo TV called the Wild Rift Season Start, a two-day invitational tournament, starting July 9. The event will feature four teams competing for a $55,000 BRL (roughly $11K USD) prize pool, to be streamed exclusively on the Huya-owned platform. Nimo TV will also be involved in future productions with Riot Games, but the partnership will not prevent Wild Tour from being streamed on other platforms.
Antunes said that sponsors are still not confirmed for Wild Tour as Riot Games is focused on developing the esports project without focusing on the commercial side. The word “learning” was seminal during the conference and Valorant was mentioned many times as a source of knowledge on the launch of a new esports scene, but it was remembered that Wild Rift is the first incursion by Riot in the mobile gaming environment.
Antunes said in his presentation that “in the next years, Riot Games will be dedicated to building the biggest mobile esports scene in the world.”
TEO asked if there was any change of plans for the Wild Rift Esports in Brazil after MOONTON announced its entrance into the competitive scene in the country with an official Mobile Legends: Bang Bang circuit. Antunes said that the plans for Wild Rift weren’t changed from the original strategy and that Riot Games’ experience with esports, along with reliance on the quality of the product, will be key factors for competition.
