Signups are now live for Blizzard Entertainment's trailblazing
college esports tournament, this year featuring broader access to live
matches and new ways to participate
IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
College esports reaches a new level of engagement with Heroes
of the Dorm™ 2017 as Blizzard Entertainment and Facebook
team up to stream the action exclusively via Facebook Live. Blizzard and
Tespa's preeminent collegiate esports tournament once again offers Heroes
of the Storm® teams from colleges across the
United States and Canada a chance to earn free tuition for the remainder
of their college careers—more than $500,000 in scholarships and prizes
will be handed out this spring. For the first time ever, Heroes of the
Dorm will be broadcast via Facebook Live on the Heroes of the Storm
Esports Facebook page, beginning with the regular season and continuing
all the way through the Heroic Four and National Championship.
This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170125005466/en/
With Facebook friends and Heroes of the Storm personalities just
a click away, Heroes of the Dorm 2017 will be a new kind of connected
esports event, offering a global real-time connected experience for
viewers that supports live interaction (or smack-talking) during the
heat of competition. From the nervous anticipation of the first regular
season matches to the bright lights and excitement of the championship,
Facebook's global network will enhance every shareable, likable, and
otherwise epic moment in Heroes of the Dorm. To further amplify this
year's Heroes of the Dorm viewing experience, Blizzard will serve
up-to-date statistics, team and player profiles, updates for the Bracket
Challenge and a new Pick ‘em Challenge, and more will all be available
on www.heroesofthedorm.com.
"Heroes of the Dorm has featured some of the most dramatic college
esports action of the past two years, and with more prizes for more
teams up for grabs this year, we're looking forward to a whole new level
of competition," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard
Entertainment. "We're also excited to be working with Facebook this year
to bring more live Heroes of the Dorm play to more viewers around the
world than ever before."
Starting today, eligible college gamers in the United States and Canada
can sign up to compete in Heroes of the Dorm at www.heroesofthedorm.com.
The group stages of the regular season kick off February 15, with the
full schedule proceeding as follows:
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Tournament Stage
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Date
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Group Stages
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February 15-16, 22-23, March 1-2
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Regional Playoffs
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March 4-5
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Regional Finals
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March 8-9
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Round of 64
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March 18-21
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Round of 32
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March 22-23
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Round of 16
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March 25 |
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Round of 8
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March 26 |
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Heroic Four
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April 8 |
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National Championship
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April 8 |
Everyone Can Play, Anyone Can Win
While Heroes of the Dorm competition is reserved for some of the most
elite Heroes of the Storm college teams in North America, savvy
fans around the world will be able to flex their expertise in the Heroes
of the Dorm Bracket Challenge and the Heroes of the Dorm Pick ‘em
Challenge. Accurately picking the winners of each matchup, beginning
with the Round of 64, will win prizes for the top 500 entries in the
Bracket Challenge, while the grand prize winner will receive USD
$10,000. Midway through the tournament, fans get a second chance in the
Pick ‘em Challenge, where they'll pick just one team to hopefully carry
them all the way to the National Championship—earning a Heroes of the
Storm Stimpack just for participating, with a chance for more
Stimpacks the better their team does.
In 2015, UC Berkeley dominated, becoming the first-ever Heroes of the
Dorm. In 2016, Arizona State University avenged their championship loss
from the previous year to claim the title. This year, a new story will
be written and new heroes will be celebrated in the ultimate college
esports event!
Fans can relive the gripping journey of last year's Heroes of the Dorm
Championship team in A
New Hero: The Rise of College Esports, a documentary on Arizona
State's climb to the top of college esports.
Learn more about Heroes of the Dorm and the viewer-participation
challenges, and stay tuned for further details, at www.heroesofthedorm.com.
About Heroes of the Storm
Heroes of the Storm brings together a diverse cast of iconic characters
from Blizzard's far-flung realms of science fiction and fantasy,
including the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® universes, and
challenges them to compete in epic, adrenaline-charged battles. To learn
more about Heroes of the Storm, head over to the official website at www.heroesofthestorm.com.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft®, Hearthstone®,
Overwatch®, the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo®
franchises, and the multi-franchise Heroes of the Storm®,
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com),
a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer
and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of
the industry's most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment's
track record includes twenty-one #1 games* and multiple Game of the Year
awards. The company's online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the
largest in the world, with millions of active players.
*Based on internal company records and reports from key distribution
partners.
About Tespa
Tespa is the premier college gaming network in North America, dedicated
to creating a home for gamers on every campus. Recognized as the leader
in college esports, Tespa cultivates student communities that host epic
gaming events on campuses in the United States and Canada, and plans to
distribute more than $800,000 in scholarship prizing in 2017 through
intercollegiate leagues. Tespa has had more than 5000 teams from more
than 1200 universities compete in its college tournaments and has
empowered student leaders to become entrepreneurs in the gaming industry.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in
this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment's expectations,
plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including
statements about the dates, features and expected events of Heroes of
the Dorm 2017, including the Heroes of the Dorm Bracket Challenge and
the Heroes of the Dorm Pick ‘em Challenge, and the related Facebook
viewing experience, are forward-looking statements that are not facts
and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could
cause Blizzard Entertainment's actual future results to differ
materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set
forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other
factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard's
most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are
based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and
Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard
Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update
any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed
to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These
statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard
Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks,
uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control
and may cause actual results to differ materially from current
expectations.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170125005466/en/
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Rob Hilburger
VP, Global
Communications
949.242.8404
rhilburger@blizzard.com
or
Andrew
Reynolds
Global PR Director
949.955.1380 x14301
areynolds@blizzard.com
or
Che'von
Slaughter
Senior PR Manager
949.955.1380 x14338
cslaughter@blizzard.com
Source: Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
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