IRVINE, Calif.—April 11, 2016— Thousands of student gamers from hundreds of schools across the U.S. and Canada took part in the second season of Blizzard Entertainment’s Heroes of the Dorm™—a no-holds-barred collegiate tournament of epic proportions held in partnership with Tespa and featuring Blizzard’s online team brawler, Heroes of the Storm®.
After fighting their way through a formidable pool of challengers, four teams of college students—the ‘Real Dream Team’ from Arizona State University, the runner-up from last year’s tournament; the University of Connecticut ‘Tricky Turtles’; ‘Dark Blaze’ representing the University of Texas, Arlington; and ‘We Volin’ from the University of Tennessee—took to the stage at the CenturyLink Event Center in Seattle on a quest to become the 2016 Heroes of the Storm collegiate champions.
After defeating UConn in the semifinals, Arizona State continued its unbeaten streak by going 3–0 against UT Arlington. ASU claimed the first two games of the best-of-five series in decisive fashion, but game three quickly turned into a thrilling tug-of-war—and while UT Arlington appeared to rally in the closing moments, ASU ultimately emerged victorious, earning the title of this year’s Heroes of the Dorm.
Each member of Arizona State University’s Real Dream Team will be receiving the tournament grand prize—tuition to cover the remainder of their college careers.
“The future of collegiate esports is only going up from here,” said Arizona State University player Austin 'Shot' Lonsert. “This was huge. [Heroes of the Dorm] was big last year, and it only got bigger. We'd like to thank everyone who made this happen. It wouldn't have happened without the support of our moms—including @Momma_Shot_HOTS on Twitter—Bill Kennedy and the ASU Athletics Department, and all of our fans.”
Viewers watching the nonstop action were treated to expert play-by-play and commentary from the announcing team of Dan ‘Artosis’ Stemkoski, Nick ‘Tasteless’ Plott, Jaycie ‘Gillyweed’ Gluck, and Tim ‘Trikslyr’ Frazier.
The “Heroic Four” championship match and closing ceremony aired in prime time on ESPN2. The Heroic Four was televised live on ESPNU and streamed live on ESPN3 through WatchESPN, and streamed outside of the United States on YouTube and Twitch.tv.
“Congratulations to our 2016 Heroes of the Dorm, the Real Dream Team from Arizona State University, on an awesome tournament run and for going undefeated in the grand finals,” said Mike Morhaime, CEO and cofounder of Blizzard Entertainment. “The teams competing in Heroes of the Dorm represent the future of competitive gaming, and it’s been a thrill to watch these collegiate athletes in action. We appreciate all the students and college sports fans who took part in this year’s competition, and we hope they’ll join us for even more exciting esports action leading up to BlizzCon this November.”
About Heroes of the Dorm
Heroes of the Dorm is the premier collegiate esports tournament, offering more than half a million dollars in prizes to both student competitors and viewers—this year, thousands of members of the Heroes of the Storm community filled out brackets with their tournament predictions for a chance at winning epic prizes. In addition to $10,000 going to the viewer with the “best bracket,” the top 5 bracket predictions will receive the same epic gaming systems as those awarded to all members of the “Heroic Four” teams, while the best 500 brackets will all receive a special Azmodunk legendary skin bundle for Azmodan in Heroes of the Storm.
Created to celebrate Heroes of the Dorm, Azmodunk is Diablo’s Lord of Sin and the ruler of the Burning Court—a realm with a single edict set by the first Hoop-Lord: “Thou shalt slam with the best, or thou jammest with the rest.” Azmodunk traverses the Nexus’s varied Battlegrounds on a championship banner, which will be customized to commemorate ASU’s thrilling victory.
Heroes of the Storm brings together a diverse cast of iconic characters from Blizzard’s far-flung realms of science fiction and fantasy, including the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® universes—and will soon feature its first hero from the developer’s hotly anticipated team-based shooter, Overwatch®. Across the Battlegrounds of the Nexus, teams of five players come together to compete in epic, adrenaline-charged battles where only coordination, teamwork, and strategy can win the day.
To learn more about Heroes of the Storm, head over the official website at www.heroesofthestorm.com. With multiple games in development, Blizzard Entertainment has numerous positions currently available—visit http://jobs.blizzard.com for more information and to learn how to apply.
For hi-res assets of the Heroes of the Dorm Heroic Four and Grand Finals events, visit http://blizzard.gamespress.com/esports.
About Blizzard Entertainment, Inc.
Best known for blockbuster hits including World of Warcraft® and the Warcraft®, StarCraft®, and Diablo® franchises, Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. (www.blizzard.com), a division of Activision Blizzard (NASDAQ: ATVI), is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software renowned for creating some of the industry’s most critically acclaimed games. Blizzard Entertainment’s track record includes nineteen #1 games* and multiple Game of the Year awards. The company’s online-gaming service, Battle.net®, is one of the largest in the world, with millions of active players.
*Based on internal company records and reports from key distribution partners.
About ESPN
ESPN, Inc., The Worldwide Leader in Sports, is the leading multinational, multimedia sports entertainment company featuring the broadest portfolio of multimedia sports assets with over 50 business entities. Based in Bristol, Conn., with 4,000 employees (7,000 worldwide) ESPN Plaza includes 950,000 square feet in 16 buildings on 123 acres (116 contiguous), with additional office space (400,000 sq. ft.) rented nearby. The company is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc., an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporation holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN.
About Tespa
Tespa (http://tespa.org/) is the premier college gaming network in North America, dedicated to creating a home for gamers on every campus. Recognized as the leader in collegiate gaming, Tespa cultivates student communities that host epic gaming events on campuses in the United States and Canada, and plans to distribute over $650,000 in scholarship prizing in 2016. To date, Tespa has had students from over 1200 universities compete in its college tournaments and has empowered student leaders to become entrepreneurs in the gaming industry.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Blizzard Entertainment's expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about Heroes of the Storm and the Heroes of the Dorm tournament, are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Blizzard Entertainment's actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Blizzard Entertainment and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Blizzard Entertainment nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Blizzard Entertainment or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.