PNC Arena hosts its first esports event this weekend: The Apex Legends Global Series features 120 players and $2 million in prizes
Posted July 7, 2022 3:00 a.m. EDT
Updated July 7, 2022 9:57 p.m. EDT
Raleigh, N.C. — Joe Lynch is thankful for the challenge and the opportunity of hosting a live esports event again.
After years of social distancing, esports competitions are back in person, with a first-ever event this weekend at PNC Arena in Raleigh.
Lynch, who is Electronic Arts head of content programming, said, “We get to be around people again. We get to put on a spectacle. We get to put on a show.”
From Thursday through Sunday, PNC Arena will host the Apex Legends Global Series Year 2 Championship. “Apex Legends” is a first-person shooter game produced by EA.
“If you like competition and you like watching people who are the best at what they do, this is non-stop excitement,” Lynch said.
Ticket prices
A four-day general admission ticket costs $35 plus taxes and fees on TicketMaster. Single-day tickets start at $15.
The event starts at 1 p.m. ET Thursday, Friday and Saturday. It starts at 5 p.m. ET Sunday.
Proof of a negative COVID-19 test or vaccination is required to attend the event. A medical-grade mask is required inside the venue.
PNC Arena will also enforce its clear-bag policy for this weekend’s event.
Live stream on Twitch and YouTube
People wanting to watch the competition on YouTube and Twitch.
In May, the ALGS Split 2 Playoffs in Stockholm, Sweden, broke all-time viewership records for an EA Esports event.
According to a news release from EA, ALGS Split 2 Playoffs Final on May 1 saw an average minute audience (AMA) of over 539,000 across watch parties and official ALGS broadcast channels. Viewers consumed more than 10.3 million hours of live content during the three-day tournament.
“That was the first time we got to see a lot of people in person and that was kind of an emotional time,” Lynch said. “Now we get to do it with an audience because, in Stockholm, we didn’t have an audience.”
Two massive LED monitors on each side of PNC Arena’s 25-foot by 50-foot LED monitor
PNC Arena’s main LED display, familiar to fans of the Carolina Hurricanes and North Carolina State basketball, is about 25 feet high and 50 feet wide on each side.
EA Sports has mounted two massive monitors on each side of PNC Arena’s so fans can see the action.
“How do we make it as engaging as possible for the millions of viewers at home and the thousands of people in the audience?” Lynch said.
120 players of ‘Apex Legends’
There are 40 teams of three players each. One battle royal game of “Apex Legends” features 20 teams of three players per team.
Players use characters in the popular game such as the winged avenger Valkyrie or bombastic explosives expert Fuse.
“We have players from all over the world that have been playing in events and tournaments for the last year, qualifying to get to this event,” Lynch said.
Lynch said putting an event on for “Apex Legends” is a little more difficult given the number of players compared to other video game events that EA hosts like “Madden” or “FIFA.”
“Battle royal is really, really hard because you drop 60 people on a map, and then people get knocked off and you’ve got to get down to one,” Lynch said. “That’s a really, really hard story to tell, and so what we’ve had to do is come up with different ways in order to help the audience follow the story.”
EA worked with the video live streaming service Twitch to send all 60 feeds to the viewing audience.
"[They players] have, consistently, every day, [tens of thousands of] people watching them just play their game," Lynch said. "That's more than most TV shows get, [or] some network TV shows get."
The tournament narrows down the 40 teams to 20 teams for the championship on Sunday, according to Lynch.
$2 million in prizes
Here is how EA plans to distribute the $2 million among the teams:
- 1st place: $500,000
- 2nd place: $300,000
- 3rd place: $200,000
- 4th place: $160,000
- 5th place: $120,000
- 6th place: $90,000
- 7th place: $72,000
- 8th place: $60,000
- 9th place: $48,000
- 10th place: $36,000
- 11th-15th places: $24,000
- 16th-20th places: $18,000
- 21st-25th places: $12,000
- 26th-30th places: $10,200
- 31st-40th places: $9,000
- Apex Predator (top individual player): $3,000
Team FURIA player Nelson Medina spoke with WRAL News on Thursday about partcipating in this weekend's event.
"This is the biggest tournament in the game's history," Medina said. "If you win, it is a pretty big deal.
"The last one standing wins, kind of like a king of the hill sort of thing."
On Thursday, spectator Dawson Geiser traveled from Winston-Salem with his grandmother to watch the competition. One day, he hopes to compete in a competition like the Apex Legends Global Series Year 2 Championship.
"It is fun to play," Geiser said. "It gets you hooked."
PNC Arena at half-capacity
While PNC Arena can seat up to 18,176 people for hockey and 19,722 people for basketball, the event’s stage will only use one side of the arena.
Lynch said EA has 1,406 LED monitors total for this weekend’s event.
“People are coming in from all over the world to come and witness this,” Lynch said. “We have fans coming from Europe and Asia and all over the U.S. to come to Raleigh to see this show.”
EA's production staff is stationed behind the stage to ensure the event and live streams operate smoothly.
How esports differs from a traditional sporting event
Lynch mentioned how producing and hosting an esports event is different than a typical sporting event.
“It is so much more complicated than just picking up an average sport,” Lynch said. “When you do esports, you actually have to direct and produce inside the game as well.”
The event also lets fans interact with live chats on YouTube and Twitch.
Hill Carrow serves as the chair and CEO of North Carolina's bid for the 2027 World University Games. He said esports have a global reach because they are consumed, live and on-demand, by viewers online all over the world.
“That’s the other great thing about esports is the biggest audience when you’re having an event like this is online,” Carrow said.
Lenovo North America Chief Marketing Officer Gerald Youngblood said the event shows the impact of North Carolina's new esports industry grant fund, which was "key in EA’s decision to host the Apex Legends Global Series Championship" at PNC Arena.
“Millions of people around the world are seeing the Raleigh region shine as a high-tech hub and those attending the event are also experiencing firsthand why we have chosen to make the Triangle our home for almost two decades," Youngblood said.
Carrow said this weekend’s event is unique, different from previous major sporting events PNC Arena has hosted, including the Stanley Cup Finals, the NHL Draft, NHL All-Star Weekend and hundreds of college basketball games.
“It gives them a whole other level of experience and expertise in major … particularly [in] international event management,” Carrow said. “That, I think, is also significant because it could very well and likely will pave the way for more really top-level esports events to be at PNC [Arena].”
