Intel announces eSports tournament in PyeongChang in build up to 2018 Winter Olympic Games

Intel on Friday announced its plans of bringing **eSports** to PyeongChang where the 2018 **Winter Olympic Games** is scheduled to take place in February 2018. The company who is the official partner of the Olympics has decided to start the Intel Extreme Masters PyeongChang tournament in the build-up to the Winter Olympics. [caption id=“attachment_4192011” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Image: Olympic.org[/caption] The tournament is said to be an extension of the Intel Extreme Masters brand which allows players to enter the competition through a series of global online qualifiers. Intel has announced that the tournament will include popular eSports title StarCraft II designed by developers Blizzard Entertainment. The global qualifiers of the Intel Extreme Masters PyeongChang are set to begin in November along with a live qualifier event which will take place in Beijing in December. The top two contestants from the China live qualifier will then go head to head with the rest of the qualifiers. Commenting on Intel’s eSports push **Gregory Bryant** , the Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Client Computing Group at Intel Corporation said, “From the qualifying events to the groundbreaking Intel Extreme Masters tournament in PyeongChang, we see this as another important step in giving more people around the world a chance to experience the thrill of esports.”

Intel is also expected to deliver interactive gaming experiences throughout the Olympic Village for attendees and athletes. The kiosks will feature the officially licensed game of the Olympic Winter Games titled, ‘Steep Road to the Olympics’. Geoffroy Sardin, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing at **Ubisoft** said, “We have been developing ‘Steep Road to the Olympics’ in close relation with the IOC and we are now looking forward to this competition. We cannot wait for our fans to play and compete in our new expansion.” Intel added in a statement that they would follow up soon with more details about the tournament including qualification specifics.