The Return of Gears

“To survive is to endure and prosper. And we have most certainly survived” Funny how those words spoken by Myrrah, the antagonist from Gears 3 turned out to perfectly mirror the narrative of the Gears competitive scene. Just a few short years ago, we were playing in hotel ballrooms, local LAN centers, and even a venue similar to “Dave and Busters.” All of these for prize pools that rarely, if ever, covered the cost of travel for the majority of players. Nowadays, for larger games, professional teams are flown out by their respective leagues or tournament organizers, but for Gears, you have always gotten there by your own means. There’s a lot of funny stories of how players made their way to events, ranging from loaded minivans -soccer mom style- all the way to selling plasma to cover the cost. Yes, you read that correctly, plasma. Gears fans are nothing if not passionate. It is passion alone that pushed the Gears esports scene thus far, crossing many bumps and hurdles along the way. We’ve had pay-to-enter online tournaments, of which, noprize was ever paid to the winning teams, the promise of LANs that never came to fruition and even tournaments that played all the way from morning until 6 a.m. the following morning. It was not an easy road, but through sheer passion and an intense love of the game, Gears has weathered a storm that would have wiped most scenes off the map, never to be heard from again. Black Tusk Studios, now known as The Coalition, caught wind of this passion and has since taken the reins of Gears esports. Through their care and guidance, Gears of War is now in a place we never thought possible, well, unless your name is Newnez of course. The upcoming Gears esports season brings with it a starting prize pool of $1 million dollars that will certainly increase through crowdfunding, which was also announced for the ensuing season. Major esports organizations such as OpTic Gaming and TeamEnVyUs have joined the ranks and more will be sure to follow. Gears offers an amazing ROI not seen in many esports titleswith a relatively low cost barrier, large talent pool and prize money that rivals some of the larger esports titles. This past MLG Columbus event saw many new faces move into the coveted top-eight positions and we can be sure this is a trend we will continue to see in a new title. TheCoalition has made it extremely clear, the feeling-out phase is complete and they are now 100 percent committed to the success of competitive Gears. They have brought in pro players to playtest the new competitive game type, reworked spectator functions, and made their own efforts in pitching to reputable esports organizations on why they should enter into the Gears esports scene. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded and no other community has had their faith repeatedly tested as much as the Gears community. Gears has seen the glory of being on the MLG circuit and the relegation to crowded ballrooms, full of loose cables crisscrossing the floor, where one misstep could (and did)take out entire streams. Now it’s back with a circuit that will circle the globe in an attempt to bring the scene to international crowds. The stage is set, the actors are in place and with TC directing, the show is on. See you in October.

Are you excited for the future of Gears esports? Let us know by commenting below or tweeting us @GAMURScom. Photo credits: esportsGears