BAM14 – Trailer Launch, Announces Australian TEKKEN and STREET FIGHTER Qualifiers for ESPORTS WORLD CUP

BAM (Battle Arena Melbourne), Australia’s national fighting game community (FGC) Championship, brings the FGC together across an eclectic variety of titles, while presenting a top class competitive event attracting players from around the world. Among its returning world tour partners, this year sees BAM act as a qualifier for ESPORTS WORLD CUP

On May 31, June 1 and June 2, 2024, BAM will host nearly 50 events for gaming communities during major fighting game championships at Moonee Valley Racecourse.

 

  • ESPORTS WORLD CUP Qualifiers (Top 2 placers) for TEKKEN 8 & Street Fighter 6
  • TEKKEN World Tour Master Event with international ladder points and $5,000 prize
  • ARC World Tour Gold Event with international ladder points
  • Major tournaments for Super Smash Bros Ultimate, TEKKEN 8, MORTAL KOMBAT 1, STREET FIGHTER 6, GUILTY GEAR STRIVE among 47+ tournaments
  • Spectator seating, Casual freeplay gaming, Splatoon, Beyblade, Artist Alley and more

As a major event on the global fighting game (FGC) circuit, BAM is both a community event and an international gaming destination. By unique players, BAM is the largest esports event in Australia and will once again host TEKKEN World Tour and Guilty Gear Strive’s Arc World Tour. This year, the event causing a global sensation across esports, the ESPORTS WORLD CUP, will see an Australian qualifier at BAM. 

WORLD TOUR EVENTS AND QUALIFIERS

Esports World Cup: Debuting this year, EWC has created a sensation with its Global Tournament encompassing dozens of the top competitive titles, a massive $60m USD prize pool and world finals. EWC titles at BAM this year are TEKKEN 8 and STREET FIGHTER 6

Tekken World Tour returns to Australia as BAM hosts a Master Event, and world class Tekken players have registered to take the all important points on the TWT leaderboard and a $5,000 cash prize.

Arc World Tour at BAM will be a Gold Event for Guilty Gear Strive and Granblue VS Fantasy Rising – offering big points to qualify for the Arc World Tour finals

TEKKEN™8 & ©Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.

International players of note returning to BAM include TEKKEN masters KNEE (Last year’s BAM champion), Chanel, Rest and Ulsanfrom South Korea, and Thailand’s Book. For Guilty Gear Strive, last year’s BAM champion, IBUSHIGIN|Leo from Japan defends his title, and there are players from Malaysia, Singapore and the USA.

Australian competitors, such as Capcom Cup finalist and 2023 Street Fighter 6 champion Christian “ROF” Dedalija, will have their work cut out for them against their peers from around the country and the world.

BAM is the biggest event of the year across the ANZ fighting game community. Over 1,000 unique players have attended each event since 2019, with players coming from all over the country to claim a coveted BAM trophy and enjoy the fun and glory of competing.

For a look back at BAM 2023, watch the recap trailer here

A sample of images from the event below.

Watch Live: The event will be live streamed on CouchWarriors, CouchWarriorsSmash, the official Tekken World Tour channel and multiple community channels (Schedule is found on the registration page)

BAM11 – Results

Another huge weekend has marked the 11th annual Battle Arena Melbourne! BAM11 saw Australia’s biggest fighting game event step into its second decade, and third year at the Melbourne Convention Centre.  The CouchWarriors team, a group of community volunteer organisers is incredibly proud of the event blown away by the response of the community.

Among other achievements, BAM11 had 1,020 unique fighting game competitors! Add to that nearly 500 spectators, PC LAN and Splatoon 2 competitors, and our total attendance by footfall was 4,412! This is by far the biggest open entry esports competition in Australia and New Zealand. Thank you all for another record breaking year!

Of course, the real story of BAM11 every year is the incredible feats in each tournament. With 42 events over 3 days, there were multiple national championships and hundreds of stories of small rivalries to legendary finals including many with international superstars.

We saw the first Mortal Kombat 11 major, the biggest tournament ever for Smash Ultimate and global points on the line in Tekken World Tour and Capcom Pro Tour. In fact, tournament attendances rose across the board. All this, and we crowned ANZ champions in the BAM PATH TO EVO finals for SFV, Tekken and Smash Ultimate, meaning three players are going to EVO World Championships with flight and accom expenses paid.

Hit up the Twitch replays for each game by following the guide in this post

Photos:

Videos:

TWT Recap video

CPT Recap video

Read on for more results and info! (Full results at bottom of post)

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BAM11 Official Tshirts!

Revealing the BAM11 official Tshirts! Grab these when you Register for the tournament, or add to your registration. You can also purchase at the event. www.smash.gg/bam11

This year we have two designs. First, a characterful XI symbol with art by JEL!  See more of her amazing work here https://www.artstation.com/jelart

Plus we have a new concept for FGC lifestyle T’s with the FGC BBQ Tshirt! Nice design by CouchWarriors QLD’s own TKjaBBu

Limited numbers at BAM in White and Black. Let us know if you’re interested in more of this kind of thing in future!

CouchWarriors announce Mortal Kombat 11 as Platinum Sponsor for BAM11

[Press Release]

Most anticipated fighting game of 2019, Mortal Kombat™11, announced as Platinum Sponsor for BAM11, Australia’s major fighting game championships.

Thursday May 18, 2019 – In anticipation of this year’s biggest fighting game release, CouchWarriors today announced MORTAL KOMBAT™ 11 as the presenting partner for BAM11 – Australia’s largest open esports event and fighting game championships.

Leading the many prizes on offer, this major BAM11 Mortal Kombat™ 11 tournament will feature a $2,000 AUD cash prize bonus, while every participant will receive exclusive Mortal Kombat™ 11 merch for entering.

BAM11, or Battle Arena Melbourne 11, presented by Mortal Kombat™ 11, will welcome spectators, new players and pro players alike on May 17-19, 2019 at Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The show floor will feature a dedicated Mortal Kombat™ 11 space where players will compete for the title of first MK11 national champion.

Register for the BAM 11 Mortal Kombat™ 11 tournament here: www.smash.gg/bam11

 

Entering the Realm: Community Launch tournaments in April

To kickstart the return of the famed series to Earthrealm, Mortal Kombat™ 11 will support four tournaments the week of launch packed with prizes. These events will be the first opportunity after the game releases for players to learn new tricks and show off their skills.

 

Mortal Kombat™ 11 is the latest instalment in the critically-acclaimed franchise, developed by award-winning NetherRealm Studios, and is scheduled for release beginning April 23 for PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, PlayStation®4 Pro computer entertainment system, the Xbox One family of devices including Xbox One X, Nintendo Switch™ system and PC.

 

Pre-order Mortal Kombat™ 11 to receive the in-game, playable character, Shao Kahn. To learn more about Mortal Kombat 11, visit www.mortalkombat.com or join the community conversation on Facebook (MortalKombat), Instagram (@MortalKombat), Twitter (@MortalKombat), Twitch (NetherRealm), YouTube (Mortal Kombat), Discord (MortalKombat) or Reddit (MortalKombat).

BAM11 – Battle Arena Melbourne 11 2019 Announcement

CouchWarriors presents: Battle Arena Melbourne 11 – #BAM11
May 17-19, 2019

Australia’s major fighting game event brings together players across the nation for fun and competition. It’s the largest open entry esports event in the region and an international destination.

The final stage of BAM PATH TO EVO, sending the top ANZ players in three games to EVO World Championships
http://www.bampathtoevo.com

REGISTRATION: SMASH.GG/BAM11

WHERE:
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC)
1 Convention Centre Pl, South Wharf VIC 3006
Bays 1-2 (Opposite Crown Casino)

More info to come! Join the Facebook event for updates.

Gfinity Elite Series SFV Players at Battle Arena Melbourne 10.

The upcoming GFINITY Elite Series will feature a large selection of Street Fighter V players from the community. With BAM10 as the major fighting game event in the calendar year just finished, it’s a great opportunity to look at how these players finished up. How will this latest ranking of the top SFV players in the country play out when the teams face off at Elite Series in the coming weeks?  Their placement at BAM10 will be a good gauge!

The Chiefs main Squad

At the moment, it looks like Chiefs are in the box seat, with the only two Australian players to make top 8 against fierce local and international competition both in that team. In fact, Somniac, as top placer via tiebreak with Bksama, won a trip to Vegas as our EVO representative.

Watch the winning moment: https://clips.twitch.tv/BlazingSmoothLapwingPJSalt

However, a few close calls in pools and previous tournaments suggests some upsets from the likes of ROF and TravisStyles are certainly possible.

Check out all of the players and their teams that came to BAM 10.

See the full BAM10 results list here (Photos and videos linked)

7th Somniac Sydney Chiefs
7th Bksama Sydney Chiefs
9th Travis Styles Melbourne Order
9th ROF Melbourne Order
13th RumoursOfGhosts Melb Avant Gaming
13th ZG Sydney Chiefs
17th GhostChips Brisbane Deceptors
17th Zed Melbourne Order
17th Bug Melbourne Order
17th FREEZA Sydney Roar
25th Camzace Brisbane Deceptors
25th Rupps Perth Ground Zero
25th Caesura Perth Ground Zero
25th BurnoutFighter Melbourne Order
25th Cadzow_ Sydney Roar
25th Dale Sydney Roar
25th Pahnda Sydney Chiefs
33rd RobbieSla. Brisbane Deceptors
33rd SpaceGhost Melb Avant Gaming
33rd Syo Perth Ground Zero
33rd Falco Sydney Chiefs
49th AwildLLAMA Melb Avant Gaming
49th MiM Melbourne Order
65th Staticz Perth Ground Zero
65th Schenkhan Perth Ground Zero
97th AcrylicSaint Sydney Roar
97th Bao Special Brisbane Deceptors

 

Twitch and CouchWarriors Announce ANZ Pathway to EVO World Championships

This past weekend CouchWarriors’ Battle Arena Melbourne (BAM10) reached its 10th Anniversary. ANZ’s largest open entry esports event, held May 18-20 at Melbourne Convention Centre, once again broke records with over 2,000 attendees. It was also the debut of a major partnership with Twitch TV to reward ANZ players and grow the fighting game esports scene.

 

Announced during BAM10, this will provide flights and accommodation for 3 players who reach the highest placement among Australian or New Zealand players at BAM. Also announced is an ongoing tournament points system which will lead to next year’s BAM11, in which players will once again have the opportunity to prove themselves and win a trip to EVO 2019.

More info from this Twitch Video

Having become a major international event with over 30 global pro players attending, the addition of a premium event reward just for ANZ players provides a clear goal for local players to strive for. In this year’s event, the top players from Street Fighter V, Tekken 7, and Super Smash Bros 4 WiiU were chosen.  These players came out on top:

 

  • Naveed “ChandNY” Iqbal  – Tekken 7
  • Xavier “Somniac” Nardella – Street Fighter V
  • Nick “Extra” McKenzie – Super Smash Bros 4 WiiU

 

The biggest tournament event in ANZ fighting game history, BAM10 grew again with over 2,000 attendees and over $40,000 in cash and prizes. The gaming convention and esports event featured global pro tour stops for Tekken World Tour as a Master Event, and Capcom Pro Tour as a Ranking Event. This alongside a huge lineup of national tournaments and convention activities including access to preview games, indiecade, Nintendo Game zone, PC LAN, Artist Alley and Cosplay.

 

Results from BAM10 can be found here

https://smash.gg/tournament/battle-arena-melbourne-10/events

 

Media Kit including event Photography can be found here

http://bit.ly/bam10mediakit

Facebook Gallery Day 3

 

More detailed full results, further photography and video replays from BAM10 will be released in the coming days.

 

Follow CouchWarriors social:

Facebook: CouchWarriors | Twitter: @CouchWarriors / #BAM10

Follow Twitch ANZ social: @TwitchANZ

Tons to do at BAM10 on a Spectator Pass!

This year at BAM10, there’s more than ever for you to do, even if you only enter the event with a Spectator pass! It’s only $20 for the whole weekend available online or at the door. While only Competitor Passes can play in our hosted tournaments and casual areas, here is the list of fantastic activity on offer at BAM10.

1. See incredible matches first hand as competitors duke it out in the pools and on stage.

2. Play Preview Games Soul Calibur VI and EX Fighting Layer

3. Join in the fun at the Nintendo Play Area

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