Sonic and Pac-Man to face the Duolingo Owl in the ultimate Mascot Sumo Tournament
A new unconventional event has been announced for the popular language-learning app Duolingo, which will see its mascot character enter the world of sumo wrestling.
The “Duo Dosukoi Sumo Tournament” is a live event that will feature a sumo tournament between popular mascot characters from a variety of famous brands and video games.
The main event will see Duo, the green owl mascot of the Duolingo app, don a traditional “mawashi” loincloth and enter the sumo ring.
The mascots will be split into two teams and will compete in a round-robin style tournament.
The event will be a full-fledged spectacle, with the professional announcer Takeshi Yano providing live commentary and presiding over the matches.
The full lineup of characters set to compete against Duo has now been revealed.
The list of participants includes:
- Sonic the Hedgehog: The world-famous, super-fast mascot of the video game company Sega.
- Pac-Man: The legendary, dot-munching arcade hero from the video game company Bandai Namco.
- Apitan: The official mascot of the Apita and Piago general merchandise store chains.
- Ponta: The tanuki (raccoon dog) mascot for the major “Ponta” loyalty card program.
- Bub (or Bubblun): The bubble-blowing dragon protagonist from the classic Taito arcade game, Bubble Bobble.
- ZAQ (or Zakku): The mascot character for the Japanese cable television and internet service provider, J:COM.
- Don-pen: The penguin mascot for popular discount chain Don Quijote.
Many fans are disappointed that the line-up doesn’t include the popular fairy otter baby mascot Chiitan, however this could be due to the fact that Chiitan would likely steamroll all of the other competitors.
Several special projects are also planned for the event, including an awards ceremony for users with the top three longest learning streaks and the distribution of exclusive, sumo-themed Duo novelty items.
Entry to the tournament is being handled via a lottery system for 150 invited guests.
The “Duo Dosukoi Sumo Tournament” will be held at the Lumine 0 event space, located on the 5th floor of the NEWoMan Shinjuku building in Tokyo.
The event is scheduled to take place on Saturday, the 6th of September and for those interested in attending, you can apply via the official Luma event page.
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