A series of international tournaments propelling talented illustrators onto the world stage. Artists battle head-to-head in 60-minute bouts to create an illustration inspired by a recent news headline.
See below overview from our most recent Major-League tournament:
Est. 2017 Illustrated World Series (IWS) is the premier Art-Sports (aSports) event IP and global leader in competitive creativity. An outlier, IWS is the world’s most unique Art-Sports ecosystem, high growth spectator sport and media platform. Like other mainstream sports expect: Fight-Night hype, leaderboards, trophies, press, pundits, magazine shows and big attendance.
The artwork created at our events is instantly recognisable and perfect for the NFT space. Our competition rules require a monochrome color palette and single color of the player's choice, this coupled with a news headline and 60 minute time slot gives the work created a uniquely identifiable look. All IWS entries carry ‘Proof Of Creation’ allowing them to be quickly authenticated.
Our players are tasked with creating illustrations inspired by recent news cycles meaning each tournament reflects a snap-shot of news stories from the period. IWS is the world's only sport committed to showcasing creative talent, humor and intellect while highlighting important societal affairs. All battles are live streamed with each entry scored in open tournament play.
Our Major-League tournaments enjoy high attendance, often on-par with some of the world’s biggest eSports events. There isn't anywhere else where Art-Sports fans come together and interact in such significant numbers. This is testament to the quality of our production but more importantly we're fortunate enough to work with some of the world’s most followed artists.
Don’t miss out on the latest news, offers, official announcements and limited edition merchandise.
Across all IWS Major-League tournaments both ‘Classic’ (Pen & Paper) and 'Digital (Stylus & Tablet) disciplines run in tandem.
Sign-up to our newsletter for announcements or register your interest on our 'Compete' page. Enjoy watching and remember to 'Vote Your Winner', audience participation is always welcome!
Players have 60 minutes to complete an illustration inspired by a recent news headline:
Color palette: This must be black, white (grayscale permitted) and a single color of the player’s choice.
Stationery (Classic discipline only): Up to 8 x pieces permitted per-battle. Graphite pencil is permitted for drafting but not for shading, detailing or backfilling. Work must be finished in pen.
Text: Up to 8 x words (not including on-page signature) can be used to embellish illustrations. This only applies to words with 2+ letters, single letters (A, I, U), characters, punctuation and numbers are not counted as part of the 8 x word limit.
Paper / Canvas size: CLASSIC: A2 paper (150-250 GSM) @ 420 x 594 mm / 16.5 x 23.4 inches. DIGITAL: Aspect ratios set to either 16:9 or 4:3. Orientation (portrait / landscape) is at the player’s discretion.
4 x Judges (3 x permanent 1 x daily guest) score across 4 x criteria:
Personality (0-12): Points awarded based on the injection of energy, dynamism and charisma.
Interpretation (0-12): Points awarded based on a successful portrayal of the headline, witty, clever and original interpretations all secure high points.
Narrative (0-12): Points awarded for successful depiction of ‘on-paper narrative’ linking characters and other elements.
Technical (0-12): Points awarded based on dexterity, understanding of light, composition, natural ability and talent.
An average score is calculated across each criteria. The Social Vote (worth 2 points / 4% of the scorecard) is tabulated separately and added, producing a final 'Battle Score' between 0-50.
After a 60 minute battle has completed the player with the highest Battle Score (0-50) wins and moves into the next round receiving 1 x Tournament Point, the loser is subsequently knocked out receiving 0 x Tournament Points.
NOTE: 'Battle Scores' are separate from 'Tournament Points'.
If Battle Scores are tied the Social Vote (S) alone will determine both the winner of a battle and their position on the leaderboard. If the Social Vote is also tied the player with the highest engagement rate from their latest IG post is awarded the WIN.
A Bonus Point (BP) is awarded to players winning 4 x consecutive battles. Points scored during a tournament contribute towards a player's overall seasonal Ranking (see 'Rankings' for more info).
N.B. Instagram post engagement rate = (total likes + total comments)/followers x 100
Every tournament has a leaderboard. When the tournament ends the leaderboard is populated to reflect the success of each player on the rostrum.
A player's position on the leaderboard is determined by the number of Tournament Points (Points) won and/or their final (Exit) Battle Score:
Points:
1 x Tournament Point for a WIN
1 x Bonus Point (BP) for winning 4 x consecutive battles
0 x Tournament Points for a LOSS
Exit:
This value reflects a players final, most recent 'Battle Score' (i.e when leaving/exiting the tournament) and determines hierarchy and position. If Exit Battle Scores are tied, the Social Vote (S) alone determines leaderboard position (see 'Scoring' for more info).
We're hugely appreciative of all our sponsors and partners who contribute towards the Players Prize Pool each season, which at this tournament, sits at GBP £6600.00 split-pot across both Classic and Digital leagues.
Classic and Digital league prize-pots therefore sit at GBP £3300.00 each:
GBP £2000.00 x 1 - Winner
GBP £800.00 x 1 - Runner-Up
GBP £250.00 x 2 - Semi-finalists