World Electronic Sports Games will come to the PAX Arena stage at PAX Aus 2018, taking place 26-28 Oct. in Melbourne, VIC.
WESG is the international esports championship tournament organized by Alibaba Group’s AliSports. Partnering with Australian Esports League, this year marks its first foray into Australia, bringing together the best in the region to compete in Dota 2, CS:GO, Hearthstone, and StarCraft 2.
The online events will commence on 1 Sept., with competitors playing Dota 2, CS:GO, StarCraft 2, and Hearthstone. Select matches will be broadcast in the lead up to PAX Aus, where the top two teams in Dota 2 and CS:GO will compete on stage at PAX Arena in a grand final match.
WESG at PAX Arena will also hold open qualifiers for the Hearthstone finals in November. Anyone is welcome to compete, with winners progressing on to the finals in Sydney where they can play for a $30,000 prize pool and a chance to represent the region in China where they play for a share of $US5.5 million as part of the global series.
PAX Aus first hosted the PAX Arena esports stages in 2015, and since then, has partnered with the likes of Red Bull, Ubisoft, Bethesda, Hi-Rez, and McDonald’s to deliver high-quality competitive play to thousands of attendees.
“The growth of esports in the APAC region has been nothing short of meteoric,” said Luke Lancaster, Content Manager, PAX Aus. “This partnership with AliSport sets up PAX Arena as a truly international event, and we couldn’t be more excited.”
“We chose PAX Aus as the home for WESG because of the community,” said Darren Kwan, executive producer at the Australian Esports League. “There’s no better way to bring Australian audiences into the fold than by offering up world-class matches at PAX Aus.”
PAX Aus is produced by ReedPOP in conjunction with Penny Arcade. The show was the first international PAX event and has brought passionate gaming communities together in Melbourne since 2013. PAX Aus attendees get to experience the best in gaming culture with more than 180 exhibitors, thousands of playable games, and more than 150 hours of on-stage content.
Tickets for PAX Aus 2018 are now on sale via the official registration page.