Pro gamers join amateurs and fans on-stage throughout the show

SAN ANTONIO – Jan. 9 – Taking place. Jan 17 – 19, the PAX Arena at PAX South 2020 will mark the debut of “Liferun,” a brand-new custom game mode coming to Fortnite in partnership with the International Red Cross. PAX Arena will feature Overwatch League pros, fan-favorite streamers, and a pro-am against Texas’ own OWL team the Houston Outlaws.

Playable for the first time at PAX South, Fortnite’s brand-new Creative Mode game type, “Liferun,” turns players into International Red Cross heroes racing across the globe in four real-life missions to save lives instead of take them. FPS streaming sensation DrLupo joins ONE_shot_GURL and Lachlan to compete on-stage in the latest masterpiece by Team Evolve, creators of Zone Wars and the Creative Showdown. The event will stream live from the PAX Arena on Sunday, January 19 at 10 a.m. CST.

Overwatch fans will squad up with pros for the Houston Outlaws PAX Pro-Am on Saturday, January 18 from 2 – 6 p.m CST. Houston Outlaws stars like FaZe Clan alum Shane “Rawkus” Flaherty and main tank Austin “Muma” Wilmot join DPS sensations Jeffrey “blase” Tsang and Dante “Danteh” Cruz alongside coaches Harsha “Harsha” Bandi and Chris “Dream” Myrick” for an exciting PAX Pro-Am.

PAX Arena celebrates amateur esports through “Almost Pro,” a massive open culminating with an unforgettable multi-hour clash on-stage in the Finals. This year, 50 competitors will square off in Fortnite solos while fan-favorite casters “BalletW”, “MonsterDface”, and “Fickle_Platypus” call the action from the desk and on-stream. For the first time in PAX Arena history, U.S.-resident competitors as young as 13 can hop into the action for the Almost Pro qualifiers on Friday, January 17 at 11 a.m CST.

Back for its one-year anniversary, Stream Stars will pit YouTube and Mixer creators against each other for a winner-takes-all showdown in Brawlhalla, the arcade fighting sensation. Fan-favorite streamers like AbdallahSmash026, Dr. Kendo, and QueenEliminator will pick their favorite Legends and go head-to-head in a single-elimination tourney on Friday, Jan. 17 to crown the new Stream Stars champion.

“One of our goals with PAX is to turn the things you enjoy online into places you can actually go, and PAX Arena is a great example of that,” said Jerry Holkins, co-founder of PAX and Penny Arcade. “Being into esports means being a fan of camaraderie and competition, which makes them a perfect fit for the PAX community.”

PAX South 2020 will welcome tens of thousands of attendees to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center from Jan. 17 – 19, 2020. Three-day badges are available now for $95, with single-day badges available for $45. For show updates and the full PAX Arena schedule, check out the official website of PAX South and follow PAX on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

About PAX

PAX, or Penny Arcade Expo, is a festival for gamers to celebrate gaming culture. First held in Seattle in 2004, PAX has nearly doubled in size each successive year, with PAX Prime 2014 selling out of tickets in a matter of minutes. Connecting the world’s leading game publishers with their most avid and influential fans, PAX expanded with a second show in Boston in 2010, and a third in San Antonio in 2015, making it the three largest gaming shows in North America. The first international PAX was held in Melbourne, Australia in 2013. In 2017, Penny Arcade established PAX Unplugged, its first tabletop focused show, held in Philadelphia.

About ReedPOP

ReedPOP is a boutique group within Reed Exhibitions – the world’s leading event organizer. Launched in 2006, the group has become the number one producer of pop culture events across the globe as well as a full-service digital content provider and media company. Delivering once-in-a-lifetime fan experiences curated specifically for localized audiences, ReedPOP currently features events in North America, South America, Europe, Asia, India, Africa, and Australia, including: New York Comic Con (NYCC), Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (C2E2), PAX West, East, South, and Australia, Emerald City Comic Con (ECCC), MCM Comic Con, BookCon, Oz Comic Con, EGX, Comic Con India, Comic Con Paris, Comic Con Seoul, Comic Con Africa, Star Wars Celebration, and ComplexCon. ReedPOP also runs and operates Gamer Network and its portfolio of leading gaming websites including Eurogamer, RockPaperShotgun, and GamesIndustry.biz. The staff at ReedPOP are a fan-based, globally focused group of professionals that are uniquely qualified to build and serve the communities with whom they share a common passion.

About Penny Arcade

Penny Arcade has been the world’s most popular webcomic for over 20 years, with over 3.5 million readers. Started in 1998 in the living room of Mike Krahulik & Jerry Holkins, it has grown into a media empire encompassing multiple beloved properties such as Lookouts, Automata, and beloved D&D live-play series Acquisitions Incorporated. Penny Arcade was responsible for the creation of Child’s Play, a gaming charity that has raised over $45 million dollars for children across the world. They are also the founders of PAX, the number one consumer gaming festival in North America, with hundreds of thousands of loyal visitors every year.