Unrivaled Tournament Series Scores Smashing Success in Inaugural Year
National tabletop tournament crowned winners in six popular games, raises funds for charity
Nov 16, 2017, 13:32 ET
LAS VEGAS, Nov. 16, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The 2017 Unrivaled Tabletop Tournament Series culminated in an exciting finish on Halloween weekend with a massive Finale event at Bally's® Las Vegas which saw the crowning of winners in six popular game titles. Each grand prize winner took home $10,000 and the local game stores they represented earned a matching amount. Second through fourth place winners and their stores also received cash prizes.
"Congratulations to all the players who participated in the Unrivaled tournament this year. The level of competition was outstanding," said Michael Williams, founder and CEO of Oomba, the largest sponsor of Unrivaled. "Local game stores are the cornerstone of the tabletop gaming hobby, and we're thrilled to be able to include them as prizewinners by matching the cash won by their players, as well as increasing their visibility."
The Unrivaled Tournament also raised funds for three charity organizations, including the nonPareil Institute, which is dedicated to building better futures for adults with autism, The Academic Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (AFICE), which affords high school students from around the world an opportunity to live in the United States, and the Las Vegas Victims' Fund.
On Saturday, October 28, over 600 competitors from all over the country played down to the final tables which were broadcast live from the Jubilee Theater. Hosted by actor and legendary geek culture icon Wil Wheaton (The Big Bang Theory, Star Trek: The Next Generation), and featuring appearances by comedian Bryan Callen, Munchkin "Czar" Andrew Hackard, and the UNLV Marching Band, replays of the event can be viewed on Oomba.tv and YouTube.
First place winners of each featured game and the store they represent are as follows:
| Name |
Game |
Local Game Store |
| Stephen Dukes |
Ascension |
Sky High Comics, San Marco, CA |
| Thomas Asana |
Epic Spell Wars |
Chaos, Games & More, Pueblo, CO |
| Lauren Effa |
King of Tokyo |
Gnome Games Appleton East, Appleton, WI |
| Alex Sittner |
Villagers and Villains |
Oasis Games, Salt Lake City, UT |
| Donnie Huynh |
Nevermore |
The Wasteland Gaming, Duluth, GA |
| Matthew Fagan |
Munchkin |
Dragon's Lair, Austin, TX |
Alongside the tournament, Unrivaled sponsored a festival of gaming featuring an Expo Hall with over 30 vendors and charities, interactive areas with Giant Jenga stacks and other games, play & learn sessions, and a games lending library. A 64-person Magic: the Gathering tournament with cash prizes took place on Saturday.
"We're very excited for next year's tournament and the Finale in Chicago," continued Williams. "While we can't reveal too many details yet, 2018 will be even bigger and better."
2017 is the inaugural year for the Unrivaled Tabletop Tournament Series in which 289 game stores hosted 1,606 satellite qualifiers from April through June that led to thirteen regional tournaments held at GameWorks locations and local game stores throughout the country and streamed live on oomba.tv. This year, the Series featured six popular board games: King of Tokyo, Munchkin, Ascension, Epic Spell Wars, Nevermore and Villagers & Villains. Champions took home up to $10,000 for each event and the stores that fielded the champion received matching prize money.
Visit unrivaled.com for more information and follow @UnrivaledTS for updates on the 2018 Series.
About Unrivaled Tabletop Tournament
The Unrivaled Tabletop Tournament was the largest tabletop tournament of the year with 289 participating game stores and thousands of players competing in six board and card game titles to win a trip to the finals in Las Vegas October 27-29, where they competed for a prize pool of $250,000 cash.
unrivaled.com
SOURCE Unrivaled Tabletop Tournament