Canada is ready to stake its claim as a premier esports destination and it begins with Northern Arena’s Call of the North and the 2016 Esports Championship presented by Bell.

With four major dates that include to online qualifiers and two LAN finals, Northern Arena is taking the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive scene to the next level this summer and fall.

“Northern Arena’s goal is simple: to bring competitive gaming to the masses and allow hard-working, talented players to show their quality and dedication through competition,” the organization says on its website. “With Call of the North, we want to provide an opportunity for Canadian and women CS:GO eSports teams to display their skills against the world’s finest in order to develop and popularize the eSports scene in Canada.”

Beginning with the Call of the North 2016 Online Qualifiers presented by Bell on July 23 and 24, teams will compete for a chance to play in the LAN Final at Fan Expo in Toronto from September 1-4.

Another online qualifier will be played from October 21-23 for a shot at LAN Grand Final at the Canadian Video Game Awards in Montreal from November 11-13.

All invitees who qualify for the Toronto LAN Final or Montreal LAN Grand Final will have a shot at a piece of the $200,000 prize pool.

“The sport for the digital generation - eSports - is exploding with interest, becoming one of the fastest growing markets in the world,” co-founder of the Canadian League of Gamers and Northern Arena Greg Spievak said. “Our partnership with Bell will accelerate the growth of eSports in Canada and enhance the audience experience.”

Here’s everything you need to know about Northern Arena's Call of the North and the 2016 Esports Championship. Follow all the coverage of the event this weekend on TSN.ca and RDS and watch the online qualifiers on Twitch.

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Who is Northern Arena?

Northern Arena is an esports competition - founded by the Canadian League of Gamers - opening the door to bigger and better opportunities for Canadian players and fans to get involved and engaged with competitive gaming on home soil.

In the words of Northern Arena CEO Carl Edwin: “We’re trying to bring eSports into Canada in a way that will foster local talent, while simultaneously being marketable to the more traditional media. We also recognize that eSports has it’s own character and want to keep that intact, while still guiding it forward into the future.”

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What’s on the schedule?

Northern Arena is gearing up for the first of two online qualifiers as part of their Call of the North events. The first series of online qualifiers take place from July 23-24. Winners will earn a spot in the Toronto LAN Final at Fan Expo from September 1-4.

The second online qualifier will be from October 21-23. More qualifiers will move onto the Montreal LAN Grand Final at the Canadian Video Game Awards from November 11-13.

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Online qualifier vs. LAN Final

With an online qualifier, teams will face each other over a network that allows teams to be located wherever they want, as long as they can connect to the proper network.

With LAN (local area network), teams will be in the same room playing on a more limited network for the Toronto and Montreal finals of Northern Arena’s 2016 Esports Championship.

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Who’s coming? … for now

The teams on tap to compete in the first online qualifier are:

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Synthetik Gaming - The up-and-coming Canadian team has been nearly unflappable with a 13-1 record in the ESEA Open this season and is looking to prove themselves.

CLG Red - One of the more recognizable names in the tournament, this all-female squad competes in the Main Central Conference of ESEA.

XFYR - A relatively unknown Canadian club, these guys have been seen on the CEVO intermediate circuit and ESEA Open.

Nonpareil - The former Counter-Strike: Source female team is ready to make its return debut to the competitive scene in a big way.
 
Selfless Gaming - The all-female team, formerly known as Team Karma, is coming off a semifinal appearance at the Intel Challenge in Katowice, Poland in March.

Ace Gaming - This group of Canadian men have experience on their side and will follow the guidance of their manager and CS:GO vet Phillipe-Olivier “PEX” Crepin.

Earthroot Gaming - The Quebec-based roster featuring both male and female players is no stranger to the competitive CS:GO scene as members in both ESEA and CEVO.

Insomnia eSports - The surging North American club consisting of a majority of Canadians has suffered barely a scratch in ESEA (13-1) and CEVO (9-3) this season.

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Casters and Host

A team of five amazing talents in the gaming world will guide you through Northern Arena’s Call of the North and 2016 Esports Championship.

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Marissa Roberto - Host: The Saskatoon native comes from a television background as the former host of big-time gaming shows EP Daily and Reviews on the Run.

Alexandre “Vansilli” Nguyen - Caster: An esports connoisseur since before it was cool, Nguyen has been calling the action since 2002 and began with Call of Duty before moving onto Counter-Strike in 2003.

Mohan “Launders” Govindasamy - Caster: A student of the game and teacher on Twitch, Govindasamy provides tips on his streams whenever he’s not colour casting for MLG (North American Major Qualifier), IEM (San Jose) or ESWC (Montreal).

Keith “Seaside” Lafortune - Caster: A newbie but a goodie from small town, Ontario, Lafortune continues to expand his portfolio and most could be heard at RGN’s Pro Series Closed Qualifier and the stream.me Gauntlet 2.

Mirna “ATHXNA” Noureldin - Caster: A CS:GO star in the Middle East, Noureldin played on multiple teams overseas before coming to Canada to continue her pursuit of gaming and casting excellence.

View full bios of the casters and host here! 

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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

One of the biggest titles in esports, CS:GO is a first-person shooter (FPS) where teams of five battle until one team has been completely vanquished. Teams compete in best-of series across an array of maps to determine the winner.

CS:GO is the fourth iteration of the game developed and published by Valve in 2012.