HERO Esports has announced a new game joining the Asia Champions League (ACL), and it’s none other than the popular MOBA title, Honor of Kings. There is a prize pool of $200,000 on the line, but that isn’t the only highlight as the competition will also reward slots to the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2025.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Honor of Kings Asia Champions League (ACL) 2025.
Image Credits: Esports World Cup
Honor of Kings ACL 2025 Explained
The Honor of Kings ACL 2025 will only be open to Chinese teams and will serve as an extension of the Kings Pro League (KPL), the official tournament for HoK in the country. Here’s the overall format.
- Qualifiers (May 5, 6, and 13): It will feature fifth and sixth-place teams from the KPL Spring 2025 along with all group B teams. The winner from here will advance to the Knockout Stage.
- Knockout Stage (May 14 to 16): The team from the qualifier will join the teams ranked third to 5th in the KPL Spring will a single-elimination bracket.
- Grand Finals (May 18): The winner from the knockout stage will face off against the second-placed team from the KPL Spring for a slot in the EWC 2025.
The winner of the KPL Spring 2025 will get a direct slot in the Esports World Cup 2025. Therefore, this year, the tournament in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia will have two Chinese Honor of Kings teams.
What does this mean for Honor of Kings esports?
Image Credits: VSPO
Firstly, the ACL will only cater to China. This is disappointing news for players in other regions. Players from other regions, though, will have other tournaments to qualify for the EWC.
The biggest implication of this move is that two top-tier Chinese teams will compete at the EWC. China, where Honor of Kings has been available for years now, has a fully developed esports structure for the game with millions in prize pool and many full-time players.
With Honor of Kings only getting a global release recently, there is a huge competitive disparity between China and other regions, as evident in past global tournaments. Therefore, having two teams there will likely put up a situation where they dominate, restricting teams from other regions from performing well at the EWC.
Nonetheless, with Honor of Kings set to get other international tournaments without Chinese teams, such as the upcoming Invitational S3, there are plenty of other opportunities.
The ACL 2025 will feature a total prize pool of $2 million, out of which $200,000 will be rewarded in Honor of Kings. Other games set to be a part of the tournament include CS2, Dota 2, TFT, Delta Force, and Cross Fire.