Amazon University Esports is returning for a new season for students in the UK and Ireland, with tournaments, education and community-focused initiatives.
Registrations are now open for the Winter 2022 season of the tournament series, which includes the involvement of NUEL, GGTech and Nottingham’s Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies.
The competition is open to all university students, with over 7,800 players from more than 100 universities taking part in the competition last year (see the Amazon University Esports Summer 2022 winners here).
The competition includes tournaments in League of Legends, CSGO, Valorant, Rainbow Six Siege, Rocket League, Overwatch 2, Clash Royale and Teamfight Tactics.
The Winter season also sees the return of dedicated tournaments for women and non-binary players in League of Legends and Valorant, and support from Amazon University Esports for community-run tournaments in Halo Infinite and music game Osu, as Amazon looks to support grassroots esports. These are the National University Osu! Tournament and the University Halo Chamber League, as well as regional student society events around the country.
“Besides participating in one of the most important competitions, students will have the opportunity to attend career workshops, esports training in fields such as broadcasting, and participate in on-campus events where they can be the stars of the show.”
Tao Martinez, GGTech
The tournament finalists in League of Legends, Valorant and Rocket League will compete in a live final at Confetti X in Nottingham (which recently partnered with NUEL) to qualify for the 2023 season of Amazon University Esports Masters – the pan-European university esports tournament.
In addition, the winner of the Rainbow Six Siege tournament will qualify for the upcoming season of the official UK Ireland Nationals (UKIN) tournament – a proving ground for up-and-coming UK, Irish and Nordic teams.
Starting in mid-November, playoff games will be streamed most days of the week on https://www.twitch.tv/thenuel or https://www.twitch.tv/thenuel2. These broadcasts will also serve as opportunities for upcoming producers and casting talents to exhibit their skills.
Education and training
Alongside the competitions, Amazon University Esports says it will offer various training, development and community support activities to help students learn more about the esports sector and discover new career opportunities.
This programme of events includes workshops to help student leaders support their communities, careers talks delivered by professionals in different industry sessions, and opportunities for students to develop their skills and experience on projects. It will also include a new ‘University Tour’ series of on-campus events, with a range of activities planned to raise awareness of the university esports community.
This new season is also set to benefit from the recently announced partnership between NUEL, GGTech, and Confetti Institute of Creative Technologies – with Amazon University Esports staff will also collaborate with NUEL, GGTech and Confetti on course development, guest lectures and work experience opportunities.
During this season, Amazon University Esports says it will be supported by some top publishers including Riot Games.
Tao Martinez, head of university esports development at GGTech, commented: “We are delighted to be running another season of Amazon University Esports and welcome new students into the world of gaming. It’s an exciting time in the university scene with the new academic year underway, and esports is a great way for students to connect, as well as understand the opportunities the gaming industry has to offer.
“Besides participating in one of the most important competitions, students will have the opportunity to attend career workshops, esports training in fields such as broadcasting, and participate in on-campus events where they can be the stars of the show. Providing hands-on experience and opening the avenues to a career in esports is a vital aspect of the competition, and we are looking forward to another successful winter split.”
Related article: Nottingham Trent University to open London campus in 2023 featuring courses in esports and content creation
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.
