College students across U.S. and Canada can team up and represent
their school—more than $450,000 in tuition and other prizes up for grabs
Anyone can fill out a fantasy bracket, cheer on their favorite
schools, and win big
ESPN to deliver exclusive live coverage of Heroes of the Dorm
competition on TV and digital platforms
IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Wrap up that term paper, because you'll want to hit the battlegrounds
with no distractions. Today, Blizzard Entertainment and TeSPA revealed
plans for Heroes of the Dorm™—the
ultimate Heroes of the Storm™ college
tournament, offering an unprecedented prize pool where the winning team
will receive free tuition for the rest of their college career.
Currently in closed beta testing, Heroes of the Storm is Blizzard
Entertainment's free-to-play online team brawler featuring iconic heroes
from more than 20 years of the developer's rich gaming history. ESPN,
the worldwide leader in sports, will deliver exclusive live coverage for Heroes
of the Dorm on television and digital platforms. This represents the
first live televised coverage of a collegiate eSports event on an ESPN
network.
Heroes of the Dorm will bring together teams of college students
from across the United States and Canada in an epic showdown to
determine the strongest scholars in the Nexus, with hundreds of
thousands of dollars in tuition at stake. Every competing team will get
access to the Heroes of the Storm closed beta test in order to
participate. Plus, everyone's invited to show their school spirit—and
compete for prizes of their own—by participating in the Heroes of the
Dorm fantasy bracket challenge.
"College sports do great things for student athletes—they help pay for
schooling, build teamwork and communication skills, and create lasting
memories," said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard
Entertainment. "We believe eSports has the same kind of power, and this
tournament aims to bring positive experiences like these to college
gamers. We can't wait to fill out our fantasy brackets and cheer on a
new generation of eSports athletes as they compete in Heroes of the
Storm."
The Heroes of the Dorm tournament is open to active college
students in the United States and Canada and will be played across three
rounds of competition:
-
Open Qualifiers - Begin March 28
-
Single-Elimination Bracket Play (Round of 64) - Begins April 11
-
The Heroic Four live event to be held in late April
All five members of the first-place team will each enjoy up to $25,000
per year in college tuition for their remaining years of undergrad or
graduate enrollment (up to three full years as an undergrad or up to two
years as a grad student). Seniors and grad students with no remaining
years of enrollment will receive one year's worth of tuition to help
repay student loans (or an equivalent cash prize if the student does not
have any remaining student loans). Each player whose team emerges from
the Round of 64 and makes it to the Heroic Four will take home a
top-of-the-line gaming PC and officially licensed Heroes of the Storm
peripherals and accessories.
ESPN3 will carry the Round of 16, Round of 8, and "Heroic Four" live
exclusively on the multi-screen sports network. It is accessible in more
than 99 million households nationwide to fans who receive their Internet
or video subscription from an affiliated provider. The network is also
available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students
and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones, and
tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military
broadband and Wi-Fi networks. The coverage will also be available across
ESPN media platforms in several international regions.
Viewers will be able to access Heroes of the Dorm tournament
action on ESPN3 under the eSports category online at WatchESPN.com, on
smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app (visit http://espn.go.com/watchespn/apps
for a list of compatible devices), and streamed on televisions through
Apple TV, Roku, and other connected devices.
In late April, the Heroes of the Dorm championship match will be
televised live in prime time on an ESPN network and also accessible via
WatchESPN. Further details on the telecast will be shared at a later
date.
"Heroes of the Dorm presents an exciting opportunity to once
again work with Blizzard, a leader in the games industry," said Raphael
Poplock, Vice President of Games and Partnerships, ESPN. "By delivering
the tournament to an audience of gaming fans in the US and beyond, we
are able to experiment with new formats and programming across our
networks."
To sign up, students should form a team of five players and register by
visiting the official Heroes of the Dorm website, heroesofthedorm.com.
Complete rules and eligibility requirements will be posted there as well.
Fantasy Bracket for Everyone
The Heroes of the Dorm tournament isn't just for collegiate
competitors—spectators can also create and share fantasy brackets to
root for their favorite teams and partake in an epic prize pool valued
at more than $25,000, including a $10,000 top prize for whoever predicts
the final bracket most accurately, and top-of-the-line gaming PCs for
the best five predictions. In addition, everyone who participates will
receive a Heroes of the Storm in-game portrait, as well as
opportunities to win high-end gaming PCs and a range of gaming
peripherals. Check the Heroes
of the Dorm website for complete rules and eligibility. Fantasy
brackets will be available there starting on April 3.
In Heroes of the Storm, gamers can play some of their favorite
characters from the Warcraft®, StarCraft®,
and Diablo® universes, and team up with friends to
battle other teams online. Heroes of the Storm features a variety
of battlegrounds with multiple objectives that affect strategy in unique
ways. In addition, players will be able to customize their heroes with a
variety of skins, as well as special mounts that help them cover ground
on the battlefield more quickly.
With multiple games in development, Blizzard Entertainment has numerous
positions currently available—visit http://jobs.blizzard.com
for more information and to learn how to apply.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and
the Warcraft®, StarCraft®,
and Diablo® franchises, 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 nineteen #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 ESPN
ESPN, Inc., The Worldwide Leader in Sports, is the leading
multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring the
broadest portfolio of multimedia sports assets with over 50 business
entities. Based in Bristol, Conn., with 4,000 employees (7,000
worldwide) ESPN Plaza includes 950,000 square feet in 16 buildings on
123 acres (116 contiguous), with additional office space (400,000 sq.
ft.) rented nearby. The company is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., an
indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation
holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.
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 collegiate gaming, TeSPA cultivates student communities, known as
Local Chapters, which host epic gaming events on over 90 campuses in the
United States and Canada. TeSPA supports its Local Chapters by
connecting them to national partners for events, hosting cutting-edge
competitions for college gaming athletes, facilitating collaboration
between Local Chapters, and empowering 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 Heroes of the Storm and
the Heroes of the Dorm tournament, 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.
Photos/Multimedia Gallery Available: http://www.businesswire.com/multimedia/home/20150306005505/en/
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Rob Hilburger, 949-242-8404
VP,
Global Communications
rhilburger@blizzard.com
or
Emil
Rodriguez, 949-955-1380 x12064
Director, Global PR
elrodriguez@blizzard.com
or
Che'von
Slaughter, 949-955-1380 x14338
PR Manager
cslaughter@blizzard.com
Source: Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
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