BLINN TO HOST ESPORTS TOURNAMENTS IN APRIL
The Blinn College District is entering the burgeoning world of esports with tournaments on the Brenham and Bryan campuses in April.
The campus tournaments will mark the initial steps to build student excitement for proposed Blinn College esports teams on the Brenham and Bryan campuses. The proposed team could be approved as soon as Blinn’s March Board of Trustees meeting on March 17.
Esports – live video game competitions – are tailor-made for colleges, appealing to students who have grown up with gaming system controllers and personal computers, said Lane King, Director of Student Leadership and Activities on the Blinn-Bryan Campus.
“It’s a rapidly growing initiative in higher education,” he said. “In the last year or so, it’s been skyrocketing as more and more institutions bring these programs to their campuses.”
The Bryan Campus tournament will be held Wednesday and Thursday, April 1 and 2, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. each day in Student Center Room F-120. The Brenham Campus tournament will be held Friday, April 24, from noon-8 p.m. in the Student Center’s Janis Sneed Banquet Room.
Both tournaments will feature the same video game – Fortnite – and the top five finishers at each will be invited to compete at a match on Saturday, April 25, from noon-2 p.m. in the Sneed Banquet Room.
The tournaments are open to all Blinn students and there is no registration fee.
Participants must play a minimum of three singles matches. A point system will be used to determine the top five finishers.
“Every participant will receive a T-shirt and we have great prizes for first, second, and third places,” King said. “It’s going to be quite a spectacle.”
Alienware gaming systems and equipment, including gaming chairs, keyboards, monitors, and headsets, are being provided by Dell Computers for use in the tournaments. Competitors will not need to bring any equipment.
For more information regarding the esports tournaments, including rules and requirements, visit www.blinn.edu/esports or email esports@blinn.edu. Story courtesy of Blinn College.