ICYMI: CheckpointXP On Campus Roundup – October 24, 2019
The world of collegiate esports continues to heat up, and, as always, Checkpoint XP: On Campus remains your definitive source! Here are the headlines, and then be sure to watch this week’s full episode for more…
WASHINGTON POST STORY ON HARRISBURG RAMPING UP THEIR ESPORTS PROGRAM
A recent profile by the Washington Post outlined Harrisburg University’s aspirations to become the “Notre Dame of esports,” specifically by way of scaling up spending for different resources that they believe will turn their program into the most robust in the country. The initiative includes a budget of $2 Million, with $750,000 going toward a state of the art esports arena that HU is calling “Stage 2.” The rest of the investment will go toward meal plans, physical training, and other forms of regimenting for players.
For more on this, and why some players are even turning down opportunities to play in the Overwatch League for this program, check out the brand new Checkpoint XP: On Campus!
CONGRESSIONAL LETTER TO BLIZZARD ABOUT HONG KONG
The controversy involving Blizzard and their responses to the Hong Kong protests continues to grow, and more entities are getting involved. The latest development is that the United States Congress has sent a letter to Activision-Blizzard to voice their concerns about the company’s punishments toward Hearthstone player Blitzchung for his support of the protests currently ongoing in Hong Kong and strongly suggest that they reverse their current course of action.
Jacob, Daniel and Norris discuss the newest development in this ongoing situation on this week’s Checkpoint XP: On Campus!
LEAGUE OF LEGENDS WORLDS UPDATE
Group play has concluded for the League of Legends World Championship, and much to the chagrin of our very own Norris Howard, no North American teams made the cut.
To see Norris’ reactions, in addition to who in the tournament is trending upwards and downwards, check out him recapping the end of group play on the latest episode of Checkpoint XP: On Campus!
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY HEARTHSTONE PLAYERS INTERVIEW
This week on Checkpoint XP: On Campus, we have a very special interview! Casey Chambers and Torin Wright, the two Hearthstone players from American University who recently received six month bans after calling for a boycott of Blizzard in support of Blitzchung in the middle of a live streamed match.
This is a can’t miss interview–make sure you catch Norris get Wright and Chambers’ sides of the story only on Checkpoint XP: On Campus!
RIOT ANNOUNCES NEW GAMES
Riot Games now has more than one game on the slate! In fact, several games have been announced from Riot that include Project L, a fighting game featuring the champions from League of Legends, a card game also featuring LOL IP, and Project A, a hero based shooter that looks to combine Overwatch and CS:GO, among others. This is a huge development as League of Legends, and subsequently Riot, are one of the most popular entities in gaming, especially as far as generating revenue.
The boys discuss the outlook of these announcements on the new episode of Checkpoint XP: On Campus.
OVERWATCH VARSITY (WRITTEN BY JACOB BROTHERS)
The last week of the Overwatch Varsity series is coming up. Currently, all four spots of the eastern conference have been clinched. The east teams going to the playoffs are Maryville (6-0), Jacob’s darling Winthrop (5-1), Missouri (4-2) and Harrisburg (4-2). Both of the teams who placed for the invitational through qualifiers didn’t make it. In the west, we have a potential upset for fourth place. The current top four in the west are North Texas (5-0), Utah (4-1), Irvine (4-2) and Dallas (3-2). While the first three teams have clinched, it’s a different story for Dallas. Currently, Boise State could snipe the spot. The only way they accomplish this though is if they beat the undefeated North Texas. At the same time, for Dallas to keep their spot, they have to beat Irvine. If both of these teams lose their games, they’ll still be tied. Tespa’s rule page doesn’t explain what happens in the circumstance of a tie in the standings, but we’ll find out soon enough. Good luck to all the teams in their final week!
Grass.
Our lead producer, Ethan Schneider had a wonderful idea for our concluding segment for this week’s episode. This week, he will be ranking the top five different kinds of grass in video games. It’s… you should honestly watch it for yourself.
Make sure you check this out only (literally only) on 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!