Retailer Amazon, Spanish company GGTech Entertainment and UK university esports outfit The NUEL will work together to support student esports through a new official partnership.
Amazon University Esports will launch in Spain, Italy and the UK this year. It’s expected to initially include more than 200 universities across participating countries – with plans to expand to other European nations in future seasons.
The inaugural season of Amazon University Esports will see players compete in League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics, both developed by Riot Games, with winning teams qualifying for international tournament events.
The season will also include mobile game Clash Royale from developer Supercell. Future seasons will likely see the launch of new tournaments and events.
This partnership, supported by collaboration from Amazon, also heralds increased cooperation between GGTech Entertainment and The NUEL. The two European university esports organisers will be working together to develop new opportunities in esports for students across Europe.
“Working together, we will have the scale and resources to provide more pathways for students to get into esports and have great experiences.”
Josh Williams, The NUEL
In addition to new tournaments and activities, this includes initiatives to help students with careers and talent development in collaboration with tournament partners. Additional partners are expected to be announced in the coming months.
Amazon University Esports will also continue to work closely with the Twitch Student Program, which aims to grows the profile of student esports through broadcasts and gives students opportunities to develop their skills.
Amazon University Esports will be based in new facilities at Distrito Digital in Alicante, Spain. These facilities are the headquarters of GGTech, the project lead and organiser of the Spanish competition.
“Amazon University Esports will bring new, exciting opportunities for students in the UK and across Europe,” said Jose Parilla Perez, founder and CEO of GGTech Entertainment.
“The scale of the project will allow more students to participate in university esports and attract a larger audience to support the next generation of talent in the industry.”
Josh Williams, founder and MD of The NUEL, added: “We’re incredibly excited about working with GGTech and Amazon to grow the student esports community across Europe.
“Working together, we will have the scale and resources to provide more pathways for students to get into esports and have great experiences. We’re looking forward to developing this partnership over the coming months and years.”
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
