"School isn't only about education. It's also about having friends or sports, and most importantly, finding an identity. This epidemic has revealed the importance of NBA2king these connections for teens," said Spiro Khouri, CEO of TGS. "Esports can fill that gap when the world was in a pause. This event has the chance to bring children from all over the city together in one massive event."

The tournament will feature the PlayStation and Xbox division. It will be streamed online on the weekend between November 7-8 and November 14-15. The final round, an Elite 8 for each division to be held on during the weekend of November 21-22 and will be streamed live on TGS' Twitch channel. TGS will be the host and provide professional management of the tournament and production.

A portion of the money will go to three non-profits , in addition to scholarships. They include Cxmmunity which is focused on increasing the participation of minorities to esports; Beyond Sports foundation, which aims to translate athletic abilities into real-world opportunity as well as That Harper Kid, a foundation established by Linnae Harper, former Chicago Sky guard, to aid local youth.

A number of Chicago area famous basketball players from the area are also lending their support to the cause which includes Jahil Okafor, Kendrick Nunn, Quentin Richardson, Darius Miles, Tim Hardaway, Deon Thomas, Hoop Dreams stars Arthur Agee and William Gates and Chicago high school legend Linnae Harper. Keep an eye out for updates on their social media accounts while they cheer for the players.

"This tournament is a chance for kids to come from all over the city into one big eventand support important causes," said Matt Hoffar co-founder of Gaming United and Managing Partner at Buy 2K MT PS4 Brickhouse Ventures. "And this won't be our final event. We'll be hosting a variety of tournaments this year in various cities, and across several games.