Zephyrnet Logo

SMITE: The First SPL Season X Phase 1 Details!

Date:

Year 10 of SMITE has officially launched this week, and finally, Hi-Rez Studios shared some information about the SPL!


The last few days have all been about Year 10 of SMITE, more specifically about the new Conquest map, the new God Surtr, the new, reworked and removed items, and the new best start on Conquest. But Hi-Rez Studios and Titan Forge Games have been a bit quiet about one of the most important aspects of SMITE – its competitive scene, such as SMITE Pro League. But a few hours ago, that also ended, as Hi-Rez Studios shed some light on the SPL Season X!

While the announcement mainly went over the first half of the Season, especially Phase 1’s format and schedule. The first segment of SPL Season X has been dubbed Path to Masters, teams will have to prove themselves in the crucible of the SPL before they can head on to play in SMITE Masters in June. The roadmap of Path to Masters looks something like this:

  • On January 29, Free Agency Ends, so teams have to submit rosters for the first parts of the Season
  • Between February 23 and 26, the SPL will hold a Promotion Tournament
  • The Season X Kickoff Tournament will be held between March 24 and 26
  • Between April and May 14, the Path to Masters Regular Season will be played out
  • Path to Masters Playoffs will take place between May 26 and 28
  • Finally, the first SMITE Masters is taking place between the 15th and 25th of June

The Divisions are coming to SMITE

Apart from the new names, one of the most important changes is Divisional Play. The SPL will be divided into 2 four-team divisions, called Order and Chaos Division. The members of each Division will play each other twice until June Masters, while cross-division showdowns will be a bit more scarce, happening only once during each of the SPL Phases. The Order and Chaos Divisions will be drafted after the Season X Kickoff Tournament with a really interesting method: the winner of the Kickoff Tourney are placed in a Division, and then send a team of their choice to the other Division. Then that team chooses another team to go to the Division they are not in, and so on, until the 8 SPL Teams have all found their places.

Atlantis Leviathans winning SMITE World Championship 2022

Atlantis Leviathans winning SMITE World Championship 2022

Another welcome change is the POV Streaming, which lets players stream matches from their point of view, and helps viewers gain a deeper understanding of what goes on with one single player in a given role, and how to play that role to perfection. Those players who don’t have their own Twitch channel can also be followed, as Hi-Rez will designate a channel for them for the course of the matches.

A smaller change lets teams qualified in the Promotion Tournaments enter SPL under new names, so SWC-participants, such as Eldritch Hounds and Hex Mambo can keep their team identities should they promote themselves to the SMITE Pro League.

Teams of the SMITE Pro League

Teams of the SMITE Pro League

Lastly, Hi-Rez Studios have revealed the Season X Path to Masters Format, which takes place between April 14 and June 25 in its entirety. The 8 teams Divided in 2 Division will play a Double Round Robin in their Divisions, and a single round-robin cross-division. Each Division’s top team will receive prizes, as well as automatically qualify for the SMITE Masters in June. The other teams will compete in the Path to Masters, with the Playoffs giving opportunities for additional prizes and seeding for the Masters Event at the beginning of Summer. The broadcasting times have also changed, as the SPL will now start at 1PM ET on Fridays, and 11AM ET on Saturdays and Sundays – but the place won’t change, as you can still follow the biggest SMITE League on the official Twitch and Youtube channels, as well as the game’s Steam Store Hub.

These are plenty of details for the upcoming Season X of the SMITE Pro League. This year being SMITE’s 10th anniversary, fans and players can expect Hi-Rez Studios to have some surprises for us for the rest of the year, so make sure to follow ESTNN for the updates on the SPL – also, the Free Agency Period is ending. This means that next week, we should get a look and all of the new teams of the SPL, SCC and SOC!

spot_img

Mobile

Latest Intelligence

spot_img