Snapdragon Pro Series Season 2 Goes Bigger
The Snapdragon Pro Series esports tournament has confirmed it is returning for a second season, with an expanded selection of games. ESL Faceit and Qualcomm’s mobile-focused competition wrapped its inaugural season earlier this month.
Rules of the Game
The Snapdragon Pro Series is divided up by region and competition level. Entry-level competition has already started, with the season concluding in May 2023.
- Current Regions: North America, EUR/MENA, Asia-Pacific, China, & India
- Players start out at the “Open” level, before progressing to regional (“Challenge”) and world (“Masters”) levels
This year, Clash of Clans will be available for North American teams, while Free Fire and League of Legends: Wild Rift will be new options for Asia-Pacific. The latter will also make a debut in the EUR/MENA Challenger Series.
- Asphalt 9: Legends, Brawl Stars, Clash Royal, Legends of Runeterra, & PUBG Mobile round out the selection for Season 2
The Path Less Traveled
There is no shortage of esports competitions, but the Snapdragon Pro Series differs in key ways
There is no shortage of esports competitions, but the Snapdragon Pro Series differs in key ways
- Going Mobile: The most lucrative tournaments are dominated by PC and console titles such as Dota 2, League of Legends, Call of Duty, or Rainbow Six Siege.
- Mobile esports like the Pro series offer a lower barrier to entry and larger player base
- Outsourced Production: Whereas many big name esports series are produced by the developer or publisher, Snapdragon is neither.
- Qualcomm is effectively offering a packaged solution for mobile developers who may not have the resources of Valve or Activision
- Accessibility: To its credit, the Pro Series (with its rather modest prize pool) isn’t just focused on delivering the ultimate and best of the best that many other esports series trumpet.
- “Era of Everyone,” “accessible,” and “democratizing” are its marketing buzzwords
What’s Next?
The Pro Series may be in its infancy but it has big backers in the form of ESL Faceit, which was bought for $1.5 by Saudi Arabia’-backed Savvy Gaming Group this year, and Qualcomm.
The Pro Series may be in its infancy but it has big backers in the form of ESL Faceit, which was bought for $1.5 by Saudi Arabia’-backed Savvy Gaming Group this year, and Qualcomm.
- More Regions: It’s noteworthy that South America is not included yet, despite the region’s history of quality esports franchises.
- There is also the elephant in the room of Russian teams currently being excluded in esports
- Qualcomm’s Gaming Expansion: It was revealed this week that Verizon, Razer, and Qualcomm are teaming up on a handheld gaming console to be revealed at RazerCon 2022 on October 15. While not Qualcomm’s first stab at gaming hardware, it’s arguably its most public play in recent memory.
- The Snapdragon Pro Series does not have a 5G sponsor…yet. Don’t be surprised if Verizon signs on.
Featured image: Snapdragon Pro Series
