Stunlock Studios announced a few days ago that they would be joining forces with Next Generation Esports to provide weekly Battlerite tournaments with cash prizes and in-game rewards. Called "Battlerekt", this series represents the Swedish studio’s first foray into eSports with their newest title. So far, it has proven to be a successful experiment.

On November 15, Battlerekt held the first 2v2 tournaments for both North America and Europe. The tournament used a standard single elimination format with first-to-five series; later rounds progressed from Bo1 series to Bo3s. The overall prize pool for each tournament was $300 - a respectable amount for a weekly tournament. The winning teams took home a larger sum of $200 while the second place teams walked away with $100. All teams who made it to the Ro8 were awarded Demonic Steed mounts.

EU’s event showcased fast, explosive gameplay that kept viewers on the edge of their seats and gave them their first taste of professional Battlerite production, complete with casting and beautiful stream overlays. The pristine production continued through the evening as organizers tackled NA’s massive bracket; despite the chaos of managing hundreds of players, the GGN admins were able to keep things moving and finish the first four or five rounds in less than two hours.

Telrosk and Project Horizon battled it out in an incredibly close series during the EU finals. In the end, Telrosk prevailed over PH’s “unbeatable” Bakko/Lucie composition and became the first Battlerekt champions.

In NA, Dream Crushers looked to squash the hopes and dreams of their opponent Skywingg. However, that proved to be more difficult than expected. Skywingg came out strong in the first round and demolished their enemies with the all-in power of Ruh Kaan, but Dream Crushers stubbornly held onto their Jumong/Oldur kiting duo. Eventually, Dream Crushers began to pull ahead and closed out the series in the third round with a convincing finish.

Overall, public feedback has been very positive. Several Redditors have commented on the excitement and quality of the games as well as the fantastic production. Many casual players are beginning to recognize the thrill of watching and/or participating in competitive Battlerite.

A good showing during the Ro64 in EU and a completely full bracket in NA revealed a surprisingly active competitive player base. The viewer numbers were very shallow compared to major eSports titles - peaking at less than 1,000 concurrent viewers - but there’s clearly a lot of room to grow.

Battlerite is an exciting game to watch and has a low barrier of entry for the spectator. Combined with a fairly active player base and huge potential for skill-based play, Battlerite looks to be a prime candidate for becoming the next big eSport.