March of Giants' Pioneer Cup kicks off on October 15 at 5:00PM CEST/8:00AM PDT on the March of Giants Twitch channel, bringing elite MOBA players together in a tournament of skill over four days. A total of eight teams, composed of creators with a background in competitive esports as well as winners from an open community qualifier, will compete for part of a €4,000 prize pool.
By tuning into the Pioneer Cup on Twitch, you can see world-class gameplay from competitors like Pengu, MewFan, and FanHots. You can also earn drops, including:
- Pioneer Booster (1 hour)
- Pioneer Giant Token (1 subscription to a participating creator)
Here's the complete schedule of events:
- October 15 at 5:00PM CEST/8:00AM PDT – Four best-of-three rounds
- October 16 at 5:00PM CEST/8:00AM PDT – Four best-of-three rounds
- October 17 at 4:00PM CEST/7:00AM PDT – Three best-of-three-rounds, one best-of-five round
- October 18 at 4:00PM CEST/7:00AM PDT – Two best-of-five rounds, one best-of-three round
The Pioneer Cup is taking place during the March of Giants Pioneer Playtest, which runs until October 18. The Pioneer Playtest is open to all and offers exclusive rewards; request access on the March of Giants Steam page today!
The March of Giants Pioneer Cup was organized by and will be hosted by Khaldor, an esports commentator with over 20 years of experience, known for casting tournaments and sharing his expertise in RTS and MOBA games like Warcraft III, Starcraft II, and Heroes of the Storm. He first got involved with March of Giants when his friend Trikslyr, another renowned esports caster for Heroes of the Storm, invited Khaldor to participate in an early March of Giants playtest. Drawn to the game's blending of RTS and MOBA elements, Khaldor became heavily involved with the community, leading him to create this event for the Pioneer Playtest.
We spoke to Khaldor to learn more about the Pioneer Cup, the level of gameplay you can expect by tuning in, and the competitive future of March of Giants.
Why organize a competitive event before the game is even in Early Access?
Khaldor: I think the most honest answer is because I’ve always had a passion for competition and wanted to see the game played on a high level. I’ve been doing sports all my life and am, as a result, very competitive myself. When I discovered esports as my passion, I became fascinated with the way gaming communities naturally gravitate towards competition and quickly became a part of it. First as a player myself, but then I moved quickly towards commentating matches and organizing events.
March of Giants fascinated me from the very first time I played it. The game just feels great, is a lot of fun to play, and it’s been a long time since I’ve played a game where I find myself always wanting to play “just one more map.” So given my background with esports, I was immediately curious how the game would look like when played by fully organized teams that put time and effort into perfecting their strategies and builds during the playtest.
What went into organizing the Pioneer Cup?
Khaldor: Organizing an event for a new game is always a challenge, especially if it also includes the broadcast and production of the event. With established titles you have typically a large community to draw from, which makes it a lot easier to interest top players in the event. With March of Giants, that community is just now forming, and many of the players that we wanted for our event didn’t have a lot of experience with the game yet. Getting them interested in the tournament before they were even able to play was difficult. One of the major advantages that we had was that I’ve been involved in esports for more than 20 years now, and have built a lot of good relationships over that period. There’s a certain level of trust that made it easier to convince people to take a closer look, and once they got a chance to play the game for themselves, they took to it right away.
On the broadcasting side, we also had a lot of work to do. We needed to create tons of new assets for the livestream and the post-production, and also set up structures for both the broadcast and tournament. The project also started to grow quickly and became bigger than we initially expected. Thankfully, I’m lucky enough to work on the event with some good friends of mine that have been running tournaments with me for years who are also really excited about the game and the event!
What also surprised me was the support we received from the first time we mentioned the project to the March of Giants team. My intent initially was simply to inform them that I would like to run a tournament during the playtest and make sure that the game had an observer mode that would allow us to broadcast the matches. What I didn’t expect was how quickly they not only embraced the idea, but also immediately offered to support us in the effort. They were incredibly excited about the plans and working with them was a great experience for us and made setting up the event much easier.
How familiar are participants with the MOBA genre?
Khaldor: We have a very broad range of players from different kinds of genres that will participate in the event. A lot of the players come from other MOBAs like League of Legends or Heroes of the Storm, but we also have a lot of RTS players that were interested in the event. I think most players that are invested in esports have played a MOBA at one point or another, but there is of course still a very big gap between someone playing a MOBA as their primary game and someone coming from a completely different gaming background.
It is really fun to see how quickly most of them pick up the game. I’ve been watching lots of training matches of the tournament players, and it is super exciting to see how quickly they improve and take to the game! Given the competitive background of most players, it probably shouldn’t be a big surprise, but it’s still very fun to see that progress.
What level of gameplay can viewers expect when they tune into the Pioneer Cup?
Khaldor: Most of the players in the tournament are highly competitive and a lot of them are professional players in other games or have been pro-players in the past. I put forward €1,000 of prize money myself as an incentive for the teams, and Team Liquid was generous enough to match! The March of Giants team then decided to double it, bringing the total to €4,000. Whoever wins this event will be the first March of Giants tournament champion, and the prize pool adds an additional incentive to the teams. Everybody involved is super hyped about the tournament, and the teams have been grinding nonstop since the playtest started! The level of play during the event will be without a doubt as high as it could possibly be this early in the game!
Based on your experience with the game, are there any specific strategies you're hoping to see during the Pioneer Cup?
Khaldor: What I am looking forward to the most, is to see the strategies that fully organized teams will come up with to win the tournament! And I would expect the meta to change very quickly over the duration of the event. Teams will have to adjust quickly to dominant strategies and try to find good counters to beat them. The game is also a lot more dynamic and faster paced than most MOBAs on the market, which makes for some incredibly fun gameplay.
On a more granular level, I think the most interesting aspect to me will be the impact of builds and strategies that focus on the Soldier mechanics and battlements! It’s been fascinating to see players becoming more and more creative with bunker and trench placements even during our limited playtime during the summit in Montreal. I’m extremely excited to find out how far the teams can push these aspects of the game!
What do you foresee is the competitive future of March of Giants?
Khaldor: Personally, I think the game has a lot of potential to become a major esports title. It is not only fun to play, but also great to watch and enjoy as a viewer. Over the years, I’ve hosted hundreds of tournaments for the games I was involved in, and I plan to do the same for March of Giants. The game is super entertaining to watch and I want to be part of growing its esports scene. It’s one of the most fun elements of being part of a new game, to see new talent emerge, the rivalries that develop and the storylines that start to come up. I honestly can’t wait to see all of it unfold, it’s going to be awesome!
In your experience, how important is community and grassroots organizing, like with the Pioneer Cup, to a fledgling MOBA?
Khaldor: There have been a lot of different approaches over the years, but to me personally, a strong grassroots baseline is the best way to develop a competitive scene and keep it healthy long term. Everybody wants to see the game they love played on the big stage, and in time those opportunities will come if the game is fun to watch and people are interested. But to me this has to come naturally, from the ground up, starting with community events. Small tournaments, small leagues that slowly grow and lead to something bigger.
It’s important to give everybody a chance to compete. Not only the aspiring pro gamer, but also the casual player with a competitive mindset that wants to compete in an amateur league or tournament. In my opinion, this is the best way to ensure that the game has a healthy future in esports, especially when viewed in the long term.
You have 20 years of experience as an esports caster. What advice do you have for those who want to play March of Giants competitively in Early Access and beyond?
Khaldor: I think the most important aspect is to play and get noticed. You have to be willing to put yourself out there. Not only in ranked matches, but also in tournaments. Make friends in the game, put in the work, and you’ll get your chance. Consistency is one of the most important aspects of any sport and competitive gaming is no different.
Sign up to play the March of Giants Pioneer Playtest on Steam today, and tune into the March of Giants Pioneer Cup on October 15. To connect with the March of Giants community and its devs, learn more about the Pioneer Playtest and Pioneer Cup, and stay up to date on all the latest news, join the March of Giants Discord.