Still, with the esports wave being expansive and lucrative as it is, Blizzard have rightfully recognised that WoW has its fair share of opportunities in esports as well. This weekend at BlizzCon — the company's annual US event that attracts tens of thousands of fans to celebrate all things Warcraft, Starcraft, Diablo, Overwatch and more — there will be a $US280,000 prize pool for the World of Warcraft Arena World Championship, with an Australian team competing for the top prize.

Loading

Nic “Fresh” Berton has had a front row seat to the growth of WoW esports in the local scene, ever since Aussie team Blank Esports made it to BlizzCon in 2017.

“Watching them gave us awesome insight,” Berton says. “The skill and knowledge they brought back to Australia improved our competition and made everyone better as a whole.”

The esports bug was contagious. Though Berton’s eight years of experience would make him an aging veteran in League of Legends, many of WoW’s elite PvP players have been around even longer, stretching back to the 2007 expansion The Burning Crusade.

This year he built the team that qualified for and won WoW's biggest championship in the super-competitive Australia-Pacific region, earning a spot at BlizzCon.

It was a remarkable ascent for the team — previously called Mad Dogs and subsequently acquired by Melbourne-based esports club ORDER — who lacked experience but made up for that with a voracious attitude for improvement. That goes a long way in WoW, thanks to the numerous practice opportunities available for Aussie teams compared to other esports (where high latency makes cross-country play impractical).

“The nature of WoW means that we’re able to play with players from all regions, particularly Europe and North America,” Berton says. “So I’ve been fortunate enough to play with talented, more experienced players who have helped me gain experience quickly.”

Increased international opportunities and a relatively latency-agnostic game: it’s a perfect storm for Australian WoW teams, compounded by the fact that Blizzard has injected more investment into the local scene in the form of more regular tournaments and a large live event.

Now, Berton and ORDER are knocking on the door of the world’s most prestigious WoW tournament. Australia may not have been a significant part of WoW’s esports history, but with a record number of ANZ participants at BlizzCon, it's set to be a part of its future.

Aside from ORDER's WoW Arena squad, Australia also has a team in the Overwatch World Cup at BlizzCon, and the delegation from New Zealand is a strong pick to win the Hearthstone Global Games.