Chipotle Fans Can Win $25,000 and Free Food for a Year in the Chain's Challenger Series

At this point, you've most likely heard that the 2020 Olympics were sadly cancelled, but Chipotle is coming in clutch and sponsoring the Challenger Series, which will enable competitors to show off their skills, even in quarantine. Participants will get the chance to go head to head with fellow foodies and celebs alike in the realm of digital gaming, to potentially win free food for a year and $25,000.

Stay tuned for everything you need to know regarding Chipotle's Challenger Series. Whether you win the grand prize, or if you simply get the chance to play one of your favorite NBA players, DJs, or video-gamers, there's no doubt in our minds that it's going to be epic.

If you haven't heard about Chipotle's Challenger Series, it's basically a virtual video game tournament which initially launched at DreamHack, a digital festival in Dallas, Texas, back in 2019, according to Chipotle's press release. Now, it's going totally virtual, giving gamers nationwide a chance to show off their gaming skills in a variety of popular online games. 

Registration officially opened on Tuesday, April 6, and if you ultimately qualify, games start on April 16. Each game will consist of three qualifiers, and after each game is completed, there will be a live-broadcasted finale on April 25. The first game was announced on April 8 and it will be a Call of Duty: Warzone Challenge, featuring its new “Quads” format.

A variety of celebs will be partaking in the gaming series, including NBA stars such as Marcus Smart, Josh Hart, DeMarcus Cousins, Meyers Leonard, Mikal Bridges, and Romeo Langford, musicians like Steve Aoki, and popular online gamers like CRAY. Major Hollywood names, including Finn Wolfhard and Jerry Ferrara will also be participating, as well as MLB player Joc Pederson, USA Hockey’s Hilary Knight, and U.S. Soccer's Allie Long. More famous names will be dropped at game time.

In a press release, the CMO of Chipotle, Chris Brandt, stressed the importance of highlighting big e-sports competitors... especially right now, when real-life sports aren't a possibility.

“Bringing the Chipotle Challenger Series online provides the perfect platform to directly engage new and loyal esports fans. We are excited to connect up-and-coming talent in the space with their gaming heroes for a real competition with huge prizes," he said.

And while simply getting the chance to participate is kind of incredible, the prizes are pretty awesome. Gamers who come out on top will win $25,000 in cash (yes, you heard that correctly!) as well as $25,000 to donate to COVID-19 relief. And while the money alone is invaluable, they'll be topping it all off with free Chipotle for a year. Could it get any better?

While it's a shame the Olympics were cancelled, we're definitely looking forward to this virtual Challenger Series. It goes without saying we'll be cheering for Finn Wolfhard... our money's on him.