6 SEA teams head into the Arena of Valor World Cup 2019

The Arena of Valor World Cup 2019 (AWC19) nears its climactic conclusion in Vietnam, and fighting their way in are 12 of the best teams from around the world – six of which hail from Southeast Asia.

Garena and Tencent revealed the groupings earlier this week, with exciting debuts (Group A’s Japan and Malaysia) and repeat face-offs (Group B’s Taipei and Vietnam) lining the mix.

All 12 contenders earned their ticket in through various tournaments and qualifiers, though three are wildcard participants drawn from the ‘Road to AWC’ and ‘Arena of Glory’ events last month.

Notably, last year’s champions seem to have disbanded and joined the two Thailand teams, leaving a new set of players to represent Korea.

Group A:

• Chinese Taipei (Wildcard): ONE Team
• Japan: Blizzard
• Malaysia: M8HEXA
• North America: BM Gaming & PrideStark Empire
• Thailand (Wildcard): ahq eSports Club
• Vietnam (Wildcard): Box Gaming

Group B:

• Chinese Taipei: MAD Team
• Indonesia: EVOS Esports
• Korea: NewB
• China: Xman
• Thailand: KOG Diamond Cobra
• Vietnam: Team Flash

They’ll clash later this month for the Group Stages on June 27-30, with their finish-line sprint scheduled for July: 6-7 for the quarterfinals, 13 for the semis and 14 for the grand finals. All playoff matches will be a Best-of-7.

Those last two take place at the Tien Son Sports Arena in Da Nang City, although viewers at home can catch the US$500,000 (S$683,700) action live on sites such as Facebook and Twitch. [Update – 12:39pm: Garena confirms there will be English commentary.]

Arena of Valor is available on iOS and Android.

Images: Garena