Vainglory adds five teams, including Fnatic, to its competitive scene

Developer Super Evil Megacorp announced today that five new teams — Fnatic, Echo Fox, NRG, Rogue and Immortals — have joined the competitive scene for its mobile multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA ) Vainglory, which is available on Android and iOS, is the NO. 859 ranked game in the iOS App Store, according to App Annie.

Fnatic is one of the most popular esports organizations, with teams playing in popular games like League of Legends, Dota 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It and other teams’ participation in Vainglory legitimizes the mobile MOBA.

“These are some of the most diverse and high-profile teams in all of esports,” said Kristian Segerstrale, chief executive officer of Super Evil Megacorp, in a press release sent to GamesBeat. “To have them not only recognize Vainglory’s growth over the past year, but also create their first-ever teams dedicated to a mobile game, means the competition in the 2017 season is going to be more fierce than ever before. These teams are owned and operated by some of the most respected names in sports and entertainment, and there’s tremendous opportunity for everyone involved to usher in the next defining moments of esports.”

Vainglory has been out since 2014, but its competitive scene started gaining traction last year. In December, the game crowned its first world champion in a tournament that featured a $120,000 prize pool.

“Vainglory’s competitive ecosystem is just over a year old,” Segerstrale told GamesBeat. “It’s grown very quickly over that year in viewership and players, as well as professional teams that are involved. A year ago Vainglory was largely characterized by thousands of amateur teams competing in amateur tournaments, community-run tournaments. Which was fun and exciting, but around a year ago, we saw the first professional teams joining, in Europe especially, with G2 Esports, SK Gaming, Team Secret, and so on.”