Japanese game maker SNK Corporation announced Tuesday that the SNK World Championship 2023 (SWC 2023) will take place in Los Angeles from March 15–17. The event dedicated to the company’s popular fighting game King of Fighters XV will feature a total prize pool of $200K USD and will take place at AVALON Hollywood, a nightclub and special events space in Los Angeles.
On March 15, a last chance qualifying tournament will be held to secure two additional finalist spots for the mainstage, which will feature a total of 32 teams competing to determine the final 16 teams. Those 16 teams will compete for a chunk of the $200K prize pool, with 1st place taking home $50K, 2nd – $20K, 3rd – $15K, and 4th securing $10K. Those who rank lower will also get a portion of the overall prize pool (depending on final placement).
SNK also announced that spectator pre-registration is now open here. Seating is limited, as AVALON Hollywood is only capable of serving 1,250 at maximum capacity, depending on configuration, but SNK did not reveal how many seats would be available for this event. The first 150 spectators to pre-register for the event will receive an original poster and a fight stick button as a special gift, but attendance itself is free of charge.
Those who can not be there in person can watch the competition on YouTube and Twitch. This championship event is being facilitated by esports tournament organizer Start.gg.
Full tournament details, per Start.gg:
■ Tournament Schedule
-Tournament Dates and Times (PDT)
March 15th, Friday
10:30 AM – Doors Open
11:00 AM – LCQ Start
*Please be available for the attendance check for your pool.
*LCQ participants can enter GRAND FINAL (Mar 16-17) as a spectator without “Spectator” registration.
■ Eligibility for participation
-LCQ tournament is capped for 128 players.
-For players under the age of 18, parental consent is required.
-Participants must be able to attend the GRAND FINAL on March 16-17th.
-SWC finalists are not allowed to participate.
*Personal information obtained at this tournament will be used for the purpose of contacting players regarding the tournament and may be provided to ten/o LLC, which is the entity in charge of managing the tournament. Such personal information will be properly disposed of upon completion of the tournament.
■ Tournament Format
-Game version
The latest version of “THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV”
-Platform
PlayStation 4 PRO
-Tournament Style
All matches will be played in BO3 and a double-elimination format. The LCQ ends when a predetermined number of top players are determined.
-Reward
The top 2 players advance to the GRAND FINAL.
All players who participate LCQ will receive a special fight stick button (Design will be random).
The Mohammed bin Salman Foundation (a Public Investment Fund-backed organization headed by Saudi Arabia Crown Prince MBS) secured a 96% stake in the company in late-2022. SNK owns a number of game franchises including the Fatal Fury, Metal Slug, and The King of Fighters series.
On Sept. 11, 2022, following that transaction, SNK Game Producer Yasuyuki Oda told gaming news publication VGC that having a new ownership group or majority stakeholder would not change the way the company operated:
“For us, we’re just focusing on making games. We’re not a political company or anything like that, so it doesn’t affect us in any way,” Oda said. “It has no – no – effect on our creative output. We have full freedom on what we want to create,” he added when asked specifically if the company could add an LGBT character to its games, as Guilty Gear Strive recently has.”