Blizzard Entertainment has been in business for almost twenty five years, and has been a dominating force in the games industry for just about all of them. They made sizable waves back in the ’90s with real-time strategy games like Warcraft and Starcraft, as well as the action role-playing game Diablo. While all were successful games, it wasn’t until the next decade when Blizzard would see their company turn from a game developer into an industry giant. Thanks to World Of Warcraft, the most successful MMORPG ever, Blizzard has become a household name. This success has also made them one of the most lucrative businesses in the industry. Blizzard has recently stepped into the MOBA race with their own arena battler, Heroes Of The Storm, based on characters from their catalog of famous franchises. Yesterday, at PAX East, Blizzard announced a new competition, in conjunction with the Texas e-Sports Association, based around their new game.
“Heroes Of The Dorm” will be a bracket-based tournament open to any active college or graduate student wishing to participate. The prize: up to $75,000 in college tuition for each member of the winning team. Teams of five players can enter at the tournament’s official site, gaining access to the game’s closed Beta if they do not have it already. Sign up runs until March 26th and the open qualifying rounds will run from March 28th to April 10th. On April 11th, a 64-team single elimination bracket will begin and slowly shave the competition down to the “Heroic Four.” The final competition will be broadcast through ESPN3 and their ESPNU branch to battle live for the $375,000 prize. All teams in the Heroic Four will walk away with new gaming PCs and Heroes Of The Storm peripherals.
[Image: Twinfinite]
Fans who are not eligible for the competition don’t have to sit on the sidelines and sulk, though. Blizzard is also offering prizes for another interested in creating a Fantasy Bracket for the 64-team competition. The player with the most accurate final bracket will receive $10,000, and top-of-the-line gaming PCs rewarded to the five best predictions. All who participate in the brackets will have a chance to win a gaming PC and peripherals from Blizzard as well. When all is said and done, Blizzard is offering out around $450,000 in prizes. For more information about prizes, registration, and anything else, head over to the competition’s official page.So jump on it college kids. The rest of you are free to join me on the Fantasy Brackets and I will keep everyone updated on my choices on @MattDelhauer when the time comes. Let us know what you think of the competition in the comments below, on Facebook, or Twitter.
