Snoop Dogg's esports series, the Gangsta Gaming League, kicks off tonight

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Snoop Dogg isn't just a musician, producer, actor, and entrepreneur, he's also an avid gamer. He took part in the Battlefield 1 celebrity livestream a few years ago (and apparently outperformed Terry Crews and Jamie Foxx), and last year he demonstrated a remarkable ability to play the defunct survival game SOS with the power of telekinesis. Now he's elevating his game even further with the launch of his very own esports league.

The Gangsta Gaming League, founded in partnership with Merry Jane, will debut tonight with a Madden NFL 19 tournament featuring eight of Snoop's "closest gaming friends"—Red Woods, Red Grant, JC, Tripo Loc, Lala, Shelton, Waniac, and Young Sagg—battling for the title of "Top Dogg" and a slice of an $11,000 prize pool. The winner will also have a chance to earn even more by beating the "Boss Dogg," which I can only assume is Snoop, in a post-tournament match.

And in case there was any question, which there absolutely should not be, the league explicitly stated that it "will most definitely allow the use of cannabis," presumably before, during, and/or after the competition as players and fans see fit.

Madden NFL isn't a pro esports scene we cover very often, but an esports league co-founded by Snoop promises to be a very different sort of experience than, say, the Overwatch League, and potentially a lot of fun. Other games may be featured in the future, as well.

The tournament begins at 5 pm PT/8 pm ET on March 14—that's tonight—and will be streamed on Twitch, Mixer, YouTube, and the Merry Jane Facebook page.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.