The 2018 Call of Duty® World League makes an epic return to Atlanta beginning today with the CWL Atlanta Open, Presented by PlayStation®4. Over 170 teams from around the world will compete in Call of Duty: WWII on PlayStation®4 at the Georgia World Congress Center from March 9-11. This weekend’s competition is a key stop during the CWL season, which has a $4.2 million overall prize purse up for grabs – the largest in Call of Duty esports history.

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"The city of Atlanta has become a critical staple in the Call of Duty World League event calendar, and we're thrilled to return," said Call of Duty Esports Director, Kevin Flynn. "Last season in Atlanta, we saw a team battle from the massive open bracket and win the event championship in one of the most memorable moments in CWL history. It's those moments that make our competition stand out, and we can't wait to see what our competitors can accomplish this weekend."

Over 170 teams in Atlanta will compete in the open competition for their chance to earn one of four coveted spots in the event pool. Those four remaining teams from the open bracket will then join sixteen pre-qualified teams to compete for their share of the $200,000 event prize pool at stake this weekend in Atlanta. Matches from throughout the three-day event will be available to watch live on MLG.com/CallofDuty and Twitch.tv/CallofDuty as well as via the in-game Call of Duty®: WWII theater within Headquarters.

The sixteen pre-qualified teams earned their spots via the CWL Pro League Stage 1 – a multi-week LAN series, which takes place at the MLG Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

Coming into this weekend’s competition, Team Kaliber has solidified themselves as the team to beat at CWL Atlanta after winning back-to-back events this season.

Teams currently qualified in the CWL Atlanta Open pool bracket are:

   
  • Team Kaliber
       
  • Luminosity Gaming
  • OpTic Gaming
  • eUnited
  • Rise Nation
  • FaZe Clan
  • Echo Fox
  • Team EnVyUs
  • eRa Eternity
  • Evil Geniuses
  • Red Reserve
  • Splyce
  • Vitality
  • Unilad
  • Mindfreak
  • Lightning Pandas* (substitute for Epsilon)
 

CWL Atlanta Open tickets are available in multiple varieties. General admission passes for the event are available for $59.99 (plus applicable fees and taxes), while supplies last. A Premium Pass for the event is also available, while supplies last, for $89.99 (plus applicable fees and taxes) and includes an event t-shirt and one month of MLG GameBattles Premium. VIP tickets for the event have sold out. For tickets, visit MLG.com/CWLAtlanta.

Visit CallofDuty.com/esports and follow the Call of Duty World League on Twitter and Instagram for the latest CWL updates. For live broadcasts and Video on Demand, visit MLG.com/CallofDuty.

About Activision Publishing, Inc.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading global producer and publisher of interactive entertainment. Activision maintains operations throughout the world and is a division of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (NASDAQ: ATVI), an S&P 500 company. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company's website, www.activision.com or by following @Activision.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about the expected dates and features of the CWL Atlanta Open and the features of the Call of Duty World League, are forward-looking statements, that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

© 2018 Major League Gaming Corp. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY and CALL OF DUTY WWII are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. MAJOR LEAGUE GAMING is a trademark of Major League Gaming Corp. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.