From sold out venues to growing prize purses, eSports - the term for competitive videogame tournaments - has transitioned from basements and dorms to stadiums and world class venues, thanks to its ever-growing, avid audience offans. Beginning today, Red Bull Battle Grounds Detroit brings world class eSports entertainment to Motor City’s historic Garden Theatre, with the first major StarCraft II tournament to ever take place in Detroit!
A three day, open format tournament, aspiring hopefuls from Michigan and around the globe – including Australia, Korea, Canada and Mexico - will compete in front of a live audience of cheering fans, with the popular videogame StarCraft II as their battle field. At stake, a $25K prize pool, and the final remaining spot, in the 8-person competitor line up at the Red Bull Battle Grounds Grand Finals, September 20th – 21st in Washington, D.C.
Red Bull Battle Grounds Detroit’s winner will join the ranks of these renowned players, already on the docket for D.C.:
- Red Bull Battle Grounds NYC Winner (2013) – Won “PartinG” Lee Sak
- Red Bull Battle Grounds NYC Runner up (2013) – Kim “sOs” Yoo Jin
- MLG Anaheim Winner – Cho “Trap” Sung Ho
- Red Bull Battle Grounds North America Winner – Sasha “Scarlett” Hosyn
- Red Bull Battle Grounds Global Winner – Park “DongRaeGu” Soo Ho
- Red Bull Battle Grounds Online Winner – Kim “Cure” Doh Wook
- Red Bull Battle Grounds Atlanta Winner – Choi “Bomber” Ji Sung
More than 100 challengers have registered to compete, and throw their name in the ring for the top prize.
Red Bull Battle Grounds Detroit
Notable competitors include:
- David “Walshy” Walsh – Michigan native, and former pro Halo: Reach player, coming out of retirement for one time only, to support the Michigan eSports
- Kim “viOLet” Dong Hwan & Choi “Polt” Seong Hun – The first and second StarCraft II players to be awarded an athlete visa by the US Government, these Korean powerhouses are training in Atlanta these days, and ready for win in Detroit
- Olivia ‘Livibee’ Seeto – Popular Australian player making a name for herself in the US tournament scene
- Choi “Trust” Sung – Unable to compete at the Red Bull Battle Grounds Global event due to passport issues, despite having earned his spot in the qualifier, Trust arrives from Korea ready to reclaim his spot on the tournament stage.
- Kwame “Temp0” Mensah – The American Zerg player known for his musical slant, creating song parodies pertaining to StarCraft.
As 100+ is whittled to one, the entirety of the event will be livestreamed, beginning each day at 11AM EST, Friday – Sunday at http://battlegrounds.redbull.com.
The mind behind the game - Red Bull Battle Grounds Detroit
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