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PUBG goes pro as plans for first official esports season is unveiled
China will be critical for the battle royale game's success
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This article originally appeared on ABACUS
As the 2018 esports season winds down for many games, PUBG has their eyes on 2019 -- laying out plans for the game’s first official professional competition.
In spite of the battle royale boom this year, PUBG has been hesitant to launch official tournaments, with PlayerUnknown himself saying his game isn’t quite ready for esports yet right as a major esports event -- the PUBG Global Invitational (PGI) Berlin -- was taking place.
PUBG, the battle royale pioneer
It seems that PUBG Corp is finally ready to take the plunge, saying, “PUBG esports is about to get serious.”
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How serious? It’s offering up a $2 million prize pool for professional players to battle over, starting in late January.
In its latest announcement, PUBG Corp unveiled nine pro regions for the official PUBG esports tournaments.
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Among those nine regions, six of them will be running on a “pro league structure”, while three will be running on a “pro circuit” structure. PUBG Corp didn’t clarify how that would work, but assured that all the regions will be competing on the same timeline, and all will have the opportunity to send a representative to the 2019 Global Championship in November.
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