Beginning today, Clutch Con, a three-day tournament and convention organized by Arvada’s Clutch Gaming Arena, will draw some of the scene’s best players to Crowne Plaza DIA, where they’ll compete in games like Hearthstone, Super Smash Bros. and Starcraft II for a total of more than $20,000 in prize money.
“There are a lot of passionate people in Colorado who really want to be part of this,” says Justin Moskowitz, an owner at Clutch and one of the event’s organizers. The main event of the weekend is a $15,000 Counterstrike: Global Offensive tournament. Organizers brought in top-ranked teams from across Europe and the Americas for the competition; notably, they reserved a handful of the sixteen slots for all-women squads, a rarity in professional gaming’s biggest contests.
“If they don’t have a chance to compete with the pro guys, it’s going to be hard for them to catch up,” says Moskowitz. “A lot of the time, if you’re towards the top, it’s an old-boys’ club, because you’re always hanging out with those people, playing with those really high-level people, so you’re going to get better and better. If you’re somebody who’s not quite at that level, it can be harder to break in.”
Besides round-the-clock gaming, the convention will feature a tabletop gaming area, nightly appearances by DJs, and a cosplay contest with $500 in prizes. Early-bird spectator passes are $39 for all three days; players pay $59 plus entry fees, which run between $5 and $10 per event. For tickets and more information, visit clutchcon.com.
Fri., Jan. 30; Sat., Jan. 31; Sun., Feb. 1, 2015