From July 13th – 14th, 2019, Bloomington-Normal will be hosting one of the largest amateur Call of Duty esports tournaments in Central Illinois.
Presented by Midwest Arena Esports (an amateur esports organization based out of Missouri) and local gaming center PlayNormal Esports, 24 teams of 5 players from all over the Midwest will be traveling to compete for their share of a $5,000 prize pool. The event will be hosted at PlayNormal Esports from 9:00AM – 12:00AM on both Saturday and Sunday.
PlayNormal Esports, founded in December 2018 in Bloomington by Angie and Terry Ballantini, will be hosting the event in their location at 802 S Eldorado Rd Suite A3, Bloomington, IL 61704. PlayNormal Esports is attached to Normal Gadgets which is also owned and operated by the Ballantini’s. Since it’s grand opening, PlayNormal Esports has hosted a wide variety of tournaments, events, and has partnered with
Microsoft and State Farm for STEM events and DigiGirlz. PlayNormal Esports offers drop-in play daily, birthday parties, as well as a variety of tournament each month.
Midwest Arena Esports was founded in 2018 by Austin Schaeg and Aaron Analla of Missouri and has hosted over 50 online tournaments, 5 tournament events in Missouri, and has given out nearly $10,000 in prizes to amateur competitors looking to make a name for themselves within the Call of Duty esports scene. Alongside the help of Jonathan Strupek – a Bloomington-Normal native – Midwest Arena Esports has grown their brand and is looking to expand into neighboring states with Illinois being their first stop.
“Video games and the esports industry has evolved into more than just people smashing buttons behind a television screen,” said founder Austin Shaeg. “Games like Call of Duty are turning passionate players right here in the Midwest into competitors on a nationwide stage in front of hundreds if not millions of fans. With Midwest Arena Esports we’re looking to help local amateur players compete and make a name for themselves on their journey to the big leagues.”
Teams attending this event are from a variety of states including: Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Wisconsin, Michigan, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. Previous MidwestArena Esports tournaments have also drawn players from as far as Louisiana and California.
Esports has captured the attention of nearly 400 million viewers worldwide with revenues reaching $869 million in 2018 according to a study published by eMarketer. Popular games such as League of Legends, Overwatch, NBA2K, and Call of Duty are starting to follow their traditional sport counterparts with franchising, large corporate sponsorships such as State Farm, Bud Light, and Coca Cola, as well as growing the lion’s share of prize money into the millions to be earned.
Spectator passes will be available for purchase at the door for $10. Press may attend the event for free with proper credentials. Due to the “Mature” rating of Call of Duty, the age of attendees should be considered. More information on the event can be found at http://www.midwestarenaesports.org/illinoislan/
