This week on Checkpoint XP On Campus
Another week, another episode of CHECKPOINT XP: ON CAMPUS in the books! We appreciate your continued support as we try and build this show to be the best if possibly can be. While you’re waiting for next week’s installment, check out all the stories featured on the latest episode…
NBC STORY ON COLLEGE ESPORTS SCHOLARSHIPS
Earlier this month, ESPN ran a profile story on Jeremy Murray, a student captaining his high school Overwatch team with aspirations of earning a scholarship to play at the collegiate level. The profile focuses around the progression, evolution, and acceptance of esports on a wider scale, and addresses what’s quickly becoming an age-old question: “Is esports actually a sport”?
Check out the new episode of Checkpoint XP: On Campus to find out what we think on this hot button issue!
PLAYVS SECURES SERIES C
The high school competitive platform builder PlayVS has now secured a series C investment of $50 Million from a group led by a collection of past and new investors. This brings the total amount of capital that PlayVS has raised close to $100 million. The startup is headed by founder and CEO Delane Parnell, who expressed desire to use this new capital be “more bold as we set out to capture more of the amateur esports space.” In the short time that PlayVS has been in business, a waitlist of over 13,000 schools has developed all trying to utilize the service.
Hit up this week’s Checkpoint XP: On Campus to see Norris, Jacob, and Daniel discuss the potential implications this may have on shifting esports toward a more traditional sports model!
COLLEGIATE STARLEAGUE REBRANDS
One of the longest standing collegiate esports leagues is now undergoing a rebrand. Collegiate Starleague has built up a roster of over 1800 participating schools, running and organizing tournaments across a multitude of titles including Starcraft, League of Legends, and more. CSL has a strong reputation built up over the last decade, and this revamp is in celebration of the league’s 11th birthday.
The latest Checkpoint XP: On Campus dives deeper into this story and more!
UNLV 8 BIT ESPORTS
This week on Checkpoint XP: On Campus, we were joined by a very special guest in Tyler Tzunezumi, the Chief Esports Officer for 8-Bit Esports, UNLV’s collegiate gaming club. Daniel talks to Tyler about 8-Bit’s recent recognition as a UNLV sports team, how that has benefitted the organization, and much more.
Tune in to the full interview by watching the new Checkpoint XP: On Campus!
OVERWATCH VARSITY SERIES UPDATE
The Overwatch Varsity Series has finally begun with the first round of qualifiers starting and ending last weekend. Out of over 100 teams, Northeastern University and the University of Central Florida came out on top. Both of these squads only dropped one map in their entire series. The winning teams were in a similar situation as far as structure, as Northeastern and Central Florida both recently dropped half of their rosters and filled them with new players. The rookie recruits have worked out thus far and there’s a potential for them to make a splash once the invitational starts. Another school in our top 8 radar, Saint Ambrose University, lost in the round of 16.
Qualifier #2 takes place this Friday and Saturday, September 27th and 28th–we’ll have continued updates coming up as part of Checkpoint XP: On Campus!
COLLEGE ROCKET LEAGUE QUALIFIERS POSTPONED
The organizers for collegiate Rocket League hit a bit of a snag while preparing for their qualifiers earlier this month. Since parting ways with esports organizer Tespa and reformatting their conferences from four regional divisions down to just two coastal divisions, the league found itself in a predicament. New partner FaceIt is dealing with organizational problems that led to the postponing of the qualifiers. This leaves the nearly 300 schools involved in the qualifier wondering what the next step will be as Collegiate Rocket League scrambles to figure out how to solve this problem.
For more on this story, check in with Jacob, Daniel, and Norris who cover it all in Checkpoint XP: On Campus!
LOUIS VUITTON DESIGNS TROPHY CASE FOR LEAGUE OF LEGENDS CHAMPIONSHIP
In what seems on the surface like an unexpected partnership, Louis Vuitton and Riot Games agreed to a deal that will see the French designer brand creating a bespoke, custom made trophy case for the Summoner’s Cup at the League of Legends World Championship, as well as custom skins and a capsule collection for players to purchase in game.
Watch the guys get into the apparent oddity of this deal on this week’s episode of Checkpoint XP: On Campus!
We’ll be back next Thursday with a brand new episode, and continue to watch this space for more coverage of college esports from Checkpoint XP: On Campus!
Originally written by Kevin Kelly