PUBG Corp. is looking to host its first official esports tournament for PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, according to a report from Polygon. Taking place in Berlin, Germany in the summer, teams who receive invites to the PUBG Global Invitational will be battling it out for the lion’s share of the $2,000,000 (£1,435,357) prize pool.
The report states that 20 teams will be involved in the tournament, which is more than the usual 16 teams that have competed at previous events. The event will run from July 25th to 29th, with teams qualifying through regional tournaments hosted in North America, Asia, and Europe. It’s reported that two teams will be crowned as world champions: one for the first-person perspective and the other for the third-person perspective.
The PUBG Global Invitational will see the production team utilise PUBG’s in-game camera system, allowing them to zoom in on any action that takes place. Not only that, it’s likely that PUBG Corp. will make use of its replay system to provide almost-instant replays and highlights in-game.
This isn’t PUBG Corp.’s first PUBG tournament, however, having hosted the Gamescom Invitational in August 2017. This invitational, however, had a $350,000 (£251,126.75) prize pool – it too was hosted in Germany. More top-tier organisations have entered the PUBG competitive since then, including OpTic Gaming and Natus Vincere.
Esports Insider says: It’s incredibly positive to see PUBG Corp. invest in esports. The prize pool is ridiculously surprising, especially when you consider the latest PUBG tournament – Global Loot League Season 1 finals – had a prize pool of $50,000 (£35,864.25).