Despite some potentially bad weather — that apparently turned out to be not all that bad — the Hi-Rez Expo went on as planned. While there were several new announcements, the highlights of the event were the three different tournaments taking place. This year, Hi-Rez hosted the third annual SMITE tournament, as well as the 2nd SMITE Console tournament and the first ever HRX Invitational for Paladins.
The SMITE PC tournament featured eight teams from all regions, battling each other for three days for a chance to win the ultimate prize of $500,000 and their own personal trophy. By the last day of the event, four teams were left standing: Team Eager, Obey, NRG Esports, and Luminosity. Obey bested Eager, taking 3 out of five wins in the semi-finals, while NRG took down Luminosity with the same amount of wins to losses. These two teams progressed to the finals where NRG Esports took the whole thing, accumulating 3 wins before Obey could even get their second one.
Meanwhile on another stage, the SMITE Console tournament was taking place. This event hosted four teams: Soar Gaming, Aware Gaming, Allegiance, and Team Eager playing the semi-finals and finals. Soar took on Aware and bested them 2-0 in a best out of three event while Team Eager took down Allegiance — 2-0 as well. This brought Soar and Eager together in a best out of five finals. Eager took the whole thing 3-1.
Finally, eight teams were also in Atlanta to fight for the first ever Paladins World Championship title and their share of a $150,000 prize pool. Play was broken into group play for the first day, after which the semifinals and finals took place across 3 days. Team Burrito walked away the victor.
Overall, it was an exciting few days. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until next year for more.
