TORONTO, July 24, 2017 - Northern Arena partners with Bell, the Canadian National Exhibition and noted members of the Canadian fighting game community to present the Northern Arena Knockout 2017 Circuit, with finals taking place Sept. 21 inside Bell Media Studios. Our goal is to encourage up and coming talent to compete and give them an opportunity to become among the best Street Fighter V players in the world. We understand that it is often difficult for players in such large competitive gaming scenes to visualize the route to becoming a professional. With the Knockout circuit, we are aiming to pave the way for these players from amateur to pro while simultaneously promoting the grassroots communities throughout Canada.

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Street Fighter Community Events

Northern Arena is working closely with already established grassroots Street Fighter V community events across Canada. With this in mind winners from each of these community series’ will have earned a spot at Northern Arena CNE Open in August. Below is the list of qualifier events with links to their respective Facebook groups:

Montreal: August 1, 8, 15, 22

Location: Mixed Virtual Arts - 2069 Rue Pathenais, Montreal

Qualification Slots: 3

 

Toronto: August 2, 9, 16, 23

Location: Meltdown eSports Bar Toronto - 686 College St, Toronto, ON

Qualification Slots: 3

 

Hamilton: August 3, 10, 17, 24

Location: 1UP Games - 105 King Street East, Hamilton, ON

Qualification Slots: 2

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Northern Arena CNE Open - Street Fighter V

This will be a 128 player open bracket competition, taking place at the Canadian National Exhibition August 25 to 27 in Toronto, will be open for any competitor within North America. While it is a Canadian event, we aren’t excluding our fellow fighters south of the border as we know there is quite an abundance of talent down there too. The top 8 players from the open bracket will join the 8 community winners in a 16 player playoff bracket where they will fight for the $5,000 prize pool. Apart from the prize pool, the top 4 players in the playoff bracket will have secured their spot at Northern Arena Knockout in September. Those wishing to attend or participate can visit the event page.

In order to participate in the competition, you will need to fulfill the following requirements:

1. Purchase a CNE pass for your event’s first day

2. Register for the tournament

3. Bring your FightStick

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Northern Arena Knockout

The 4 players who make it to Knockout in September have already accomplished great feats, but their hardest task awaits them as they will be placed in a 16 player double elimination bracket alongside 11 invited international professional Street Fighter V players. These highly skilled players will ultimately fight for the $30,000 prize pool. The event will take place at the Bell Media Studios in Scarborough at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 21. 

More information can be found here.

*Participants will need to purchase initial entry passes to CNE. Complimentary passes will be provided to players who advance to subsequent days.

*Northern Arena will be providing a discount code for purchasing CNE tickets, see event page for more details.

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About Northern Arena

Northern Arena has become the leader of esports throughout Canada and is focused on creating platforms for on-site events and online leagues. By working closely with various game developers, Northern Arena is aiming to bring these events and leagues to players and audiences seamlessly and professionally with world-class production quality and innovative content distribution methods. Canadian cities like Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver are home to vast grassroots gaming communities that have been waiting for a pinnacle platform to enable Canadian esports to thrive. Northern Arena is dedicated to building comprehensive, integrated professional esports leagues and entertainment platforms for a variety of esports titles while still focusing on providing opportunities for grassroots communities to flourish. For more information, please visit www.northernarena.ca