World of Warcraft has been around for quite a while. The game has many interesting activities and competitions for fans of the game to enjoy. WoW esports include Blizzard-driven Mythic Dungeon Invitational and WoW Arena Championship. However, one particular competition overshadows all. World First race is a community-driven competition where top guilds from across the globe race to kill the final boss. The latest in-game raid The Eternal Palace is about to open Mythic difficulty doors, so the race is on…

The new raid consists of 8 bosses:

  • Commander Sivara
  • Blackwater Behemoth
  • Radiance of Azshara
  • Lady Ashvane
  • Orgozoa
  • The Queen’s Court
  • Za’qul
  • Queen Azshara

Same as previous Battle for Azeroth’s raid tiers Method will be hosting its own Race to World First event. However, this time they won’t be the only top guild streaming their progress. Red Bull has announced that it will be hosting a separate 24-hour coverage, beginning on July 16 that will run until Queen Azshara, the final boss of the raid, is dead. 

The stream will follow North America’s top guild, Limit, who were runners-up in Uldir and the Battle for Dazar’Alor losing to Method just by a thread. European guild Pieces, who claimed the World First title in the latest raid Crucible of Storms will also join. Other guild names include FatSharkYes, AFK-R, Honestly, Ji Tian Hong, Alpha, Averion, and Exorsus.

Before the latest World of Warcraft expansion, Battle for Azeroth, World First race was a mysterious one. Most top guilds didn’t stream their raid progress in order to conceal their tactics from possible opponents. Tweets and screenshots were the only bits of information regarding the progress. However, one top European guild named Method with a bunch of World Firsts under its belt decided to stream their progress. The streams attracted more than 250 000 active viewers and boosted World of Warcraft to Twitch top. So naturally, more guilds joined the fun.

It’s clear that Method found a niche which is very attractive for brands. Blizzard previously stated that the company wants to keep World First race a community-driven event, so we might see even more brands trying to host their own versions of the event. However, it also poses a problem where brands can exploit guilds to attract more viewership.