Clash Royale event brings together the best North American players for The Crown Duel

Hundreds of thousands of players have competed in the latest tournament for Supercell’s Clash Royale strategy battler, and now the final eight will go head-to-head this weekend.

Clash Royale: The Crown Duel event will begin December 17 at the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles. Comedians Rob Coddry and Al Madrigal will host the finals, which will hand out $15,000 to the winner as well as a trip to visit developer Supercell in Finland. Clash Royale is one of the top-grossing games on iOS and Android, and it is likely on pace to generate nearly $1 billion in its first 12 months on the market. The game has also established itself as one of the bigger games in the mobile esports scene, which also includes games like Vainglory and Hearthstone (which is also playable on PC).

The event will stream live to YouTube, Twitch, and Facebook, so fans will have a chance to watch some high-level play as it happens. Matador Content, a Hollywood production studio known for Lip Sync Battle, is putting together the live presentation.

Leading up to The Crown Duel, however, Matador put together an eight-episode series of Arena Battles featuring the finalists performing in “showdowns.” These are essentially weird stunts based on things that happen in Clash Royale. For example, there’s a showdown where the competitors must ride a mechanical bull like it is the pony that one of the Clash Royale units rides during its attacks.

This is one of the latest examples of how Hollywood is getting more involved in esports. Companies working in traditional television and sports see potential in the competitive-gaming space, and many are making deals to produce their own content related to pro gaming.

You can watch the Arena Battles episodes right here: