The 2021 Arena of Valor International Championship came to a close recently. After an epic seven-round tussle with Vietnamese esports organization V Gaming, Buriram United Esports from Thailand emerged as the league’s victors with a 4-3 scoreline after a month of hard competition between the Top 16 Asian teams. Buriram United Esports brought home a whopping $4,00,000 in prize money, while V Gaming received a total of $2,00,000 in prize money.
Nunu, a MidLaner for Buriram United, was named Finals MVP for his outstanding performance. He was given a financial prize of $20,000 for his efforts and exceptional gameplay.
Ranking of Buriram United in group stage of Arena of Valor International Championship
V Gaming had previously topped Group A in the competition’s Group Stage, winning all six of their matches without losing a single round. Buriram United’s road to the finals, on the other hand, was paved with difficulties, as they were placed third in Group A, winning eight rounds and losing four games out of six games. The Taiwanese squad of “One Team” took first place in Group B. On their way to the Knockout Stage, the team only dropped one round.
The top four teams from each of the two groups advanced to the Knockout Stage, where they competed in a double-elimination bracket. V Gaming also breezed through the Knockout Stage, losing only one round against Saigon Phantom in the Upper Bracket Finals. V Gaming appeared to be on their way to winning the championship and taking the title up until this point.
Buriram United’s aspirations were dashed when they fell to Saigon Phantom in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals and were relegated to the Lower Bracket. The squad finally came alive in the Lower Bracket quarterfinals, defeating the tournament’s top opponents and maintaining their composure in crucial situations of the match. Buriram United won the lower bracket finals with a score of 4-3 over team Hong Kong Attitude. Fans were anticipating an exciting duel between Buriram United and V Gaming in the Grand Finals.
Buriram United had a strong start in the Grand Finals, winning the first round, but V Gaming rallied to win the next three rounds. Buriram needed to win all of their rounds to win the championship, and they achieved just that, winning three rounds back-to-back.
The Arena of Valor 2022 roadmap was presented during the live broadcast of the finals. The prize pool for the Arena of Valor World Cup 2022 was also announced, and it stands at a whopping $10 million, the largest in Esports history for the gaming title of Arena of Valor.