Southeast Asia is known for producing talented Dota 2 players. Teams like TNC and Execration have proven the region’s skill level and competitive spirit.
Now, aspiring players in Southeast Asia have the opportunity to participate in an amateur tournament that aims to nurture the next generation of talent.
The New Blood Championships, a collaboration between Southeast Asian esports organizations Purpose Win Entertainment Limited (PWEL) and Fallout Gaming (FG), was recently announced in a press conference in Manila.
PWEL and FG were involved in organizing Galaxy Battles, a professional Dota tournament held in Shenzen, China last month. With a prize pool of $150,000, Galaxy Battles crowned Newbee as the champions, awarding them $69,000.
The New Blood Championships will span across five countries: Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. These countries are known for their professional Dota teams. Additionally, there will be a separate category called “Rest of SEA” for neighboring countries outside of the main five territories.
This tournament is exclusively for amateur players, meaning that individuals with a professional Dota 2 background are ineligible to participate. The competition consists of three stages: an online qualifier, national finals in each country, and an international LAN event. The online qualifier will select two winners from each country, who will then advance to the next phase.
The final phase will take place in Jakarta, Indonesia, where all eight teams will compete for a $25,000 prize pool. This amount of money is significant even for professional teams in Southeast Asia. The top two teams in the LAN finals will also secure a spot in the second season of Galaxy Battles, scheduled for January next year in Manila.
PWEL director Sky Lim acknowledges the rapid growth of the Southeast Asian eSports market, already ranking as the second largest in the world. He believes that many players in the region are capable of competing with the rest of the world. The New Blood Championships aim to discover a new shining star in Southeast Asian esports who can excel on the global stage.