Stardew Valley is now an esport – yes, you read that right

Content creators have aligned with the creator of Stardew Valley in order to bring the first official event to life. The Stardew Valley Cup is a $40,000 competition. 

The world of esports is a strange place. From Turbo Racing League to Lawnmower Simulator, fans have witnessed some truly strange games cross the threshold into the world of virtual competition over the years. That trend looks to be continuing with the announcement of the Stardew Valley Cup.

As announced via Twitter on Saturday, ConcernedApe, the creator of Stardew Valley, has teamed up with UnsurpassableZ and other players from around the community to put together this competition.

How does the Stardew Valley Cup work?

The cup will consist of four teams of four members racing to complete tasks from a list of over 100 objectives. Each individual goal carries a score based on how difficult it is to accomplish. Each team will only be able to complete the objective one time as a group. The $40,000 prize pool will be divvied up based on each team’s placing, with the winning team splitting $28,000 amongst the four members.

• Read More: Is Stardew Valley cross-platform? How to host multiplayer co-op games

The four teams are as follows:

• Krobus’s Crocuses: Bla_de, KingNooblit, SharkyGames, Therm
• Pam’s Yams: AlbinoLiger, Matthew McCleskey, PianoAddict, SeanieDew
• Pieree’s Cherries: Cordite89, Lichatton, Mr Penguinpanda, Walligug
• Sandie’s Candies: brandiganBTW, Fuzzerino, lilsimsie, TheHaboo.

How do you win at Stardew Valley?

In a YouTube video on his channel, UnsurpassableZ explains more about the cup and breaks downs the challenges that the teams will be facing, such as dating, giving gifts, and mining.

The strategy will be all about delegation and racking up points as efficiently as possible. Since each team can only complete the same task one time, viewers will get to see a variety of different skills being put to the test over the course of the day.

• Read More: Best Stardew Valley mods to download in 2021 & how to install

It may sound silly to the uninitiated, but there is some serious skill out in the Stardew Valley world. King Nooblit of Krobus’s Crocuses is a Stardew Valley world record holder and will be bringing all of that knowledge to this competition.

The Stardew Valley Cup main event will be streamed live on UnsurpassableZ’s Twitch channel on September 4th, 12:00 p.m. EST.