WCA 2016 to begin soon, prize money from 2015 still owed

WCA 2016 (World Cyber Arena) is set to begin soon. This year’s event will return with three seasons, winners from each competing for the $760,000 prize pool at the LAN finals in Yinchuan, China, in December. However, WCA has yet to pay out prize money owed for tournaments held in June and December of 2015.

The WCA 2016 in-game ticket has appeared in the Dota 2 store, signaling the return of the event.

According to the ticket, WCA 2016 will include three seasons. The winners for each season will meet and compete for the $760,000 prize pool at the LAN finals in Yinchuan, China, this December.

The $2.99 ticket will be valid only for season #1. It is expected that each subsequent season will have its own new ticket to be purchased.

With the return of the World Cyber Arena comes the divulgence that the organization still owes money from both the pro qualifiers held in June 2015 and the LAN finals in December 2015.

Alliance won the WCA 2015 in December and is entitled to a prize of $370,200. According to the team’s former manager, Kelly Ong Xiao Wei, the prize has not been paid as of yet. Jimmy “Demon” Ho was a part of the Summer’s Rift lineup that took first place in the Americas Pro Qualifiers, in June 2015, and should have received the $50,000 first place prize. According to Ho, that didn’t happen either, more than eight months later.

DotaBlast has reached out to WCA for clarification, but has not received an answer at the moment this article was published.

WCA 2015

Photo courtesy of Lawrence “MalystryxGDS” Phillips

The WCA 2015 Grand Finals concluded, giving Alliance their first championship title in one and a half years. The Swedish team bested LGD Gaming in the best-of-five Grand Finals to place their mark on the international scene once again.

WCA 2015 Grand Finals prize distribution

• 1st place – $370,200 – Alliance
• 2nd place – $169,675 – LGD
• 3rd place – $77,125 Team Liquid
• 4th place – $46,275 Wings Gaming

World Cyber Arena

The World Cyber Arena (WCA) is one of the premier organizers of global esports tournaments. In 2015 it boasted a prize pool totaling $3.9 million dollars; the comprehensive series featured four separate titles with invite-only Pro Qualifiers and Open Qualifiers. Players competed for cash and a trip to Yinchuan, China, to play at the WCA 2015 Finals for their share of the $1.9 million Finals prize pool across all titles – WarCraft III, CrossFire, Dota 2, Hearthstone, and Heroes of The Storm.