PUBG HP Omen Challenger Series Announced

The PUBG HP Omen Challenger Series has been announced. As the name suggests, HP has teamed up with PUBG Corp (alongside Intel) for tournaments across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, India, China, Japan, Korea, Australia, and New Zealand with two categories - amateur and influencer. The combined prize pool is $50,000 (around Rs. 35 lacs).

"HP continuously pushes boundaries to develop the latest cutting-edge and comprehensive portfolio of Omen gaming devices to fuel the passion, excitement and competitive spirit of gamers,” said Foo Siew Ting, Head of Personal Systems Marketing, HP Asia-Pacific and Japan. "Beyond developing groundbreaking technologies, our collaborations with the likes of PUBG Corporation are pivotal for developing deeper connections within the gaming community and evolving the landscape together."

"With close to 1.5 billion gamers now gaming on PCs, Intel is continuously pushing the boundaries to deliver the best e-sports and gaming experience to this rapidly growing market. Intel has a long history of success in e-sports and gaming and being a part of Omen Challenger Series with HP and PUBG demonstrates our continued commitment to this space," said Ajay Mohan, Director of Marketing, Intel Asia-Pacific and Japan.

PUBG HP Omen Challenger Series start date

Registrations are now open via the HP Omen website for online qualifiers beginning September 15. Up to 80 amateur teams of four will participate in the country qualifiers, which will be livestreamed via local streaming studios. Two PUBG influencers per country will be invited to form teams of four at the Grand Finals which will be held at Commart in Bangkok, Thailand, on November 2-4, 2018. A total of 40 teams will compete in the amateur and influencer categories.

PUBG (PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds) is one of the more popular PC games in India with certain e-sports organisers likening its ascendance to Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, making it just a matter of time before gaming PC brands tried to capitalise on the hype. Events like these are a way for PUBG Corp to sustain interest in the game in the face of a packed season of games including Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Red Dead Redemption 2, FIFA 19, and updates to favourites like Fortnite and Overwatch.

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