That was the final of the A1 eSports League

For weeks, the best eSportsmen from Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Luxembourg met and fought their battles to take part in the final of the “A1 eSports League” this weekend. We were live at the venue and the Gasometer in Vienna.

The good old Gasometer was an excellent venue for the 3rd season of the A1 eSports League. In the entrance area, there was as always the cloakroom and some snacks. In the back lounge was the casual area with merch stands of the eSports teams. There you could have a caricature drawn, try out virtual reality games or duel in a game of Real-Life Mario Kart. On the upper level was the VIP area with an exclusive viewing area on the balcony. But the “star of the evening” was the main hall: a gigantic stage, equipped with confetti cannons and lights of all kinds – a flawless reappraisal of a finale.

Program

The program included four main tournaments: rFactor 2, Clash Royale, Super Smash Brothers Ultimate and League of Legends. There were also community tournaments held in the main hall on smaller stations. Rocket League and Fortnite, among others, were played there. In addition, it was possible to play at various stations almost all the time. Besides the classic tournaments, there were performances of well-known faces of the gaming scene like “Lets Dance” with Becky or “Beat the Pro” with Andres Torres. Among the highlights were certainly the performances of filous and DAME, who both gave one-hour concerts. Also, the whole day was streamed on Twitch. The production of the stream and the whole show had a very high standard.
Tournaments:

rFactor2

First the rFactor 2 final was on the program. The game is an author simulation that comes very close to real driving conditions. The best six from the so-called shootouts and the best two from the AT showdown qualified for the final, which Florian Hasse won.

Clash Royale

Here we switched from the race simulation to the mobile phone. Clash Royale is a so-called Tower Defense Game where two players with freely selectable decks try to destroy their opponent’s towers. To the final participants it came as follows: After seven weeks in the league system, the two best players of the league qualified directly for the offline event in the Gasometer. Then there was a playoff in which the third played against the sixth and the fourth against the fifth for the remaining two places. The final rounds were played best-of-5. The prize money was 7.000 €. The finalists were: Premtim “OP xIamLegend” Haxhiaj, Richard “LSR kampfkobra” Köster, Gabriel “YYYY” Jelinek and Hendrick “LSR ItzSnakeZz” Strandke.

LSR ItzSnakeZz and xIamLegend competed in the first semi-final, where LSR ItzSnakeZz qualified for the final with a smooth 3-0. In semi-final #2, YYYY and LSR kampfkobra met. YYYY won two rounds, LSR kampfkobra won the third round, but in the end, YYYY entered the final 3:1. In the final YYYY won the first two rounds. LSR ItzSnakeZz was able to turn the match point away and equal the score by winning two rounds to 2:2. Thus it came to the all-decisive fifth round, in which LSR ItzSnakeZz made the sensation complete and after a 0:2 lag could still turn into a 3:2.

Super Smash Brothers Ultimate

Here you could qualify in different ways: 4x online qualifier (1 seat each), offline in the Area52 (1 x 3 seats), at the 4Gamechangers Festival (1 x 1 seat) and directly on site the day before (1 x 8 seats). Out of 16 players two qualified for the Grand Final, one as the winner of the Losers Bracket (PB Yetey) and one as the winner of the Winner Bracket (SFZ Tarek). Interesting: The final was a rematch because PB Yetey was already beaten by SFZ Tarek in the qualification and thus promoted to the loser bracket. In the final, a best-of-5 will be played. If the player from the Winners Bracket loses the first best-of-5, there will be a best-of-5 where the final winner will be determined. Also here 7,000 € prize money could be earned, 3,200 € for the winner and thus the largest Super Smash Brothers Pricepool of Europe!

Well-known faces cast the final: Alexander “TTW Hibiki” Kuhn and Rene “TTW Luigikid” Wurz, both active in the Super Smash Brothers scene themselves. PB Yetey chose Pichu as the character, SFZ Tarek chose Greninja. The final was hard to be surpassed in tension. Both opponents gave each other nothing and after four laps at the score of 2:2 it came to the decisive fifth round, which Tarek could decide for himself. So Tarek became the Super Smash Brothers Ultimate Champion of the A1 eSports Season 3 and unbeaten.

League of Legends

The LoL Grand Final was the last item on the agenda of the day for which most of the visitors were waiting. The game was played in best-of-3. The final was played after seven weeks in league and playoff system. In the final Tickling Tentacles, Willhaben and WarKidZ eSports met, two greats of the Austrian eSports scene, who could never play against each other in the league because of a ban. The first round was a palpable one, and both teams played cautiously, but TTW could secure the victory. Round two went on in the same style, and so Tickling Tentacles Willhaben turned out to be the champion after 2 games.