Esports is flexing its range again this week, with Mattel163 hosting a UNO! Mobile tournament with $5,000 to be awarded to the winner. It marks the conclusion of 2023’s UNO! Mobile Wildcard Series: Community Cup USA & Canada and you can even tune in to watch.
Named the Annual Grand Finale, this blockbuster UNO! show features 16 of the top UNO! Mobile players from across North America fighting for a slice of a sizeable $10,000 prize pool. Only those who place within the top eight at the Nov. 30 tournament will find themselves in the money, so the stakes are pretty high in truth—and these elite stars have already been whittled down from over 800,000 participants across the year in monthly qualifiers.
Although viewers shall be offered the choice to watch via the regular array of social media sites such as YouTube and Twitch, Mattel163 is encouraging eager viewers to tune into the broadcast through the UNO! Mobile app. By casting live votes and entering gift-code giveaways, UNO! players will be in with a chance of earning in-game rewards worth over $1 million, which doesn’t sound like a bad tradeoff at all.
“We are incredibly excited to see all 16 players compete in the Community Cup’s Annual Finals,” said Mattel163 chief executive Amy Huang. “UNO! Mobile strives to create an inclusive gaming experience. We’re proud to build up an esports platform for mobile players from all backgrounds.”
This mission statement is incredibly admirable and has already bore fruit. This 2023 event’s top 16 final list is one of the most diverse sets of esports finalists in memory and certainly suggests the game’s community is very welcoming. In stark contrast, the wider industry is struggling to clamp down on rampant sexism and transphobia; offering specialized series for women and marginalized genders as safe spaces.
Thursday’s show will be hosted by popular YouTuber CouRage alongside more experienced esports talent. Katie Bedford and GrandmasterGojj are going to be joined by a secret guest yet to be unveiled at the time of writing. It might seem strange to many that UNO! of all franchises would be able to put together such a strong event yet they have clearly put the research and work in.
A strong yet reasonable prize pool might well be the headline stealer, but the show should be extremely enjoyable with great personalities across the board. Its success should be a wake-up call for all future events with ambitions set further than their reach.
