Famous for their energy drinks, as well as sponsorship of major sports teams and the F1 racing team, Red Bull have continued to strengthen their links with the esports industry as they have agreed to be one of the main sponsors for a forthcoming Age Of Empires esports event.
Earlier this year Red Bull partnered with VCT, the Valorant Champions Tour, but their latest move into the esports industry is with a far less well known esports title.
Red Bull Wololo: Legacy
The Red Bull Wololo: Legacy event will feature the definitive edition of three different incarnations of the Age of Empires game franchise.
Each edition will have its own esports tournament, complete with different competitors and its own esports betting markets, where people can enter a range of different qualifying events in order to try and earn a place in the Finals.
Reaching the Finals will be a moment to remember for the competitors as the finals are due to be held between the 21st and 30th of October in the stunning venue of Castle Heidelberg, an incredible 13th century castle perched on the hills around the city that bears its name.
What Tournaments Will Take Place At Red Bull Wololo: Legacy?
There will be three separate events at Red Bull Wololo: Legacy, each with its own qualification tournament and eventual winner.
The titles that the tournaments will be for are:
- Age of Empires I – Definitive Edition
- Age of Empires II – Definitive Edition
- Age of Empires IV
The tournament, which first was competed for back in 2020, has been a surprising hit with fans attracting more than 70,000 viewers back in September 2021 when the finals of the last tournament were played.
The popularity of the tournament and the relevant dearth of strategic based esports, mean that the tournament has begun to attract some major sponsors. AMD, BACKFORCE and AGON by AOC have all been announced as official tournament partners.
Furthermore, the tournament also has official endorsement and support from Microsoft, the company that publishes the Age of Empires series of games.
It is not the first time the software giant has supported an Age of Empires event, as it had previously worked with Mogul on an Age of Empires II esports tournament.
25th Anniversary Celebration
The forthcoming tournament is the sixth in the Red Bull Wololo series of events and will be a celebration of 25 years since the very first Age of Empires title was released back in 1997.
Each of the three tournaments will be slightly different to the other.
The Age of Empires I tournament will feature players from South East Asia, as this is the region where the original game remains most popular and most often played.
This exclusively invitational event will bring together the eight best players of the original game to compete against each other until just two remain, who will then travel to Castle Heidelberg for the final.
The Age of Empires II tournament is a more open event and will include all of the four previous winners of the Red Bull Wololo tournament. Alongside the eight invited participants, any player will be able to enter a series of Open Qualifiers, which start on August 20th and 27th.
Eight players that qualify from the Open Tournament will join the eight invited players at Castle Heidelberg for the final.
Red Bull Wololo Online Cup
Lastly, the latest game in the saga, Age of Empires IV will see another open tournament called the Road To Red Bull Wololo online cup, which will see 10 players earn their spot to play in the Finals.
Running every weekend from June to the end of September, the first three weekends of each month will see the top 10 players, plus six other qualifiers, compete in a Monthly Final. Two competitors from each monthly final will earn a spot at the finals.
Alongside those eight monthly qualifiers, the two players that accrue the most weekly points throughout the qualification process will also earn a spot at the finals.
You can also qualify for the finals through the Golden League and the Last Chance Qualifier, which will be the final opportunity to earn a spot at the finals.
If you wish to participate, you can sign up for many of the different qualifying events right now.