Esports data platform GRID has teamed up with UK-based charity Rethink Mental Illness for a CS:GO charity event. The event, called The Fight Before Christmas, aims to raise awareness and funds for mental health issues. The event will take place live on Twitch on December 6th.
The Fight Before Christmas will see mixed gender teams battle in CS:GO’s Wingman 2v2 game mode. The event hopes to promote diversity with the mixed teams, with WIDE.gg, a female community gaming platform, being named as the event’s diversity partner. In addition, TheEsportsBible has been revealed as The Fight Before Christmas’s empowerment content partner, with Xtrfy and Skinwallet also joining as sponsors.
A couple of the event’s participating teams have been announced, revealing some well-known names in the Counter-Strike world. Swedish pro Julia “Juliano” Kiran will team up with 14-year-old NaVi Junior player Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, while former BIG player Owen “Smooya” Butterfield will play alongside XSET member Petra “Petra” Stoker.
Norwegian player Aurora “aurora” Lyngdal will partner with former FaZe Clan sniper Ladislav “GuardiaN” Kovács, and Izako Boars owner Piotr “IzakOOO” Skowyrski will play with Polish player Kamila “firingirl” Kopij. At the time of writing, four out of the expected eight competing teams have been revealed.
“Here at GRID we felt the need to celebrate the end of 2020 with some refreshing CSGO content for the community,” says GRID’s key account manager Harry Wiggett. “It’s been a wildly unpredictable year that we at GRID are thankful to have survived, personally and professionally. Together with our partners we are now happy to raise funds and raise awareness on mental health.”
Wiggett also states that mental health needs more attention than it’s getting. “Nobody deserves to face internal battles without any support, therefore we want to raise awareness to Rethink’s services and also raise funds for them to advance in their support of those in need.”
The live broadcast, produced by Relog Media, will focus on interacting with viewers more so than game commentary. The stream’s on-air talent has not yet been announced. The Fight Before Christmas will be streamed live on Twitch on Sunday, December 6th.
Source: GRID
