Nativz Gaming saw its first-ever in-person Ireland Esports Collegiate Series Finals hosted out of Dublin’s Dogpatch Labs Studio.
While there wasn’t an in-person audience for the Winter Finals Day, organisers said they’re ‘building towards achieving this in 2024’, and that their priority is to ‘deliver a quality experience for the players and a top class production for the livestream’.
The news comes a few months after an Ireland Esports Collegiate Series rebrand was announced.
Dogpatch Labs, situated in the CHQ Building at the heart of Dublin’s Digital Docklands, is committed to fostering Ireland’s startup ecosystem. Since joining Dogpatch Labs as a member in November 2021, Nativz Gaming has been exploring collaborative opportunities to bolster the Irish gaming and esports industry.
The Ireland Esports Collegiate Series Finals (the Winter Finals Day) concluded eight weeks of competition, showcasing talent in the Ireland student esports community from various colleges and universities. Students then undertake another eight weeks of competition before the Spring Semester Finals Day in April.
The season concludes with the grand finale, slated for May 2024, the 2023/24 Ireland Esports Collegiate Challenge.
Kurt Pittman, founder and CEO of Nativz Gaming, remarked: “This support from Dogpatch Labs is a game-changer for the Ireland esports collegiate series finals and its community. We’re committed to providing an immersive experience for our finalists and audiences alike, this is the first step in establishing regular lan events for the student esports community.
“By leveraging dogpatch labs’ cutting-edge facilities, we aim to deliver a high-caliber broadcast that captures the excitement and skill of collegiate esports. I’d like to thank the team at dogpatch labs for their continued support.”
Winners of Winter Ireland Esports Collegiate Series Finals announced
This year’s Winter Finals commenced yesterday, with live coverage of the Formula 1 final at 8pm on Friday December 1st.
This was followed today (December 2nd) with live broadcasts featuring the Rocket League finalists in a best of seven series, followed by best of three matchups in Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends and Valorant.
The winners included TU Dublin (Valorant), Queen’s University Belfast (League of Legends), South East Technological University Esports Club (Rocket League) and Ulster Unicorns (CS2).
Nativz Gaming Partners with Monster Energy for the 2023/24 Ireland Esports Collegiate Series
Nativz Gaming also announced its partnership with Monster Energy as the Official Energy Drinks Partner and the Presenting Partner for the 2023/24 Ireland Esports Collegiate Series.
This sponsorship marks Monster Energy’s first significant foray into the Irish esports landscape.
Kurt Pittman, Founder & CEO of Nativz Gaming, said: “We are incredibly excited to welcome Monster Energy as the Official Energy Drinks Partner for Ireland Collegiate. This partnership is a testament to the growing appeal of esports in Ireland and our commitment to providing top-tier experiences for our players and fans.”
The recent Ireland Esports Collegiate Series Finals for Winter were presented by Monster Energy.
Nativz Gaming also operates as a team organisation, playing in leagues like the NLC.
Nativz Gaming first struck a deal with the Irish collegiate esports league last year, before rebranding it.
Update (December 20th 2023): Ireland Collegiate has also partnered with Rí-Rá Irish Lager as the Official Beer Partner for the Ireland Esports Collegiate Series.
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.
