Today, Tespa announced that it will host three collegiate leagues for college esports teams with prizes including over $150,000 in scholarship money. Tespa, which is short for Texas eSports Association, is an esports network owned by Blizzard. It was created in 2012 at the University of Texas for its local esports program. In 2013, it actually expanded to a national level and was later acquired by Blizzard in 2014. It currently hosts over 150 chapters nationwide with over 8,800 members. Tespa has formed partnerships with Twitch and other major platforms to bring the largest college esports competitions to people everywhere.
Tespa has picked three titles in particular from Blizzard that it will showcase in these collegiate level leagues: Overwatch, Hearthstone and Heroes of the Storm. The largest of the three tournaments will be the Overwatch tournament, set to begin on Sept. 30 with a hefty prize of $6,000 per player to the winning team. In total, the Overwatch tournament will have $100,000 in scholarship money available. The Hearthstone tournament will feature $50,000 in scholarship money, with $6,800 going to winner. The Heroes of the Storm tournament, meanwhile, will not have any scholarship money up for grabs, but it will involve Battle.net credits from Blizzard’s online marketplace.
These leagues will have both a fall and spring split, meaning that students will be competing during the school year. Tespa is doing a lot for the collegiate esports scene and the support is definitely appreciated by gamers across the nation.
Would you want to play esports in college? Let us know by commenting below or tweeting us @GAMURScom.
