E-sport tournaments continue to pop up in Calgary as gaming becomes more popular.
The Salt Mine 2019 tournament was no different, accepting gamers and game developers from across the province to show off their skills this weekend.
The two-day event at the Bowness Community Centre allowed casual gamers to stop by and join a community to play their favourite games.
For more competitive gamers, prizes could be won.
Prizing has become a staple at e-sports tournaments with some players walking away with millions in prize money.
Most recently, Calgarian Hayden Krueger took home $1.2 million after coming in third place at a Fortnite tournament in New York last month.
Salt Mine organizers want to make sure they are giving back to the community as gaming popularity continues to rise.
“We donate all of our proceeds to Alberta Children’s Hospital. It’s not a huge amount but we do donate. We’re not here to make money,” organizer Brad Jones said. “This is all community efforts.”
In addition to players, game developers were drawn to the event to show off games currently in development and to get some feedback on their products.
“Getting their feedback is great so I can implement it back into the game when I get back to developing,” Jace Boechler said.
Organizers of the event said they have been running strong for eight years and hope to continue growing the popularity of e-sports in Calgary and across the country.