The Official SMITE Magazine eSports Edition | Page 28

SMITE LAUNCH TOURNAMENT
This was it, SMITE was officially
launching. Eight pro teams gathered
in Atlanta to celebrate the launch of
SMITE and battle over a $200,000
prize pool, and the privilege to go
to China for a SMITE showmatch
against a Chinese team in 2014. To
raise money for the tournament,
(which originally started at $60,000)
Hi-Rez sold a promotional skin.
Poolseidon, a take on Poseidon which
had the God of the Oceans walking
around with pool themed attire, was
sold and $5 from every purchase
went towards the prize pool.
People poured into the Center
Stage Theatre to watch their favorite
teams try to win. For three days the
battles were waged and one by one,
teams were eliminated from the
battlefield, left to gaze upon their
victors heading towards the top.
On the third day, only two teams
were left standing. Team Dignitas
and Team SoloMid. Both wanting
to claim the title of SMITE launch
champions for themselves. But only
one team could win. Team SoloMid
rose victorious over Team Dignitas.
Not only did they win the tournament,
they went entirely undefeated. Not
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losing a single round during the entire
tournament, Team SoloMid went back
to Europe with trophy in hand, a giant
cheque, and a smile on their faces.

THE ROAD TO THE SWC
The first official tournament after
the SMITE launch tournament was the

SMITE Pro League. This was a seven
week online tournament with NA and
EU both having separate tournaments.
The winner’s of this tournament
would be admitted into the NA and EU
regional championships respectively.
During the SMITE Pro League, a
different seven week tournament was
taking place. Sign ups were allowed
for anyone (minus teams already in
the Pro League) and there was no
limit to the amount of teams that
could sign up. This was the SMITE
challenger cup. Each week there
was a prize pool of $1,000. The top
two winners of this tournament
would go on to face the bottom two
teams from the Pro League in the
SMITE Wildcard Tournament.
The top two teams from the
Challenger Cup headed into a round
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