Red Bull Wololo V: Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition eSport Tournament

For a few months now, Lucky7Bonus has been talking about eSport competitions around great video games like CS:GO, League of Legends or Trackmania. Today, we're going to take a look at the eSport competition around the game Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Even if you're not a regular in the video game world but were born in the 90's, this iconic game will surely bring back memories. So are you ready to experience the world's greatest players in Age of Empires?

What is Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition?

The game was originally released in 1999 under the name: Age of Empires II The Age of Kings. At the time, it was a great success for Microsoft, winning awards such as "Best Game of the Year" and "Best Strategy Game of the Year".

Indeed, Age of Empires II is a real-time strategy game where you play as an ancient civilization that you will evolve through the ages, starting most often in the Dark Ages and reaching the Imperial Ages. The player can win the game by destroying his opponents with his army, by creating a wonder and defending it or by recovering the relics found in the four corners of the map.

As you can imagine at the time, players were playing against the computer in Campaign mode, discovering the legendary stories of William Wallace, Joan of Arc or even Genghis Khan. Playing online was not really in vogue, some people would meet up to play in a LAN directly and others would play quietly from home, in Skirmish against the computer, whose difficulties could vary.

After the failure of Age of Empires III in 2005, there was not much hope for the continuation of the Age of Empires saga. It took 14 years before the series returned to the forefront.

In November 2019, Microsoft offers a remastered version with Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. Graphic redesign, new civilizations, adjustments and especially the online mode with competitive games in 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 or 4v4. In addition to that, the game has regular updates, seasonal events to unlock skins on characters or buildings directly in game. New civilizations and campaigns have appeared since 2019 via paid DLC.

For a little over a year now, Red Bull Gaming has been running international and online competitions on Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. The game becomes very complex at high levels. Players must manage what is known as the "macro" and "micro". The macro is about the general management of your civilization, the economy, the production with the villagers, the advancement of technologies and in the ages, etc. It is a global vision to be ahead of the opposing player, trying to counter his game choices or imposing himself.

Concerning the micro, it is the ability of the players to manage precisely the movements or attacks of some of their units. This can be kitting: avoiding enemy arrows by moving his unit at the right time or optimizing the trajectory of a villager so that his output is higher during the harvest of an ore. Here's a quick look at the Twitch clip from TheViper. TheViper locks up the enemy army by building houses thanks to his villagers, the time to bring all his camel cavalry and exterminate the whole enemy army.

Clip Twitch : https://www.twitch.tv/theviper/clip/OriginalInventivePrariedogFUNgineer-WFfutcoeaGVoVquF 

You'll quickly notice that players are everywhere at once, creating villagers and assigning them tasks, as well as harassing opponents and building barricades to best protect their strategic positions. Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, like most real-time strategy games, requires real dexterity and a strong mindset.

The 5th edition of the Red Bull Wololo

First of all, why the name "Wololo"? Simply because it is the sound of the priests present in Age of Empires, first of the name, released in 1997. A reference in the field.

This competition brings together the best players in the world to compete in 1v1. The main event will take place from September 13th to 19th 2021.

During the last event, the Red Bull Wololo IV, there were no less than 40,000 average viewers on Twitch during the 5 days of competition, and with about 1,000 players registered to try to participate in the tournament and face the best players on Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. A record.

This fifth edition is the last turning point to decide between the best ranked players in the world, on this legendary game. The qualifications have already taken place from August 14 to 15, 2021, with the group stages taking place on the first days, from September 13 to 16. The 12 best players will meet again for the semi-final and the final which will take place on September 18 and 19.

For the first time, a physical event will take place in Heidelberg, Germany for the Red Bull Wololo V final. The finalists are invited on site to compete in a setting totally adapted to the event.

International behemoths battling it out

Speaking of players, who are they? Most of them are former Age of Empire II players. Specialists and competitors of real-time strategy games:

• TheViper, Norwegian player and streamer. Known for breaking out of the meta and throwing surprises at his opponents. He is considered the best player in the world in 2020.

• TaToH, Spanish player. Considered the 16th best player in the world in 2020, specialist in demolition ships.

• Liereyy, Austrian player. He has been noticed for his remarkable abilities in micro with his archers. Winner of the Red Bull Wololo IV and II.

• Hera, Canadian player. Known to be an excellent player with the Hussars and his macro, to manage both his economy and the harassment of his enemies.

Here are the 4 most famous and most followed players. Unfortunately, there is no French player present during this international competition on Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. However, you can count on these players to show you the high level of play, they often find themselves facing each other to compete for the best places.

100,000 $ cash prize for the 5th edition

In previous editions, the cashprize amounted to $30,000 in total. This was still quite low, as there are nowadays eSport competitions with much higher cash prizes. However, this year, for the 5th edition, Red Bull Wololo has increased the cash prize to $100,000. The distribution will be as follows:

• 1st place: $26,000.

• 2nd place: $16,000.

• 3rd and 4th place: $8,000.

• 5th to 8th place: $5,000.

• 9th to 14th place: $2,500.

It is a way to reward the participation of all the players, almost. And it's a way to make the show even more impressive. How much could the cash prizes be on the new Age of Empires IV? We're looking forward to finding out soon.

Where to watch the Red Bull Wololo V?

Of course, the competition will be streamed live on Red Bull Gaming's YouTube and Twitch channel. The official cast will be in English with the webcam of the 2 players who will face each other. However, if you prefer a quieter and more enjoyable live stream in French, Lucky7Bonus recommends you to follow OGN Empires, a French streamer.

OGN started his Age of Empires II The Age of Kings videos in 2013 with a few 2v2 clashes with friends of his, he quickly began commenting on games from more experienced and competitive players. With the release of Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, his YouTube and Twitch channel explodes.

He then became the French commentator for the Red Bull Wololo. They also organize on his side different charity events and competitions around the game Age of Empire II: Definitive Edition. We strongly recommend you to follow the competition on his live with the "singes", the nickname given to his viewers.

Where to bet on eSports?

It is not yet possible to bet on the competitive matches of Age of Empire II: Definitive Edition and the Red Bull Wololo V tournament. However, with the growing hype around the game and the upcoming arrival of the new Age of Empires IV game, this could quickly become a possibility.

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