World Wide Technology Raceway today announced the creation of a Rocket League esports tournament that will begin on Sunday, March 7. Rocket League is one of the most popular competitive sports games, engaging 100,000 daily players on PC and hundreds of thousands of players on Xbox and PlayStation, respectively.
The tournaments will be created by Raceway Gives in partnership with Maryville University’s Rawlings Sport Business Management students. Raceway Gives is WWTR’s non-profit, created to support youth motorsports and STEM initiatives in the St. Louis region. Students in the RSBM are assisting WWTR and Raceway Gives in the development and implementation of the tournaments. The Rocket League tournament will be one of several WWTR and Raceway Gives’ E-League programs.
“Rocket League has been one of the most popular platforms in gaming and the excitement level for both participants and fans is tremendous, “ said WWTR Executive Vice President and General Manager Chris Blair. “We are looking at unique ways to draw young fans into the world of traditional racing and feel that Rocket League is one game that can bridge that gap. We are excited to be involved with UGC based on their past success in major esport productions. The quality of their competitions is second to none and we believe that this partnership with introduce the World Wide Technology Raceway brand to hundreds of thousands of participants around the globe.”
The tournament will feature four championship qualifying events: one each month in March, April, June and July. The monthly events will feature 32-team brackets, organized into two divisions based on skill level. Winners from each monthly tournament will advance to the championship playoff, held during the Bommarito Automotive Group 500 Speed Week in August.
“We are happy our Rawlings Sport Business Management students have had opportunities to work with World Wide Technology Raceway for several years,” said Jason Williams, Assistant Dean, Director and Associate Professor of the RSBM program at the John E. Simon School of Business at Maryville. “Our students have learned a great deal working with WWTR to bring this esports opportunity to their fans.”
The WWTR-Raceway Gives Rocket League will consist of esports teams of various experience levels. Each team will have three players (plus substitutions) and will play three-versus-three in a best-of-five competition. Finals will be best of seven. The target market will be teams in Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky.
In each division, teams earn points based on their performance in each tournament. Teams may earn a maximum of 15 points per tournament and points may be earned in each tournament. The cumulative points will determine championship participants.
Teams will be competing to win the WWTR-Raceway Gives Trophy, which will be presented to the champions at the NTT INDYCAR SERIES Bommarito Automotive Group 500 on August 21. Each registered player also will receive two tickets to the INDYCAR race. Championship games will be streamed on UGC Twitch (https://www.twitch.tv/ugc), along with select qualifying games.
Registration is now open. Teams may register athttps://www.ugcesports.gg/community/wwtr-eleague/tournaments for the tournament. Registration opens February 22 for the first tournament, which begins March 7.
For additional information on World Wide Technology Raceway, please call (618) 215-8888 or visit www.WWTRaceway.com. Follow WWTR on Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.
WWTR PR
