Fancy yourself as a Warzone player? Grab your squad. Near Warzone Showcase is a free-entry $20,000 event

If you're a Warzone fiend and think you and your stack have what it takes, then the Near Warzone Showcase will definitely be of interest to you. The one day event on the 8th August not only comes with a $20,000 prize pool, but it is also completely free to enter. The free entry applies to all three platforms; PC, Playstation and XBOX One.

The event is being run by tournament organiser FirstBlood, who partnered with open source blockchain platform NEAR to offer aspiring Warzone gamers a chance at glory that isn't hidden behind a paywall. FirstBlood are also responsible for the SlayStation Invitational Series for Rainbow Six Siege.

"We are excited to partner with Near to bring large prize pool Warzone tournaments to the community. There are a lot of talented players that have not been invited to similar events, which is inhibiting their potential," said Emily Peel, Director of Business Development at First Blood. "The Near Showcase will create opportunities for everyone to make a name for themselves and win substantial cash prizes through open signups."

The Near Warzone Showcase is the first step in a long term plan to build a foundation for grassroots competition. First Blood will be launching their Academy league early next year, and this event is a key factor in laying down the groundwork. The Near Warzone Showcase event later this month is the first of three $20,000 events for Warzone.

“NEAR is thrilled to partner with FirstBlood to bring forth the Warzone Showcase. We see the passion that emerges from the esports gaming community and find it comparable to the ethos of crypto and blockchain communities. We hope to inspire and empower participants to explore NEAR and jump down the Blockchain rabbit hole," said Illia Polosukhin, Co-Founder and CEO of NEAR Inc.

The Near Warzone Showcase event is open to Warzone players across PC, PS4 and XBOX ONE. The format of the event will be Trios, with players able to sign-up with a cross-platform team. This makes the tournament very accessible and is yet another reason why it makes sense to just give it a go.

The event will take place on 8th August and run from 2PM-5PM ET.

The prize pool of $20,000 will be split between the top 16 teams. If you fall just short of reaching the top of the leaderboards, don't worry as there will be two more NEAR Warzone Showcase events (August 29th and September 26th).

You can check out the full list of tournaments hosted on FirstBlood by checking out their competition page. Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest esports news and updates.