With the esports season back in full swing, Australia’s best Rocket League players will be getting behind the wheel for a good cause.

The Gauntlet, run by Rocket League Oceania, has been renamed to the Gamer Aid Gauntlet for the next season to raise funds for Australian bushfire relief in partnership with charity Gamer Aid Australia.

It comes after a successful fighting game community event saw Gamer Aid raise over $8,000 for charity, with the Rocket League community ready to step up their own efforts.

“The response from the community has been extremely positive,” said Ben “Dover” O’Connor of RL Oceania.

“[The Rocket League community] have shown eagerness to provide help for fire relief and to contribute to the restoration of the environment. We could not be more excited to play our part in helping Australia bounce back from the recent disaster.”

Partnering with Gamer Aid made sense for the tournament organizer. The charity, started by Aiden “Ayekay” Hiko and Joshua “Swifty” Swift has raised over $50,000 for various organizations across Australia after the bushfire crisis of 2019-2020.

“It’s a huge honour to be able to work alongside Gamer Aid and the fantastic people behind it,” he added. “Since the beginning of the fire season we have been interested in hosting an event dedicated to helping bushfire victims.”

The Gauntlet is also one of the most esteemed events in the Rocket League calendar for Australian players, featuring top tier talent from the Renegades, Canberra Havoc, Ground Zero, and more. Having top-tier talent playing for a good cause has helped Gamer Aid realise their dream.

“The Rocket League Oceania team does amazing work each year in putting on this event,” said Ayekay. “This year they saw the devastation and wanted to do something about it, so they linked up with Joshua Swift [Gamer Aid co-founder], and brought the dream to life.

The top teams in the region will duke it out every week for eight weeks through the Glove and the Gauntlet. It’s not just for show ⁠— there’s serious bragging rights on the line.

“The one thing to expect is amazing games on the pitch,” said Dover. “The OCE teams are phenomenal players who never fail to deliver on jaw dropping moments.

“The Gauntlet is designed to host close matchups, pushing the players to really step up and show off what they got.”

In the spirit of giving back, people can donate to the cause to get a chance to win prizes. By purchasing a Gamer Aid Gauntlet tee, or donating to the RL Oceania channel on Twitch, your money will be going towards Gamer Aid’s initiative across Australia.

Ayekay said that he’s “hopeful” this is the last event Gamer Aid Australia will have to plan, but the charity will always be on the lookout to help communities in need across the country.

“In the case that there are more things to raise awareness for, and communities to work with, we would absolutely love to work with TOs both in Australia and around the world,” he said.

The Gamer Aid Gauntlet kicks off this week. The Gauntlet Week 1 will take place on February 13. Catch the action live on Twitch.

Find more info at the Rocket League Oceania website and on their Twitter.

Disclaimer: Joshua Swift, one of Gamer Aid Australia’s founders, is a stakeholder in Go Next Media, the owners of Snowball Esports.