The ''Smite'' World Championship (SWC) is the annual

world championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

for the

multiplayer online battle arena Multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) is a subgenre of strategy video games in which two teams of players compete against each other on a predefined battlefield. Each player controls a single character with a set of distinctive abilities that im ...

video game ''

Smite ''Smite'' is a 2014 free-to-play, third-person multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, and Amazon Luna. Teams from North America, South America, Europe and China travelled to

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

for the tournament. The US$2.6 million prize pool for the tournament was at the time the third-highest in

eSports Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...

, behind the third and fourth iterations of ''

Dota 2 ''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota 2' ...

'''s The International and just slightly ahead of the ''League of Legends'' World Championships. One of the North American teams, COGnitive Prime, took home the first place prize of $1.3 million.

Season 2 (2016)

The 2016 ''Smite'' World Championship was held from January 7–10, 2016, and featured tournaments for both the PC and

Xbox One The Xbox One is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. Announced in May 2013, it is the successor to Xbox 360 and the third base console in the Xbox series of video game consoles. It was first released in North America, parts of ...

versions of the game. The event was streamed on

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...

on the ''Smite'' Game TV account. The total prize pool for the PC tournament was US$1 million. European team

Epsilon Esports Epsilon Esports is a professional esports organisation that has teams competing in '' Call of Duty'', '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', '' FIFA'', '' Gears of War'' and '' H1Z1''. It is a leading organisation in console esports, with multi ...

defeated the North American team Enemy in the finals to win the 2016 event.

Season 3 (2017)

SWC 2017 was held January 5–8 as part of the Hi-Rez Expo event that also included a ''Smite'' console world championship, and the

Paladins The Paladins, also called the Twelve Peers, are twelve legendary knights, the foremost members of Charlemagne's royal court, court in the 8th century. They first appear in the medieval (12th century) ''chanson de geste'' cycle of the Matter of F ...

HRX invitational. It was streamed on the Hireztv twitch account and had a US$1 million prize pool. The 2016 champions, under the new banner of

NRG Esports NRG Esports is an American esports organization based in Los Angeles, California. It has rosters in ''Apex Legends'', ''Clash Royale'', ''Dragon Ball FighterZ'', ''Fortnite'', ''Gears of War'', ''Hearthstone'', ''Overwatch'', ''Rocket League'', ...

, defeated Obey Alliance to become the first repeat SWC winners.

Season 4 (2018)

The 2018 ''Smite'' World Championship was held from January 3–7, 2018. The total prize pool, $785,000, marked the first time the SWC prize pool dropped below $1 million. The North American team eUnited defeated Europe's Team Rival in the finals.

Season 5 (2019)

Unlike previous iterations which were held in January, the 2019 ''Smite'' World Championship was held from November 16–18, and in order to end the competitive season, was also held in 2018. The ''Smite'' World Championship also saw a move to the

Georgia World Congress Center The Georgia World Congress Center (GWCC) is a convention center in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. Enclosing some 3.9 million ft2 (360,000 m2) in exhibition space and hosting more than a million visitors each year, the GWCC is the worl ...

, whereas previous iterations were held in the

Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre is a performing arts venue located in the Cumberland/Galleria edge city, in northwest Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The $145 million facility celebrated its grand opening September 15, 2007, with a concert b ...

. The prize pool was estimated around $785,000. North American Splyce defeated EU's returning finalist Team Rival.

Season 6 (2020)

The 2020 ''Smite'' World Championship was held from November 15–17, 2019. The prize pool was estimated to have had a slight increase at $800,000. As its previous iteration, it was held at the

. The 2019 season marked the end of the respective European and North American pro circuits in favor of a centralized pro league based at Hi-Rez Studios headquarters in

Alpharetta, Georgia Alpharetta is a city in northern Fulton County, Georgia, United States, and is a part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 US Census, Alpharetta's population was 65,818 The population in 2010 was 57,551. History In the 1830s, the Ch ...

SK Gaming SK Gaming is a professional esports organization based in Germany that has teams across the world competing in different titles. SK is particularly known for their success in ''Counter-Strike'' (CS) tournaments. SK's Brazilian ''CS'' team won ...

defeated now three-time finalist Team Rival (fielding a different roster to previous years).

Season 7 (2021)

The 2021 ''Smite'' World Championship was held online due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

and resumed being held in January, from January 5-11, 2021. The prize pool also dropped to $600,000. The Pittsburgh Knights (composed of 4 members of 2020's SK Gaming roster) defeated Ghost Gaming (composed of 4 members of 2020's Team Rival roster) in a rematch of the 2020 finals. In doing so, 4 members of the Pittsburgh Knights became the second ever repeat winners of the SWC.

Season 8 (2022)

The 2022 ''Smite'' World Championship was held in-studio but without a live audience due to the COVID-19 pandemic from January 6-9, 2022. The prize pool further dropped to $400,000. The Atlantis Leviathans became the first Latin American winners of the SWC, defeating the Tartarus Titans. Steven 'Zapman' Zapas, carry player for the Atlantis Leviathans, became the first player to win the SWC on three occasions, having previously won in 2021 and 2020 with the Pittsburgh Knights and SK Gaming respectively.

Season 9 (2023)

The 2023 ''Smite'' World Championship was played in front of a live audience for the first time in 2 years from January 14-16, 2023. The SWC was also held outside of Georgia for the first time, at

Esports Stadium Arlington Esports Stadium Arlington (ESA) is a North American esports facility located in Arlington, Texas. The 100,000 sqft venue is the largest dedicated esports facility in North America and holds 2,500 spectators. Description Esports Stadium Ar ...

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, located in Tarrant County. It forms part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal city of the metropolis and region. ...

. The prize pool slightly increased to $415,000. The Camelot Kings defeated returning finalists Tartarus Titans. Libardo 'Jarcorr' López, ADC for the Kings, became the first player to win the SWC in two different roles, having won the 2022 SWC as the Solo laner for Leviathans.

Past results

References

{{Esports Recurring events established in 2015 Sports in Atlanta World championships in esports Smite (video game) competitions