The Benelux Charity Showdown 2020 raised £3,164 for the Princess Elisabeth Children’s Hospital in Gent, Belgium.
It was organised by Belgian League of Legends side Team 7AM and took place on September 9th. The initial donation goal was £1,000, but efforts from a variety of people in the League of Legends scene, including UK talent, saw that amount triple.
This event marked a collaboration between UK and Benelux talent and beyond. It was broadcast in English and promoted early on by British LEC caster Medic, giving the charity showdown an initial boost.
UK participants included Ibriz, GreyHart and Counterfeit, with Benelux talent such as Xsodus, Woong, Dino, Craisze and BubbleLizzy.
Others from other countries got involved too, including Michael ‘Milo’ Maurer from Denmark.
The team ran many many donation incentives to entertain viewers, from singing their names on stream, dyeing their hair, pouring water over their heads to eating spicy food.
The showdown not only served as a good time of entertainment for viewers during the pandemic, it was also used a scouting grounds for the Benelux scene with amateur, community and academy teams from the Belgian and Dutch league participating.
Team THRLL’s academy team took home top spot with a 2-0 victory over Erasmus Academy. 7AM’s own academy team unfortunately did not make it past Round 3 of playoffs.
Money raised from the event went directly to the ‘Fonds Kadee’ cause from the hospital, which is dedicated to raising funds for children with chronic diseases.
“I’ve been blown away raising this much money for charity! I never expected everyone to come so close together and give so much money away for the amazing cause. We can’t wait to start planning for 2021.”
WundA, Team 7AM
Team 7AM’s co-founder and MD, John ‘WundA’ Smith-Howell, who is from the UK, told Esports News UK: “I’ve been in the esports community for 20 years and want nothing more than for esports to continue to grow. If I can use my experience to help that, then I absolutely will.
“The initial idea was to provide additional game time and ultimately on-screen time for the Benelux Open Tour teams. These teams and players want to progress further but I believe don’t always get an opportunity to prove themselves.
“So we agreed that a 12-team invite-only tournament would work. And then I thought: ‘Why not raise some money for charity whilst we do it?’ Thus, the Benelux Charity Showdown was born!
“I’ve been blown away raising this much money for charity! I never expected everyone to come so close together and give so much money away for the amazing cause. We can’t wait to start planning for 2021, that’s for sure.”
Megalodontus is a miraculous survivor from the mass extinction and somehow learnt how to use his stubby fins to operate complicated mechanical equipment and drink tea. Worryingly for cryptozoologists, he’s been writing League of Legends articles too.
A self-taught writer who’s had the privilege to work with good editors who aren’t terrified of his pearly whites, Megalodontus is often seen writing either independently or for various websites such as this one. When not writing, he usually runs it down mid in real life and is fascinated with watching paint dry.
