There’s no pastime humans have yet to convert into a sporting event of some sort, and Blizzard’s long-running MMO game, World of Warcraft, is no exception. The premier events in the WoW esports calendar, Mythic Dungeon and Arena, are reaching their finales within weeks. The Mythic Dungeon International (MDI) holds its finals on the 8th and 9th of July, and the Arena World Championship (AWC) host theirs on the 16th and 17th. It’s not all just about passive viewing, though.
To help drum up spectators, Blizzard announced that WoW players who link their Blizzard accounts with their YouTube accounts will earn an in-game achievement and title for watching the grand finals. The title, “Fearless Spectator”, will no doubt be an amusing one to doff while getting carried through group finder instances.
The MDI is an unusual esports spectacle. The top PvE groups from around the world compete to see who can clear the highest Mythic keystone dungeon in the fastest times. The league is organised via a series of three group stages, with two teams from each tournament qualifying for the finals, and then a Last Stand scramble for the final two spots. Echo and Baldy triumphed in Group A, MONKA and Perplexed in Group B, and Donuts & Despair and Sloth in Group C. LONG MING and W Omegalul squeaked in through the Last Stand.
The finals are a double elimination tournament between 8 teams with 14 matchups, and will have a prize pool of $300,000.
The AWC is a more traditional PvP esports format, with the top eight Arena teams from across the world matching up in a round-robin league. The top teams will go on to a tournament playoff later this month. Currently the standings are topped by the team Kungarna on the European servers, with 7 wins, and Kawhi on the American side, also with seven. The prize pot for the AWC is a little juicier, with a total of $700,000 up for grabs for the season.
If you’re after something a bit more active in World of Warcraft, check out July’s Prime Gaming loot, which includes three helmet transmogs resurrected from the past, so you can look your best while riding atop the new Murloc mount in Dragonflight.