The world’s only Olympic-style esports tournament has officially arrived. WorldGaming Network today announced that it has been named the Official Tournament Operator for the United States and Canada (two separate qualifying events) qualifiers for the 2018-2019 World Electronic Sports Games (WESG), in partnership with Alisports, a division of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba.
The Olympic-style games will last over seven months and involve more than 65,000 players from over 190 countries. Those players will compete for one of the largest prize pools yet – $5.5 million. Competition will span across six games: DOTA2, Starcraft II, CounterStrike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, VainGlory and Pro Evolution Soccer (PES).
As Official Tournament Operator, WorldGaming Network will host the national WESG events via online qualifiers and live finals for both the United States and Canada. The top teams in each game will then go on to represent their respective countries at the WESG Grand Finals in China.
“We’re thrilled to be joining forces with WorldGaming Network to host the world’s only Olympic-style esports tournament,” said Jason Fung, Global esports Director of Alisports. “WorldGaming Network’s leadership in both the American and Canadian tournaments will help make this our most successful tournament yet.”
“It’s a tremendous honor to help bring the WESG Qualifiers & Finals to both the U.S. and Canada,” said Wim Stocks, General Manager of WorldGaming Network. “In naming WorldGaming as the Official Tournament Operator, Alisports has recognized the strength of our experience, our tournaments platform and the community of gamers we have galvanized throughout the United States and Canada.”
Online qualifiers will be run from September to November 2018 on the WorldGaming tournaments platform. In mid-November, WorldGaming Network and The Stronach Group will host the USA WESG Qualifying Finals
‘live’ at the iconic Santa Anita Park racetrack in Los Angeles, California. The Canadian WESG Qualifying Finals will be held ‘live’ on October 26 – October 28, 2018 at Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo (EGLX), Canada’s largest video game expo, being held this year at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.