Tencent Games, in partnership with Garena, is holding one of the biggest mobile MOBA tournaments this year in terms of prizing, the Arena of Valor International Championship 2020.
Here’s everything you need to know about AIC 2020, from the participating teams to its upcoming schedule.
Teams
AIC 2020 will feature the best teams from different AoV regions, including Thailand, Vietnam, Chinese Taipei, Indonesia, Korea, and Mainland China. The field of competition will have a total of 12 teams battling against each other.
Here’s a quick look at all the challengers:
Taiwan
- Flash Wolves (GCS)
- MAD Team (GCS)
- Hong Kong Attitude (Taiwan Qualifier)
After winning the Arena of Valor Premier League (APL) last July, Garena Challenger Series’ (GCS) Flash Wolves are now setting their sights on the AIC trophy. However, they only came in second place at the GCS Summer 2020 after being beaten by MAD Team, 3-4.
Thailand
- Talon Esports (RPL Winter)
- Buriram United Esports (RPL Winter)
- POPS Bacon Time (Road to Glory)
Two-time champions Buriram United Esports remain the Thai crowd favorites coming into AIC 2020. They just barely missed their third championship trophy after falling short against Talon Esports at the RoV Pro League (RPL) Winter finals. Will they finally break their 2nd-place curse this time around?
Aside from BRU’s star jungler Sanpett “FirstOne” Marat, viewers should watch out for Talon’s side laner Satittirat “Overfly” Chetnarong who bagged the MVP of Pro League award.
Vietnam
- Saigon Phantom (AOG Winter)
- Team Flash (AOG Winter)
- BOX Gaming (AOG Winter)
AIC 2019 champions Team Flash will be returning to the competition to defend their title. This time around, they’ll be joined by the hottest Vietnamese team right now.
Saigon Phantom, which dominated the Arena of Glory (AOG) Winter 2020 tournament, won against BOX Gaming 4-1 and took home all the tournament MVP final awards. Thóng “Bângg” Lai Bâng was awarded the FMVP and the Best Jungle awards.
Indonesia, South Korea, China
- DG Esports (ASL Season 4)
- Team Timing (Korea Invite)
- All Combo (China Invite)
DG Esports is out to show what Indo pride is all about. They finished second at the AOV Star League Season 4 and will be the sole team to represent Indonesia after ASL first seed EVOS Esports disbanded.
Format
AIC 2020 will take place from November 19 to December 20. For the first time ever, AIC will be played fully online to keep all teams and staff safe from the COVID-19 pandemic.
All 12 teams have been distributed between Groups A and B. The Group Stage matches will be in a single round-robin format. All matches will be played in a best-of-three under the global ban-pick rule.
Group A
- All Combo (China)
- BOX Gaming (Vietnam)
- Buriram United Esports (Thailand)
- DG Esports (Indonesia)
- Hong Kong Attitude (Taiwan Qualifier)
- POPS Bacon Time (Thailand)
Group B
- Flash Wolves (Taiwan)
- MAD Team (Taiwan)
- Saigon Phantom (Vietnam)
- Talon Esports (RPL Winter)
- Team Flash (Vietnam)
- Team Timing (Korea)
- Arena of Valor champion HAK is quitting to play pro Wild Rift
- The AoV International Championship returns with the biggest mobile MOBA prize pool in esports history
Schedule
Here is an overview of the AIC 2020’s stages:
- November 19-29 – Group Stage
- December 2-6 – Quarterfinals
- December 12-13 – Semifinals
- December 20 – Grand final
The full schedule of Group Stage action follows below. Note that all times are in GMT+8.
November 19 (Thursday)
- 5:00 p.m. – Team Flash vs Team Timing
- 7:00 p.m. – Talon vs Flash Wolves
- 9:00 p.m. – Saigon Phantom vs MAD Team
November 20 (Friday)
- 3:00 p.m. – All Combo vs POPS Bacon Time
- 5:00 p.m. – DG Esports vs Buriram United Esports
- 7:00 p.m. – POPS Bacon Time vs Hong Kong Attitude
- 9:00 p.m. – Buriram United Esports vs BOX Gaming
November 21 (Saturday)
- 3:00 p.m. – MAD Team vs Talon
- 5:00 p.m. – Flash Wolves vs Saigon Phantom
- 7:00 p.m. – Team Timing vs MAD Team
- 9:00 p.m. – Team Flash vs Saigon Phantom
November 22 (Sunday)
- 3:00 p.m. – BOX Gaming vs DG Esports
- 5:00 p.m. – All Combo vs Hong Kong Attitude
- 7:00 p.m. – DG Esports vs POPS Bacon Time
- 9:00 p.m. – Buriram United Esports vs Hong Kong Attitude
November 26 (Thursday)
- 5:00 p.m. – All Combo vs DG Esports
- 7:00 p.m. – POPS Bacon Time vs Buriram United Esports
- 9:00 p.m. – Hong Kong Attitude vs BOX Gaming
November 27 (Friday)
- 3:00 p.m. – Saigon Phantom vs Team Timing
- 5:00 p.m. – Team Flash vs Flash Wolves
- 7:00 p.m. – Team Timing vs Talon
- 9:00 p.m. – Team Flash vs MAD Team
November 28 (Saturday)
- 3:00 p.m. – All Combo vs Buriram United Esports
- 5:00 p.m. – BOX Gaming vs POPS Bacon Time
- 7:00 p.m. – Hong Kong Attitude vs DG Esports
- 9:00 p.m. – All Combo vs BOX Gaming
November 29 (Sunday)
- 3:00 p.m. – MAD Team vs Flash Wolves
- 5:00 p.m. – Talon vs Saigon Phantom
- 7:00 p.m. – Flash Wolves vs Team Timing
- 9:00 p.m. – Team Flash vs Talon
Prize pool
Arena of Valor is setting the bar high for other mobile MOBA tournaments with AIC 2020’s prize pool of US$500,000. This is “one of the highest international esports prize pools amongst other similar mobile MOBA genres” to date, according to a Facebook post by AoV.
Where to watch AIC 2020
The Arena of Valor International Championship 2020 will be streamed live on Garena’s YouTube channels like RoV Thailand and Indonesia.
READ MORE: Meet Krit, one of Thailand’s most successful AoV streamers
