In June, we ran our third Mobile Masters event, an esports tournament where both casual and pro mobile game players compete side-by-side for their share of $100,000. The tournament was powered by Amazon GameOn and was streamed on Twitch, YouTube, and Facebook from the new Amazon Game studio in Seattle. It drew 79 professional and amateur players from around the world, competing in games like Power Rangers: Legacy Wars, Survival Arena, World of Tanks: Blitz, and Critical Ops.

These players make up the vibrant community around mobile esports, one where anyone can compete for their chance to win. It also naturally brings players together with like-minded people, leading to strong bonds and long-lasting relationships.

Let's meet some of the players:

Peter Sudarso, Power Rangers Legacy Wars

Actor Peter Sudarso brings something completely unique to Mobile Masters — his experience actually embodying characters, in real life, from the game he's playing. Peter depicted the Blue Ninja in the TV series “Power Rangers Nina Steel” and the Red Ranger in “Power Rangers HyperForce.”

“Being cast for the TV series was a dream come true. It has helped shape my life: it's one of the things that I've grown up with, it's something I've always enjoyed, it's such a positive brand,” said Peter. “It's brought me here. I'm wearing a jersey! I'm kind of a 'pro player,' which is one of my dreams come true.”

Peter's dream was a long time in the making. He first auditioned for “Power Rangers Megaforce” in 2011, but didn't make it. He tried again the next season, and his brother, Yoshua Sudarso, ended up booking it and playing the Blue Ranger in “Power Rangers Dino Charge” before Peter ultimately got the role after auditioning for the third time.

“Being here at Amazon Mobile Masters is something I never thought I'd do. I never thought I would play video games live, so it's really, really exciting to be here,” said Peter.

Gankstars, first place winners for Critical Ops

Gankstars are world champions in Critical Ops and won the $15,000 first place prize at Mobile Masters for the game. In addition to raw talent, the five-person team has built a strong brotherhood that has propelled them to success.

“Gankstars is very welcoming. I have not experienced that anywhere else,” said Nikash Tekkem (Alpha). “They're like my family, like my brothers. It's honestly a blessing to play alongside them.”

“When we get together in-person, it's like seeing a long-lost brother,” said Aaron Jimenez (Kingeh).

For Nikash (Alpha) especially, the power of these relationships have transcended just gaming. He found friends when he needed them the most.

“I used to the play the drums and while I was drumming one day, my skin started to peel off. I actually had a skin disorder,” he sad. “I couldn't wear short sleeves, I couldn't play sports anymore because it hurt to catch a ball. I had a hard time making friends at school. I started playing Critical Ops and met a lot of great people in this game. I realized people don't care about my physical features, they just care about how I play the game.”

These relationships highlight the fact that gaming can connect people on a real level. As Aaron (Kingeh) says, “People can come together as a group and as a community, and can build something that is really inspiring.”

Kip Yerdon, Survival Arena

The beauty of mobile gaming is that anyone compete. Take Kip Yerdon, a father of four who lives in upstate New York. When he's not gaming, he devotes his time to making YouTube videos with his kids.

“I got started making videos on YouTube when I realized I wanted to build a kids' indoor paradise (KIP) — a play place for kids. I did a Kickstarter, but we didn't make [the goal]. I figured that we needed to build an audience first, so we started doing YouTube videos. We're up to almost 2,000 subscribers and from that, we want to get to where we can eventually build a kids indoor paradise.”

Kip is also writing a book on being a parent.

“I think it's very important that people are good at parenting because good parents will raise good kids. The title of my book will probably be, 'How to Not Suck at Parenting.'”

C4, World of Tanks: Blitz

C4 is one of the most titled teams in Russia, winning the Blitz Twister Cup in 2016 and the vice-champions Blitz Twister Cup in 2017. The team is made up of players from around the world who enjoy each other's company.

“Most of the guys are from different places. When we get together in real life, it's usually a lot of fun,” said Vovko.

“I'm from Russia, in the Ural mountains on the border of Asia and Europe. We have three weeks per year with minus three degrees Celsius, but I like winter and I like cold weather,” said Jjoskey.

The international players, like Vovko, have moved to the United States and have had to adjust to their new way of life.

“I'm from Moscow, Russia. Right now, I live near Monterrey in California. The biggest challenge for me was to move to the US,” said Vovko. “The people usually say language barrier [is the hardest], it's the culture barrier: the memes, the sayings, the slang. Everything is different. The language structure is different. If I say something in Russian and I translate it word for word to English, it'll sound ridiculous. Humor is a huge problem for me.”

Powered by GameOn

Mobile Masters was powered by GameOn, a set of flexible APIs built on AWS cloud infrastructure that works on any operating system. With GameOn, the games were able to run qualifiers across the globe for Mobile Masters, identify the best players, award prizes to participants, and nurture talent to create a stronger sense of community.

Anyone can foster this sense of community among players with GameOn.

Here's how to get started in three easy steps:

1. Sign into the console with your Amazon developer credentials. If you don't already have an account, registration is easy and free.
2. Register your game.
3. After registering your game, you will gain immediate access to the GameOn API key.