Raleigh lands Fortnite and Apex Legends esports tournaments

• In 2018, the Greater Raleigh Convention and Visitors Bureau elevated esports as a major priority of its recruitment strategy, said Loren Gold, executive vice president of the visitors bureau.
• The tournaments can bring thousands of visitors and the industry is growing rapidly. Newzoo, a research firm, expects the global esports audience to reach 532 million by the end of 2022, Venture Beat reported.

What's happening: Last month, Cary-based Epic Games picked Raleigh to host its 2022 Fortnite Champion Series Invitationals.

• Fortnite is one of the most popular games in the world, and the competition — set for Nov. 12-13 at the Raleigh Convention Center — will have a $1 million prize pool.
• On Tuesday, Apex Legends, a battle royale game published by EA, picked PNC Arena to host its Apex Legends Global Series Year 2 Championship on July 7-10.

Gold said that he expects the two events to each attract thousands of spectators and fill hotel rooms across the city.

• A Halo tournament in Raleigh last year brought nearly 8,000 attendees and $1.3 million in direct spending.
• More important, in Gold's opinion, was advertising Raleigh’s name to the 10.5 million viewers on Twitch and YouTube.

Driving the news: The tournaments might not have come to Raleigh, if not for a $5 million esports incentive passed by the N.C. General Assembly last year.

• "The grant helped push us over the finish line," Gold said. "And it shows that North Carolina and Raleigh are taking the industry seriously."