FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 22nd, 2018

NBC SPORTS GROUP AND FACEIT PRESENT UNIVERSAL OPEN ROCKET LEAGUE GRAND FINALS THIS WEEKEND

Grand Finals Hosted at NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn.

Coverage Streams Live Exclusively on Twitch All Three Days at 12 p.m. ET

Universal Open Rocket League Grand Finals Preview to Air Tonight at 7 p.m. ET on NBCSN; Grand Finals Highlights to Air on NBCSN and NBC Sports Regional Networks

SYFY to Present More Than 100 Hours of Grand Finals Coverage, Including Live Throughout Latin America, Germany and Austria

Checkpoint Radio to Host Pre- and Post-Match Coverage from Stamford Throughout Grand Finals

STAMFORD, Conn. – August 22, 2018 – Universal Open Rocket League – NBC Sports Group and FACEIT’s annual esports tournament – culminates this weekend at NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., as the top Rocket League players in the world compete in a 2v2 tournament for a $100,000 prize pool.

Coverage of the Universal Open Rocket League Grand Finals will stream live exclusively via Twitch this Friday through Sunday, beginning each day at noon ET. This marks the second consecutive season of Universal Open Rocket League, created by NBC Sports Group and industry-leading competitive gaming platform FACEIT, featuring Rocket League, the sports-action hit with a community of more than 49 million players developed and published by San Diego-based game studio, Psyonix.

The Universal Open Rocket League Grand Finals feature eight of the best Rocket League duos in the world – four European teams and four North American teams – that survived the gauntlet of qualifiers and regional finals to reach the Grand Finals. Three new duos will be representing Europe at the Grand Finals, with only Metsanauris and Mognus (Complexity) making a return appearance. The North American teams to qualify are highlighted by Jknaps and GarrettG (G2 Esports) and fan-favorites Squishymuffinz and Gimmick (Cloud9).

Following are the teams competing in the Universal Open Rocket League Grand Finals

  • North America – Cloud9 (Squishymuffinz and Gimmick), G2 Esports (JKnaps and GarrettG), Ghost (Lethamyr and Memory), and Selfless (Dappur and Mijo).
  • Europe – Double Trouble (RonakyRL and Tadpole), Complexity (Metsanauris and Mognus), Girls (Scrub Killa and gReazymeister), and Team Secret (Freakii and Killerno7).

NBCSN and NBC Sports Regional Networks will air 60-minute Grand Finals Preview and Grand Finals Highlights telecasts, and beginning with NBCSN’s Grand Finals Preview program tonight at 7 p.m. ET, showcasing the teams’ roads to the Grand Finals. Additionally, VOD highlights from the Grand Finals will live on the Universal Open YouTube Channel.

UNIVERSAL OPEN GRAND FINALS HIGHLIGHT TELECAST SCHEDULE
 DATE NETWORK TIME (Local)
 Thur., Aug. 30 NBC Sports Northwest 11 a.m.
SNY 6:30 p.m.
NBC Sports Philadelphia 7 p.m.
NBC Sports Chicago 11 p.m.
 Fri., Aug. 31 NBC Sports California 2 a.m.
NBC Sports Washington 7 p.m.
 Sat., Sept. 1 NBCSN 12 p.m.*
NBC Sports Boston 9 a.m.
NBC Sports Bay Area 8 p.m.

*ET

Veteran esports host and analyst Rachel “Seltzer” Quirico will anchor NBC Sports’ Universal Open Rocket League coverage of the Grand Finals. She entered esports as a competitive gamer in 2006 and made the pivot to on-camera presenting in 2008, and has emceed numerous tournaments and international championships for StarCraft 2, League of Legends, Counter-Strike, and Overwatch.

Rocket League commentators Caleb “WavePunk” Simmons, Mike “Quinn Lobdell” Behrouzi, Joey “JorbyPls” Ahrens and James “JamesBot” Villar all return for the second consecutive season of Universal Open Rocket League to provide play-by-play and analysis for the Grand Finals. Larry Ridley (reporter) will provide player interviews.

SYFY TO PRESENT MORE THAN 100 HOURS OF GRAND FINALS COVERAGE, INCLUDING LIVE THROUGHOUT LATIN AMERICA, GERMANY AND AUSTRIA

SYFY – NBCUniversal International Networks’ channel dedicated to science fiction and fantasy – will present more than 100 hours of international television coverage of the Universal Open Rocket League Grand Finals throughout Latin America, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Additionally, comprehensive live coverage of the Grand Finals will air in Germany, and live coverage of the final day of competition will air in Latin America.

CHECKPOINT RADIO TO HOST PRE- AND POST-MATCH COVERAGE FROM STAMFORD THROUGHOUT GRAND FINALS

Checkpoint Radio – the first esports and gaming show for radio syndicated by Westwood One across the United States and Canada – will host live pre- and post-match coverage from the Universal Open Rocket League Grand Finals at NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center this weekend. Coverage will air live on the Checkpoint Radio Twitch channel and will feature analysis of the day’s matches, as well as interviews with competitors and casters.


BRISK® ICED TEA TO SERVE AS PRESENTING SPONSOR, BRINGS LIMITED-TIME PRODUCT TO SHELVES THIS SUMMER

Brisk, the iced tea brand known for its bold flavors, will serve as a presenting sponsor of Universal Open Rocket League. The brand is also bringing Brisk Dual Force Guava Ginger Limeade exclusively to participating 7-Eleven® stores this summer. This offering mixes the sweet fruit flavor of guava limeade with a bold twist of ginger to pack a powerful flavor punch. Brisk will debut a commercial featuring popular Rocket League casters Caleb “WavePunk” Simmons and Mike “Quinn Lobdell” Behrouzi, and will also bring fans a special behind-the-scenes look at their favorite casters on air during the tournament.

UniversalOpen.gg is the home for Universal Open Rocket League and provides the latest information on tournament details, schedule, brackets, highlights, and much more. Follow @UniversalOpen on Twitter as well for up-to-the-minute information on everything Universal Open Rocket League.


ABOUT NBC SPORTS GROUP

When the Comcast-NBCUniversal transaction was completed in January 2011, the sports assets of the two companies combined to form NBC Sports Group, which serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. The sports media company consists of NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBCSN, Golf Channel, NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBC Sports Radio and NBC Sports Digital, which includes NBCSports.com, NBCOlympics.com, GolfChannel.com, the digital assets of the NBC Sports Regional Networks, Rotoworld, the NBC Sports Talk franchise, multiple apps, and two transactional sports businesses, GolfNow and SportsEngine. NBC Sports Group possesses an unparalleled collection of television rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee, the NFL, NHL, NASCAR, PGA TOUR, The R&A, PGA of America, Churchill Downs, Premier League, Tour de France, French Open, IndyCar and many more.


ABOUT FACEIT

FACEIT is the leading competitive platform for online multiplayer games, with more than 9 million users logging in a total of over 12 million online game sessions each month. FACEIT allows players to easily play in tournaments and leagues for virtual and real-world prizes through automated tournament management and competitive gaming technology. For developers, FACEIT’s advanced software development kit (SDK) allows game creators to easily integrate user-friendly competitive gaming and tournaments into their titles to allow gamers to take part in competitive online games at all skill levels. esports organizers, players and communities use FACEIT to create and manage online competitions. For more information on FACEIT, please visit www.faceit.com.


ABOUT PSYONIX

Based in San Diego, CA, Psyonix is a critically-acclaimed independent video game developer and leading experts in Unreal Engine technology. For more than 15 years, the studio has been a driving force behind some of the most successful games in the industry, including Gears of WarMass Effect 3XCOM: Enemy UnknownBulletstormUnreal Tournament IIIUnreal Tournament 2004, and the award-winning Sports-Action hit, Rocket League®.


ABOUT ROCKET LEAGUE
®

Winner or nominee of more than 150 “Game of the Year” awards, Rocket League is one of the most critically-acclaimed sports games of our generation. Boasting a community of more than 49 million players, Rocket League is a high-powered hybrid of arcade-style soccer and vehicular mayhem with easy-to-understand controls and fluid, physics-driven competition. Available on Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, Windows PC, Mac, and SteamOS via Steam, Rocket League includes more than 100 billion possible customization combinations, a fully-featured offline season mode, multiple game types, casual and competitive online matches, and special “Mutators” that let you change the rules entirely.

To learn more about Rocket League, please visit www.RocketLeague.com, “Like” it on Facebook, and follow it on Twitter @RocketLeague for all the latest developer updates and news.

Rocket League, Psyonix, and all related marks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Psyonix Inc.© 2015-2018 Psyonix Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.


ABOUT PEPSICO

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $63 billion in net revenue in 2017, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo’s product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose – our fundamental belief that the success of our company is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the world around us. We believe that continuously improving the products we sell, operating responsibly to protect our planet and empowering people around the world enable PepsiCo to run a successful global company that creates long-term value for society and our shareholders. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.


ABOUT PEPSI LIPTON TEA PARTNERSHIP

The Pepsi Lipton Tea partnership is a joint venture between PepsiCo and Unilever. The partnership includes a complete portfolio of ready- to-drink iced teas for every occasion, including Lipton Iced Tea, Pure Leaf Iced Tea and Brisk Iced Tea.

 

–NBC SPORTS GROUP–