The Big Apple will be the home of a $50,000 StarCraft II tournament.
With the video game industry’s revenues eclipsing the NFL’s estimated $9.5 billion in profits (as projected by Sports Business Daily), eSports continues to emerge. Professional gaming is taking gamers from arcades and Internet cafes to sports stadiums. Screaming fans, larger-than-life personalities and millions of dollars in prizes has made eSports a global phenomenon. Red Bull remains an integral part of eSports.
This November 23 and 24, New York City will be the home of Red Bull Battle Grounds New York. Eight professional StarCraft II athletes from around the world will compete in a high-stakes two day tournament with $50,000 in prizes on the line. Hosted at the Hammerstein Ballroom – site of legendary music performances, world renowned theatre performances and high octane sporting shows – this historic Manhattan entertainment venue is transformed into the competitive coliseum of the future, for this elite exhibition of pro gaming.
Hailing from Korea – where StarCraft eSports was born, top players are celebrities, and tournaments are a televised cultural pastime – the showman of StarCraft II Jang ‘MC’ Min Chul and humble powerhouse and Red Bull athlete Choi ‘Bomber’ Ji-Sung will meet again, after taking the first and second place titles in last year’s Red Bull Battle Grounds eSports tournament in Austin, Texas. Six other internationally revered contenders will take their place on the stage, giving New York an exhibition of world class eSports competition. For fans from around the globe, the entire event will also be livestreamed, with viewers of the digital broadcast expected to exceed the capacity of New York’s own MetLife Stadium.
