With the success of the Axie Esports 2021 launch, the Axie community was taken by storm with the overflowing positivity and satisfaction coming from all 34 Esports events all over the globe. It was clear to say all players in Axie Infinity want to see more tournaments and a chance to take part in said tournaments. However, surprisingly enough there is a particular group in the Axie community that did not take the spotlight although some did set up some of the Esports events in 2021. That group is Axie Infinity’s very own content creators. It could be said that Axie Infinity would not flourish this well till now would it not be for its content creators. Ranging from Twitch streamers to TikTok content creators, the entertainment and information provided by our content creators made the Axie community lively and progressive. Therefore, with Axie Esports Tournaments on a high, Axie Infinity announced its first-ever Creator Cup.
Axie Infinity’s Creator Cup is the first-ever tournament comprised of content creators of Axie Infinity. Hosted in the Philippines, eight Filipino content creators of Axie Infinity come together to battle it out in a tournament with 200 AXS (Axie Infinity Shards worth 25,690 USD) in prizes for the taking. Taking place on the 4th of December, The Creator’s Cup was hosted by Zyori, head of Esports and Events of Sky Mavis, and Theeban, Co-Founder of METAT8esports as the English casters of the Livestream showcasing the Creator Cup alongside other casters of Axie Infinity to stream live in different languages for the respective regions of the Axie community.
Comprised in an elaborate double-elimination format, eight content creators face off against each other at random in 4 rounds in the winner bracket. After each match-up, the loser from each bracket will be moved down into the losers bracket where they will get a chance to fight again to reach second place in the Creator Cup. Streaming live at exactly 4 am (WET), the tournament kicked off with over 49,000 views at its peak with many of Axie’s beloved community cheering for their content creators and many fascinating features to be appreciative about in the stream.
An amazing feat that is truly phenomenal in the Creator Cup was the execution of the event as a whole. With the hosts and commentators of the event itself being unable to come to the Philippines itself due to current Covid restrictions, the whole event had to be done with careful and perfect coordination, with the Livestream from the Casters in their respective countries and the stage and event itself taking place in the Philippines where the 8 content are face to face with each other in real life. Nothing short of spectacular performance from all casters especially those from very different time zones as they kept the large audience entertained with their charisma and enthusiasm to see the event through. The event was clearly well planned and well prepared with Axie themed designs showcased throughout the Livestream and the real-life stage with no differences that can be pointed out. Another thing that is noteworthy to point out is the involvement and interaction with the contestants midway through the event which gives a more personal attachment between the spectators and the contenders. It is although quite unfortunate for all casters and hosts to not be able to travel to the Philippines in person with current times and travel restrictions, one can only hope for another Creator Cup in the near future but with everyone in person.
The arena matches are something no Axie player would ever want to miss. Between the variations of poison teams, immortal plants to backdoor teams, all 8 contestants fought in such a creative manner that it can be seen like watching chess. Reading energy, card selection, and making full use of one’s Axie team is clear to take advantage of each match and each contestant is well aware of that and the pressure of not making a mistake by missing a card or skipping a turn can result in a possible loss and elimination. The pressure even adds up with each matchup, both contenders will have to seat across each other up on stage in real life giving a sense of intensity as both of them have to show proper body language and a sense of spirit to not lose morale in front of their opponents. Truly this Creator Cup should be the basis and foundation of all future Axie tournaments.
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FINALIST
Eric Tai (Eruption) Vs Hazel ( Hezelya)
After Thirteen long hours of constant plays and many matches between all players, the finals go to our final 2 contestants, Eruption and Hezelya, where both players will battle it out in a best out of 5 matchups. This was a long-awaited match with both contestants showing fatigue from the long hours of competitive gaming. It is really admirable for these two to have made it this far and it really captures their determination and ambition to win the Creator Cup. If there were any way to properly describe a gamer’s frustrating term “close comeback’, it would be the entirety of this matchup. With amazing card placement and a great team lineup, Hezelya won two rounds out of the five in a quick and demoralizing way for Eruption to make a quick comeback. Any gamer in any game would see the odds of winning to be low and would see this as a complete victory to the opponent but that was not the case for Eruption. After a quick break and a change in Axie lineup, Eruption swooped in with an amazing strategy and determination to continuously wear down Hezelya’s axie and Hezelya herself can be seen clearly to be worn out and stressed by Eruption’s unyielding desire to keep going and even landing a very close draw right when Hezelya was close to a win.
Winner
Hazel ( Hezelya)
Even with game-breaking plays and two-win catchup from Eruption, the match inevitably landed to Hezelya with determinization arguably equal to his own. While it was very close, it is clear to see in terms of lineup and card drawing Hezelya had the advantage and it all ended with Hezelya scoring the last win. This match along with many other matches in the Creator Cup truly set the Axie community on the edge of their seats and truly everyone who participated in this tournament should receive a round of applause for such a great entertaining tournament.
Congratulations to the winner of the Axie Creator Cup! It was such an entertaining stream to watch and pretty much all of the matchups had me cheering and on the edge of my seat. Really hope to see another Creator Cup in the near future or maybe another tournament hosted by Axie Infinity. Truly, what a great time to live with so many unexpected things to occur and it has been great being a part of the Axie community till today.
Hope to see more and soon!
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