Talking Stick Resort will host its inaugural eSports event this Saturday in the resort’s Showroom. eSports Arizona: Desert Showdown marks the first time a casino in the Valley has hosted a video game competition and it will feature Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Melee.
The Desert Showdown marks the first of a series of eSports tournaments slated for the resort’s showroom. The inaugural competition will feature both singles and doubles competitions with a prize pool of $5,000. Play will begin at 9 a.m. with 200 participants, though the event is open for free public viewing.
Navigating the intricate world of competitive video gaming was not an undertaking that Talking Stick Resort took lightly, as the property partnered with Ultimate Media Ventures (UMV), a renowned gaming and eSports innovation company. With a focus on creating compelling event experiences through engaging media & lifestyle products, UMV and Talking Stick Resort are pleased to provide a home for the growing Arizona eSports community. This will be the first in a monthly series of events that will highlight the eSports and gaming communities in Arizona.
“Ultimate is a community first company,” said Jon Bukosky, CEO of Ultimate Media Ventures. “Our role is to help grow the eSports industry on a global level, while retaining those aspects that celebrate the overall community and the local markets in which it lives.”
The property also enlisted the help of local professional player, Michael Udall. Udall, a professional player for more than three years, famously won his college tuition at Arizona State University in 2016. While Udall’s specialty is the game “Heroes of the Storm,” and not Smash Bros., he is very supportive of Talking Stick Resort’s efforts to take eSports in Arizona to the next level.
Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Melee are fighter games played on Wii. Players use controllers to compete one on one through individual characters. “Fighting games, like Smash are intense and really exciting to watch,” said Udall. “It really is a skill versus skill style competition.”
Prizes for eSports Arizona: Desert Showdown is as follows:
Smash 4 Singles*
1st – $1,100
2nd – $540
3rd – $260
4th – $100
Smash 4 Doubles*
1st – $300
2nd – $150
3rd – $50
**Same prizes for Super Smash Bros. Melee singles and doubles competitions
To register for Talking Stick Resort’s eSports Arizona: Showdown in the Desert event, visit http://smash.gg/tournament/esports-arizona-talking-stick-resort . Registration fees range based on completion selection. Must be 18 or older to participate.
Talking Stick Resort
Talking Stick Resort (TSR) is an AAA Four Diamond Rated Resort and a central landmark within the emerging Talking Stick Cultural and Entertainment Destination (TSCED). Located in Scottsdale, Ariz., just east of the Loop 101 on Talking Stick Way, TSR is locally owned and caringly operated by the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. The property offers culturally rich experiences and luxury accommodations throughout its 496 deluxe rooms, 240,000 sq. ft. property, 11 restaurants and lounges, world-class spa, 650-seat showroom, 25,000 sq. ft. grand ballroom, thriving cultural center and more than 100,000 sq. ft. of indoor and outdoor meeting space.