Hey there Smite fans! Once again, Hi-Rez has graciously invited MMORPG to cover their Smite World Championship, held at the Cobb Energy Center, in Atlanta, Georgia, from January 7th -10th. If last year’s SWC is anything to judge by, Smite fans will be in for quite an event.
This year’s format is pretty standard, there were Regional qualifying matches played back in November, where the top teams from their respective Regional Smite Pro Leagues played in a week-long tournament in order to qualify for the World Championships. There are those who criticize this system, claiming that some teams that have played consistently well all season, can have a bad day and be eliminated from Worlds, while others claim that’s is what makes Smite matches so exciting, the chance that, at any time, any team can beat another.
This year there are ten teams competing, Paradigm and Epsilon from the European Union, Cloud Nine and Enemy from North America, Pain from Brazil, Isuras from Latin America, Avant Garde from Oceania, OMG and QG from China, and Fnatic, winner of the Wild Card spot, from the EU as well.
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The brackets for this year’s SMITE World Championships
The big surprises this year were Enemy, who turned up large at the Super Regionals, defeating the heavily favored Envyus, in a hard-fought five game set, and Fnatic, who defeated the popular Team Eager, in the Wild Card match.
Going into the Championships the favorites are Cloud Nine, from North America, who are also the defending SWC champions from last year. Cloud Nine, formerly known as COG Prime, play an incredibly consistent game, and despite a major roster change at the beginning of the Fall Split, they adapted quickly, and soon were back on top of their game. And, from the EU, Epsilon, who went an unprecedented 27-1 during the regular season, but showed a little vulnerability in the Super Regionals, where they lost to Paradigm in the finals. Despite that loss, their consistency and incredible record still mark them as the overall favorite to win it all, at least in my own humble opinion.
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Last year’s champions, Cog Prime, who are also favorites this year as Cloud Nine
The 500-lb. gorilla in the room, as it was last year, is whether the rest of the Regions (Brazil, China, Latam and Oceania) can succeed at this high level of play, given the relative immaturity of the Meta in their home Regions. Last year, North America and the European Union teams dominated their less experienced siblings from around the world, though there were flashes of greatness that showed what the new teams are capable of, once their local Metas developed a bit more. Perhaps we will see that promise fulfilled this year in Atlanta. There are wiser Smite gurus than myself, who believe that the new kids on the block might have a surprise or two in store for the Old Guard.
Combine all this awesome gameplay with Hi-Rez’s ever-improving coverage, a plethora of Smite pros, personalities and cosplayers, and the thousands of Smite fans that will populate the Cobb Center over the course of these four days, and this event is sure to be a blast! Stay tuned, because MMORPG will be there, every step of the way, bringing you match results via Twitter, daily updates, and even a peek behind the scenes of this massive event.
