Not Your Regular Sports Event
ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) will produce its first-ever college championship for competitive video gaming. The event is expected to be held later this year, as announced by the giant TV entertainment and sports network on Tuesday. According to reports, the high-profile esports competition is directed at college students. ESPN targets young digitally inclined esports fans who consume numerous hours playing video games.
Pilot Event
Walt Disney Co’s cable sports network, ESPN Events, producer of the Air Force Reserve Celebration Bowl, is eyeing the prospect of producing the Collegiate Esports Championship (CEC).
The huge esports event is planned to be staged in Houston at Comicpalooza in George R. Brown Convention Center in May. Contestants are set large in five games: Overwatch, Starcraft II, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm and Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition.
New Breed of Varsity Players
Professional esports competitions have exponentially grown and gathered popularity in the last couple of years. So, it comes as no surprise that schools and universities have started building their own competitive
University of Nevada, Las Vegas has joined the ranks and now offer esports labs and course work. Shout out to the University of California at Irvine which has built its own esports arena and started hosting summer camps.
“As universities continue to grow their esports programs at the varsity, non-varsity and club levels, we’re proud to be providing a platform for national exposure and recognition of some of the most talented players in the collegiate space,” stated John Lasker, vice president of ESPN’s Digital Media Programming, in a press release.
The CEC will also become the exclusive Overwatch Collegiate Championship. Prizes will be in the form of college scholarships according to
Athletes will come from North American schools currently playing in qualifying matches hosted by Collegiate Starleague and Tespa.
Divisions of the qualifying rounds as well as the Championship will be streamed worldwide, while the broadcasting platforms to be used will be announced by ESPN soon.
