Laurier filling sports void with recreational eSports league

Think you have the gaming skills to do away with the competition?

Wilfrid Laurier University is looking for you!

With no university sports on the field this fall due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials with the Golden Hawks are starting up a new recreational eSports league to fill the void.

“We're going to encourage both team play and individual play,” says KP Anand, the Associate Director for Business Operations with the Laurier Golden Hawks.

“The purpose of us launching it in tournament-style the way that we are, is to really incorporate it kind of like intramurals, where you can either get a few of your friends to join with you and come up with a team.  Or you can join individually and be that point guard you've always wanted to be online.”

It all starts on September 26 with the “Fortnite Solo Homecoming Tournament,” where a $1,000 cash prize is up for grabs, along with secondary prizing.

It's all being done virtually for physical distancing purposes.

Fortnite, Rocket League, Super Smash Brothers, NHL 20, FIFA 20 and NBA2K will be the first six games they're running leagues on.

And it's not just Laurier students that can sign up.

Anand says anyone in the community can participate, and if you have a game that's not listed, he says they're open to suggestions for future additions to their lineup.

“We're really focusing on games that are more suited for the everyday audience, rather than a mature game (like a Call of Duty),” he said, “We'll be researching more and more as we move along, to decide what the next offering looks like.”

Registration for the Laurier eSports Live league is open now, and closes up September 20.

They say space is limited too.

CLICK HERE to sign up.

CLICK HERE to join the Laurier eSports channel on Discord.