World of Tanks tournaments (WGL – Wargaming League) are likely to switch to the 15×15 format.
According to the insider of site Game2Day, the new season of Wargaming.net League will give fans of tank e-sports a big “surprise” – a new format of the matches. If the last season matches on the cybersport scene took place in a 7/68 format, now the developers will expand the team participants to 15 players on the X tier tanks.
There is no official confirmation from Wargaming yet, but conversations about changing the format have been going on for a long time, so the news does not seem to be fiction. The last year Mohammed Fadl, head of World of Tanks e-sports said:
“To begin with, we need to change the gameplay from 7×7 to 15×15, and it will take at least a year, so the next Grand Final will also take place in a 7×7 format – all this time we will test the format of 15×15. And now all of us, perhaps we will see real armies of pro-players or even clans appearing on the stage. ”
The interview with the mention of the 15×15 format was given back in April 2016. We can conclude that the preparations for the transition to the new mode have been completed, and in the new season we are waiting for battles with a new level of entertainment.
If the rumor turns out to be true, it will be quite possible to expect new participants on the professional stage – representatives of the top World of Tanks clans. They would feel better in a familiar format and are quite capable of resisting the current favorites of the League. Which, by the way, will have to revise their team composition. And then another question is brewing: will the current sponsors / organizations “pull” the increased costs for the teams? To keep a roster of 15-17 people is a rather difficult task: it is salaries, equipment for training, forms, and logistics, in the end… But of course, it will be possible to speak about this only when there is an official announcement from Wargaming.
