ESFI World

What do the Texas e-Sports Association, Quantic Gaming, and Cyber Sports Network (CSN) have in common? Together they comprise the primary sponsors of the newly announced Lone Star Clash: Gauntlet of Champions taking place March 17-18 at the University of Texas at Austin.

For the first time ever, members of the Collegiate StarLeague (CSL) will compete alongside sixteen pro players in a pro-am setting for a $10,00 prize pool. To ensure that CSL members reach the later rounds, the preliminary stage of the tournament will feature two separate brackets for CSL and pro players respectively. To reward CSL members further, $1,500 of the $10,000 prize pool will be reserved for the winner of the collegiate bracket. Other prizes will be awarded to both players and audience members at the live event including four open fighting game tournaments each with its own prize.

As for who will be attending, Millennium's Stephano is the first and only pro confirmed for the event so far saying, 

I'm really happy to attend the Lone Star Clash: Gauntlet of Champions, last time I went to USA I managed to win one of the biggest LANs in the world (IPL 3), let's hope this will happen again, maybe USA is 'my' land!

Up against Stephano will be CSL members from up to twenty US colleges and universities, although the tournament's announcement made clear that only eight are currently registered. The announcement also revealed that the event will feature commentary and coverage from community favorites Ben "MrBitter" Nichol, Alex "Axeltoss" Rodriguez, Justin "GunRun" Ignacio, and Rachel "Seltzer" Quirico.

The Lone Star Clash is scheduled to coincide with Austin's famous South-by-SouthWest (SXSW) festival meaning that while there will be ample entertainment, those planning on attending the tournament will want to book accommodations in advance. More details related to tournament rules and the remaining fifteen pro participants will be released in the near future.

Source: Team Liquid