Young Echo units participating in the beta for Echo Arena on the Oculus Quest are eager to show off their new skills and they’ll have the opportunity to do so in the Rookie Crossplay Cup on May 13 and 14.

Players in Ready At Dawn’s Echo Arena jump, duck, dodge, and use quick reflexes that enable them to pass the disc, stun opponents, and score goals in the immersive environment of a virtual zero-gravity arena. Widely considered the first true VR esport, Echo Arena combines physicality and technology in such a beautiful way that it’s much more like a traditional sport than a traditional computer game. This has led to the game being featured in VR esports competitions around the world.

The Rookie Crossplay Cup is all about welcoming new players to the Echo community, introducing them to competitive VR esports, and having fun. With that in mind, players will sign up solo and be placed on teams based on their MMR, a hidden number that basically indicates their skill in certain key areas for the game. Random teams give players an opportunity to make friends and potentially find future teammates for the pro league.

Echo VR Open Beta

New players who have already joined the Echo Games Discord have expressed interest in community events such as pick up nights, boot camps, and tournaments. They’re eager to participate and it’s likely that the active Echo VR community will soon expand even further since Ready At Dawn announced today that the Echo VR open beta for Oculus Quest will go live on May 5, with Rift crossplay soon after.

This means anyone who wants to download the game from the Oculus store to their Quest will be able to participate in the Rookie Crossplay Cup.

Format

Rookie teams will consist of four players and one coach. Players will compete in a Swiss bracket that will span two days with all teams competing on day one and the top eight teams advancing to day two.

A rookie is someone who:

  • Is around level 25 or below OR
  • Played their first match within the past six weeks.

Coaches are experienced players who are eager to welcome new members to the Echo Arena competitive community.

The winning team will be able to choose a special Discord color and of course they’ll have bragging rights as the first team to win a tournament for Echo Arena on the Oculus Quest.

Rookies and coaches must be in the Quest beta (or the Rift private test server crossplay beta) in order to participate in this event.

How to Register

Registration is open now and will extend through May 11. If you’d like to participate in the Rookie Crossplay Cup, you can sign up here.

Coaches should complete the coach registration form.

Professional Casters

Since the Echo VR community wants to welcome new players with the full experience of competitive VR esports, three casters from the VR Master League have volunteered to cast matches throughout the rookie tournament.

Palidore

Palidore is a two-time Echo Arena world champion from team Eclipse in the Oculus-sponsored, ESL-run VR League. He has been playing since the original beta in June 2017 and he has remained an active community member. He is now the casting and production lead for the Echo Arena VR Master League and has cast and cammed almost 500 matches in the past five months.

SputnikKobra

SputnikKobra is a veteran player who served as goalie on teams in both the VR League and Pizza League. He is now a caster for the VR Master League, director of Nfinite Esports, and communications manager for Swords of Gurrah. He’s also an accomplished Echo Combat player, but the devs have announced no plans to port their zero-gravity first-person shooter to the Oculus Quest.

Credit: ESL / VR League

Sir Dimwi

Sir Dimwi began playing Echo Arena soon after the game was launched in July 2017. He participated in VR League Season 2 just to see what he thought and then returned for a full season in 2019. In addition to competitive matches, Sir Dimwi has played over 4,000 public games and he actively helps newer players he meets in the lobby or in game. He began casting for the VR Master League during the Echo Arena pre-season last fall.

Where to Watch

You can watch the Rookie Crossplay Cup on the VR Master League Twitch channels!

  • https://www.twitch.tv/EchoArena_VRML
  • https://www.twitch.tv/echoarena_vrml2
  • https://www.twitch.tv/EchoArena_VRML3

Echo Community

If you’d like to learn more, join the Echo Games Discord, check out the social media sites, and of course stay tuned to VR Fitness Insider for continued information about Echo VR esports.

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