eSports is increasingly becoming popular, and from the recent trends, it could be featured in the Olympic games very soon.
Tech company Intel is floating half a million dollars in a brand new tournament that will be held on July 22 to 24, 2020, in Tokyo Japan, just before the commencement of the 2020 Summer Olympics.
“We are excited Intel is bringing the Intel World Open esports tournament to Japan in the lead up to the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. As we explore the engagement between esports and the Olympic Movement we are looking forward to learning from this event and continuing to engage with the passionate eSports community from around the world,” said Kit McConnell, IOC Sports Director.
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The new tournament will feature two popular games Capcom’s “Street Fighter V” and Psyonix’s “Rocket League.” Each tournament will attract a grand prize of $250,000 bringing the total to $500,00 which is quite a good amount for any player out there, not forgetting the bragging rights.
While this tournament is open to anyone, it won’t be easy to make it through the qualifiers. Definitely, the competition will attract several top eSports teams and the pro players. That said, you need to bring you’re A-game if you want to be part of the main event at Zepp DiverCity venue in Tokyo.
There will be three qualifying stages ahead of the finals for the Street Fighter V tournament.
First, there will be 12 national teams worldwide with four slots up for grabs. The National Qualifiers will run for 4 – 8 weeks starting early January 2018.
Next will be the Regional Qualifiers, and here, players from outside of the 12 countries will battle it out to get to the next stage where only eight teams will advance.
Now, with 20 teams on board, a Live Qualifier will be held in Katowice, Poland. Seven teams from the Americas, EEMEA, and APEC regions will finally head to the finals, where they will meet with the joining the auto-qualified home team, Japan.
As for Rocket League, things will be a bit different.
First, there will be 3v3 head-to-head battles with 16 slots up for grabs. The team that comes on top earns a straight slot in the next stage, the Live Qualifier in Katowice.
At the Live Qualifiers, the 16 teams will battle it out for the seven available slots.
The D-day is the Tokyo Final Event, which will pit the seven teams plus the auto-qualified home team, Japan.
This new development shows just how potent eSports is, and the bright future it holds.
Unfortunately, Street Fighter V won’t be coming to the Olympics as the International Olympics Committee (IOC) ruled out violent games. But the upcoming event is a sign of future partnerships between the eSports and the professional sporting industry.
