The H1Z1 Pro League™ (H1PL), the first professional battle royale esports league unveiled the 15 charter teams that will compete in its inaugural season beginning April 21st in Las Vegas, Nevada. The H1PL also announced that it has teamed up with Facebook to exclusively broadcast all digital content and that Caesars Entertainment will be its official venue and entertainment partner. Redefining the current esports model, the H1PL is the first professional esports league established as a joint venture between a game publisher and an independent league operator – Daybreak Game Company and Twin Galaxies LLC.
“Our goal with H1PL is to take the leap from Esports 1.0 to 2.0, establishing a league where for the first time in esports history, everyone participates in success – the fans, the players, the teams and all of our supporting partners,” said Jace Hall, Co-Chairman of Twin Galaxies. “The battle royale format has quickly become the most popular and entertaining multi-player video game genre, and we’re confident that the H1PL will drive fan engagement and excitement to even higher levels through the use of groundbreaking production techniques along with access to Facebook’s global gaming community.”
Fifteen of the best and most well-known esports organizations have signed on to join the H1PL, including North America’s Counter Logic Gaming (CLG), Team Solo Mid (TSM) and Cloud 9 and Europe’s Alliance, Team Vitality and Epsilon Esports. The teams will compete over the course of two, 10-week “splits” at Caesars Entertainment Studios, a 50,000 square foot, state-of-the-art production facility designed for full-scale feature film, television show and live esports event productions. H1PL is the first esports league to name Las Vegas as its home city.
The teams joining the H1PL inaugural season are:
- Alliance
- Cloud9
- Counter Logic Gaming
- Echo Fox
- Epsilon Esports
- GankStars
- Impact Gaming
- Luminosity
- Noble Esports
- Obey Alliance
- Rogue Gaming
- SetToDestroyX
- Team SoloMid
- Tempo Storm
- Vitality
The H1PL will livestream all competition via Facebook Live throughout the season. H1PL and Facebook will also introduce a variety of community-focused features to augment the viewing experience, such as the curation and granting of free, redeemable in-game rewards for fans that tune-in during H1PL streams throughout the week.
The H1Z1 Pro League will host its weekly matches from the Twin Galaxies Esports Arena located inside Caesars Entertainment Studios, just steps away from the Las Vegas Strip. Fans can attend in-person or watch the exciting, fast-paced gameplay online. The studio has already been home to esports competitions such as the Gears Pro Circuit™ Las Vegas Open this past June. During each split, players will be provided hosted accommodations at the Rio All-Suite Hotel and Casino (a Caesars Entertainment property). Caesars Entertainment will also provide regional and national marketing support for the H1PL.
Teams will compete for total cumulative match points over the course of the entire season. The H1PL has created an innovative scoring system that rewards strategy, aggressive gameplay, and out-of-the box thinking as teams battle each week for placement in the standings prior to the H1PL Battle Royale Championship in the fall.
The H1PL has been crafted to redefine the esport league template by creating a league with a player-first and team-first attitude that will work closely with the players to ensure the league is operating at its best capacity. The H1Z1 Pro League will include a guaranteed player minimum salary, team owner and player representation on the governance committee, along with a comprehensive “Player Bill of Rights” and a well-defined revenue sharing model. Nearly one year ago, H1Z1’s prime-time premiere “Fight for the Crown” tournament topped the esports TV ratings with total viewership of 378,000.
H1PL will soon be releasing ticketing and hotel information for fans to attend matches, which will be played on Wednesdays, with the exception of the first broadcast for Split 1 on Saturday, April 21. In addition, all matches can be viewed live at facebook.com/h1z1proleague.
For more information about H1Z1 Pro League visit: https://www.h1pl.com/