“This tournament that we are doing at SUNY is a great way for me to contribute back to my community and stay connected to student-life, we are coming together, apart.” – SUNY Student
After the first full week of the SUNY Chancellor Esports Challenge – a system-wide tournament – students, players, and fans have never been more excited!
During the COVID-19 pandemic, students’ lives were shifted. They left campus and were sent home to continue their studies remotely. Students missed their classmates, professors, and extracurricular activities. With many collegiate sporting events canceled and end of the year celebrations postponed, there wasn’t much to look forward to.
However, since esports are virtual events, students are still able to compete and engage with friends and teammates. The nation’s largest comprehensive system of higher education, the State University of New York systems (SUNY), realized this and worked with Extreme Networks to create the SUNY Chancellor Esports Challenge Powered by Extreme Networks. This competitive esports tournament is bringing students together virtually and helping them stay connected even while apart!
Students and teams from across SUNY’s 64 campuses were all eligible to compete. To start the tournament there were over 500 students and 130 teams competing. By the start of finale week, there will only be 24 teams – eight in each division.
We know this tournament means a lot to not only the gamers but also the student fans. So, we spent last week video chatting with students to hear from them first-hand how they feel about the competition.
“The excitement level has been growing and still needs to grow, this is a great way to show everyone what the esports world is all about. The energy level has been high from not only the players but the fanbase is energetic too. Fans, family, and friends all have the ability to show their excitement towards the games via chatrooms.” – Justin Brooks, Student and Esports Shoutcaster, SUNY Canton
Hear what other students expressed in our “Coming Together Apart” video:
As you can see and hear the esports program means the world to SUNY students, and that they feel welcomed and supported by the university and esports community through this outlet.
Besides having fun and enjoying connecting with each other, students are also competing for $20K in prizes. All proceeds will benefit the #SUNYTogether campaign, which raises money for campus COVID-19 emergency relief efforts.
Catch up on all the latest action in the esports tournament by watching our most recent Esports Center episode!
Do you have any predictions on which teams will with their divisions? Fill out the brackets for each game and share them on Twitter using the hashtag #SUNYEsports!
Be sure to follow all the action live on Twitch and LeagueSpot:
