Esports tournament coming to Central Illinois

Posted on October 4, 2018

By Neil Doyle

Grossinger Motors Arena is set to host a not so typical sporting tournament for central Illinois.

The inaugural Sixty Six Games Esports Tournament will bring competitors to Bloomington-Normal to play live and in-person “League of Legends.”

The event will be held January 12-13, 2019. Three different levels of play will be featured including college/open, high-school only, and one-on-one action.

The tournament is organized by the Bloomington-Normal Area Convention and Visitors Bureau with State Farm as the title sponsor.

WJBC’s Scott Laughlin and Kevin Bessler sat down with Matt Hawkins, the bureau’s sports marketing manager, as he hopes the event will attract spectators to the area.

“That was kind of the one x-factor we weren’t so sure about…we are pretty confident we can get the teams and people to come play but we want as many people to come and watch,” said Hawkins.

This is central Illinois’ first sanctioned esports live tournament.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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