Paladins: Champion of the Realm will soon have its first international tournament next year. Game developer Hi-Rez has committed a pool prize to the winners.

Paladins' First International and Invitational Tournament

Players of Paladins: Champions of the Realm will soon have the chance of competing in an invitational tournament. Teams from North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia-Pacific Region including China are expected to join in. The international contest is tentatively scheduled on January of next year. The developer has pledged a total of $150,000 as pool prize.

Paladins - A Success Despite Comparison to Blizzard's Overwatch

Hi-Rez recently launched an open beta for the game. More than new 100,000 players open an account in the first day alone. The developer also claimed that a number esports companies and players have shown interest in Paladins.

Critics are pointing out a number of glaring similarities between Paladins: Champions of the Realm and Overwatch. Hi-Rez co-founder Todd Harris vigorously defended the game against allegations that Paladins is a mere clone of Overwatch.

He did admit though that some of the features in their game were "inspired" by Overwatch. But Harris also pointed that some of Overwatch features were also inspired by other earlier games such as Team Fortress 2. He also claimed that Blizzard has even lifted some ideas from their Global Agenda and incorporated them in Overwatch.

Despite the accusations and criticisms, Champions of the Realm was downloaded around one million times via Steam. Even though the Paladins' player base is a little over 6 percent compared to Overwatch, feedback from players were quite good.

Difference Between Paladins and Overwatch

There is one significant difference though that separates the two games from one another. Overwatch players will have to pay around $40 for the basic edition and $ 60 for the Origins edition for the game. Paladins: Champions of the Realm can be downloaded for free from Steam.