08.01.2024

Today’s Forecast

94º | 11% chance of precipitation
Sunrise 6:19 a.m. | Sunset 8:29 p.m.

👾 Ready player one

KC Pioneers set their sights on the Olympic Esports

The Brawl Stars mean business. | Photo courtesy of the KC Pioneers

The Summer Olympics are approaching the halfway point but look ahead — there’s a new game in town: Olympic Esports.

Announced late last month, the newest Olympic games’ inaugural debut is scheduled for summer 2025 in Saudi Arabia. And why should you care? Well, it’s (fingers crossed) one more reason to puff out your KC chest as our world-ranked esports team, the Pioneers, prepare to brave the new frontier.

What are esports?

Short for “electronic sports,” esports are video games played at the competition level.

Professional competitions usually center games that require a combination of technique, strategy + precision. After all, there’s a reason why it’s recommended surgeons play video games — it takes extreme hand-eye coordination to be as good as the KC Pioneers.

Fun fact: July 21 is KC Pioneers Day in the City of KCMO.

KC Pioneers Rocket League in the game — This Rocket League player is having a *wheely* good time.
|
Photo courtesy of KC Pioneers

Ranked in the top 9% for tournament wins, the five-year-old Pioneers are one of the largest esports organizations in the Midwest + the fastest growing in North America. But are they Olympic level?

“All of our teams are heading to world championships this year,” Chief Marketing Officer Sam Kulikov said.

“I’m very hopeful we’ll see some of our players swap the Kansas City Pioneers jersey for the United States jersey,” Pioneers Co-Founder Mark Josey said.

The teams train upwards of eight hours a day practicing their respective games. Just like with traditional sports, only those with full-focused dedication make it to the top.

“They say it takes 10,000 hours to be an expert, and there’s a little bit of truth in that,” Josey said. “So it’s a little bit of innate talent, a little luck [...] and then literally playing the game and practicing and thinking about your mechanics, thinking about strategy.”

Want to see the team in action? Stream games using video platforms like YouTube and Twitch. Follow them to see their schedule.

Events

Thursday, Aug. 1

Tim Murphy Art Gallery Opening Reception | Thursday, Aug. 1 | 7-8:30 p.m. | Merriam Community Center, 6040 Slater St., Merriam, KS | Free | Meet the artists and sip on complimentary refreshments at the gallery’s monthly bash.

Friday, Aug. 2

Teacher Appreciation Weekend | Friday, Aug. 2-Sunday, Aug. 4 | 10 a.m.-5 p.m. | National WWI Museum and Memorial, KCMO | Free | Teachers of all kinds can explore galleries for free + tag-along friends receive discounted tickets.
The Wizard of Paws | Friday, Aug. 2-Sunday, Aug. 4 | Times vary | Martin City Melodrama, 702 Blue Ridge Ext., Grandview, MO | $10 | This magical re-telling is performed, in part, by senior rescue dogs from area shelters.

Saturday, Aug. 3

2024 Summer Workout Series | Saturday, Aug. 3 | 8-9 a.m. | Legends Outlets, KCK | Free with RSVP | It’s the last weekend for your besties + you to sweat it out at a free strength training session on The Lawn.
Wizarding Book Brick Painting | Saturday, Aug. 3 | 11 a.m.-1 p.m. | Weston Wine Company, 540 Main St., Weston, MO | $40 | Create your very own collection of wizarding garden books with step-by-step instructions.

Sunday, Aug. 4

Fun Fest | Sunday, Aug. 4 | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | Theatre in the Park, 7710 Renner Rd., Shawnee, KS | Free entry | Join in on the Family Fun Run, vendor market, photo ops, and live performances before listening in on TIP’s 2025 season announcement.

Events calendar here

Click here to have your event featured.

News Notes

Number

$175.6 million. That’s how much the Country Club Plaza sold for last month. The price, revealed yesterday in a former owner’s quarterly report, is a ~75% decrease from the $660 million The Macerich Co. + Taubman Centers paid for the historic shopping center in 2016. (Kansas City Business Journal)

Civic

KC is home to the No. 2 speediest drivers, but not for long. 100 new speed humps are set to be installed throughout the city to help curb fatal traffic deaths — and now we know where. Check out which speedy spots made the list.

Number

If you flew through MCI in June and thought it felt a little fuller, you weren’t mistaken. The airport saw 1.175 million passengers in June — its busiest month yet. They should add “City of Jetsetters” to our list of nicknames.

Announced

“You’re killing me, Smalls.” If that line unlocked your nostalgia then you’ll love this. The cast of “The Sandlot” will be at The Midland Theatre (1228 Main St.) on Saturday, Sept. 28 at 7 p.m. Celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary by watching the movie then mingling with the actors.

Pets

Even the pets are embracing brat summer. If you need a new baddie to bark with, KC Pet Project is adopting dogs 30+ lbs for $3.65. We hear they’re reading to pawty.

Sports

Spotted in France: KC Olympians + a shoutout to our world-class team, the KC Current. This bus celebrated our team as “the gold standard” of women’s football (soccer).

Plan Ahead

The KC Museum’s 11th annual Dia de los Muertos Celebration resurrects Saturday, Oct. 19, from 5 to 9 p.m. Pay what you like and observe the night at 3218 Gladstone Blvd., KCMO.

Environment

Need to get rid of that old TV, paint, or Styrofoam™? We’ll let you in on a secret: RecycleSpot is your one-stop spot on how to recycle just about anything (think: batteries, electronics, plastics + more). Learn more about eco-friendly solutions for a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable Kansas City region.*

Shop

Get more from your Costco membership — this week only, get a $40 digital Costco shop card and $60 off an order of $200+ on Costco.com when you buy an Executive Membership on our deals site.*

Eat

🍽️ Dinner for the daring

hand holding phone over the skyline of kansas city with the timeleft app open on the screen

Dinner roulette anyone? | Video by KCtoday

Readers of The Wrap will remember Editor Charm started a dinner club with friends. Several of you wrote in saying you wanted to be a part of a dinner club, too — and Timeleft is here to answer the call.

Recently launched in Kansas City, Timeleft is an app that matches you with five strangers for dinner. Just fill out the personality quiz and you + your five soon-to-be besties will meet up on a Wednesday at a restaurant booked by the algorithm.

Not sure if tech knows your taste? Editor Maddie has agreed to be our taste tester. Lookout for a later newsletter where she’ll share her experience.

The Wrap

Today’s edition by:
Charmaine

From the editor

Fun fact about me: I’m something of a gamer myself. In my younger years I was pretty good at Call of Duty Zombies though I never reached pro level.

These days I specialize in cozy games, which are primarily low-stakes simulators, puzzles, and strategy brain teasers. Basically, I do a lot of virtual country living away from the hustle and bustle of big brawl games. Like yesterday, I virtually rescued a brown cow and named her Hershey Kiss.

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KC Pioneers set their sights on the Olympic Esports

What are esports?

New blind dinner club app launches in Kansas City