ELeague and Turner Sports announced on Thursday a four-person celebrity Street Fighter V tournament on April 28 in Atlanta, ESPN reports. Each participant will donate money to the charity of their choosing. The event will be broadcasted live on TBS.
The joint venture announced that the tournament participants will include: basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal; Grammy Award-winning rapper Lupe Fiasco; NFL running back Reggie Bush; and professional wrestling star Natalie Eva Marie.
Participants will compete for a segmented prize pool, which has not been announced. The winnings will be donated to the charities of their choosing.
“On any given night, you are likely to find me and my husband on the couch battling it out over a videogame,” Marie told ESPN. “It’s something we enjoy doing together, so I jumped at the opportunity to show my skills during the Street Fighter Celebrity Showdown.”
Lupe Fiasco will support his charity M.U.R.A.L. (Magnifying Urban Realities and Affecting Lives), while Shaq will support the Odessa Chambliss Quality of Life Fund. Natalie Eva Marie will support the American Cancer Society, and Reggie Bush will support the 619 Charitable Fund.
The tournament will be playoff-structured, with two semifinal rounds that lead into the final round.
Lupe Fiasco and Shaq both have had their own encounters with esports in the past. Shaq is an investor in NRG Esports, a multi-game esports team founded by Sacramento Kings owners Mark Mastrov and Andy Miller.
Lupe Fiasco competed against Diago Umehara in 2016 as part of an exhibition match to promote Street Fighter V. Fiasco has been outspoken about his love for the game, which has earned him respect and credibility among professional players.
“I hope there are more events like this to shine a spotlight on fighting games and the community that supports them,” said Fiasco in a statement to ESPN.
