Leading Esports and Hardware Companies Team Up for $30,000 Prize Pool Charity Tournament and Fundraiser to Benefit Low-Income Communities Affected by COVID-19
High School Esports League (HSEL), the largest competitive gaming organization serving high school students and teachers, has today announced Generation Esports — a new community-focused esports organization and tournament platform for competitors of all ages. To commemorate its launch, Generation Esports and a growing list of sponsors will host a free online charity tournament to support communities nationwide affected by COVID-19: the “Social Distancing Cup,” with open enrollment from April 10 – May 10, 2020, and a $30,000 USD prize pool for participants.
As an overarching global entity, Generation Esports expands the original charter of HSEL beyond a purely national high school focus to positively impact multiple additional communities across the globe — individual players, students in middle school to college, active duty military and veterans, corporate employees, adult and youth organizations, and more. HSEL will continue to host dedicated tournaments for North American high school students — as will a new Middle School Esports League (MSEL) for middle school students in fall 2020 — under the new Generation Esports banner.
The innovative technologies that power Generation Esports’ tournament platform enable members to easily compete in, and engage with, some of today’s hottest games for real-world prizes: cash, gaming gear, and vouchers from major brands such as ASUS and Viewsonic.
“Today marks a new chapter for High School Esports League and an exciting beginning for Generation Esports,” said Mason Mullenioux, co-founder and CEO of Generation Esports and HSEL. “As the esports industry continues to evolve, one thing remains as important as ever: the people. Generation Esports is a league for all types of communities, unified by the love of video games and healthy competition. With HSEL, we’ve seen the type of positive impact esports can bring to high school students across the United States, and we hope that Generation Esports can do the same for all gamers globally.”
As its first activity post-launch, Generation Esports — in partnership with non-profit partner Varsity Esports Foundation (VEF) — will host a new tournament series created to engage with esports competitors who are isolating themselves or quarantined because of the COVID-19 pandemic and fundraise for low-income families during this time of need.
Beginning April 10, 2020, the Social Distancing Cup is a four-week-long open enrollment tournament series open to the continental U.S. featuring competitive matches in League of Legends, Rocket League, and Teamfight Tactics. The Social Distancing Cup has a $30,000 USD prize pool, featuring additional winnable goods such as ASUS Republic of Gamers and TUF Gaming laptops, hardware, and merchandise, custom Generation Esports jerseys and mugs from Skullz, Viewsonic gaming monitors, Zaxby’s vouchers, and Dr. Squatch Soap. More information about the Social Distancing Cup and registration is available at https://www.generationesports.com/social-distancing-cup.
Generation Esports and VEF encourage participants, as well as esports fans and organizations, to donate as little as $5-$25 USD to the “Social Distancing Cup COVID-19 Response Fund” to support low-income families suffering during this unprecedented global crisis. All donations are tax-deductible and can be made here: https://www.varsityesportsfoundation.org/social-distancing-cup.
Officially licensed Generation Esports merchandise from Skullz is available now and a portion of the proceeds go directly toward the Social Distancing Cup COVID-19 Response Fund. To view the Generation Esports merch store, please visit https://skullz.com/collections/generation-esports.
Sponsors of the Social Distancing Cup include Generation Esports, the Varsity Esports Foundation, ASUS, Midwest Esports, Fusesport, eFuse, GradTech, Sunshine State Games, MSP, Gamer Sensei, Skullz, Viewsonic, Zaxby’s, with more to be added.
About The Varsity Esports Foundation
The Varsity Esports Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization established to offer financial assistance to schools and to provide a pipeline for students to reach their potential through Esports. The organization strives to increase literacy around the Esports industry’s positive impact on healthy lifestyles, mental health, community, and STEM. For more information, please visit https://www.varsityesportsfoundation.org.
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