It's time to kiss the esports | Pieblo Chieftain

The college is focused on innovation. It is a university better prepare its students for the world after school and follow the latest information. Both are essential for a university to stay up to date.

Athletics is no exception, and this world is beginning to feel the rise of a new world sport.

Esports.

That's right. Video games are at the forefront of athletics and no matter what one might blame, statistics and arguments in favor of esports continue to prevail

"League of Legends" , also known as LoL, is one of the biggest video games. In the esports industry, players face each other in a "capture the flag" format with teams that use magic, brute force and strategy to destroy the main tower of the team. Opponent

In 2017, there were more than 360 million unique viewers at the 15-day Invitational League of Legends. A single viewer means someone who logs in from a different IP address, which means that the number has not been reached by people using different types of devices in their home. house to watch. Around 360 million different people listen.

About 110 million people see the Super Bowl every year and only 30 million are watching for the 2017 NBA Finals.

The projections for the growth of esports match the number of viewers. This viewer mode is primarily based on a service called Twitch that broadcasts live matches online and around the world.

Stages have also been created around the world to host these types of events. The most notable is the recently completed Esports Arena in Las Vegas. The location is multi-level and approximately 30,000 square feet and is home to world competition in many game titles almost daily.

The League of Legends finals also took place at notable venues and drew a record 57.6 million The tournament was held at Beijing's famous "Bird's Nest" stadium and had held at Staples Center in Los Angeles and Mercedes-Benz Arena in Berlin a few years ago

. However, CSU-Pueblo can become a trendsetter.

According to ESPN, more than 62 universities across the country have created inter-university esports programs. This means that they can offer scholarships and that teams use the school's logos during competitions. The most outstanding schools offering these teams are Utah, the state of Boise, South Georgia, the state of Georgia, Miami (Ohio) and western Kentucky, which all offer football at the FBS level.

That being said, CSU-Pueblo could jump on this trend early and start recruiting players on their campus before one of the schools near their conference.

The NCAA has discussed the addition of esports several times, but these schools have evolved without their support. The National Association of College Sports (NACE) has more than 70 participating schools in nine video game titles.

The reason this number is higher than the number of schools with university programs is because universities do not expect this higher recognition. Almost all colleges in the country now have a club of esports and some of the larger schools start organizing tournaments.

Conferences like the Pac-12 and Big Ten organized League of Legends tournaments for their member schools with the Big Ten Network televised its tournament. The difference is that they can compete for scholarship money while university program schools offer their students scholarships similar to those of athletes who receive them in "regular" sports.

Probably the biggest promoter of Esports was Boise State, who should finish a full training center for his team. The project is expected to be completed soon and will include 80 computers helping to train the players, as well as a theater for hosting events and a broadcast facility.

The closest place for any player in Pueblo at this time to win a purse would be Pratt Community College in Kansas

That does not mean that CSU-Pueblo is not at the # 39, agenda because it also has a club of esports. It is available in 11 different games for players and also offers players the opportunity to win scholarships at events and tournaments.

With the rise of the esports industry, NACE is not alone. The CSU-Pueblo players are part of the Collegiate StarLeague, which could be better suited for a full launch if schools started adapting esports to an interuniversity sport.

According to the CSL website, more than 900 universities participate in its leagues. However, most are club teams and not sponsored by the university, compared to NACE.

Whether CSL or NACE, CSU-Pueblo could have a chance to be ahead of an industry that only shows signs of growth. .

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