LAS VEGAS – October 9, 2018 – ESP Gaming today announced that the first-ever World Showdown of Esports (WSOE), a multi-genre esports tournament series, will take place October 14-15 and feature top competitors of Dota 2. The action will unfold live on twitch.tv/WSOE from the PokerGO Studio in Las Vegas and crown the first WSOE Champion. Competing teams, featuring veteran players and rising stars – including compLexity Gaming, Alliance, Team Serenity, J.Storm, The Final Tribe, Happy Guys, ROOONS, and Pain X – will play for $100,000 in cash prizes.
Taking inspiration from boxing and mixed martial arts, the WSOE will crown champions in several title-based competitive divisions, with the winners defending their titles at subsequent events. Unlike other competitive gaming series, the WSOE will feature year-round storylines and showcase teams and players from a variety of genres and games across mobile, PC, and console.
Dota 2 is the featured game for WSOE 1, the inaugural WSOE title event. “Dota 2 is one of the longest-standing competitive gaming titles, and its rich history in esports makes it a perfect fit for the narrative-driven competition of WSOE,” said Jeff Liboon, President of ESP Gaming. “The WSOE is an intimate, premium event designed to capture the spirit of competition for fans and players alike. We are excited to present Dota 2 fans a new opportunity to support their favorite teams as they vie to become the first-ever WSOE Champion.”
WSOE also revealed that ASUS Republic of Gamers (ROG) will be the official hardware sponsor of the tournament series. ASUS will provide all gaming hardware including G11 Gaming Desktops, ROG Swift PG248Q Gaming Monitors, ROG Strix GL504 Gaming Laptops, ROG Strix Flare Keyboards, ROG Strix Fusion Headsets, ROG Gladius II Origin Gaming Mice, and ROG Scabbard Gaming Mousepads. Fans will also have the opportunity to win top-of-the-line ASUS ROG equipment throughout the series.
“Our partnership with ASUS Republic of Gamers gives us the ability to provide best-in-class gaming devices for our competitors while optimizing the viewing experience for WSOE fans around the world,” said Richard Blankenship, Senior Vice President of Business Development at ESP Gaming. “ASUS ROG has been at the forefront of the esports community and we are thrilled to incorporate their high-performance products during our inaugural season.”
WSOE 1: The Dota 2 Showdown begins Sunday, October 14 and continues Monday, Oct. 15 starting at 9 a.m. PDT each day. Richard Lewis, WSOE’s head of talent, will host and fans can watch live on Twitch at twitch.tv/WSOE. More information about the WSOE schedule and formats will be shared soon.
