It’s been just over a week since the release of Teamfight Tactics, but Riot Games is already looking to set up the first-ever TFT tournament.
Teamfight Tactics Showdown will take place on July 17 and 18 as part of the Twitch Rivals. The playing field will consist of 64 prominent Twitch streamers, and the prize pool will be a whopping $125,000. Riot Games promised to announce more details on July 8, but for now, let’s break down what we know about this event.
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[iframe url=”https://player.twitch.tv/?channel=twitchrivals”]TFT tournament format
Though we don’t know much, Riot has announced that all the participating players will be split into two groups of 32 on Day 1.
Still, the company has yet to determine the exact way the group stage will unfold. Regular Teamfight Tactics matches take the shape of free-for-all brawls among eight players. Thus, it’s unclear whether each player will play only a single game or whether they’ll rotate to face off against everyone else in their group.
What is clear, however, is that the 16 best-performing players will advance to Day 2 to battle each other for the TFT Twitch Rivals title. Only the strongest strategists will make it this far, so viewers will be able to enjoy a high level of Teamfight Tactics gameplay.
The biggest question mark is that there’s no way to tell which players will participate. Neither Twitch nor Riot Games has released a statement on this matter. Of course, many broadcasters have already tried their hand at playing Riot’s autobattler, so there should be no shortage of qualified candidates. Granted, there’s still a possibility the company goes the route of inviting the most popular streamers instead of the most skilled ones.
Is Teamfight Tactics esports-ready?
It’s hard to tell. The core concept behind Teamfight Tactics bears a striking resemblance to collectible card games. TFT players also have to manage resources, build their decks (or, well, team comps) and adjust their strategies on the fly. With that, a good Teamfight Tactics match carries a similar feel to a game of Hearthstone.
The viewing experience is quite different, though. Most collectible card games follow a 1v1 format, making it easy to concentrate viewer attention on a single matchup. But in Teamfight Tactics, multiple battles take place at the same time, so casters and observers will have to decide which players to watch. Moreover, the game is still young, so there’s a number of balance issues still in the works. While Teamfight Tactics Showdown is a step in the right direction, the jury is still out on whether this autobattler can become an actual esport.
