With the explosion in popularity of competitive video gaming, Rend Lake College is excited to announce plans to host what everyone involved hopes is one of the largest e-sporting events Southern Illinois has ever seen in conjunction with Southern Illinois start-up Ultimate Gaming Championship (UGC).
UGC, fresh off their $200,000 Gears of War Pro Circuit Atlantic City Open, is excited to bring all the bells and whistles of the professional gaming scene to Ina to give local gamers the chance to compete like the pros for a day.
Ultimate Gaming Championship’s $200,000 Gears of War Pro Circuit Atlantic City Open final. Click for a larger view.
“UGC is very excited to bring competitive gaming to Rend Lake College. We are seeing more and more colleges nation-wide embrace competitive gaming. This is our chance to not only give those students a chance to compete, but also reach into a younger generation who has a lot of excitement and passion of e-sports,” UGC CEO Matt Jackson explained.
Slated for June 24th, the RLC E-Sports Open will feature $5,000 in total prizes with 2v2 tournaments in Halo 5 and Call of Duty Modern Warfare Remastered and head-to-head matchups for Super Smash Brothers Melee, Super Smash Wii U, Madden 17, NBA 2k17 and Hearthstone. Participants in Hearthstone are asked to bring their own mobile device and application of the game.
Taking place in the James E. “Hummer” Waugh Gymnasium the event will kick off at 10 a.m. Entry to the event is free with in-district student identification. Admission for other participants and observers is $10. Concessions and merchandise will be available on site.
With roots in Du Quoin, UGC is a premiere e-sports tournament organizer with experience on the Halo, Gears of War and Smash Bros. professional circuits.
For more information on the event, visit UGC’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/UGCevents/.
