The Arena of Valor International Championship (AIC) 2021 will happen from Nov. 27 to Dec. 19 with 14 teams from around the world will be competing for a share of the $1 million prize pool and the title of world champions, Tencent and Garena announced today.
The AIC 2021 will also mark a special occasion as Arena of Valor will reach five years of release. The game was initially released in Taiwan on Oct. 12, 2016. The $1 million prize pool will be the largest of any AIC since the competition’s inception in 2017.
Tencent has said that the AIC 2021 will be conducted online to ensure the safety of all participants. This won’t be the first global Arena of Valor event to be played online as the 2021 World Cup (AWC) in June was also played remotely. There will also be “an immersive virtual concept and digital broadcast format” to make the competition more captivating for viewers.
The 14 teams will qualify for the AIC through eight different regions.
- Garena Challenge Series (GCS): Three teams from the Taiwanese league will qualify.
- Arena of Glory (AOG): Three teams from the Vietnamese league will qualify.
- RoV Pro League (RPL): Three teams from the Thai league will also be competing.
- AOV Star League (ASL): One team from the Indonesian league will qualify.
- Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines: One team
- China: One team
- Korea: One team
- Japan: One team
Just like the AWC, separate qualifiers will likely be held for MSP, China, Korea, and Japan.
The schedule for the AIC is as follows:
- Group stage: Nov. 27 to Dec. 5
- Quarterfinals: Dec. 9 to 12
- Semifinals: Dec. 17 and 18
- Grand Final: Dec. 19
The AIC will mark the end of the 2021 season. Tencent has big plans for Arena of Valor next year as the game will be unifying with its Chinese counterpart, Honor of Kings for the first time with the AWC 2022. The company has also said that it will make the game’s competitions more global with a focus on Western regions as well.
