With esports airing in the place of traditional sports on networks like ESPN while many people stay at home during the Covid-19 pandemic, the medium has become more popular. And a recently launched startup is looking to use that momentum to help give back.
Dallas-based Sandlot Esports, a gaming-focused social enterprise company that was founded in February, announced the launch of its first tournament -- Warzone Week. It features the game Call of Duty Warzone, with the goal of raising fund for local charities.
Warzone Week will kick off at noon on May 11 and run through May 15. Rules and sign ups can be found here.
“It’s taking advantage of the coronavirus situation somewhat,” said Randy Stude, CMO and co-founder at Sandlot. “The charities out there are struggling… they’ve had to appeal more through social media... and it doesn’t go as well as getting dressed up and attending a black-tie gala. In the interim we approached the charities and said, 'Hey, we'd like to experiment and see if we can raise awareness.'”
Sandlot’s entire mission is centered around giving back through video games. The company is sending out 4 million invitations and asking users for a $5 entry fee to participate in a tournament. Then, through a centralized leaderboard, winners at the end of the week will receive cash and non-cash prizes from a $5,000 prize pool. The rest will be given to local charities.
Unlike professional esports tournaments, Sandlot’s Warzone Week will be open to players of all levels.
For its first tournament, Ron Jenkins, CEO and co-founder at Sandlot, said the company chose Warzone because it has about 50M players globally. Ironically, the donations from the tournament will be going to three children-focused charities, including the Montessori Global Growth Fund; The Compelling Why, which helps student find their academic potential; and Still Thankful, which help families with seriously ill children navigate long hospital stays.
“We wanted a model that anyone can play,” Jenkins said. “We have deep interest in what gaming can do. We want to do good.”
Stude said this first tournament will help them prove and tweak their model. Adding that as its tournaments gain in popularity, new sponsorships will help them reach larger audience. The five person team at Sandlot thinks esports will be an innovative way for charities to raise money in the “new normal,” since large gatherings like galas will likely be canceled for a while. In addition, Stude said that Generation Z largely doesn’t consume media in the traditional way and so their tournaments provide ways for sponsors and charities to reach that audience.
As the company grows, it plans on hosting multiple tournaments a month, focusing on different games and different charities. Jenkins said the next one will be focused on raising money for children in hospitals.
Though esports is a phenomenon globally, North Texas has become recognized as a hub for gaming in the U.S. Across the Metroplex there a number of esports teams, including Dallas’ Team Envy and Frisco’s Complexity Gaming. Both Frisco and Arlington have esports stadiums. Stude attributes that to the region’s deep roots in gaming, with early hit games like Doom and Quake being developed here by id Software in the early 90s. He also said the region’s socioeconomic demographics – relatively young, with a relatively high average salary - make for a large esports market.
“Gaming in general is recession proof… it’s one of those non-negotiable items for the average age gamer,” Stude said. “We’re playing that natural appetite of gamers... to test and see how they rate against everyone else out there.”
