March 23 - April 1, 2019
12:00 am
-
12:00 am
Nationwide Arena
The Columbus Blue Jackets invite esports players to compete in the CBJ EA Sports NHL 19 Tournament via smash.gg beginning with online qualifying rounds March 23-24. A live finals event will be contested at Nationwide Arena on Monday, April 1 with $5,000 going to the winner and $2,500 for the second-place finisher. Participants must be at least 16 years of age and reside in the United States or Canada. Registration is free and open now!
"Esports interest and participation is growing rapidly," said TJ Ansley, Blue Jackets Director of Digital Media. "We're excited to provide fans a new opportunity to engage with our organization through participating in the tournament and watching the finals streamed from Nationwide Arena. "
The online qualifiers will consist of a double elimination, best-of-one format. Once whittled down to the final two contestants, the winner of the PS4 bracket and the winner of XBox bracket will travel to Columbus to compete in a single elimination, best-of-five final. The event will be streamed live from Nationwide Arena, complete with analysis from Emmy-nominated esports host Arda Ocal and Columbus' own NHL 19 YouTuber and esports commentator Nasher.
Following the CBJ EA Sports NHL 19 Tournament, the winner will square off against Nasher for a friendly game of "Chel." The next day, both finalists and Nasher will be special guests of the Blue Jackets for the April 2 regular-season finale against the Boston Bruins.
The following settings are to be used in all Match play during the Online Qualifier Round:
Game Mode: Online Versus
Difficulty: All-Star
Period Length: 4 minutes
Game Type: Competitive
Rules: Custom
Fighting: On
Penalties: On
Injuries: Off
Offsides: Delayed
Icing: Hybrid Icing
Tie Break: Continuous Overtime
Control Goalie in Shootout: On
Teams: Blue Jackets current roster
Music: Off
Announcers: Off
Position Lock: Off
