The Making of Blitz Twister Cup: How Wargaming is Preparing for the Event

Blitz Twister Cup
  • Interview with Wargaming about the Blitz Twister Cup 2019
     
  • The event will be live-streamed on their YouTube channel on November 9, 2019

Blitz Twister Cup 2019

Wargaming is currently preparing for its official World of Tank Blitz Championship, the Blitz Twister Cup. Six teams from around the world will compete for the championship title and a prize pool of $100,000 on November 9, 2019. This year, the event will be live-streamed on the official World of Tanks Blitz YouTube Channel. As the esports industry and large championship events like this continue to grow in popularity, we wanted to find out what it takes to put on such an event. So we reached out to Wargaming and spoke to Daria Klimchuk, eSports Team Lead for World of Tanks Blitz at Wargaming. 

The Interview

GP: How long does it usually take to plan and prepare for an event like Blitz Twister Cup?

This is the 4th time we are organizing this kind of event, so we’ve managed to streamline a lot of the processes. It took us around 6 months to organize this event including both online tournaments and offline finals. All in all, over 100 people were involved at various stages to make the event happen.

GP: How many people usually attend the event?

Blitz Twister Cup 2019 powered by Gorilla Energy is a studio event. It is designed uniquely for our pro players as a tribute to their skills and achievements. We wanted to make the finals a place where our pros could meet and spend time together in a friendly atmosphere.

When it comes to the live streams, last year the event garnered over 2.4 million views, tripling the amount of viewers we had in 2017. One of the reasons for that is definitely World of Tanks Blitz launching in China.

GP: The event this year will be streamed live, what is the anticipated amount of viewers for the online portion of the event?

We’d be thrilled if the Finals saw a similar level of engagement from our community this year.

GP: We see there is a theme this year. How will that be incorporated into the event and what was the reason behind having a theme?

Indeed! We have created a rap theme called ‘Brawl Your Way To Glory’ to become a kind of official anthem of the event. Music has great inspirational and motivation potential and keeps you up when the going gets tough. We believe that it’s sure to hype up our players before the games and help them out whenever they feel they need a tiny bit more energy or luck!

GP: The esports industry has really grown over the past few years with professional leagues on the horizon. What are your thoughts on this and do you think it can get to a point to rival traditional sporting events?

I am excited to see esports growing globally. With a tournament in Tokyo leading up to the 2020 Olympics, and talks about esports becoming a demonstration sport in 2024, it’s easy to see how big the entire discipline has gotten, and the skills required to become a professional.  I don’t see it as a rivalry with traditional sports, though. I’m really happy that now we have two different ways fans can experience limitless human potential and competitive thrills. With traditional sports franchises now investing heavily in esports, it’s clear that the two are bound to grow together.

Concluding Thoughts

With 2.4 million viewers last year, I think eSports events such as this are on the rise and I'm excited to see where the industry goes. We hope the Blitz Twister Cup is another successful event that draws even more viewers than last year. If you enjoy watching eSports or are a fan of the World of Tanks Blitz game, make sure to check out their live stream on November 9th. It sounds like it will be full of exciting gameplay and good music. 

About Daria Klimchuk

Daria photoDaria Klimchuk is the eSports Team Lead for World of Tanks Blitz at Wargaming. A specialist with 7 years’ experience in the industry, Daria started her career path as a level designer and went on to work as a Community Manager for World of Tanks — one of the biggest gaming communities in the CIS. Currently, she is leading the strategic planning and development of the competitive and eSports directions for mobile online shooter, World of Tanks Blitz.

Author(s)

Wife, mother, native Texan, taco lover, book lover, dinosaur lover and self-proclaimed nerd. I hate cold weather and the book is always better than the movie. 

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