Facebook Gaming and Greenlit Content have partnered to put together the #PlayTogetherApart tournament, a series designed to raise money for COVID-19 charities by pitting a bunch of pro athletes from different sports together in an esports arena.
The concept isn’t new–as sports leagues around the world have shut down due to the pandemic, many of them have already turned to esports to replace live games. Most of them have involved players from the same league competing, often in the digital version of the same game, such as the NBA2K Players Tournament.
The tournament, held over Facebook Gaming’s new Tournaments platform, is hosting a wide range of celebrities, with the winner for each round getting $25,000 to donate to their COVID-19 charity of choice.
The contestants include:
- Andre Drummond, NBA
- Dwight Howard, NBA
- JaVale McGee, NBA
- Justin Herbert, NFL
- Christian McCaffrey, NFL
- Joe Burrow, NFL
- Jarvis Landry, NFL
- Ron “The Truth” Killings, WWE
- Alex Bregman, MLB
- Lance McCullers, MLB
- Bryson DeChambeau, PGA golfer
- Jen Selter, fitness influencer
Facebook promises that more will join every week, and the first week’s tournament also included pro-Fortnite player Tinaraes, though it’s not clear whether she’ll be back for subsequent weeks.
The first round, which went live on Friday April 17, is available to rewatch here, with a number of the celebrities facing off in Fortnite’s battle royale.
The first week’s prize came down to a final between Gen G’s Tinaraes and golfer Bryson DeChambeau, with DeChambeau narrowly taking out the win. The golfer streams Fortnite games on his Twitch channel.
Future rounds will be streamed on Facebook Gaming on Friday nights, with games like Rocket League, NBA 2K20, and FIFA 20 still to come in the tournament.
GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.
Source: Read Full Article