Paradigm, an esports and virtual reality gaming center in Davenport, will host a collegiate League of Legends tournament this weekend.  Acer, one of the world's leading providers of PC gaming solutions, will be the official host.

Teams from Purdue University, the University of Iowa, the University of Illinois, Northwestern University, the University of Minnesota, Indiana University, and Truman State, the winner of the Online Open Bracket, will be in attendance.  Local host, St. Ambrose University will be competing to defend the Fighting Bees Arena from the 7 collegiate teams and a chance to win $5,000.

"Esports at the collegiate level is in an important transition from clay teams to varsity teams.  The rise of esports as evidenced by the League of Legends 2016 finals having 43 million viewer.  With Acer's support, we're giving students in the Midwest access to a big tournament," said Steve Grubbs, CEO of Paradigm.

"Acer is well known globally for its support of professional esports as the official monitor supplier of the 2018 League of Legends World Championships," said Eric Ackerson, Senior Product Manager at Acer and who will be in attendance at the tournament. "We are pleased to encourage college student in Big Ten country to participate in esports, enhance their skills and enjoy this exciting tournament."

"This is a tremendous opportunity for the Quad Cities to see the excitement of esports," said Chase Neukam, facility director at Paradigm, said on Tuesday's Don't Hassle Us We're Local. "This is the fastest growing sport in the world."

When pressed for who he thought would be the favorite this weekend to win the Acer Invitational and the $5,000, Chase had this to say, "Northwestern is very good.  So is Iowa.  But I am going to back the Bees.  They are going to win."

DETAILS OF THE TOURNAMENT:

  • DATE: December 1st and 2nd, 2018
  • TIME: 10 AM - 8 PM on 12/1, 10 AM - 3 PM on 12/2
  • WHERE: 320 E 2nd ST. Davenport, IA
  • GAME: League of Legends
  • STYLE: Competitive Single Elimination
  • SPONSORS: Acer, Respawn, Intel, St. Ambrose University, Monster Drinks, and VicoryStore.com

*parts of this post is from the paradigm.com press release

 

More From ESPN 104.1 FM and 1170AM