Twitch and YouTube To Livestream Universal Open Rocket League

NBC Sports has announced that Twitch and Youtube will provide live streaming coverage of Universal Open Rocket League - NBC Sports Group and FACEIT's annual esports tournament - as gamers of all skill levels compete in a 2v2 Rocket League tournament for a $100,000 prize pool.

Twitch and Youtube will live stream nearly 100 hours of Universal Open Rocket League via Twitch and a newly-developed Universal Open Youtube Channel, including Regional Finals and Closed Qualifiers, culminating with the Grand Finals which will take place at NBC Sports Group's International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., on the weekend of August 24-26. NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app will also provide live streaming coverage of the Regional Finals and Grand Finals and will host all VOD content.

"Our goal with Universal Open Rocket League is to reach as many fans in the Rocket League and esports communities as possible," said Rob Simmelkjaer, Senior Vice President, NBC Sports Ventures. "Our live streams on Twitch and YouTube, aligned with streaming on NBCSports.com and the NBC Sports app, plus linear coverage on NBCSN, allow us to super serve the esports ecosystem with comprehensive coverage of Universal Open Rocket League."

This marks the second consecutive season of Universal Open Rocket League, created by NBC Sports Group and industry-leading competitive gaming platform FACEIT, which is managing all operational phases of Universal Open Rocket League, from the open qualifiers to the Grand Finals. Rocket League, the sports-action hit with a community of more than 46 million players, developed and published by San Diego-based game studio, Psyonix, returns as the featured game for the Universal Open.

Universal Open Rocket League open qualifiers allow all players in the Rocket League North American and European communities to participate. In addition, Closed Qualifiers held in NORTH AMERICA and Europe will be produced, hosted and livestreamed from FACEIT's London studio.

Following is the remaining Universal Open Rocket League qualifier schedule.

UNIVERSAL OPEN ROCKET LEAGUE QUALIFIER SCHEDULE

UNIVERSAL OPEN ROCKET LEAGUE QUALIFIER SCHEDULE
Date	Qualifiers
July 2-3	European Open Qualifier 3
July 3-5	Northeast Closed Qualifier
July 4-5	European Open Qualifier 4
July 24-26	Central Closed Qualifier
July 31-August 2	West Closed Qualifier
August 7-9	European Closed Qualifier

Following the Qualifying Round, the Regional Finals will take place on-site at four NBC Sports Regional Networks' studios around the United States - NBC Sports Washington (East Regional; July 28), SNY (Northeast Regional; July 29), NBC Sports Chicago (Central Regional; August 5), and NBC Sports Bay Area (West Regional; August 11.

Universal Open Rocket League culminates in a three-day Grand Finals at NBC Sports Group's International Broadcast Center in Stamford, Conn., on the weekend of Aug. 24-26. Gale Force Esports won last year's inaugural Universal Open Rocket League tournament. Click here for more tournament details.

NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and additional platforms will provide live streaming coverage of the Regional Finals and the Grand Finals. NBCSN will televise the "Road to the Universal Open," featuring the Regional Finals, and the Universal Open Grand Finals. NBC Sports Group and Faceit.com will combine to present more than 100 hours of linear and livestreaming coverage of Universal Open Rocket League.

Following is the Universal Open Rocket League Regional and Grand Finals schedule.

UNIVERSAL OPEN ROCKET LEAGUE REGIONAL AND GRAND FINALS SCHEDULE
Date	Event
Sat., July 28	East Regional Final - NBC Sports Washington
Sun., July 29	Northeast Regional Final - SNY
Sun., August 5	Central Regional Final - NBC Sports Chicago
Sat., August 11	West Regional Final - NBC Sports Bay Area
Fri., August 24	Grand Finals - NBC Sports Group in Stamford, Conn.
Sat., August 25	Grand Finals - NBC Sports Group in Stamford, Conn.
Sun., August 26	Grand Finals - NBC Sports Group in Stamford, Conn.

UNIVERSAL OPEN ROCKET LEAGUE CASTERS ANNOUNCED

Last week, NBC Sports announced its roster of casters for the second annual Universal Open Rocket League, headlined by esports host and analyst Rachel "Seltzer" Quirico, who will anchor NBC Sports' Universal Open Rocket League coverage throughout the Regional Finals and Grand Finals. She entered esports as a competitive gamer in 2006 and made the Pivot to on-camera presenting in 2008, and has emceed numerous tournaments and international championships for StarCraft 2, League of Legends, CounterStrike, and Overwatch.

Veteran Rocket League commentators Caleb "WavePunk" Simmons, Mike "Quinn Lobdell" Behrouzi, Joey "JorbyPls" Ahrens and James "JamesBot" Villar all return to provide play-by-play and analysis throughout the Regional Finals and Grand Finals. Larry Ridley (reporter) will provide player interviews throughout the tournament.

BRISK® ICED TEA TO SERVE AS PRESENTING SPONSOR, BRINGS LIMITED-TIME PRODUCT TO SHELVES THIS SUMMER

Brisk, the iced tea brand known for its bold flavors, will serve as a presenting sponsor of Universal Open Rocket League. The brand is also bringing Brisk Dual Force Guava Ginger Limeade exclusively to participating 7-Eleven® stores this summer. This offering mixes the sweet fruit flavor of guava limeade with a bold twist of ginger to pack a powerful flavor punch. Brisk will debut a commercial featuring popular Rocket League casters Caleb "WavePunk" Simmons and Mike "Quinn Lobdell" Behrouzi, and will also bring fans a special behind-the-scenes look at their favorite casters on air during the tournament.

REGISTER FOR UNIVERSAL OPEN ROCKET LEAGUE AT UNIVERSALOPEN.GG - FOLLOW ON TWITTER @UNIVERSALOPEN

UniversalOpen.gg is the home for Universal Open Rocket League and provides the latest information on tournament details, schedule, brackets, highlights, and much more. Follow @UniversalOpen on Twitter as well for up-to-the-minute information on everything Universal Open Rocket League.

ABOUT NBC SPORTS GROUP

When the Comcast-NBCUniversal transaction was completed in January 2011, the sports assets of the two companies combined to form NBC Sports Group, which serves sports fans 24/7 with premier live events, insightful studio shows, and compelling original programming. The sports media company consists of NBC Sports, NBC Olympics, NBCSN, Golf Channel, NBC Sports Regional Networks, NBC Sports Radio and NBC Sports Digital, which includes NBCSports.com, NBCOlympics.com, GolfChannel.com, the digital assets of the NBC Sports Regional Networks, Rotoworld, the NBC Sports Talk franchise, multiple apps, and two transactional sports businesses, GolfNow and SportsEngine. NBC Sports Group possesses an unparalleled collection of television rights agreements, partnering with some of the most prestigious sports properties in the world: the International Olympic Committee and United States Olympic Committee, the NFL, NHL, NASCAR, PGA TOUR, The R&A, PGA of America, Churchill Downs, Premier League, Tour de France, French Open, INDYCAR and many more.

ABOUT FACEIT

FACEIT is the leading competitive platform for online multiplayer games, with more than 9 million users logging in a total of over 12 million online game sessions each month. FACEIT allows players to easily play in tournaments and leagues for virtual and real-world prizes through automated tournament management and competitive gaming technology. For developers, FACEIT's advanced software development kit (SDK) allows game creators to easily integrate user-friendly competitive gaming and tournaments into their titles to allow gamers to take part in competitive online games at all skill levels. esports organizers, players and communities use FACEIT to create and manage online competitions. For more information on FACEIT, please visit www.faceit.com.

ABOUT PSYONIX

Based in San Diego, CA, Psyonix is a critically-acclaimed independent video game developer and leading experts in UNREAL Engine technology. For more than 15 years, the studio has been a driving force behind some of the most successful games in the industry, including Gears of War, Mass Effect 3, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, Bulletstorm, UNREAL Tournament III, UNREAL Tournament 2004, and the award-winning Sports-Action hit, Rocket League®.

ABOUT ROCKET LEAGUE®

Winner or nominee of more than 150 "Game of the Year" awards, Rocket League is one of the most critically-acclaimed sports games of our generation. Boasting a community of more than 46 million players, Rocket League is a high-powered hybrid of arcade-style soccer and vehicular mayhem with easy-to-understand controls and fluid, physics-driven competition. Available on Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One, Windows PC, Mac, and SteamOS via Steam, Rocket Leagueincludes more than 100 billion possible customization combinations, a fully-featured offline season mode, multiple game types, casual and competitive online matches, and special "Mutators" that let you change the rules entirely.

To learn more about Rocket League, please visit www.RocketLeague.com, "Like" it on Facebook, and follow it on Twitter @RocketLeague for all the latest developer updates and news.

Rocket League, Psyonix, and all related marks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Psyonix Inc.© 2015-2018 Psyonix Inc. All rights reserved. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.

ABOUT PEPSICO

PepsiCo products are enjoyed by consumers more than one billion times a day in more than 200 countries and territories around the world. PepsiCo generated more than $63 billion in net revenue in 2017, driven by a complementary food and beverage portfolio that includes Frito-Lay, Gatorade, Pepsi-Cola, Quaker and Tropicana. PepsiCo's product portfolio includes a wide range of enjoyable foods and beverages, including 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in estimated annual retail sales.

At the heart of PepsiCo is Performance with Purpose - our fundamental belief that the success of our company is inextricably linked to the sustainability of the world around us. We believe that continuously improving the products we sell, operating responsibly to protect our planet and empowering people around the world enable PepsiCo to run a successful global company that creates long-term value for society and our shareholders. For more information, visit www.pepsico.com.

ABOUT PEPSI LIPTON TEA PARTNERSHIP

The Pepsi Lipton Tea partnership is a joint venture between PepsiCo and Unilever. The partnership includes a complete portfolio of ready- to-drink iced teas for every occasion, including Lipton Iced Tea, Pure Leaf Iced Tea and Brisk Iced Tea.