Chicago's Hard Rock Will Host 8th Annual Big Buck Hunter Championship 

CHICAGO – Play Mechanix Inc. has picked Chicago's Hard Rock Café as the hos location for 2015 Big Buck World Championship, scheduled for Oct. 23 and 24. The Windy City's Hard Rock is the largest venue yet for the coin-op videogame tournament.

In addition to featuring a name-brand venue, this year's competition will be sponsored by Moosehead Lager brewery and Old Wisconsin, a purveyor of smoked sausages. The competition will also be covered by Twitch TV, the online videogame streaming service. Twitch covered last year's Big Buck event. | SEE STORY

"So, far we're on track for the biggest championship turnout in Big Buck history," said Play Mechanix media director Jessica Petro. "And we're using social media to broadcast the unique details of the championship."

This year's Big Buck extravaganza is expected to attract a record number of players from around the world, surpassing the nearly 700 competitors who took part in last year's match in Minneapolis. To this end, organizers have opened qualifiers five months prior to the championship, rather than the usual one month. The added time allotment has given competitors more time to qualify, as well as the opportunity to win more money along the way.

This new strategy, Petro said, so far has tripled the number of unique players qualifying to compete in the Big Buck World Championship. Play Mechanix is also looking to increase the tournament's prize pool from $65,000 to $75,000. Details of the exact amount will be released in August or September. The increase means that more people will walk away with more money.

Play Mechanix Inc. has created more than 40 arcade videogames since 1995. It merged with Raw Thrills, another coin-op game studio, in 2006. In addition to the Big Buck Hunter series, the company's products include Dirty Driving, Terminator Salvation and Super Bikes. To learn more about Big Buck tournaments call (630) 942-1070 or visit bigbuckhd.com.