Vainglory enters the eSports arena

Vainglory, the mobile MOBA from Super Evil Megacorp, may not be a worldwide phenomenon like League of Legends just yet, but the game took its first step in that direction today with a new eSports partnership. ESL has agreed to hold the first-ever official Vainglory Cup Series, which begins across Europe on May 13. Not only does this mark Super Evil's entry into the eSports realm, but it's also the first mobile MOBA tournament in ESL's history.

"We're at the very beginning of eSports on touch screens and we're excited to begin what will be a long journey. As the world's largest eSports company, ESL is a natural partner for us," said Kristian Segerstrale, COO and Executive Director at Super Evil Megacorp. "Our community has been asking for more support for competitive play from us and we're excited that some of our biggest German streamers will be involved together with ESL in delivering our first official eSports event."

"Vainglory will be the first purely mobile MOBA tournament in ESL history, and we can't wait to see the matches starting next week, streamed live from our studio in Frankfurt," said Jens Hilgers, Founder and Chairman of ESL. "We are strong believers in the future eSports on touch devices, and we have chosen Vainglory as the first mobile MOBA as it delivers AAA quality, greatly balanced competitive gameplay, best in class touch controls, and last but not least, is developed by a rockstar team with eSports in their DNA."

The top two teams in the tournament - which will be streamed on Twitch and hosted by professional ESL caster Jason Kaplan as well as well-known Vainglory players DonJon and Blueberryz - will compete in the finals on June 14 for a cash prize and Nvidia Shield tablets.

For more on Vainglory and on Super Evil's approach to the market, check out our interview with Segerstrale from earlier this year.