SANTA CLARA, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — February 25, 2020 — What's New: Intel is elevating esports for audiences worldwide with the Intel World Open ahead of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, giving gamers a chance to compete among the world’s best athletes on a global stage. Anyone from anywhere can register, beginning March 2, for a chance to be crowned the Intel World Open champion.

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As an extension of Intel’s Worldwide TOP Partnership, Intel will host the Intel World Open esports tournament ahead of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020. It will feature Capcom’s Street Fighter V: Champion Edition and Psyonix’s Rocket League. (Credit: Intel Corporation)

"We introduced Intel Extreme Masters PyeongChang in 2018 and we’re excited to continue raising the stakes for esports with the Intel World Open in 2020. There are more than 490 million esports fans worldwide and the Intel World Open exemplifies Intel’s global leadership in esports and delivers a pinnacle tournament on the world’s biggest sports stage.”
– Mark Subotnick, Intel director of gaming and esports business development

What It Is: The Intel World Open is an extension of Intel’s Worldwide TOP Partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and will feature two of the most recognized esports titles: Capcom’s Street Fighter™ V: Champion Edition and Psyonix’s Rocket League. Online qualifiers for Street Fighter V: Champion Edition start March 21 and Rocket League start May 2.

The Path to Tokyo: Any player at any level can compete in the Intel World Open for a chance to join a national, territory or regional team. Live qualifier events in Katowice, Poland, in June will determine which teams advance to the championship esports tournament in Tokyo.

The final event in Tokyo on July 22-24 will host hundreds of fans at the Zepp DiverCity venue – the same area as Olympic venues – where teams will compete for a majority share of the prize pool:

• $250,000 total prize pool for Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
• $250,000 total prize pool for Rocket League

For more details and registration, visit the Intel World Open website.

The Street Fighter V: Champion Edition Tournament Format: A force in the fighting genre and esports scene for 32 years, the legendary fighting franchise returns with Street Fighter V: Champion Edition.

Tournament Structure:

• Territory qualifiers: Territory qualifiers begin March 2 and determine each territory’s three best players who will come together and form the team representing that territory and advance to the live qualifier in Poland. The 12 pre-selected territories include:
  • Brazil
  • China
  • Chinese Taipei
  • Dominican Republic
  • France
  • Hong Kong, China
  • Korea
  • Russia
  • Singapore
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

• Regional qualifiers: Players outside of the 12 pre-selected territory teams can participate through the team-based regional qualifier process that will take place in March through May. The top teams from the eight regions will advance to the live qualifier in Poland. The eight regions include:
  • Europe 1
  • Europe 2
  • Middle East & Africa
  • North America
  • Central America
  • South America
  • Asia
  • Oceania

• Live qualifier in Katowice, Poland: From June 18-21, the final qualifier brings together the winning teams formed from the territory and regional qualifiers to determine who advances to the final Intel World Open event in Tokyo.
• Japan qualifier: As the host country, Japan will have the final guaranteed spot at the Intel World Open finals in Tokyo. Japan qualifiers are single-player matches with the winning team being formed from the top players on the Intel World Open leaderboard.
• Intel World Open finals: The finals take place July 22-24 at the Zepp DiverCity venue in Tokyo, where qualifying teams will compete to claim the majority share of the $250,000 prize pool.

For full qualification rules and details, visit the Intel World Open website.

The Rocket League Tournament Format: Developed by Epic Games' San Diego-based studio, Psyonix, Rocket League is a high-powered hybrid of arcade-style soccer and vehicular mayhem. The Rocket League Intel World Open will feature 3v3 competitions in Psyonix's signature game mode, Soccar.

Tournament Structure:

• National qualifiers: National qualifiers begin May 2 and one team from each of the nine pre-selected countries will advance to the live qualifier in Katowice, Poland. The nine nations include:
  • Australia
  • Brazil
  • Canada
  • China
  • France
  • Germany
  • Japan
  • United Kingdom
  • United States

• Regional qualifiers: Players outside of the nine pre-selected national team countries can participate through the regional qualifier process, from which eight teams will advance to the semifinals in Poland. Both qualifiers will have a double-elimination format and will not have a team cap. The eight regions include:
  • Africa
  • Asia (Mainland)
  • Asia (Maritime & Oceania)
  • Europe (three European seeds will qualify for the regional final)
  • Latin America (Mexico and southward)
  • Middle East

• Live qualifier in Katowice, Poland: The final qualifier in Katowice, Poland, features the 16 best teams in the world separated into two groups of eight teams. The teams will compete in a round-robin, with the top two teams from each group automatically advancing to the Intel World Open Finals in Tokyo to join the host country, Japan. After the round-robin stage, the rest of the teams will participate in a double-elimination bracket. The upper bracket winner and both teams from the lower bracket finals will qualify for the Intel World Open finals.
• Intel World Open finals: The epic culmination of the Intel World Open will be the live final in Tokyo featuring a two-day event showcasing the best eight teams in the world. They will battle through a high-stakes, single-elimination bracket in order to claim the Intel World Open title and majority share of the $250,000 prize pool.

For full qualification rules and details, visit the Intel World Open website.

Intel’s Role in Gaming Technology Leadership: Intel’s gaming technology, led by the Intel® Core™ i7 and i9 processors, has powered the best esports experiences for more than 15 years. Intel inspires fans and players by supporting a vibrant community that brings together committed partners in the industry to deliver best-in-class technology that pushes the boundaries of the sport. Intel’s leadership in end-to-end solutions will power the future of gaming and grow the esports market for the next billion fans.

More Context: Intel and the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020

About Intel

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC), a leader in the semiconductor industry, is shaping the data-centric future with computing and communications technology that is the foundation of the world’s innovations. The company’s engineering expertise is helping address the world’s greatest challenges as well as helping secure, power and connect billions of devices and the infrastructure of the smart, connected world – from the cloud to the network to the edge and everything in between. Find more information about Intel at newsroom.intel.com and intel.com .