PHILADELPHIA, March 20, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- N3rd Street Gamers (NSG), an esports network that focuses on serving semi-professional and developing competitive gamers, today announced that it is including Overwatch in its National Championship Series of esports, beginning on March 23rd, 2019. The arrangement between N3rd Street Gamers and Blizzard Entertainment enables NSG to run sanctioned Overwatch tournaments as part of its National Championship Series (NCS) offerings throughout the year and will support local activations for Overwatch League franchises.
Prize pools for tournaments in the Overwatch National Championship Series will reach as high as $50,000 for amateur competitors.
"We are eager to work with N3rd Street Gamers to bring more tournaments to the amateur Overwatch community in 2019 and continue building local engagement around Overwatch competition," said Jon Spector, Overwatch League Director of Franchises and Competition.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft®, Hearthstone®, Overwatch®, and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry's most critically acclaimed games.
The Overwatch National Championship Series organized by N3rd Street Gamers will host tournament events starting in March 2019. Players will be able to participate in amateur esports tournaments in multiple cities around the country, including Philadelphia, Denver, Boston, Arlington, and Washington, D.C. The NCS Grand Finals will occur in October 2019 at Localhost Arena in Denver, CO.
Below are a few upcoming dates for Overwatch National Championship Series Games:
Overwatch NCS Academy:
- March 23rd, 2019 in Washington D.C.
- March 29th, 2019 in Kansas City, MO
- March 30th, 2019 in Boston, MA
- April 13th, 2019 in Philadelphia, PA
- May 4th, 2019 in Denver, CO
Overwatch NCS Minor
- April 26th, 2019 in Bellevue, NE
- May 18th, 2019 in Denver, CO
- May 25th, 2019 in Philadelphia, PA
Overwatch NCS Major
- July 19th, 2019 in Atlantic City, NJ
- Sept 20th, 2019 in Huntington Beach, CA
"We're excited to be able to serve the market with in-person, local area network showcase opportunities that attract college scholarships and professional recruitment," John Fazio, founder and CEO of N3rd Street Gamers, said of the increased visibility the series will bring to collegiate players.
The 2019 Overwatch League season began last month with the addition of eight more teams to the league, bringing the total to 20. Participation in the NCS will allow Blizzard to introduce Overwatch to more competitors at the amateur level, which provides team owners and scouts with a wider talent pool from which to recruit.
Philadelphia Fusion President Tucker Roberts remarked on the importance of local tournaments in the amateur circuit: "Supporting the T3 scene has always been a top priority for the Fusion. Overwatch League is the first major global city-based esports league, and we are committed to growing the Philadelphia community. Ever since our Hometown Heroes event, we've seen tremendous turnout for amateur competitions in our market."
"Overwatch has an incredibly strong competitive community that has been demanding more local tournaments since the game's launch," Fazio continued. "We're incredibly proud and humbled to have the support from Blizzard and the Overwatch League to launch the Overwatch National Championship Series."
Go to N3rd Street Gamers' website, http://nsg.gg, for more information on the Overwatch National Championship Series and for a list of tournaments.
About N3rd Street Gamers
N3rd Street Gamers is an esports network headquartered in Philadelphia, PA that focuses on serving semi-professional and developing competitive gamers. Founded in 2009 by entrepreneur John Fazio in the Jarvus Innovations Incubator, N3rd Street Gamers promotes greater access to the esports industry by increasing the amount of in-person competitions run on high quality equipment at affordable prices. What started as impromptu LAN parties in a software engineering office quickly developed into a support system and home for some of the East Coast's largest gaming communities. In 2018, NSG tied together dozens of esports communities in Philadelphia, Chicago, & DC under a unified regional framework called the NSG Eastern Conference Championship. Given the success of the circuit, NSG has launched the National Championship Series to provide the same quality gaming tournaments to more than 10 cities nationwide. Early backing came from SeventySix Capital, a premier sports tech venture capital firm led by World Series Champion Ryan Howard. Comcast Spectacor, owner of a portfolio of professional sports teams including the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers and the Overwatch League's Philadelphia Fusion, strategically invested in NSG in 2018 to fuel national growth. Through the support of these partnerships, N3rd Street Gamers is laying a national framework for esports talent development. Emmanuel Sanders, Denver Broncos WR, Pro Bowl Wide Receiver and avid gamer, is a N3rd Street Gamers brand ambassador.
About the National Championship Series (NCS)
Organized by N3rd Street Gamers, the National Championship Series is a multi-game title competitive esports circuit whose purpose is to provide access to high-quality esports tournaments and create a stepping stone for the amateur player with the Grand Finals to occur in October 2019 at Localhost Arena in Denver, Colorado.
The NCS is comprised of four tiers. From lowest to highest, they are Academy, Minor, Major, and Grand Final. Players who compete in the NCS have the opportunity to compete at both a local and a national level as they earn NCS points through participation and placement in tournaments.
NCS points count toward a player's ladder ranking. A player with enough points may have their registration fee waived or be provided with a travel stipend for higher-tier NCS tournaments at the discretion of the tournament operator.
Visit http://www.nsg.gg to register for the National Championship Series.
SOURCE N3rd Street Gamers
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