The Road to Glory Begins
April 24, 2010 – 11:00 AMLocation: Aegis Games Headquarters, Salt Lake, Kolkata
The massive conference hall inside Aegis Games HQ was unusually crowded, buzzing with excitement as every department head, project manager, and esports coordinator filled the sleek black chairs arranged in rows. On the far wall, a giant Omnilink Live Feed flickered, ready to broadcast the much-anticipated announcement to the world.
Seated at the head of the room, Vikram glanced at the final draft on the tablet in front of him — a document so weighty it felt like a historical proclamation. WarFall: Dominion had already surpassed expectations, but now, it was time to cement its global competitive ecosystem.
The lights dimmed, and the corporate logo of Aegis Games pulsed onto the wall, followed by Vikram's face — sharp, confident, every inch the architect of a new age in gaming.
"Warriors of WarFall," his voice echoed, clear and commanding, "your path to glory has begun."
The screen shifted, displaying the Official Regional Qualifier Format.
Official Regional Qualifier Format
Total Qualifying Regions: 10
North America
Europe
South Korea
Japan
India (with a reserved separate quota)
South America
Australia/New Zealand
Middle East & North Africa
Southeast Asia
Global Wildcard Region (Covering all nations not covered above)
The Global Wildcard Region would allow talented teams from smaller nations — including parts of Africa, Eastern Europe, and smaller Pacific islands — to compete for a coveted spot at the Global Finals, something no esports tournament had offered before.
Stage 1 – First Round: Division Battles (Online Broadcast Begins)Each region's 1,000 qualifying squads were divided into 25 groups of 40 squads each.Each group would play 12 matches, one match on each of the game's 12 iconic maps.The Top 8 squads from each group (200 squads per region) would advance to Stage 2.
Stage 2 – Regional Semi-Finals (Full Broadcast & Commentary)The 200 remaining squads per region would be split into 5 groups of 40 squads.Each group would battle across 24 matches (2 on each map), playing over 4 grueling days.The Top 8 squads from each group would advance, leaving 40 squads for the Regional LAN Finals.
Stage 3 – Regional Finals (LAN Event with Full Media Coverage)Each region's Top 40 squads would compete in-person, in massive LAN events held in the largest venues each region could offer.24 intense matches, spread across 12 maps, would decide which 4 squads per region would advance to the Global Finals.In total, 40 squads from across the world would face off in the first-ever WarFall Global Championship.
Regional Prize Pools
The insane viewership and the anticipation for WarFall's competition had attracted both traditional gaming sponsors and companies with no connection to gaming, all eager to tie their brands to the fastest-growing entertainment event on the planet.
North America Prize Pool: $15 million
Primary Sponsors: Logitech, Monster Energy, Nvidia, Red Bull
Europe Prize Pool: $14 million
Primary Sponsors: Corsair, Asus, Adidas
South Korea Prize Pool: $18 million
Primary Sponsors: Samsung, SK Telecom, LG, Kia Motors
Japan Prize Pool: $12 million
Primary Sponsors: Sony, Bandai Namco, Softbank, Nissan
India Prize Pool: ₹90 Crore (~$20 million USD)
Primary Sponsors: Tata Group, Reliance, Mahindra, Kingfisher
South America Prize Pool: $10 million
Primary Sponsors: HyperX, Coca-Cola, Petrobras
Australia/New Zealand Prize Pool: $9 million
Primary Sponsors: Qantas, Razer, Intel, Vegemite (to everyone's confusion)
Middle East & North Africa Prize Pool: $13 million
Primary Sponsors: Emirates, Etisalat, Saudi Telecom Company
Southeast Asia Prize Pool: $11 million
Primary Sponsors: Garena, Singtel, Maybank
Global Wildcard Prize Pool: $8 million
Primary Sponsors: International Telecom Federation, PayPal, Western Union (focused on smaller nations with emerging gaming scenes)Omnilink Announcement – Global Frenzy Begins
The video, along with the full details of the format and prize pools, was instantly uploaded to Omnilink Live. Within an hour, it became the most-shared post on the platform's history.
Post Title: "WarFall Regional Qualifier Format & Global Prize Pools Announced – The Road to Glory Begins"Views: 81 Million in 4 HoursComments: 2.4 Million
Top Comments:
WarLord1989:"India has ₹90 crore? That's more than some national economies!"
Akira_Katana:"Korea vs Japan final, calling it now."
GlobalSquad420:"Wildcard Region gonna upset everyone. Underdogs always do."
RedlineLegion_Official:"This is esports history in the making."
Inside Aritra's Villa – 11:45 AM
Aritra leaned back, fingers lightly tapping his coffee mug. His laptop screen showed Omnilink's backend dashboard, where live traffic spikes were redlining every graph. WarFall was more than a game now — it was the event of the decade.
Katherine sat on the armrest beside him, her knees drawn up, scrolling through Omnilink's trending page. "These prize pools…" she muttered. "It's like some World Cup crossed with reality TV money."
Aritra smiled faintly, but his mind was already moving forward. This wasn't about money. It was about making history — and ensuring India's representation on the global stage was nothing short of dominant.
Silently, his left hand tapped against his phone, pulling up the file he had created the night before — the private dossier containing the names, gaming histories, and performance metrics of the squad he had quietly assembled through the system store.
Hand-picked talents. One squad. Team Vajra.
He didn't tell Katherine about it — she only knew they were exceptional players he was backing quietly. What she didn't know was that each member was a master in their own right, with AI-enhanced reflex training and tactical enhancements far beyond any natural player.
If India was going to take the world stage, he would make sure they took it in style.
Global Gaming News – Live Coverage
News anchors around the world picked up the story, calling WarFall's qualifiers "the most ambitious and expensive esports experiment ever attempted."
The New York Times ran a headline:"$120 Million in Regional Prize Money – Is WarFall Already Bigger Than Football?"
Japan's NHK News ran a feature on Tokyo's qualified teams, highlighting rookie squads from Akihabara competing against esports legends from Osaka.
Even The Guardian in the UK published a full-page spread, calling WarFall "the first true global battle royale, both inside the game and in the real world."