FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, May 24th, 2018
UNIVERSAL OPEN ROCKET LEAGUE OPEN QUALIFIERS BEGIN MONDAY, MAY 28 WITH NORTHEAST QUALIFIER
Registration for Universal Open Rocket League is Now Underway at UniversalOpen.gg – Follow on Twitter @UniversalOpen
Open Qualifiers Across United States and Europe Begin with Northeast Qualifier
Grand Finals Hosted at NBC Sports Group International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., Weekend of August 24-26
Brisk® Iced Tea to Serve as Presenting Sponsor, Brings Limited-Time Product to Shelves this Summer
STAMFORD, Conn. – May 24, 2018 – Open qualifiers for the second season of Universal Open Rocket League – NBC Sports Group and FACEIT’s annual esports tournament – begin next Monday, May 28, as gamers of all skill levels compete in a 2v2 Rocket League tournament for a $100,000 prize pool. Registration for Universal Open Rocket League is now underway.
NBC Sports Group is partnering with industry-leading competitive gaming platform FACEIT, which will manage all operational phases of Universal Open Rocket League, from the open qualifiers to the Grand Finals. For the second consecutive season, Rocket League, the sports-action hit with a community of more than 44 million players, developed and published by San Diego-based game studio, Psyonix, will be the featured game for the Universal Open.
The Universal Open Rocket League open qualifiers will allow all players in the Rocket League North American and European communities to participate, beginning with the first of two Northeast Open Qualifiers, which will take place May 28-29. In addition, Closed Qualifiers will be held in North America and Europe and will be produced, hosted and livestreamed from FACEIT’s London studio.
Following is the full Universal Open Rocket League open qualifier schedule.
UNIVERSAL OPEN ROCKET LEAGUE QUALIFIER SCHEDULE
| UNIVERSAL OPEN ROCKET LEAGUE QUALIFIER SCHEDULE |
|
| Date | Qualifiers |
| May 28-29 | Northeast Open Qualifier 1 |
| June 5-6 | East Open Qualifier 1 |
| June 11-12 | Northeast Open Qualifier 2 |
| June 13-14 | Central Open Qualifier 1 |
| June 16 | Central Open Qualifier 2 |
| June 17 | West Open Qualifier 1 |
| June 18-19 | East Open Qualifier 2 |
| June 20-21 | West Open Qualifier 2 |
| June 25-26 | European Open Qualifier 1 |
| June 26-28 | East Closed Qualifier |
| June 27-28 | European Open Qualifier 2 |
| July 2-3 | European Open Qualifier 3 |
| July 3-5 | Northeast Closed Qualifier |
| July 4-5 | European Open Qualifier 4 |
| July 24-26 | Central Closed Qualifier |
| July 31-August 2 | West Closed Qualifier |
| August 7-9 | European Closed Qualifier |
Following the Qualifying Round, the Regional Finals will take place on-site at four NBC Sports Regional Networks’ studios around the United States – NBC Sports Washington (East Regional; July 28), SNY (Northeast Regional; July 29), NBC Sports Chicago (Central Regional; August 5), and NBC Sports Bay Area (West Regional; August 11.
Universal Open Rocket League culminates in a three-day Grand Finals at NBC Sports Group’s International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., on the weekend of Aug. 24-26. Gale Force Esports won last year’s inaugural Universal Open Rocket League tournament. Click here for more tournament details.
NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and additional platforms will provide live streaming coverage of the Regional Finals and the Grand Finals. NBCSN will televise the “Road to the Universal Open,” featuring the Regional Finals, and the Universal Open Grand Finals. NBC Sports Group and Faceit.com will combine to present more than 100 hours of linear and livestreaming coverage of Universal Open Rocket League.
Following is the Universal Open Rocket League Regional and Grand Finals schedule.
| UNIVERSAL OPEN ROCKET LEAGUE REGIONAL AND GRAND FINALS SCHEDULE | |
| Date | Event |
| Sat., July 28 | East Regional Final – NBC Sports Washington |
| Sun., July 29 | Northeast Regional Final – SNY |
| Sun., August 5 | Central Regional Final – NBC Sports Chicago |
| Sat., August 11 | West Regional Final – NBC Sports Bay Area |
| Fri., August 24 | Grand Finals – NBC Sports Group in Stamford, Conn. |
| Sat., August 25 | Grand Finals – NBC Sports Group in Stamford, Conn. |
| Sun., August 26 | Grand Finals – NBC Sports Group in Stamford, Conn. |
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.
REGISTRATION FOR UNIVERSAL OPEN ROCKET LEAGUE IS NOW UNDERWAY AT UNIVERSALOPEN.GG – FOLLOW ON TWITTER @UNIVERSALOPEN
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 War, Mass Effect 3, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Bulletstorm, Unreal Tournament III, Unreal 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 44 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–
