10 maps advance to Mapcore 'Big Adventures' contest grand finals

Mapcore's Big Adventures Mapping Contest has reached the grand finals, leaving only 10 maps left competing for the grand prize.

The Big Adventure Mapping Contest was officially announced back in February 2024. The first stage saw 57 maps go through to stage two, based on their "Fun Factor" and "Originality". In stage two, also known as the Refinement Stage, the mapmakers provided art and polish to their levels based on community feedback, and were also graded on "Visual Presentation" and "Overall Polish."

The 10 maps that have made it to the grand finals are now playable on FACEIT in an exclusive queue until judging begins on April 20. The map makers have until then to tweak and update their maps. The 10 grand finals maps are:

• Alpine

• Canopy

• Flick

• Golden

• Grail

• Jura

• Palacio

• Stronghold

• Warden

• Wild

The eventual winner will be decided by a judges panel that includes Cache creator FMPONE and "guest experts" Anders Blume, fl0m, Mauisnake, DDK, Launders, Scrawny, and James Bardolph.

In addition to the lion's share of the $15,000 prize pool, the winning map could follow the path of Anubis, which won a 2019 Mapcore contest and was eventually purchased by Valve and added to the Active Duty map pool.