While traditional sports are all sidelined during the ongoing pandemic, online esports events are ramping up the action as the Florida Mutineers of Misfits Gaming Group (MGG) Team up with NFL Athletes and Streamers for a $25,000 Call of Duty: Warzone Tournament for Covid-19 Charities.
Presented by SoFi, the event will take place this upcoming Wednesday, May 13 at 6pm EST. The pro athletes taking part come from a wide range of teams, featuring:
- Terrell Owens (NFL Hall of Famer)
- Ryan Shazier (former Pittsburgh Steelers)
- Mack Wilson (Cleveland Browns)
- Sheldrick Redwine (Cleveland Browns)
- Shaq Thompson (Carolina Panthers)
- James Bradberry (New York Giants)
- Jedrick Wills (Cleveland Browns)
- Vernon Butler (Buffalo Bills)
- Deejay Dallas (Seattle Seahawks)
Each athlete will squad up with some of the best Call of Duty players in the world to face off in a one-day Call of Duty Warzone tournament made up of 12 squads of 4. No matter the outcome, each team will win a participation prize of $5,000 each to donate to a Covid-19 charity of their choice.
Right now, it seems that online esports events are the perfect way for fans to keep seeing a mix of highly skilled matches, but also entertainment with these types of fundraisers. While the professional athletes are probably well out of their depth compared to their streamer and competitive player squad mates, the matches are sure to be a blast to watch.
Another recent charity fundraiser featuring Call of Duty: Warzone occurred this past week with COV-AID on May 5 when Rob Gronkowski, tight end for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, partnered with Ninja and FaZe Clan for a similar cause. In that case, all funds raised went to similar organizations as this upcoming event, for charities working with the fallout of Covid-19. In total, the group raised around $400,000 by the end of their stream!
For this upcoming event, fans will be able to watch the action live as it unfolds on the Florida Mutineers Twitch channel by clicking here, with commentary from Call of Duty League shoutcasters.
Best of luck to all players in this tournament that is raising funds for a great cause, the games are sure to be a big hit!
Source: misfitsgaming.gg, essentiallysports.com