- GameWorks will hold a $25K USD Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament that begins across its seven United States locations.
- The grand finals will be held on June 29 at GameWorks’ Las Vegas venue and will be broadcast on Twitch.
- COUGAR, Alienware, and Tabasco are sponsoring the event.
GameWorks, Inc. 
announced today that it will hold a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate tournament across its seven United States venues, with $25K in prizing up for grabs.
The GameWorks Showdown begins with local qualifier rounds at each of the venues on May 12, with a gradual build-up to regional qualifiers at each location on June 9. Each GameWorks will crown a regional champion, and then they will all meet for the grand finals at GameWorks Las Vegas on June 29. Additionally, that location will hold a last-chance qualifier the night before the finals to add an eighth competitor.
Gaming hardware and peripherals brand COUGAR is the event’s platinum-level sponsor, according to a release, while Alienware
is a gold-level sponsor, and hot sauce brand Tabasco is the tournament’s silver-level sponsor.
The $25K in prizing includes both cash and Alienware hardware, including an Area 51M gaming laptop (which starts at $2,150), although the tournament winner will walk away with $10K cash. The grand finals will be broadcast via Twitch
.
“GameWorks is leading the esports phenomenon nationally. This multi-location tournament across seven GameWorks venues nationwide is among the country’s largest to date,” said GameWorks chairman and CEO Philip N. Kaplan in a release. “This is also one of the largest tournaments and highest prize pools for a Smash Bros. Ultimate competition. We are affording dedicated Smash Bros. players and communities within our venues the opportunity to participate nationally and compete with players around the country. We are capturing the interest of this distinct audience by giving them a national platform to compete for high stakes.”
Related Article: Beyond the Summit Super Smash Bros. Tourney Hit More than 1M Hours Watched on Twitch
Because Nintendo
doesn’t financially support Super Smash Bros. esports, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate—released in December for Nintendo Switch—doesn’t have an active esports structure, this is one of the largest tournaments to date for the game. GameWorks suggests that it will have many more esports initiatives ahead.
“These are exciting times for GameWorks as we pave the way for the future of esports. The enthusiasm we are seeing and the excitement that is building through all our esports lounges is unrivaled,” said Kaplan in a release. “This is the first of many national tournament opportunities GameWorks will be presenting to gamers and spectators as the explosive interest in esports continues. Esports is still in the embryonic stage, with massive market potential. GameWorks is leveraging its position as an original player in the space as we grow our company.”
