Tournament organiser ESL has partnered with the Sony Foundation, the charitable arm of Sony in Australia, to host the Gaming4Life Call of Duty Charity Tournament.
The event will see Australian Call of Duty players compete to raise funds for Sony’s ‘You Can‘ initiative, which builds specialised youth centers for patients with cancer aged between 15-25.
Sophie Ryan, CEO at Sony Foundation Australia discussed the event in a release: “This is our third year hosting a Gaming4Life Charity Tournament and we are always so humbled by the generosity and empathy of the gaming community. We hope this tournament in partnership with Activision, ESL and Sony PlayStation raises over $70,000 to help teenagers and young adults with cancer who are sadly falling through a gap in our health system.
“Funds raised will enable more You Can Centres for specialised care and supports services for this age group in hospitals around Australia. We’re really excited to see the Call of Duty community come together to have some fun and help make a change in the lives of young Australians.”
An online qualifier series will be hosted over three weeks, with the top seven teams – as well as the team that has raised the most funds – progressing to an online finals event on July 6th. Mindfreak – who won the Open bracket at both CWL London and CWL Anaheim – will also compete in the finals. Over $40,000 (£31,839.60) worth of hardware, games, and merchandise is up for grabs for the participants.
Josh Inman, Operations Manager at ESL Australia added: “Gaming4Life is a fantastic initiative for us to be a part of, and one that the whole team at ESL is passionate about. We’re excited to show what the Call of Duty esports community can do together in support of a great cause.”
Esports Insider says: This is great. While Australia certainly isn’t known as a hotspot for competitive Call of Duty, nor is it a typical series for ESL to work within, the ‘You Can’ foundation sounds like a great cause and we hope the event turns out to be a success.