The well-known farming simulator Stardew Valley (and one of the most relaxing games ever made) is now officially part of the esports scene.
Eric Barone, also known as ConcernedApe, recently revealed Stardew Valley’s first esports event. The Stardew Valley Cup is taking place in collaboration with YouTuber UnsurpassableZ, who is well known in the community. The pair acting as commentators on the event, which will be going live on Saturday 4th September at 9am PST.
The tournament features many of the game’s top speedrunners and content creators, competing in four teams of four for a prize pool of over $40, 000.
At a glance, one might think that farming simulation games like Stardew Valley are the complete opposite of what you would usually expect of an esports tournament.
However, over the years, various dedicated content creators and players have managed to introduce a competitive aspect to the community by coming up with creative challenges. These include but are not limited to the classic speedrun, reaching a target amount of money in the game, or even clearing the Mines and Skull Cavern with item restrictions.
In collaboration with @UnsurpassableZ, I'm pleased to announce the 1st official Stardew Valley Cup! It's a competition of skill, knowledge, and teamwork, with a prize pool of over $40k. See some of Stardew's most dedicated players in their element! Main event is Sept. 4th 9am PST pic.twitter.com/qtDW5e5LvD
— ConcernedApe (@ConcernedApe) August 21, 2021
In a video on Youtube, UnsurpassableZ revealed the list of challenges that would be assigned to all the teams for the Stardew Valley Cup. These challenges vary in difficulty, ranging from giving NPCs specific items to reaching floor 100 of the Skull Cavern.
Each completed challenge awards the team a set amount of points based on the challenge’s difficulty. The teams must then attempt to amass as many points as they can throughout the duration of the tournament. To spice things up even more, he also mentioned that there will be an additional five challenges that the teams would not know about until the tournament.
Unlike most esports tournaments, the Cup will be a test of time management skills and the players’ innate knowledge of the game. If you’re a fan of Stardew Valley, you won’t want to miss this.
You can check out Stardew Valley on a variety of platforms, including Steam, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and all mobile platforms.
