Alaska’s largest-ever Esports tournament, the GCI Northern Lights Invitational, will take place virtually across three consecutive Saturdays: Jan. 28, Feb. 4, and Feb. 11. The groundbreaking tournament is hosted by GC with signups open through Jan. 20.
The GCI Northern Lights Invitational is a $20,000 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive invitational tournament which features teams of five working together to eliminate other teams or protect or destroy an objective in the first-person tactical shooter. This style of gameplay is consistently the most played on Steam, the largest PC game store, and one of the most watched Esports on Twitch.
The Tournament is open only to legal residents of the State of Alaska, who are at least 18 years old as of the date of entry. Each Player must have his/her own active and updated Discord account, Steam account, and Counter-Strike: Global Offense account in order to participate. Each Player is responsible for providing all necessary computer equipment and an internet connection for participating in the Tournament. Players who sign up by themselves or in small groups will be matched and connected with additional players at their skill level to form a full team. Additionally, players of all skill levels and experience are encouraged to sign up, as long as they are a current Alaska resident.
“GCI is dedicated to giving Alaska the best Esports experience,” said GCI Chief Marketing Officer Kate Slyker. “ We hope it will bring the best players from across the state together to compete for top ranking. We really wanted to make sure this was an inclusive event. This is intended to be grassroots, we’re happy to include everyone from veteran players to those who are new to Esports.”
GCI will donate $10 in the name of every player who registers to either USO Alaska or the UAF Alaska Esports Center. Each player will be asked which of the two causes they would like to support, and GCI will make a donation in their honor, up to $5,000.
The tournament opens on Jan. 28. The finals will be played on Saturday, Feb. 11. GCI will host the finals on its Twitch channel and the broadcast will have seasoned CS:GO commentators in the booth calling the matches. To sign up to participate, visit https://www.gci.com/internet/esports/northern-lights-invitational-tournament by Jan. 20.
