$500,000 Apex Legends tournament revealed by Respawn Entertainment

Olivia Richman Published 30/07/2019

Respawn Entertainment has announced a $500,000 preseason invitational tournament for Apex Legends.

Taking place in Krakow, Poland on September 13, the event will take place ahead of the battle royale’s Season 3 launch.

The 80 best Apex Legends teams will play in a double-elimination bracket. Each round will see teams continue on in the winners bracket, drop to the losers bracket, or get eliminated. The elimination process will continue until only 20 teams are left competing for the title.

While Apex Legends has enjoyed successful Twitch Rivals tournaments, this is Respawn Entertainment’s first major competition for Apex Legends.

“Competition is in the DNA of Apex Legends, and this competitive event will showcase the game at its highest level,” design director Chad Grenier said in a press release.

He continued to explain that the invitational tournament serves to advance the developers’ vision towards a “robust competitive experience with the community at the center.”

“We continue to explore all the entertaining ways both players and spectators can experience Apex Legends and look forward to bringing this event to life,” Grenier stated.

Competing in the Apex Legends preseason invitational

Interested teams can apply for an invite by emailing [email protected]. The invitational’s official rules state that teams must create an ESL Play account, using the email that received the invitation. Then, they must link their EA account ID with their ESL Play account. Once this is done, the team must create or join a team for the tournament on the registration site. There is a $150 team registration fee for all qualifying teams who accept the official rules on the registration site.

Competitors must be the minimum age required to have a full EA account in their territory of residence and must meet the minimum age requirements at the start of the live event. For competitors from Germany, Russia, and South Korea, this is 18 years old. For participants from Japan, the minimum age is 17. All other competitors, including the United States, must be 16 or older.

According to EA Competitive Gaming Division’s GM Todd Sitrin, they started this branch with a vision of building an entertainment “spectacle” that “captivated” millions of players and viewers.

“Today we officially expand EA Competitive Gaming through the addition of Apex Legends, owner of one of the biggest game launches in history that continues to be powered today by a passionate global community. The Apex Legends Preseason Invitational is the key next step in our esports journey,” Sitrin said.

Olivia Richman

About Olivia Richman

Olivia has worked in media ever since graduating from college, with her coverage ranging from traditional newspaper reporting to digital coverage of all things gaming, online betting, and nerd culture. She has traveled around the world pursuing that coverage, from the far coasts of the United States to the busy downtown core of Tokyo, Japan. Olivia’s favorite games include Overwatch and Super Smash Smash Bros, and she has been published at Esports Illustrated, Inven Global, EsportsInsider, Upcomer, and elsewhere.

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