The following was sent to Inven Global as a press release. 

Challengers Uprising, the newest tournament organizer in the North American amateur scene, has officially announced its recent FACEIT partnered tournament in the Scouting Grounds Circuit (SGC). Boasting the largest prize pool in the scene (besides FACEIT’s own competition, LWL) and 1,000 FACEIT Qualification Points, Challengers Uprising creates a new standard for competition at the amateur level.

The tournament that starts in June will mark the first step taken towards the organization’s objective of developing a legitimate ladder from amateur to pro in the North American League of Legends competitive scene.

Participating teams run the gamut – ranging from perennial North American amateur scene mainstays like ANEW Esports (2019 SGC Winner), SUPERNOVA (2019 SGC Runners-Up), and Maryville University (two-time College Championship Winners), to more prominent esports organizations like 100 Thieves NEXT (100 Thieves’ development team), Simplicity Esports (management group for Flamengo Esports in Brazilian pro league CBLoL), and Wildcard Gaming. 

Taking lead on the groundbreaking project is Chris “Crono” Harris, CEO and Commissioner of Challengers Uprising. He previously served as Director of Esports for ANEW Esports, building a strong overarching esports program with success in multiple titles; under his leadership, the organization won the 2019 SGC for League of Legends and built a world-class female Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team. 

“For years I’ve been running operations on the team side of competitions; even though I enjoyed it a lot, when I stopped to evaluate the ‘next steps’, I realized we had hit a ceiling. There’s a large void in the organizer space between the amateur and professional scene in North America,” said Chris.

“There isn’t a clear path to pro, and the lack of resources results in North American talent getting pushed aside due to imports with better development structures. I want to bridge the divide and disrupt the perception that North America lacks talent by creating a true professional environment to nurture new talent. This season is just the beginning.”

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