Tuesday, 15 August 2017
The Oceanic University Championship is a new competition as a part of Australian University Games that pits the best of the best League of Legends players against each other for gaming supremacy.
After two weekends of matches, the Regional Stage of the 2017 Oceanic University Championships concluded with the UWA Team as the Western Regional Champions, after battling out against Curtin in the Western final.
Moving into the national competition, UWA currently remains undefeated across three weeks of play. They had a perfect 6-0 record during Regionals and now hold a perfect 10-0 record so far in Nationals! This has led to them automatically qualifying for the finals.
The remaining four teams will now fight it out for a chance to play UWA in the Oceanic University Championship Final on 9th September at Riot Games studio in Sydney.
The success of the UWA League of Legends team comes as eSports takes over as an international phenomenon with a large fan base and lucrative prizes. The International 2017, an eSports tournament for the game Dota 2, recently offered a prize pool of $US24 million, and FIFA runs an annual Interactive World Cup alongside EA Sports.
In May, the AFL expressed its desire to one day run an eSports competition out of Etihad Stadium and encouraged AFL clubs to partner with or purchase eSports teams. Adelaide Crows have done just that, pairing with an Australian eSports team called Legacy, whilst Greater Western Sydney have also made enquiries regarding making a purchase of their own.
With the title of Oceanic University Champions nearly theirs for the taking, Team UWA are clearly rising stars in the $1.2 billion global industry that is eSports.
Media references
Louis Humberstone
Graduate Officer, UWA Sport Marketing, Communications, and Events
6488 3768
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