Bethesda teams YouTube stars with sports athletes in Day of Doom tournament

Bethesda Softworks is drumming up excitement about its May 13 release of Doom through a first-of-its-kind tournament. It will pit professional sports athletes and YouTube stars against each other in a multiplayer Doom showdown.

Doom is one of the most anticipated games of the year, and Bethesda is recognizing the attention-grabbing power of YouTube and sports stars in helping to spread the word about it.

Starting on March 29, Rob Gronkowski, Antonio Brown, Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson, and Thierry Henry will team up with iJustine, SSSniperWolf, and Rooster Teeth’s Adam Kovic and Michael Jones in a 6-versus-6 single-elimination tournament being streamed live on YouTube Gaming.

The Day of Doom will be the first livestream of Doom’s competitive multiplayer combat from the game’s upcoming closed beta. The event will be streamed live on Rooster Teeth’s YouTube Gaming channel.

The teams include:

  • Antonio Brown + Justine Ezarik (iJustine)
  • Thierry Henry + Alia Shelesh (SSSniperWolf)
  • Rob Gronkowski + Michael Jones (Achievement Hunter)
  • Chad “Ochocinco” Johnson + Adam Kovic (Funhaus)

Fans will also have a chance to experience Doom’s competitive multiplayer during the closed beta that will run from March 31 through April 3 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. For more information and to determine eligibility, visit doom.com/beta.

“We’re thrilled to bring together some of the world’s greatest athletes with popular gaming YouTube stars for Day of Doom — the ultimate Doom multiplayer tournament,” said Pete Hines, the vice president of marketing and public relations at Bethesda Softworks, in a statement. “It’s the perfect way to kick off Doom’s multiplayer closed beta weekend.”

Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat at VentureBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.