SMITE eSports
For Season 5 of SMITE, international competition will be a heavy focus for us here at Hi-Rez Studios as we hope to increase the stability in our global regions, as well as increase the level of competition that those regions provide to the entire SMITE pro scene.
Back in the Fall of 2017, we announced some minor details on how we would be improving the international scene — and today, we’re happy to announce the full details for the SMITE Global Series!
First things first, let’s go through some of the changes happening in Season 5:
- All international competition will now be part of the SMITE Global Series
- Increased prizing across all regions
- A new format that encourages all teams to compete in those regions and help field new talent that felt closed off before
- Increased visibility for international teams, as games in every region will be broadcast by Hi-Rez Studios during the week.
SMITE Global Series Details
Before breaking down the format, prizing, and other information for the SMITE Global Series, we want to announce that ESL will be handling all international operations for Brazil, Latin America North and South, Southeast Asia, and Oceania. ESL is one of the leaders in the industry for esports events, and we’re excited to partner with them for the SMITE Global Series.
SMITE Global Series Format
The SMITE Global Series will happen in multiple phases across the next several months. There will be 6 phases in total, and each phase will run for 4 weeks. Some of these phases will serve as qualifiers for larger events. (More details on that below.)
Here’s a week-by-week breakdown of how each phase of the SGS will work:
- Weeks 1 & 2: Single Elimination Open Brackets
- The top 2 teams from Week 1 and the top 2 teams from Week 2 will qualify for the finals week.
- Week 3: Single-Elimination Open Bracket
- The top 4 teams from this week will qualify for the finals week.
- Week 4: Phase Finals
- The top 8 teams who qualified will compete for prizing in a single-elimination bracket.
For each week of the open bracket and the phase finals, every round will be a best-of-one (Bo1) until the semifinals and finals. Both semifinals and finals matches will be best-of-three (Bo3).
Event Qualification
For the Spring and Summer LAN events, the top team from each region at the end of their qualifying phase will be brought to Hi-Rez Studios in Atlanta, GA to compete in our split finals. There will be three qualifying phases this year:
- Phase 1
- Phase 4
- Phase 6
The final phase will qualify international teams for the SMITE World Championship qualifiers. We will have more details on the Fall format later this year.
Phase Breakdown
The first phase of the SMITE Global Series will begin on March 3, and the last phase will begin on August 18. Here’s a breakdown of the general schedule for each phase.
Phase 1 — Begins March 3 (Qualifier Phase for SMITE Masters)
- March 3 – 4: Open bracket qualifies 2 teams
- March 10-11: Open bracket qualifies 2 teams
- March 17 – 18: Open bracket qualifies 4 teams
- March 24 – 25: Phase 1 Finals (SMITE Masters Qualifier)
Phase 2 — Begins March 31
- March 31 – April 1: Open bracket qualifies 2 teams
- April 7 – 8: Open bracket qualifies 2 teams
- April 14 – 15: Open bracket qualifies 4 teams
- April 21 – 22: Phase 2 Finals
Phase 3 — Begins May 5
- May 5 – 6: Open bracket qualifies 2 teams
- May 12 – 13: Open bracket qualifies 2 teams
- May 19 – 20: Open bracket qualifies 4 teams
- May 26 – 27: Phase 3 Finals
Phase 4 — Begins June 2 (Qualifier Phase for SMITE Summer Finals)
- June 2 – 3: Open bracket qualifies 2 teams
- June 9 – 10: Open bracket qualifies 2 teams
- June 16 – 17: Open bracket qualifies 4 teams
- June 23 – 24: Phase 4 Finals (SMITE Summer Finals Qualifier)
Phase 5 — Begins July 21
- July 21 – 22: Open bracket qualifies 2 teams
- July 28 – 29: Open bracket qualifies 2 teams
- August 4 – 5: Open bracket qualifies 4 teams
- August 11 – 12: Phase 5 Finals
Phase 6 — Begins August 18 (Qualifier Phase for Group Stages)
- August 18 – 19: Open bracket qualifies 2 teams
- August 25 – 26: Open bracket qualifies 2 teams
- September 1 – 2: Open bracket qualifies 4 teams
- September 8 – 9: Phase 6 Finals (Qualifier for Group Stages)
How to Sign Up for the SMITE Global Series
If you’d like to participate in the SMITE Global Series, you’ll need to sign up for an SGS tournament via ESL. For more details on your specific region, visit the SMITE hub on ESL’s website to get the info you need. Tournament sign-ups will be added over the month of February. Check the play schedule below to see the specific sign-up windows for your region:
https://play.eslgaming.com/smite/
- Saturdays — Oceania & Southeast Asia
- Oceania: Tournament starts at 11:00 AM AEDT
- Southeast Asia: Tournament starts at 11:00 AM SGT
- Sundays — Brazil & Latin America (North/South)
- Brazil: Tournament starts at 11:00 AM GMT – 3
- Latam North: Tournament starts at 11:00 AM GMT – 5
- Latam South: Tournament starts at 11:00 AM GMT – 5
Broadcast Schedule
Like we mentioned above, games in the SMITE Global Series will be broadcast by Hi-Rez Studios on our official streaming platforms. Each region will have a different day dedicated to its broadcasts — check below to see the all days/times for SGS broadcasts.
- Brazil: Tuesdays @ 11:00 AM ET
- Oceania: Wednesdays @ 11:00 AM ET
- Southeast Asia: Thursdays @ 11:00 AM ET
- Latin America: Fridays @ 11:00 AM ET
Prizing
We’ve increased prizing for our international regions this year. Players who qualify for the finals of each phase will have the opportunity to earn cash prizing as follows:
- 1st Place: $4,000
- 2nd Place: $2,000
- 3rd Place: $1,000
- 4th Place: $1,000
- 5th Place: $500
- 6th Place: $500
- 7th Place: $500
- 8th Place: $500
Total: $10,000 per region per phase. This prizing breakdown will remain consistent all season long.
Teams who qualify for LAN events will earn additional prizing on top of the phase prizing.
That’s all the information we have for now, but there’s plenty more SMITE Season 5 news that we haven’t announced yet — so stay tuned! In the meantime, you can check out the details on our other esports leagues as well:
Be sure to follow us on Twitter @SmitePro for more updates on the SMITE Global Series throughout Season 5!