by Aaron Thomas — August 17, 2019
RALEIGH – A major international video game competition is in Raleigh this weekend, the first of its kind.
There are 16 teams competing for $500,000. They’ll be playing a popular video game called ‘Rainbow Six Siege.’ There are thousands of spectators from across the globe at the Raleigh Convention Center to witness the fun.
They hail from Sanford, Duluth, Minnesota and even Brazil. Thousands of gamers unite. Throughout the weekend, they’ll be watching 16 teams of other gamers play the video game ‘Rainbow Six Siege’
“It’s full team, five versus five, and you get to choose different operators,” said Tristan Manfredi of Garner.
“Think of a SWAT team, the way like a SWAT team invades a building, and so essentially, one team is on attack and the other team is on defense,” said Brenno Martin of Garner.
The event sold out in a week. City representatives tell WRAL people from 43 states, six Canadian provinces and a host of International countries are in town. More than 300 players and fans are staying at hotels in the Raleigh area. That’s expected to generate revenue for the local economy.
“We ate around the corner, there’s like a Mediterranean place,” Martin said.
“People are going to notice and more people are going to become more interested in what esports are and how it goes on,” Manfredi said.
City reps will have an idea of the direct economic impact once the event ends this weekend. Friday marked the end of quarterfinals. Teams play semifinals Saturday and on Sunday, spectators get a chance to see who wins the $500,000 prize.
