Gaming
Esports
Here’s how to watch Red Bull Wololo, the epic Age of Empires 2 tournament
Red Bull Wololo promises to be the best AoE tournament yet, with fast paced action and incredible storylines. We’ve got all the details on it right here.
Esports isn’t just about MOBAs and first-person shooters. With the right mix of rules and balancing, almost any multiplayer game can provide a thrilling competitive spectacle. Red Bull Wololo is the perfect case in point, and a timely reminder that other real-time strategy (RTS) games exist beyond StarCraft. This wild online event is all about Age of Empires 2, the legendary civ-building game, sped up to make the action even more audience-friendly.
Yep, you read that right, Red Bull Wololo is an Age of Empires 2 tournament that cuts out the slow start to games and prioritises exciting action to make this as entertaining as possible. The game – now over 20 years old, astonishingly – might not scream esports to you, but just wait until you’ve seen what the matches are like and we promise you’ll be hooked.
If you’re sat there thinking that this sounds like great fun, but you have no idea how competitive Age of Empires would even work, let alone what to expect from this new game mode that changes things up even further from the norm, then fear not. We’re here to help with a handy guide of everything you need to know ahead of the finals starting today.
The tournament basics
Red Bull Wololo is a 16-player tournament with a €20,000 prize pool up for grabs. Eight players qualified for the event based on their performance in the recent Hidden Cup 3, with the other eight beating out hundreds of other competitors in the two recent open qualifying tournaments.
Day one and two of the competition on Thursday April 30 and Friday May 1 will see the opening matches in the round of 16 take place. The winners will then advance to the quarter-finals that will be played on Saturday, May 2, with the semi-finals and grand final taking place on Sunday, May 3. The action kicks off at 13:00 GMT/UTC+1 every day and will be streamed live on the Red Bull Twitch channel.
Two players face off in one-on-one competition in Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition. The two compete in a slightly altered version of the Empire Wars game mode, where the game starts in the Feudal Age, meaning the first stages of a traditional match where things start out quite slowly have been scrapped and you get to the more exciting action straight away.
Both players start out with a 27-villager economy already up and running, a barracks and blacksmith are already provided to players at the start of the game and loom has already been researched to balance things out across different strategies. This fast-paced start to the game means that it can literally be won or lost in the opening minutes and that the action will get started straight away.
What to look for in matches
It wouldn’t be an esports event without some of the best broadcasters in the world talking you through the action and Red Bull Wololo is no different. Well-known casters T90, Nili and Dave will be on duty for the event, bringing you all of the action live as it happens and telling the story of each match.
For experienced fans of Age of Empires, they will, of course, be bringing the hype and pointing out the incredible but subtle plays we'll undoubtedly see, and for newcomers they'll make what's going on seem understandable and tell you who's doing what and, more importantly, why they're doing it. With ZeroEmpires on hosting duties as well, the broadcast team will be the ones that really tell you the story of what goes on in the tournament.
The key thing to look out for, other than the fights between units, which will obviously draw you attention, will be subtle things such as what a player’s overall strategy and win condition is, and how close they are to executing it. Some players will want to go for an early game strategy and win early, whereas others might just try to keep the game going in the early stages to get to a big power spike later in the game. At times it might look like one player is massively ahead, but that could be part of a longer game plan from their opponents who are about to hit a big power spike.
Storylines to watch out for
There were a lot of major storylines coming out of the qualifiers, but the one that really stood out was Helenês ‘F1re’ Cândido’s quest to qualify for the event. Each qualifier had four spots in the main event up for grabs, with the final decisive round of matches being played in a best of seven format. In the first qualifier, F1re lost in the final round 4-3 to Nicolás ‘Nicov’ Bruno, giving him one more shot in the second qualifier. Again F1re made it to the final round, this time facing off against Lyx, and again it went all the way to a game seven, and this one was an epic battle that lasted an age and was very back and forth. We’re hoping to see more epic battles like this when the finals begin.
Can anyone take down TheViper?
Ørjan ‘TheViper’ Larsen is the most successful Age of Empires 2 player of all time, bringing in over $105,000 playing the game. Even in 2020 alone he has won more than $24,000 from tournaments, including taking first place in Hidden Cup 3, meaning TheViper not only comes in with a legendary reputation, but is also on a hot streak. Without a doubt TheViper will be the favourite for the tournament – the question is, can anyone take him down?
Red Bull Wololo takes place at the following dates and times. Be sure to tune in on the Red Bull Twitch channel to catch all the action.
- Thursday 30 April 13:00 GMT/UTC+1: Round of 16
- Friday 01 May 13:00 GMT/UTC+1: Round of 16
- Saturday 02 May 13:00 GMT/UTC+1: Quarter-finals
- Sunday 03 May 13:00 GMT/UTC+1: Semi-finals and Grand Final
