As we proudly announced roughly a month ago, FreeFireis on our radar. So much so, that the mobile esport will now be a featured one on esportsguide. Accordingly, we’re even more vigilant for next year. Indeed, Free Fire Esports 2021 needs to meet expectations and deliver on the hype. Let’s take a look at the roadmap!
Free Fire Esports 2021 – Keeping it Eastern
Garena, the developers of the title, will be catering to the majority of their audience. Accordingly, two roadmaps have been announced – one for India and the other, Malaysia.
For India, 4 tournaments across two pro circuits will be present. This will add up to $272,000 of prize pool. Meanwhile, in Malaysia, three events will be held for $150,000. Let’s take a look at them separately.
Malaysia
Credits: Garena
Free Fire MCP Majors Season 1 – (also including Philippines and Cambodia) – January 2021
The Free Fire Malaysia Championship – May to July
Free Fire MCP Majors Season 2 – July to September
India
Credits: Garena
The Free Fire India Pro Circuit will go as follows:
Spring Free Fire India Championship 2021
Summer Free Fire Pro League 2021
Fall Free Fire India Championship 2021
Winter Free Fire Pro League 2021
Compounded with these separate structures is the promise of an international competition at the end of the season.
It’s without question that FreeFireEsports2021 is looking very promising and we can’t wait to see how this roadmap comes to fruition.
As of late, the esports industry is witnessing a thriving new niche. Specifically, I’m referring to mobile Battle Royale games. Here at esportsguide, we’ve recently witnessed the spectacularly rise of GarenaFreeFire. Indeed, such a title sits in the same pond as PUBG Mobile. Read on as we dive into a quick comparison between the two!
Interlaced Origins
Surprisingly, Garena Free Firewas published first, back in 2017. Suffering from a weaker release, it took a while to gain ground. Meanwhile, PUBG Mobile took the world by storm in 2018, as it garnered 600 million players within a year thanks to the support from mobile esports giant – Tencent. However,Garena Free Firemanaged to bounce back massively as evident below.
Credits: Tencent
Garena Free Fire Smashing Player Count Records
Indeed, the story is now shifting. Two separate reports dive into the active player count of both mobile esports titles. Accordingly, here’s how the active player count sits for both:
Garena Free Fire – 80 million daily (May 2020)
PUBG Mobile – 50 million daily (March 2020)
So what’s going on? How did Garena Free Firemanage to mount such a comeback? To try and understand, let’s take a look at some key differences between the two titles.
Highlighting the Stark Contrasts
Accordingly, I’ll be presenting some differences in the following bullets:
In terms of design, Free Fire can be considered more cosmetic with an art style comparable to that of Fortnite. Meanwhile, PUBG Mobileis committed to a war theme, with realistic maps and infrastructures.
Battle Royale structure –PUBG Mobilesticks to 100 players in a massive map while Free Fire is more fast-paced 50 player game on a smaller map.
Performance differs too. Indeed, Garena Free Fire is purposefully designed for lower spec devices to run at higher frame rates while PUBG Mobile is a more graphically refined experience.
Skills and Abilities. This is where GFF shines as it implements a ‘hero’ system where every character, after being unlocked, can offer different skills and abilities to compliment your playstyle.
What about weapons? In this field, PUBG Mobile shows off its 40 different weapons with GFF suffering from a smaller arsenal.
The two games are offering very different experiences. This extends to viewership too.
Viewership Trends
In terms of viewership, it’s also quite tight. Here’s a direct comparison of two tier 1 esports events for each scene which took place (if partially) this weekend:
Free Fire Continental Series 2020 Asia – 1,581,517 Peak Viewers (22-29th Nov)
From just that alone, it’s already quite close. Especially when you consider that the PUBG Mobileevent has $2,000,000 on the line compared to the $300,000 for the GFF event!
Both esports scenes are growing with each month, though it’s worth noting that Garena Free Fireseems to be doing so at a faster rate. Competitive PUBG Mobileis definitely at an all-time high, with the announcement of Global Championships while GFF is still pushing the ceiling.
Credits: Garena
I’d like to point out that many have justified GFF‘s massive instantaneous growth due to the fact thatPUBG Mobile has been recently banned from India. Logically, this threw millions of players into the open air, needing a battle royale mobile experience to comply.
Carving a New Niche in the Industry – Backed By Us
The aim of this discussion was not to try to determine which title is better compared to the other. No, all we’ve done here is stack the numbers and ideas against one another, serving as a general commentary over the recent changes in the esports industry. This also serves as another opportunity for us to remind our readers here at esportsguide, thatGarena Free Firewill now be actively covered together with our other esports.
Within the realm of mobile esports, the top contenders seem to be PUBG Mobile, Kings of Glory and Arena of Valor. However, that seems to be changing and very quickly. Indeed, esportsguide is proud to present our next featured esports scene for the site – Garena Free Fire. Indeed, the new battle royale has been turning heads for years and is on the rise. To properly introduce the title to our readers, strap in for our Garena Free Fire Tips and Tricks!
Before hopping in, I’ll summarize how the game works for those unaware. At the beginning of each game, 50 players drop into a typical battle royale setup on a tiny map fighting for a victory. According to the Google Play Store, the title enjoyed over 500 million downloads this past February.
Credits: Garena Free Fire
Mechanical Skill
Like any other mobile competitive title we’ve covered on the site, some tips for mechanical skill remains the same. Once again, we’ll repeat that in a battle royale, mechanical skill needs to be flawless to allow for an emphasis on awareness and knowledge.
Here are some tips for this mobile battle royale title:
Ensure that your movement and aim is top-notch – this will take hours and hours of practice to master. Synchronizing snappy shots together with crouching and jumping is the foundation to better performance.
Crouching while shooting – in certain situations, like close-quarter combat, you’ll want to reduce yourself as a target and notably, shotguns have a hard time of landing crouched opponents
Try and adjust aim sensitivity – using a touchscreen to aim can be very difficult. This can be done by using different controls and inputs. Most serious players utilize the claw control.
You can heal and revive at the same time. This tip is something you’ll definitely make use of!
Master the use of gloo walls for every situation
Credits: Garena Free Fire
What’s unique about Garena Free Fire is that players can build gloo walls as a means of both defence and offence.
In-Game Knowledge and Awareness
Moving on, the mobile battle royale title offers a tonne in terms of in-game knowledge – the most important aspect of any battle royale. Bearing in mind the size of the map and the fact that usually roughly 50 players are present, you can expect a tonne of engagements to come your way. Being as prepared as possible for any likely outcome is essential to surviving to the end. Maybe you should take note of the following:
Knowing when to sprint and when to crouch is an important decision. If you’re traversing open land it’s likely you’ll want to sprint to cover. However, should you be near any buildings, you’ll want to keep a low profile and sneak around without alerting opponents
Looting airdrops – the incredible level of loot can be tempting for players, though you’ll want to evaluate whether it’s worth the risk at all times.
Manage your inventory so that during gunfights you don’t mess up. Specifically, situations such as running out of ammo, having no health packs and using the wrong gun don’t happen. These could easily ruin a game and your day at the same time.
Understand the map entirely to prepare for any situation – getting to cover, high ground and vantage points when possible
Don’t be overly afraid of the shrinking arena – the periphery of the map is often saturated with players so instead of running away wildly, it’s better to keep your gun up for any dwellers to avoid getting shot in the back
Personal and Interpersonal – Garena Free Fire Tips and Tricks
Once again, we’ll have to talk about risk-assessment – be careful of every situation and learn from them individually and as a team
You’ll have to work on communication with your teammates and with yourself in the sense that you need to reflect on your gameplay
Try warming up for ranked games by playing Clash Squad – it’s a great way to train your shot and gloo wall building
Like for any other battle royale, we recommend that players try to strike a balance between aggression and calculated risks – diving into unnecessary gunfights can cost you everything
