Arena of Valor in 2022 – Esports prize to exceed $10 million in new push

Mobile Games
December 22, 2021
Jordan Ashley

Arena of Valor is a mobile game with a fairly big esports scene internationally. However, it has never quite taken off in the west. The game has struggled to grab attention internationally. That’s despite having a big following that even extends to Arena of Valor betting. In more recent years though, mobile esports has grown hugely in popularity. With this in mind, Tencent is going to be relaunching mobile esports for Arena of Valor. Arena of Valor 2022 esports are going to be seeing a huge expansion.

Arena of Valor 2022 Prize Pool

© AoV Global Esports | @AovGlobal

Arena of Valor 2022 esports expansion update

The Arena of Valor 2022 esports expansion is going to be taking the game in a new direction. Tencent will be investing in the games esports ecosystem across a number of layers. Arena of Valor isn’t brand new to western esports. They hosted events in the past. However, these didn’t go too well. They were sparely attended and viewed. With the game not really taking off, its esports here were dialed down quite a bit. Mobile gaming has grown in the west since though.

What specifically seems to have brought attention back to the game is the launch of Wild Rift. Arena of Valor has always pretty strongly resembled a mobile League of Legends game. The resemblance has even made the title have completely different characters and names in different regions. With the actual LoL franchise now bringing in a mobile version, Tencent has decided Arena of Valor still has more room to grow.

Levels of Arena of Valor 2022 Esports

In 2022, the Arena of Valorant esports environment in 2022 is going to be split into five different stages. These are the stages that are going on:

  • Open for All Amateur Tournaments – Grassroots level for the tournaments. They will be local scale events with up-and-coming players. The leagues are going to be expanding out to Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, North America, and South America. These are definitely the lowest level for gameplay, but an important part of building a stronger and fuller esports scene.
  • Regional Cups – These are essentially the semi-pro stage of the events. These will be held for the players that really excel at the open for all amateur levels.
  • AoV Pro Leagues – Are where we begin to get into what already exists for the game. These will likely be similar to those that already exist in Asia. This time they’ll be running in more regions though.
AoV Esports 2022 Tiers

© Arena of Valor Esports

AWC and AIC – Top Competitions for Arena of Valor 2022 Esports

The AWC and AIC are both making a return in 2022. These will be bigger than previous years though. They are the international level events for the game. They bring together the top players from the entire world with the biggest prize pools on offer. The AIC is going to be held in June of 2022, with the AWC coming in October.

The AIC is going to feature a $2 million prize pool, considerably more than 2021’s X amount. This is going to be a tournament between the teams sitting at the top of rankings at the halfway point of the year.

The AWC will be the biggest event for the season. The prize pool here is going up to $10 million. This is the biggest prize pool in mobile esports as a whole. The top 16 teams will be competing. All teams that qualify here will be getting at least $250,000. With the prize money increasing depending on where they finish.

Arena of Valor 2022 Esports Expansion – The Game Itself

Arena of Valor as a whole is going to be going under some changes in 2022. The game will be unifying with the other versions of the game. The title currently has a slightly different build depending on where you get it, and an entirely different name and skin. These games will be combined as an esports version which features a combined pool of heroes and content.

This expansion for Arena of Valor is definitely going to make the game more competitive. It is great to see publishers putting their money where their mouth is and funding the game in full internationally alongside just promoting it. This is going to be one of the most expensive years for mobile esports to date. Fans will have to see if it pays off for the team though.